Day Two: Alexandria with Cousins

"Hey, we're going to go boogie boarding off this beach filled with giant, 4-foot-long, sunbathing Puerto Rican iguanas."
"Hey, we're just going to give you a quick tutorial on scuba diving and then jump off this boat on to a coral reef in the middle of nowhere."
"Hey, we're going to hike up to base camp at the tallest peak in the Americas and camp there with this bottle of sambuca for a few nights."

This is typically how our visits with the Patersons go — some kind of potentially life-threatening adventure presented in such nonchalant and casual terms that you almost think you're crazy for feeling uneasy. So I was not altogether surprised when the cousins asked us to go hiking in the soggy woods of Alexandria with bows and arrows to shoot stuff. Nervous, but not surprised.

I need not have worried. Eight of us went tromping up the steep trails winding into the Fort Belvoir woods littered with targets, hunters, and trees uprooted by recent floods. Only one of us shot a perfect bullseye from 20 meters away. Hint: Next year's Katniss Everdeen costume is going to be fierce.

The cousins had a grand time playing with Skye, exploring the woods, unwrapping early Christmas gifts, watching movies, and sharing hidden iPad time. The adults enjoyed an inappropriate card game paired with margaritas, and some quality time together before the holidays descend. And I even squeezed in an 8-mile run along the Potomac on a warm, 55-degree morning — shorts on the first day of winter... I could get used to this.