Many of you are aware of the amazing opportunities offered to participants in the Special Olympics. From the website, the Special Olympics describes its mission as: 

Dignity, acceptance, and a chance to reach one’s potential – these are human rights worth promoting for everyone. For more than four decades, Special Olympics has been bringing one message to the world: people with intellectual disabilities can and will succeed if given the opportunity.

My brother, Tim, is helping to raise money for the Maryland Special Olympics by participating in a very special event, The Polar Bear Plunge, on January 29, 2011. This will be the 15th annual Polar Bear Plunge and they are hoping for a great turnout! There are many prizes, including the opportunity to meet Pauly D (if you don't know who he is, believe me, you won't care) and Raven's Quarterback, Joe Flacco. It is open to participants of all ages, but those under 18 must have parent permission.

If you would like to support this very worth effort, and make a donation toward my brother's efforts, you can go to his support page and make a donation. Donation Page for Tim Kirby. General donations can be made at the Donation Page for Special Olympics-Maryland.

Thanks in advance for your support and donation!

It is the time that many of us are looking for things to do with the Kids during the winter break  in Northern Virginia.

Presents are opened (and in many cases, discarded), the snow didn't hit us, and the kids are bored. It is time to get out of the house and find something other than a video game or movie to occupy the family.

Here are a couple of things you might want to look into:

Frostival: Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. is hosting the 2nd annual Frostival. Frostival will be held at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia and is geared toward children Pre-K through elementary aged. There will be rides, activities and arts and crafts, performances, storytelling and vendors. Get the whole family bundled up and head over to the Dulles Expo Center for a day of family fun. Frostival Tickets are available on line and at the door and parking is both plentiful and free!

How The Grinch Stole Christmas ICE! Experience at the Gaylord National. Head across the Potomac River to beautiful National Harbor and enjoy the amazing ice show, based on Dr. Seuss's holiday tale, 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.' Tickets are available on line and at the door (many viewings are sold out, so advanced tickets are recommended). Some days feature activities for the children, and there is a skating rink for some additional family bonding. The experience continues through Sunday, January 9, 2011

Outdoor Ice Skating: With all the cold weather we have had recently, it is a great time to slip on the hat, scarf and mittens and find some outdoor activities that allow the kids to burn off some energy. Reston Town Center has an outdoor Skating Pavilion worth visiting and head over to Cosi for some S'mores and hot Chocolate when you are finished. The skating rink at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden is a long standing Washington D.C. tradition. Take the family downtown for skating and hot chocolate and stop by and visit the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse.

Glen Echo Puppet Company presents several holiday-oriented puppet shows: The Nutcracker, Tiny Tots@10, Winter Wonderland and Penguins Playground. Tickets are availalbe at the Online Ticket site.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your winter break and that this list of things to do provides your family with some alternative to video games and repeating movies!

There is a great way to help the kids keep track of Santa's path as he travels around the world distributing gifts. This has long been a tradition in our family (as soon as we got internet, back when our kids were very little). 

The site is sponsored by NORAD and can be found at  Santa Tracker.

Put the site up and let the little ones run by every once in a while for an update.

I hope this becomes a part of your family tradition, too!

Merry Christmas!

 

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

May all the blessings of the holidays be with you during the Christmas Season.

We may all celebrate our holidays in different ways, but in the end, we all hope for the same things: Peace, Love and Happiness. May you have all of these things, and more, during this most special of holiday seasons. May your traditions be more fulfilling, your relationships more peaceful and your food more tasty!

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a wonderful holiday.

Holly Weatherwax

Momentum Realty, Broker/Owner

This year, thanks to a Local Events Challenge back in October, I did a lot of blogging about local holiday events.  I find that I get great response to these posts and very high numbers of both views and click throughs.

While I confess that I do not always get to attend all of these events (even though I never post something that I would not LIKE to attend, life sometimes gets in the way), last night I got the family out and went to not ONE BUT TWO of the events I recently posted.

The two things that we went to were described in earlier posts, but I thought it would be fun to see some photos from the events. 

Festival of Lights at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors' Center, 2010 

The Festival of Lights has shows at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the visitors center. We got a late start and that,  combined with the rush hour traffic, did not allow us to arrive in time for the 7 p.m. show. We had not had dinner and opted not to wait for the 8 o'clock show. We viewed the International Nativity Display, the outside Nativity, and all of the beautiful lights and decided to head into Washington D.C. for dinner. The lights were amazing and  put us all in the Christmas mood!

As we drove down Connecticut Avenue, not reaching restaurant consensus along the way, we headed into the District. Since we were so close, we decided to go see the National Tree and grab some dinner. The restaurant was not worth mentioning, but the District looked beautiful! We had a leisurely dinner and then strolled over to the Ellipse to see the National and State Christmas Trees.

 

 

National Christmas Tree and Pathway of Peace, December 2010

I hope that your holiday season is filled with family time and special holiday events!

 

 

Northern Virginia Holiday Events--12/22/2010

The packages are wrapped (hopefully!) the garland is strung, the cookies are made and the last couple of days before Christmas stretch before you. This might be a great time to plan some special holiday oriented outings.

Of course, one of the most well known is the National Christmas Tree on the Elipse. Located on the Elipse, in front of the white house, this is a visit that everyone in the area should make at least one--and even annually! 

The Fairfax Country Park Authority, Bull Run Festival of Lights is a great way to get the family together...and easy for little ones, too, since it is  a 'stay in the car' activity. Bundle everyone up, give them travel mugs of hot cocoa and enjoy the show!

If you are looking for something with a little bit more of an historic twist, The  Christmas at Oatlands Plantation  in Leesburg, Virginia.

My family just made plans to head to Kensington and see the Festival of Lights at the DC Temple Visitor's Center. Recognized by many of us as the temple with the gold spire that we see as we round the Beltway toward the Virginia shore line, this annual event is supposed to be spectacular and I am excited for our upcoming visit.

And finally, there is the Christmas Celebration at Mount Vernon. It is a great time of year to check out the decorations at this historic location...according to their website, it has recently been named one of the '12 Places to Catch the Holiday Spirit' by AAA.

I hope you and yours have an opportunity to enjoy these, or some of the many other, Christmas events in the Northern Virginia area. Merry Christmas!

This post made me laugh! Throughout the year we are bombarded with ways that we can remain healthy and the 'little tricks' we can employ to keep from gaining weight along the way. Micheal makes a compelling argument that we should ignore all that nonsense and enjoy this wonderful time of year.

I am not sure I will take all of his advice, but I will have a little giggle the next time I see a carrot stick laid out on a buffet or a plate of frosted Santa Claus cookies.

Reston, Virginia is a planned community, located in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County, in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

The area is known for its excellent school system, the proximity to Washington D.C., Tysons Corner, Dulles Technology Corridor, Dulles International Airport and the Reston Town Center. 

If you are considering a move to the area, Reston, Virginia, is well worth your consideration.  Unlike many typical suburban areas, the Reston Association takes great pride in the green spaces in Reston. The community feels more like a big park than a residential area. Mature trees, open spaces, parks and recreation areas are found woven throughout.

The wide variety of home types and price points makes Reston an excellent choice for many home purchasers.

There are three main sections of Reston, loosely defined by zip code: North Reston, South Reston and Lake Anne/Reston Town Center.

Lake Anne, is generally accepted to the neighborhoods in and off of North Shore Drive and Wiehle Avenue between Baron Cameron to the North, Reston Parkway to the West and Sunset Hills Drive to the South. It is loosley defined as the homes that surround Lake Anne.

Reston Town Center homes are those homes that surround this Urban-Style Center. These homes are Condominiums and Townhouses, in fitting with the Urban Style (no Single Family, although some TH and Condos are quite large).

Featured below are searches for the three most popular types of housing in the Lake Anne/Reston Town Center area, 20190 zip code.

Please contact me to let me know how I can help you find your new Reston home.

Single Family Homes in the Reston 20190 Zip Code

Townhouses in the Reston 20190 Zip Code

Condominiums in the 20190 Zip Code

You can reach me directly (or by text) at 571-643-4902 or at  hollyweatherwax@mris.com.

 

Reston, Virginia is a planned community, located in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County, in the suburbs of Washington D.C.

The area is known for its excellent school system, the proximity to Washington D.C., Tysons Corner, Dulles Technology Corridor, Dulles International Airport and the Reston Town Center. 

If you are considering a move to the area, Reston, Virginia, is well worth your consideration.  Unlike many typical suburban areas, the Reston Association takes great pride in the green spaces in Reston. The community feels more like a big park than a residential area. Mature trees, open spaces, parks and recreation areas are found woven throughout.

The wide variety of home types and price points makes Reston an excellent choice for many home purchasers.

There are three main sections of Reston, loosely defined by zip code: North Reston, South Reston and Lake Anne/Reston Town Center.

North Reston, as defined by the 20194 Zip Code, is generally accepted to by the homes North of Baron Cameron Avenue. It is also called North Point by the people who live there.

Featured below are searches for the three most popular types of housing in the North Reston area, 20194 zip code.

Please contact me to let me know how I can help you find your new Reston home.

Single Family Homes in the Reston 20194 Zip Code

Townhouses in the Reston 20194 Zip Code

Condominiums in the 20194 Zip Code

You can reach me directly (or by text) at 571-643-4902 or at  hollyweatherwax@mris.com.

 

If one of your New Years Resolutions is to buy a new home in Northern Virginia, let me help you get started.

There is no shortage of information available on line, but if you have done any amount of searching, what you will find is that it is hard to know what information is current and what is not. I believe that most agents make an effort to keep their information current, however, we cannot always control what happens to it on-line. Let me explain why.

When I post a listing to the MLS, I am making it available as public information. It will often show up on other Realtor's sites. This is usually to the benefit of the seller--the more places it appears the better. It makes it difficult, however, to keep the information about that listing current. Corrections, price adjustments, open houses all sometimes do not get updated on all of the sites where a listing appears.

As a local Broker, I would like to offer you a tool that will provide you with the most recent information. It is fed from the MLS. In other words, if I make a change to a listing, it will be updated at this site right away.

Why wouldn't you want the most current housing information? It won't cost you anything and it will make finding your new house very easy. Once you find the house (or houses) that you would like to see, you contact me and we set up a time to see them.

The tool is ListingBook. If you click on the red icon to the right of this post, under my profile photo, that says 'Get a Listingbook Account today!' it will allow you to set up your access to this fantastic tool. If you need help setting it up properly, I am happy to do it for you. You need only send me your email information and a general idea of what you are looking for. Once the account it established, you can modify your search criteria, or contact me to do it on your behalf. It is a great tool for those of you who are comfortable on the internet and like to be in control of your own search.

As a full service Realtor, my objective is to help you find the house of your dreams, in the location that you want, at a price that you can (and want to) afford. I will work with you in the way that you are most comfortable.

Call me, TEXT me, email me today and let me know how you would like to work together to find your new home.