ICE!

That is really the name of it, "ICE!" - all caps with an exclamation point. I think it's named as such because it's a whopping nine (NINE!) degrees inside and that's about all you can make your mouth do. ICE! (see more pics of the exhibit here)

Brian's parents came for Christmas and, as you know, I only take them to things that are cold. REALLY cold. See here. I thought to myself, how can I beat a 16 degree parade? Oh yes, a 9 (NINE!) degree ice exhibit.

This little wonder was put on by the good folks at the Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor. They were kind enough to loan us these enormous parkas that we wore over our own 18 layers of warmth. I was telling Brian's dad about the exhibit and the loaner coats and he said, "I think my jacket will do just fine." And then we walked in.....

It really was amazing. Every single thing was made of ice, er ICE!

A horse-drawn sleigh....

These penguins....

James....

Just kidding - he was fine, because they had SLIDES!

although they were a bit slippery (go figure - it was ICE!) so he didn't always have control of WHICH way he went down....

I loved it too....

Then we were off to lunch with "Santa or Mrs. Claus" as it was written on the website. We got Mrs. Claus, and later Santa, but then our camera broke so I don't have any pics of our kids NOT going anywhere near Santa.

I really talked her up as she visited a different table and James seemed warm (yet skeptical) to the idea at first.

But then she started talking and he quickly scooted over to Daddy's lap.

Molly was fine with her because she offered food.

Here we are, thawing out after the ICE!