A Christmas Recap in Pictures

I thought I'd give a short recap of our Christmas to date through pictures. On Tuesday evening, Daughter#2 and The Son-In-Law rolled in from Harrisonburg with Gracie,their lab mix, dropped her off and rolled back out to visit a friend in downtown Washington. On Wednesday morning, after much drama in New York trying to find the right Delta terminal and not miss their flight, Daughter#1 and The Fiance arrived at Washington National Airport.

After their arrival and Daughter#2 arriving back home, we ventured out to have lunch at Daks Grill here in Woodbridge. I have no idea what we did for dinner. We did dig out some old home videos to show The Son-In-Law and The Fiance. A few good laughs were had by all. Christmas morning we discovered our camera was missing (it was later found in Ann's purse) so we'll have to wait for Christmas present pictures are downloaded from Daughter#1's camera. After we opened presents we had a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs , bacon, some fake bacon for Daughter#2, toast and OJ. After breakfast everyone went off to clean up and prep for dinner. Daughter#2 fired up the crock pot to make some hot cider with mulling spices.

By 4:00 the turkey was ready to be carved.

A family picture before we say grace and dig into the turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, gravy, peas and rolls

After dinner and desert of apple pie a la mode and pumpkin pie with Cool Whip, most of us retired to the family room with groans a plenty. The two daughters gave a preview of the bridesmaid dress for the up coming wedding of Daughter#1 and The Fiance.

We watched the movie "Maid of Honor" before turning in for a long winter's nap.

Today we kept breakfast simple with just some bagels and pumpkin bread muffins. We also discovered that the minivan's battery was dead due to the lights being left on inside the van while charging Ann's new Garmin Nuvi. I put it on the battery charger and all was well until I tried to turn on the radio and it asked for the security code. Now I understand the whole security code as an anti-theft deterrent. However, the van is over 3 years old and I have no idea where the security code might be written down, if we ever got it at all. I quick look through our owners manual and other paperwork didn't turn anything up. I guess we'll have to contact the dealer and see if they can help. What a pain.

After rounding up The Son, we headed in to Old Town Alexandria for the afternoon. We decided to try out Zandrias's favorite bar and have lunch at O'Connell's. It was very cozy and we got seated close to the fireplace. Their O'Connell's Ale was outstanding. This picture of us all was taken by a gentleman wearing an Auburn sweatshirt so we exchanged "War Eagle's". He was very generous to offer to take a picture of the seven of us. I had the Shepard's Pie, which was quite yummy.

After lunch we walked around Old Town for a bit and dropped by the Torpedo Factory. This converted Navy building, where they did indeed manufacture torpedoes during WWII, is an art center featuring studios of many different artists. Here Daughter#1 and The Fiance pose in front of some sculpture.

Before heading home, we walked along the waterfront. At this point it was getting a bit chilly so we didn't linger long.

After we arrived home the daughters and the Husband/fiance went their separate ways to meet old friends while The Son treated his parents to some Thai food for dinner. Then it was time to come home and crash, except for this entry. Merry Day After Christmas.