Christmas in Virginia

Well since my mom extended the call to me to add pictures from Christmas I figure I might as well make the most of my sick day. For some reason I ALWAYS get sick the first week of school. The past two semesters have been the worst, but I hope that once this weekend is over I will be better and ready to go. I already have so much homework! But, lets get to the fun stuff.

First, I had a glorious reunion with some of my very best friends. I went to lunch with my friends Becky and Hillary, some of my best friends from Williamsburg. We met up at the Panera Bread in Reston Town Center. It was good fun getting a chance to catch up with some old friends and letting them get to know my hubby!

Bradley, Me, Becky, and Hillary

Heather, Me, Kelsey, and Hillary

Later that night, Brad and I met up with some of my Ashburn friends. (Notice Hillary is in both categories. Our families moved up to DC from Williamsburg at the same time :) It was much fun just chatting and laughing and catching up with everyone.

After catching up with some friends, the rest of the trip was spent having fun with the family. We played basketball, cards, Cranium, Settlers of Cataan, and so much more. We also watched movies while eating lots of popcorn made by Peter and delicious dinners made by momma Bell. I wish our break could have lasted longer!

One of my favorite days was when Brad and I went to the Washington D.C. temple for the first time with my parents and Peter and Jen. What a fun experience that was to go through my hometown temple with my family. My dad even took us to a room that a pictures of all of the previous temple presidents. My Grandma and Grandpa Bell were there on the wall! I don't remember the exact dates of when they were temple Matron and President, but it was sometime in the 1980s. Fun stuff!

We also spent some time walking through D.C. with the family. Brad and I walked around the Holocaust Museum for almost three hours! What an amazing museum. I really love history, and that museum is just beautifully done and so well put together. There was so much information, and I really could have stayed there for two more hours. Alas, we had other places to go, like walking along the mall.





We did want to go ice skating, but the line was like two hours long. We decided to take a cute picture instead and then strolled off to Peter and Jen's friends house to play games and eat pizza. They (the Hawks) live in a sweet apartment right in the middle of the city. They were nice enough to let us stop by there and warm up before our drive home.

Finally, we went to First Night in Alexandria. Unfortunately, I didn't really take many pictures either. However, the end part was my favorite, which I got a few pictures of. There was a light show at the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, and there was a countdown to midnight lit onto the building.




One of the buildings we went to for a musical performance was an old church. I got a few pictures of how beautiful the inside was. It was all white and blue, and there was a beautiful organ on the top floor.





We really had such a fun trip. I wish we could have stayed longer. Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, I also took some pics of my Mom's famous Christmas Trees!





Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!