Washington, DC (USA)

[Brenna slept late. I made breakfast for her (scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, apple, loaded mashed potatoes) and we ate together. Brenna unloaded the dishwasher and cleaned up a bit. Meanwhile, I drove to Woodbridge to pick up Mollie (around 1100). I visited with Kelly and her kids for a while before Mollie and I left. Back at the house, I made Mollie some lunch (ground beef soft tacos, sliced apple). Mollie loaded the dishwasher and Brenna worked on college essays. Mollie and I watched Christmas specials on TV. Later in the afternoon, Brenna asked to go home so she could work on college applications. Mollie and I tinkered around in the house for the rest of the afternoon. After a few hours, though, she asked me to come get her so we could go to Zoo Lights at the National Zoo. I quickly got ready and we picked her up a little later (1630). On the way to the Metro, she complained that her mom bought Erin all kinds of things on Black Friday but nothing for her. After charging their fare cards, we all took the Metro (yellow & red lines) to Woodley Park. We got drinks at McDonalds and then walked to the National Zoo. This was Brenna's first time at this event and she really liked it. It sprinkled a bit, but I'd brought an umbrella and the kids both had brought cold weather coats I lent them (they don't have their own for some reason). We stayed for hours and then walked back to the Metro. On the way home, we got off at Gallery Place and walked over to Cuba Libre (because Brenna wanted "Mexican" food and it was the closest place I knew). We briefly watched street music performers on the way. We had no problem getting a table (2000). Our dinner was empanadas, rice, Cuban black beans, Cuban bread, Cuban sandwich. Everyone was happy… The Wizards game let out as we were finishing dinner (2145) so we walked to Archives and caught a Metro home (both kids resting sleepy heads on shoulders). We arrived home around 2230. I heard lots of giggling coming from shared bedroom. I watched (iPhone) the end of ND-Stanford game (Irish lost) and went to bed very late.]