Since this is the Christmas Edition, I couldn’t keep it to ten things… So this is actually the Tuesday Thirteen. 😉
- The Perine Christmas Weekend festivities started on Friday when Maj and I went to see The Greatest Showman. Y’all. The movie was so good! Even Samajé liked it, and he is not a fan of musicals. The music was great, the story was great, and the actors were great. I highly recommend it!
- Saturday, after a day of baking Christmas goodies and cleaning, Maj and I met his parents at the National Harbor for a Christmas Eve Eve dinner. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, the National Harbor is a place just outside of D.C. on the Potomac River. There are hotels, stores, and restaurants aplenty, an MGM casino and hotel, and a huge ferris wheel in the development. It was all decked out for Christmas, too, which made it even more beautiful. If you guys ever travel to the area, the National Harbor is a great place to visit!
- After dinner, we went to take pictures in front of the giant Christmas tree. That didn’t last long, though, because it started pouring soon after. We ran for cover right into a candy shop (I was leading the way, of course 😊 ).
- After leaving Maj at the team hotel as part of the usual pre-game routine, I went to a wives’ potluck hosted by another Redskins wife. I stayed out a little later than I should’ve since I had an early morning the next day, but it was so worth it. I am so blessed to be on a team with such a great group of women!
- Christmas Eve was a whirlwind. I left the apartment early in the morning to drop the dogs off at the boarder. With all the space they had there and the other dogs they got to play with, they got to have their own Christmas fun! I was way tired, though, so once I dropped them off and realized I was running ahead of schedule, I pulled over and took a little nap in my car. 😊
- From there, I went to pick Maj’s parents up from their hotel and we headed to the game. When we got there, we quickly realized it was much colder than we had expected! Between that and my turkey leg conundrum, the game dragged on. (I bought a turkey leg at the game which turned out to be covered in BBQ sauce. In the end, I was the one covered in BBQ sauce.) Nonetheless, I got to spend the game with some great people, and the Redskins got the win, so it was awesome even with the cold!
- After the game, the real Christmas celebration began! Maj and I got a room at the Gaylord Hotel in the National Harbor, where his parents were also staying. The four of us started the night at the ICE! show. We walked through an exhibit where the Rudolph story was told through a bunch of ice sculptures. The place was kept at 9˚ – it was a tad bit chilly! We didn’t mind, though, because the ice sculptures were incredible. We were all amazed.
- From there, we went to take more pictures at the Christmas tree, since our photo session was cut short by rain the night before. We went to eat dinner at a place called Succotash. The food was a-m-a-z-i-n-g ! We all shared the meal called “Taste the South,” which included a little bit of almost everything: deviled eggs, chicken wings, cornbread, fried green tomatoes, ribs, chicken & waffles, catfish, mac & cheese, collard greens, pecan pie, shortbread cookies, and a few things I’m sure I missed. The food was exceptional. We killed it.
- Although we were all exhausted by that point, earlier in the night I had gotten Maj to agree to ride the Capital Wheel. He has been refusing my requests for months, so this was a Christmas miracle. He was a little too tired to fully enjoy it, but we still had fun. The views from the top of the wheel were gorgeous!
- We all started Christmas morning at breakfast in the atrium of the Gaylord. Going along with the theme for the weekend, the food was great. Maj and I had to rush out of breakfast to go grab the dogs before he went into work. On our way out, a sweet older couple in matching sweaters said “Merry Christmas” to us, but we were both in such a hurry that we didn’t realize they were talking to us until it was too late. I wanted to go back to tell them Merry Christmas, but luckily we didn’t need to. They happened to be leaving breakfast right as we were checking out. We told them Merry Christmas and gave hugs all around, then we chatted for a few minutes. I wish I had gotten their names – they made us both so happy!
- As soon as we got home with the pups, Maj went to work to get treatment for all his post-game aches, his parents headed to our apartment to continue celebrating with us, and I started cooking. (Well, after I gave the dogs baths. They had a little too much fun at the boarding place.) In my typical hyper-organized fashion, I created a color-coded cooking schedule a few days prior to make sure everything got done on time. It worked! I successfully executed my spinach and artichoke dip, Christmas punch, beef tenderloin, oven-roasted chicken wings, potatoes au gratin, green beans, homemade dinner rolls, and peach dumplings. I was very proud of myself; I have never timed out a dinner so well.
- After dinner, we opened gifts. I was so surprised when I got an Apple watch from Maj! I also got some super cool kitchen stuff from his parents. He received an iPhone X and accessories from his parents, and I got him a tool set and a few other small gifts. We gave the parents some stylish shoes and clothes, and the dogs got their fair share of toys and bones. Spoiled brats. 😊 We finished the night with hot cocoa and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
- I am sad that Christmas is over, but it was a perfect weekend full of great memories! It was the first Christmas Maj and I have gotten to spend with each other, which made it even sweeter. I missed my family dearly, but we will get to celebrate with them soon. As for us, the Christmas decorations all got put away today, because now I am in full-on moving mode! He still has one more game to go on New Year’s Eve, and then a few days later we will be loading up the car for our move back to OklaHOMEa. Time sure is flying!
