Christmas Eve in Maryland

MEME and Pep arrived on Dec 23, and we immediately fell to making a final gingerbread house. I needed to use up the dough and the candy. I hadn't made a gingerbread house with my mom since 2007, I believe, when Q6 was Q1 and C8 was C3 ... and Q1 ate a LOT of candy. And C3 is saying -- I think -- "I make Santa's face Chocolate!" Here is the exceptionally long video.

But here we are this year:

The next day we hit the National Mall and went to the Botanic Garden. Lovely, as always, crowded, as it can only be at Christmas time. We skipped the fairy exhibit, and just went through the gardens. I don't know why, but Q6 was fine outside, and turned sour inside, although I'm not sure why. However, she hadn't wanted to go at all, so it shouldn't have been so surprising when she said she just wanted to go home. Over and over and over.

Look at our first picture, the girls really wanted a photo with the water feature ... and we've got real smiles on everybody. Yes, C8 IS wearing her sun hat. She takes the threat of aging seriously.

Then we head inside. It was PACKED. So crowded. Maybe the noise and crowds did Q6 in. We took this photo for C43, who couldn't make it with us. But her smile is getting forced, I think.

And it went downhill from there. Here they are sniffing:

And then ... even worse. I recall being six and having a similar momement -- or three or four -- so I feel bad that Q6 will remember the outing this way. C8 tried really hard to get a nice photo of all of us, but we just couldn't do it.

   

But one person who loved every minute of it was C8, who took a ton of photos, and just loved every plant she saw.