A Rainy Christmas Eve Morning In Virginia With Our Granddaugters

Jill Prepping Dinner

A Wet Christmas Eve At The Bissells 

It was delicious to sleep in some, till almost 7:00.  When I came upstairs for my coffee, my son in law Drew was already up, doing some work as he's working at home today so he does not have to commute to the city today.  It's gray and miserable outside, 46º with a high of 58º with thunderstorms.  Today looks like a day of last minute shopping for Jill, perhaps a trip to look at the lights later today for the family though we may put it off till later in the week.

Our ride from Chautauqua to Bristow, VA was uneventful fortunately, just boring as it rained off and on most of the drive, and we never did see the sun or a blue sky.  Our only stops were for gas, once, and breakfast and lunch sandwiches at Mickey D's, convenient and fast.  We did not make our departure time of 7:00 leaving around 7:30 but it was no big deal.  We got to Bristow around 3:00 as expected, greeted by Jill, the girls and happy Coco, their dog.  They were excited to see us and the whole gang helped us bring in our bags, IKEA blue that is.

Hayden Bissell, Teenager

After packing, we had to go up and see the girls rooms, as they have fixed them up.  Both were really cute, very girly and Hayden even had lights and two mini Christmas trees.  No wonder these girls never want to leave their rooms they are so comfortable.  I talked with Hayden for a half hour about her dancing and school which was fun as she was very talkative.  And when she found out I had a Mac Air, she went crazy because she wants one so badly.  I tried to tell her there on other good computers but she wouldn't listen.  She wants a Mac Air.  I don't blame her.  While we were talking, Evie and Halle and one of her girl friends ended up decorating some cookies.

Halle, Happy Her Granny Has Finally Arrived

Drew returned home around 5:30, so we ended up relaxing around the tree, with wine and brie.  Jill made a beef stew for dinner so as it was heating, Evie and Jill put together the salad, and we had a great dinner around 6:00 as Jill, Drew and Hayden were going to a cookie exchange and wine party in the neighborhood at 7:00.  When they left, Halle, Evie and I went downstairs and looked for a movie with not much success so we ended up watching the old stand by, Evie's favorite, School of Rock for the umpteenth time.  It's still fun and brings lots of laughs.  When it ended, just before 10:00, we were both tired, so we put the girls to bed and ended up reading in our beds by 10:30, exhausted and happy to be with the Bissells for a week.  The girls are very excited about tomorrow, which is great. Nothing like grandchildren at Christmas time.