And after that

The wedding had been in the afternoon.  So, after cleaning up and going home to change, my parents and my family decided to head out to "Mario's Pizza" in Arlington (a D.C. landmark of 40-something years) and down to the White House Christmas tree.  For all to know (and that I learned that night):  my mom ate Mario's pizza the night before I was born.  My parents (along with many other Washingtonian's) frequented Mario's for 15 years.  My dad would sometimes even go back to eat there when in town on trips after moving to Missouri.  There is an old, black man that has worked there the entire time.  He was happy to hear that my dad had brought "his grandchildren" back just for the experience.  There is no indoor seating, so since it was cold enough to just bring some snow flurries in, we decided to stand at some counters off to the side and eat.  (No heaters, but warmer than sitting outside on the patio!)

 The White House Christmas tree sits on an expanse of grass between the White House:

and the Washington Monument.  The tree is surrounded by smaller trees, each designated for one state or U.S. territory:

Those smaller trees are decorated by someone designated by each state.  They are also placed in alphabetical order.  The kids were very excited to see Georgia (on the right, and where our last house was) sitting next to Florida (on the left, and where Grandma and Grandpa Wood have their current house):

The White House Christmas tree is live and permanently planted there.  However, it is new this Christmas, as the previous one fell over earlier this year.  There were many fun railways and trains set up and running: