A Merry Metcalf Christmas

Mom and Dad Metcalf, along with youngest brother, Trevor, made the journey to Nashville to celebrate Christmas with us, this past weekend. The weekend was very low-key, since we had no commitments to uphold, other than simply spending time together. We exchanged gifts, and I was shocked (and glad) to see that Trevor loved his nasty pink and blue punk belt that Brad and I could barely bring ourselves to purchase for him. Dad seemed to really like his Hickory Farms Sausage & Cheese basket, and I think Mom was happy with her Snaptote purse with granddaughter, Rachel, on the front. They got Brad a super-duper 2 pound camping in the cold while backpacking sleeping bag. He's really excited about it, even though he looks silly in it. They answered my request and bought me an appointment with the hairdresser. Cuts and colors, here I come!

Saturday, we went to Five Guys - Burgers & Fries for dinner. Brad was the only one of us who had ever been there before, but we were glad he suggested it! The food was sooo good. It's a good old fashioned burger joint, completely equipped with loads of grease! They were extremely nice (gave us our drinks for free!) and informed us that a regular order of fries will easily feed two people, and a large order generally feeds three or more. We were able to get a group shot, courtesy of the "cute girl" that Trevor couldn't stop staring at. I believe he was mortified when Mom chose her to ask to take the picture.

After dinner, we all headed to Trader Joe's, a unique new grocery store in town. Mom had told us about this chain a long time ago, but we never had one near us before. If you've never been to one, I really recommend going. It has such a wide variety exotic and organic foods, as well as a very distinctive atmosphere. We had a lot of fun while we were there. I took a lot of pictures - partly because I love playing with my new camera, and partly because I'm lame enough to take pictures in a grocery store.

When we got home, we were all about the Colts vs. Chargers Game. While we watched the game, we cracked open Dad's cheese and sausage. Once it donned our crackers, it didn't take long at all to disappear. Well, all but the hot pepper cheese, which Brad and Mom took turns daring each other to eat. Mom took little bites at a time, but Brad, proving his manhood, took giant chunks. I just tasted the cheese with the tip of my tongue and caught fire! I definitely do not see how they ate it! Eventually, the atmosphere got pretty intense when the tied score took the game into overtime. We ended up losing the coin toss, and eventually losing the game by six, but regardless, Mom still looked great in here official Joseph Addai jersey.

They left Sunday afternoon, after a pizzeria lunch and a trip to Opry Mills mall. It was nice to spend some leisure time with (part of) my family. And Brad and I were so glad that they were able to make it down here for Christmas this year, since we weren't able to make the trek up to Indiana. However, their departure marked the official finale on this incredible 2008 Christmas season. It's time to sorrowfully take down all of the Christmas decorations. Oh well. We all knew it'd ultimately come to an end. Bye-bye Christmas season!

Complete Metcalf Christmas Photo Album