Mitt Romney's first post-election interview, which was previewed Thursday night on Fox News and will air in full on this weekend's episode of Fox News Sunday, ends his near-total withdrawal from the political spotlight. (Indeed, the sneak peek was the first time since December, when he attended a boxing match with his wife in Las Vegas, that Romney has appeared in public.) So what's Mitt been up to, exactly? Well, he's got a new job, his much-discussed post-election life has attracted rumors of some kind of comeback, and he is scheduled to speak at the conservative klatsch CPAC later this month. But his day-to-day life, as captured in a series of photographs — some taken by professionals, most snapped with cell phones — bears the scars of his vertiginous fall from presidential candidate (for whom half the country voted) to private citizen. Below we've assembled a timeline of Romney's public appearances, both accidental and planned, as a prelude to his stock-taking Sunday interview. Enjoy:

1. November 18, 2012 — The First Sighting: Romneys See Breaking Dawn

TMZ caught Romney and his wife Ann watching Twilight: Breaking Dawn at a movie theater in Del Mar, California. (In a 2011 interview, Romney confessed to being a fan of the Twilight series.) 

2. November 20, 2012 — Mitt Romney Appears at a Gas Station

Two individuals photographed Romney filling up his car's tank at a gas station in La Jolla, California. One of them posted it to Reddit; the other, to Twitter. Witnesses described Romney as "sad," "tired," and "washed up."

Reddit's version:

Twitter's version:

@maddow Sad Mitt Romney the Loser pumping his own gas at the Chevron station in La Jolla. twitter.com/thegirlss/stat…

— nancy spencer (@thegirlss) November 20, 2012

3. November 21, 2012 — The Romney Family Goes to Disneyland

Several photo agencies (and hundreds of tourists, probably) photographed the Romneys taking rides and watching shows at Disneyland, located 90 minutes north of Romney's San Diego home. A sampling:

Mitt Romney rockin' a tire at Disneyland's California Adventure. #romney #disneyland twitter.com/stansell/statu…

— Stansell (@stansell) November 20, 2012

4. November 23, 2012 — Romney Uploads Thanksgiving Photo to Facebook

To celebrate the holiday, Mitt Romney posted a picture of him and Ann, standing in what appears to be their kitchen, to his 2012 campaign's Facebook page. Caption: "Hope everyone had a great Thanskgiving! Much to be thankful for this year."

(Romney's arms, which are notably hirsute, caught a few people by surprise.)

5. November 29, 2012 — Romney Visits the White House

Romney accepted President Obama's invitation to visit the White House, where the two men were photographed standing in the Oval Office.

6. November 29, 2012 — Romney Also Visits McDonald's

On the same day he shook hands with the President, another Redditor spotted Romney buying a McFlurry at a McDonald's. (It's unclear where the McDonald's is located.) Romney may or may not have used his father's McDonald's-for-Life card.

7. November 30, 2012 — Romney Eats Pizza

The day after meeting the President and eating delicious McDonald's ice cream, Romney was spotted waiting in line at a Salt Lake City pizzeria, where a Twitter user photographed him.

Mitt Romney is eating at the same restaurant as me! #MittRomney #PizzeriaLimone twitter.com/erinafoslid/st…

— erin a. foslid (@erinafoslid) December 1, 2012

8. December 4, 2012 — The Romneys Go to Costco

In early December, TMZ published 28 — 28! — photos of Romney and his wife buying things at a Costco in La Jolla.

Fun! MT @mviser: TMZ has gallery of Mitt shopping (in shades, black cap & shorts) w/ Ann (hot pink scarf) at Costco. tmz.me/VtO89D

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) December 4, 2012

9. December 8, 2012 — The Romneys Go to Las Vegas

Mitt and Ann were photographed by the Associated Press at a boxing match in Las Vegas between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, to whom Romney reportedly gave a pep-talk before the match commenced.

Another angle:

10. December 9, 2012 through February 27 — Silence

Romney was not photographed in public for 81 days. Until...

11. February 28, 2012 — Fox News Publishes Clip of First Post-Election Romney Interview

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jtrotter at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
J.K. Trotter