Now that we are through the first week in January, I thought it might be time for a holiday recap.
Christmas Eve
- Pack up Christmas presents, suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and a whole lot of gear.
- Drive through snow storm to reach Mike’s parents’ house in the Twin Cities.
- Avoid backed up traffic and accidents along the way. See a number of cars in the ditch.
- Arrive 3 hours after departing Duluth. The trip usually takes 2 hours.
- Miss Christmas Eve church service because we knew the kids couldn’t sit still for another 2 hours.
- Finally relax and enjoy the snow.
- Posing For Mom
- New Snow Block Maker + Snow = Fort
- Open Gifts
- Tom Working Hard Grilling Steaks
- Wait for Santa to arrive.
- Dreaming Of Tennis Balls And Long Walks
Christmas Day
- Wake up and open presents from Santa.
- Enjoy hearty breakfast prepared by Karen.
- Drive over to Sean & Melissa’s to enjoy more delicious food and open more gifts.
- Head back to Tom & Karen’s for some rest.
Kwanzaa/Boxing Day
We don’t actually celebrate either of these holidays, but we did celebrate what would have been Grandma Helen’s 102nd birthday. Tom & Karen hosted the annual family get-together that Grandma Helen once held at her house.
- Help shovel the driveway, tidy up the aftermath of two days of present opening, help with food preparation and arrangement of chairs, etc.
- Pose for a few family photos before guests arrive
- Enjoy all the wonderful food Karen prepared and visit with family that we haven’t seen in months (or a year for some), take part in holiday gift exchange – always a good time!
- Pretend to be a reindeer – actually that was just Sophia (see below).
- Start packing for departure the next morning.
December 27
- Pack up suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and way more stuff than we came with.
- Drive 2 hours back to Duluth.
- Unload suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and a whole lot of stuff.
- Shortly afterwards, Mike packs up and heads for his 3 day fishing trip.
- Mary comes to the realization that there is 2 feet of new snow that needs to be shoveled off the sidewalk and decks. Luckily our neighbor took care of the driveway.
- The holiday is over!
M. Sullivan Photography 