Minnesota Merriment

Getting through the holidays was a whirlwind. I mean, we flew home on Wednesday and left Thursday morning. It didn't help things that our flight was about 5 hours late leaving Phoenix. So needless to say, I didn't get the luggage from Arizona unpacked...and so my Camera didn't make it to Minnesota.

We stopped to see Grandma Fran briefly on our way up. The girls just love stopping to see her, and they love playing with her puppy Bella. Mitch is so lucky to still have her. She is one bright whippersnapper! And can certainly carry on a conversation. We stayed at a hotel in Eau Claire that night and headed to Montevideo the next morning. We arrived a little before 1 and settled in for lunch. Shortly after, Lori, Justin and Lexi arrived.

Lori decided we needed something to do so we went Bowling. I think the girls, as well as the grown-ups had a good time! And it was so nice to get out of the house and let the girls move their bodies after so much sitting and traveling.

On Saturday Todd and Shelby arrived, so we were able to celebrate Christmas. We had all the normal festivities...Christmas Dinner, Opening presents and of course our gag gift exchange! We don't get nearly enough time with our nieces and nephews...but we'll take what we can get!

Celebrating with Schaumburgs

I didn't get enough pictures, but I guess a few is better than none at all! Today my Uncle Barry, Aunt Sandy, Cousin Collin, Kaley and their two girls, Everly and Norah all came to Tucson to celebrate Christmas.

I can't remember the last time I saw Uncle Barry. Aunt Sandy has a sister in Decatur so she stops in to visit at least once a year, and of course we got to see Collin and Kaley and the girls when we were in Arizona back in July. Their family is growing, and they are expecting baby #3 in May. We had our traditional Oyster Stew. And shared memories and stories of new. It was great to see them all. And always leaves me wondering when the next time will be. Hopefully Dylan will get married soon, so we will have a reason to celebrate!

Old Tucson

Holy, heck of a lot of pictures!!! What can I say, we went to Old Tucson and had a great time. I hadn't been there in almost 20 years and it certainly has changed. There is way more for the kids to do nowadays. We started with the petting zoo...and the kids went nuts, but the animals did pretty well. And of course the petting zoo worker told the kids about the Pony Rides. We figured that we should do that before Laura and Jeff got there. Nat and Jo weren't quite big enough. They loved it. Hattie said she was the bravest of all. The carousel was right next door so we did that too!

Laura called and so Gigi went to meet them while we did the race cars. And then we did the race cars again. Around that time we had to head to Main Street for the Gun Fight. Mitch, Laura, Jeff and I got front row seats with Macy, Leah and Kiersten. While Mom, Matt and Cynthia stayed off to the side with Colby, Jackson and Hattie. That was probably a good idea. Hattie didn't like it and she hid behind Gigi the entire time. After that we went on a train ride. It took us through the whole park. Next up was lunch. That took forever, but it always does with a handful of kids.

We went to Ms. Kitty's Grand Parlor Show, or something like that after lunch. The girls were excited because it was a musical show with lots of dancing. They loved it. Ms. Kitty came off the stage and walked around the audience quite a bit. Hattie wasted no time running over to her for a dance. Leah and Bug loved all the dances with costume changes. They did a traditional Mexican dance with the big twirling skirts, they did a tap routine and then of course the Can-Can!  When the show was over they had to run over to get a picture with the girls. Ms. Kitty told Hattie that when she turned 18 she could come back and get a job as a dancing girl and Hattie hasn't forgotten it yet. Thanks for that, Ms. Kitty!

And finally we did a stunt show. It was wonderful. The perfomers were so funny. The girls and the adults all had a lot of laughs and the stunts did not disappoint. To finish out the day we took a stagecoach ride. They showed us all the old movie and TV Sets.  After that we hit up the gift shop, the girls each got a souvenir and then we had to head home. Everyone was wore out but it was a day well spent!

The next day we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum...I forgot my camera. Total bummer. But we got to see all our favorites. The Big Horn Sheep, the hummingbirds, the Javelinas...even though we visit there often, it never gets old.

A Very Tucson Christmas!

This year my parents proposed that we all go to Arizona for Christmas. Laura and Jeff have always had to travel, and now that they have two little ones, mom thought it would be easiest for us to all go to them. So that's what we did! We spent Christmas day at moms and then that evening we went to dinner at Laura and Jeff's. Laura did a great job (with a little help from Mitch). Later that evening Matt and Cynthia made it to town.

On Saturday the 26th we had our family Christmas. Once again we headed over to Laura's house. She had a great set-up to host us, with a playroom for the kids. Mom, Laura and Jeff had a wonderful meal for us. Jeff did a great job with Steak and Chicken Kabobs on the grill! Roasted potatoes, green beans and more! And of course dessert...Apple Pie and Christmas cookies. And a few cocktails too!

The kids had such a wonderful time opening their gifts and playing with one another. Natalie, Jackson and Hattie played together so well. They were peas in a pod for sure. It's always so good to see the cousins play and reminds me of my childhood running around with a house full of fellow family members! It was a very Merry Christmas!