On Wednesday the 22nd we started the long trek up to Minnesota. Mitch parents house is about 11 hours away from Charleston. We were almost over the flu....almost, Kiersten's was lingering. She cried and cried in the car, so we turned her car seat around and let her sit right next to Leah. I know, I know...don't judge. Now that we are back in Jersey she is rear-facing and fine but 11 hours is a long time. Anyway, I would catch them holding hands in the backseat, and it would warm my heart so. About an hour out from Mitch's parents house Kiersten got sick...all over...it was rough, but we got to Montevideo about 1AM.
Thursday was low-key. Mitch's parents were both working so we just let the girls play and take naps and we did the same. Thursday night Mitch and I were able to go out to dinner sans kids which was wonderful...we rarely get the chance in Jersey and then did some last minute shopping. On Friday Mitch got to take Leah snowmobiling. She wasn't a big fan. When they got home she told me she was scared. But at least she tried it. Friday night we all went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Leah did great except when Grandpa Dave let her out of the pew and she tried to run to the front. Grandpa learned his lesson I think. She was so excited for the candlelit part of the ceremony she waited patiently until the end of Silent Night and then blew out the candles and said "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus." We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Brian came over with Rylee. We got to go out for drinks. Rylee stayed and helped Grandma Tootie babysit and they had a surprise visit from Santa. We really enjoyed getting to go out with Brian and Lisa. Whenever we are all together we don't REALLY get the chance to visit because we are looking after all the kids so this was definitely a much enjoyed visit.
Saturday we woke up with more snow. Leah got to go out and sled with Grandpa Dave. She made snow angels, and attempted to make snow balls. She even got to swing. Daddy trampled a path all the way to the swing set in the 3 feet of snow and then she stayed on for about 15 seconds. After lunch the dreaded flu hit, this time Grandpa Dave. We felt awful that it followed us up from Illinois. Around 5 the rest of the family arrived and Leah was super excited to see Aunt Lori, Uncle Todd, Justin, Shelby and Lexi. Saturday night we had our traditional visit from Santa. We called it a night early so we could start up again the next day. Aunt Lori, Uncle Todd, Mitch and I of course took our annual trip to the neighbors hot tub, but this time we were light on the alcohol ;)
Sunday morning Grandpa Dave was still under the weather. But we started the day with a great traditional Christmas dinner...ham, turkey, potatoes, yams. The kids were getting antsy for presents but we put ours down for a quick nap. That afternoon the gift giving commenced. The girls got all sorts of fun toys. A ball pit from Aunt Lori and Uncle Todd, a Jessie doll from Grandma and Grandpa, clothes and pajamas too. It was a wonderful Christmas but the best gift was by far the company. We ended the night with our annual gag gift exchange. My initials from last year were DJ so Lori and Todd gave me a photographed picture of Brett Favre with Dumb Jock written across it in big block letters...I LOVED IT! Monday we started with a big family breakfast and then we hit the road.
We are so fortunate that Mitch's grandparents live in Wisconsin. It allows us to stop and see them on the way home. This was their first time meeting Kiersten and they were so excited. Grandma Fran had a wonderful lunch prepared and had toys out to entertain the kids. It's always so wonderful that we get to make this stop. It gives us the opportunity to take pictures of the kids with their great-grandparents and someday we can share those pictures and stories
No comments:
Post a Comment