TRIP TO MINNESOTA FOR "THANKSMAS"

We just got back Monday night from being in Minnesota for TEN DAYS! It was so nice to get away and see family. We spent Thanksgiving at Syd's parents' house in Minneapolis with Grandma Libsack, Nana, Papa, Trent, Lindsey, Grant and Bennett. We got a lot accomplished in those ten days and had many fun times. I thought I would try to give a brief review...but I don't do "brief" very well!

We arrived Friday night, the 21st. Nana picked us up at the airport and we headed to Burnsville to see their new home. They have a beautiful new home with space for everyone. Saturday we played and got settled. That night, we went to dinner with friends Dave and Camilla. I've known Camilla since music camp days at Northwest and Syd's known Dave since high school. I actually also lived with Dave for a year or so in college. They are great friends. It was nice to see them and catch up! When we got home, we were greeted by Lindsey, Trent and the boys who arrived while we were out.

Sunday Shauna had a Southern Living Holiday open house. There were a few friends and neighbors there. It was a nice afternoon.

Monday- my Birthday! I got to start off the day with my new favorite coffee drink- White turtle mocha from Caribou Coffee. I LOVE Caribou, by the way. Cute coffee place! Then, we met Shauna at The Day Spa for a morning of massage, facial, mani and pedi. Ahhhhhhh..... I think my favorite was the facial. It was amazing! We went home to check in and get ready for dinner. All of the adults went out to dinner (kids were left at home with a sitter!) at my favorite restaurant, Wildfire. We had cocktails, lots of good food, fun conversation and dessert!!! What a fun night!

Tuesday we had a mellow morning and then headed to an indoor water park in the afternoon for the kids. They had a blast- I stayed dry and took care of Graham and watched everyone swim. It was still fun!

Wednesday morning- family pictures! We got up early and got everyone to the mall for family pictures. With 7 adults and 4 little ones and a 30 minute session, I was willing to put money on the fact that we'd spend the entire 30 minutes trying to get ONE good shot....but it went SO well! Everyone cooperated and we got lots of good shots. The photographers were great. Shew! Mission accomplished! On the way out of the mall- who should we run in to, but SANTA?! Last year, (and all years prior) Carley and Grant have not had the most successful Santa visits. I'm surprised he left gifts at all after the fuss they made. :) However, THIS year...FINALLY! They were asking for him, walked up to him (no line!) and sat right up on his lap to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Santa was great! They even let us take our own pictures! YAY SANTA!

After this- we went home for naps and then headed to the Mall of America for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp and the theme park. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO fun! They had rides that were the perfect size for Carley and Grant and it was the night before Thanksgiving, so it was not busy at all! The kids rode bumper cars, a flying bus, the log ride and the Ferris wheel. The log ride is one of those that involves a steep drop at the end- splashing into the "river". They loved it! Mommy didn't love it so much. We ended the night with coffee and hot cocoa for everyone (again) ...Mmmm...

Thursday- Turkey day! Lots of cooking, resting, etc. We had Thanksgiving dinner in the afternoon and Christmas presents that night. The dinner was wonderful and Christmas was fun. The kiddos got lots of fun toys and clothes and we all learned that as our gift, we get to go on a cruise together in April. Woohoo! I've never been on a cruise, so I'm a little nervous, but I know it will be amazing. It's on Celebrity Cruise Lines. We are going to San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Bonaire, Grenada and Aruba. I might be missing one... Anyway- what a fun trip to look forward to! Woohoo!

http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationItinerary.do;jsessionid=0000YiQrgcOoxh0n78Eql88KhCi:12hdbcuh7?packageCode=SM07D015&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

Friday morning Lindsey, Trent, Syd and I took the big kids to the Children's Museum of Minneapolis. It was super cute, with LOTS to do! It was also fun to have a date with the "big kids" and nice of Nana and Papa to take care of the little ones. We played at the museum and then took the kids out for lunch. Friday afternoon everyone watched the Nebraska-Colorado game. I took a nap- which was amazing! Nebraska won and it was a great game, so everyone was happy! :)

http://www.mcm.org/

Saturday- (has it already been 8 days???) Saturday was a pretty low key day. Lindsey, Trent and the boys left for Colorado. We went to the mall that evening to make some exchanges and went to dinner at Old Chicago. My surprise find at the mall- Small diamond earrings for $60!!!! A jewelry store was going out of business and liquidating merchandise. Woohoo!

Sunday we packed and did loads of laundry. We had a big breakfast that morning and then went out to dinner that night for Steve and Shauna's 34th Anniversary. CONGRATS! :)

Monday- time to go back to GA. To top off a great week and a half, our whole family was upgraded to first class for the trip from MN to GA! WOOHOO!!!! We've never had the kids in first class, but they were super!

The kids were pretty good during the whole trip. The travel went smoothly. Graham was great all week and did LOTS of smiling and "talking". Carley was a little...emotional. She's a little dramatic these days. Other than that, it was awesome! It was also fun to see a little snow while we were up there. We don't miss the bitter cold weather down here, but we definitely miss seeing snow.

We are very blessed to have such great family. It's not always that way and we love it when we can get together. The trip was a success and we look forward to getting together again soon!

Now time to get settled back into our home routine and look forward to the holidays!!!!