Christmas 2011

The day after Christmas we loaded the van up with all the "essentials" and headed north to Minnesota.  Our first stop was Rob and Katie's.  We had Christmas with them and Blair and Irma.  Again, we forgot to take family pictures of the adults.  Thank you again to Rob and Katie for their hospitality.  Hotel Crystal was excellent as always.

I wanted to eliminate a piece of luggage so I vacuumed sealed the kids' clothes to fit into one big suitcase.  It worked on the way there, but not on the way back.  Next time I am going to do outfits or items by baggies.

Kid picture in from of the tree before opening gifts. 
Sydnee, William, Jackson, and Allision

The girls liked helping the boys unwrap their gifts.

  

Will and Allie opening a cool car!

Our next stop was Grandma Linda's and Papa's.  One of their gifts was a night at the Holiday Inn in Lakeville.  It has a waterpark that was ideal for the kids.  It had a walk-in pool with a slide and the bigger pool was the perfect depth for taking the kids swimming.  Thank you, Mom and Ken!

After the waterpark, we waited anxiously for Uncle Robb to return from overseas for a holiday break.  We thought bowling might pass help us pass the time.  Unfortunately, the girls did not think it was a great idea.  We lasted 30 minutes.

On Friday, December 30th, Uncle Robb arrived at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.

On New Year's Eve, we celebrated Christams in Hastings, MN.