A White Christmas

Our family spent this Christmas '09 in MN. It was freezing, but wonderful. We had two Christmas parties at my parents home, seeing about 100 of my family members. (Thank you mom, for doing the hosting, that was a big job) It was so much fun. Jaeda and Kalea got to play with many of their little cousins, Steve had the chance of visiting with many that he hadn't seen for 3.5 years, and Rio got to meet everyone for the first time. We also spent a lot of time with my brother Jon, his girlfriend Lauren, my sister Kristi and her boyfriend Jay (both significant others got our approval, hint hint). The girls and I made our traditional "Jesus Cake", and both girls enjoyed singing and blowing out the candles. We also enjoyed many of MN's finest outdoor activities: shoveling snow, riding on the snow plow, building a snowman, making snow angels, ice skating, night time sledding, and finishing off with a hot cocoa (which never seemed to actually be drank, the girls rather eat the cute pink marshmallows). We also had a chance to visit with the Helland family, which was a blast! Noah is only 3 weeks younger then Kalea and Rio is only 2 weeks younger then Lydia. We also got to spend a little time with Kim Bass an her sweet girls, Sophia and Sadie. It was well needed, catching up over coffee with a little chaos from the kids. I have never met another little girl who was so much like Jaeda, in so many ways. I guess they get a little from their mommy's, who are a ton a like too :) The week went all too fast and we had a wonderful time. But we all made some fond memories that I know we will keep in our hearts for years to come. We now look forward to the next time we have the chance to go to MN, hopefully when the weather is warmer :)