We have made it a tradition during the season to stay with Craig's brother's family in Minneapolis and visit Macy's Santaland and the lighted parade downtown. I was so excited now that Kerigan was a little older than last year when we were here, but she was less than thrilled the whole time! I couldn't even get her to stand still in this picture!
This was one of the few times she let me put her down!
The theme is "A Day in the Life of an Elf" which is quite fitting since Andrew is so into his Elf on the Shelf this year.
Kerigan- not so much.
I love how in all the pictures Andrew is clutching his little note to Santa with what he'd like for Christmas on it. Those of you who read my blog know that when I was little my parents always took me to Minneapolis to see the display (which used to change and be a new theme each year), and see the REAL Santa. I think it is fun to continue the tradition and see the REAL Santa in MN. He is the best looking one around, after all.
The Elf mailroom!
And the classic Santa pic- complete with screaming child. Andrew's face makes me laugh. Pretty much everything about this picture makes me laugh.
And we thought the goldfish crackers might cheer her up, but she just gave us a nice view of them in her mouth- HA!
Precious. Turning his special letter over to the REAL Santa... there's something so magical about a moment like this.
The trip is never complete without a trip to the Marketplace for a Macy's sugar cookie. They are the best cookies I've ever had!
Kerigan has started this squinty smile thing... just wait til the pictures of her at Christmas! Ha!
Where's Kerigan???
There she is! (And yes, she cheered up once she got some pizza and a sugar cookie!)
And continuing with tradition, my sister in law and I always hit the stores during the day while the kids stay with the guys. This was no exception. They took them to Sky Zone sports. I hated missing out on seeing Andrew there, because I knew he'd be having the time of his life. My brother in law was sweet and texted me pictures!
How neat is this place??
One of the best parts of the trip for me was... we had not seen snow in almost 2 years since last year it never snowed at all. We happened to be there for the first snowstorm in MN... and it was so awesome!
Sweet Brooke, playing in the snow!
We came prepared, as you can tell by Craig's snowman PJ pants! Oh well, at least they are warmer and fit with the theme better than his famous pizza ones! Ha!
Cousins had an awesome time playing in the snow together! (I won't say the trip home was easy... but it was definitely worth it and we made it home safely!)
Before leaving town we had the most delicious brunch at one of our favorite places... the Original Pancake House. This is Kerigan with her Aunt Darlene.
The boys
The girls! This is a sweet story... Jack and Andrew got to have a slumber party and sleep together in Jack's room. Brooke was sad because she wanted to have someone stay in her room too! We said someday Kerigan will be big enough to have a slumber party with her too- Ha! So cute.
All the kids with Uncle Keith
Saying goodbye is always hard. Andrew loves his cousins so much. He always says that Jack and Brooke live too far away and he wishes he could see them every day. We had an awesome time as always... and we'll be back again soon! We can't stay away from Minneapolis for too long!
