Our Snowy Minnesota Trip

I have posted a few of our pictures from our lovely winter wonderland

Minnesota trip in November, but not nearly enough.

This post is my effort to remedy that oversight!

I can't get enough of snow.

It is miraculous.

I realize that it's kind of a pain to live with all winter long

for those of you who live in snowy places,

but for a desert-dweller, it is magical.

Here's what I wore on the plane ride from Arizona to Minnesota.

sweater: Time & True (WalMart)
pants: INC International Concepts (Macy's)
bag: Target

Greg was interfering with my photo of the airplane carpet.

Here is my favorite tile mural in the bathroom at the Minneapolis/St Paul airport!

My parents took us to Davanni's for pizza when we arrived. Yum!

Here we are!

There's my tasty pizza.

Greg got a teensy cheeseburger pizza - with pickles and everything!

There we are again!

SNOW was being forecast

and I was excited.

The next morning, my Mom and I went to Target

to get groceries so I could cook.  She got some nice warm coffee at Starbuck's.

So far, there was no snow.

But I was eagerly anticipating some!

Here's what we bought . . . 

Later, I cooked for about three hours.

Then I didn't need to do any major food prep the rest of the time I was there!

I made baked potato wedges:

Potato corn chowder:

Pasta veggie salad:

Banana chocolate muffins:

And black bean and rice burgers!

It was lovely and fun to cook.

And we had a lovely meal! 

I'm getting used to cooking at my parents' new(ish) house.

There's even a TV right there, visible from the island

where I do all my chopping.

Greg and my Dad went out to shop,

and when they got back, it had snowed some.

By the next morning, it had definitely snowed!

I was excited to go out and shovel.

Greg came, too.  He was probably less excited.

First I ate cream of buckwheat with blueberries

(and maple syrup):

Then we bundled up in my parents' winter stuff and went outside!

I was wearing snowpants, a special puffer with a hood, and special water-resistant gloves. 

That man even looks good in the cold and snow!

 

I remembered how to shovel!

I like how the snow looks on the tall pine trees.

We were happy!

The snow wasn't very sticky,

so my snow lady was tiny.

I made a snow angel, too.

And I used snow to ice my ankle and leg, which were a bit sore from

the extra exertion.

After bidding a temporary farewell to my parents,

we took off to see Greg's Dad and Karen!

There was snow there, too.

I drove and didn't crash into anything.

More snow was expected!

But we made it to Dave and Jill's

(Karen's son and his wife) safely on Thanksgiving Day.

It was fun to see them and their kids - and Rhonda & Charlie and their girls, too!

Everything smelled good and the house was cozy and cute.

After that nice overnight visit (though we could always use a bit more time!),

we headed back to my parents' house.

My Mom and I took a careful walk.

There were delicate icicles hanging off everything.

They were even on the electrical boxes!

Here's what I wore for the day:

blouse: Charter Club (Macy's)
sweater: Ellen's line from WalMart
pants: 89th & Madison (Ross)
slippers & socks: Target

My Mom started decorating for Christmas.

It was great to see the familiar items that have been around

since my childhood.

There's the nativity!

We went over to Mark & Jillian's for

some time with everyone.

Esme insisted that we take photos,

and she gave us all animals to hold.

She tried to use the selfie stick herself and we got this artistic result:

Cora was getting sleepy and a little grumpy, so 

Uncle Greg and I picked her up like a log.

Cora's use of the selfie stick was a bit more stable:

Those pictures make my heart very happy.

Especially the blurry ones.

I love my sweet family.

Then we got to watch a Christmas movie!

Greg and I stayed late, and when we left,

the driveway and car looked like this!

The next day we planned some more time at Mark & Jillian's,

but we had some down time in the morning, which by this point

I definitely needed.

Here's what I wore:

outer sweater (given away to my Mom because it was too big:) Ross
sweater with heart: Time & Tru (WalMart)
pants: 89th & Madison (Ross)
socks & slippers: Target

I got LOTS of BOOK + SNUGGLE time.

We hung out, read books, and watched Jillian and Mark put

up Christmas decorations.

I got to set up a kids' calendar with Esme and Cora.

We matched up the holiday stickers with the appropriate days

on the calendar.

Jillian brought out this great advent calendar my Mom made when I was little.

My Mom usually hung green and red Hershey's kisses on it and we got to eat them every day!

We also had Cora's birthday celebration while we were there,

since her birthday was only about a week in the future at that point.

I some more cuddles.

And I ordered the girls this brush:

because it gets out tangles well AND it comes with its

own zipper case!  I thought it was silly at first, but then I realized

that my brush always gets stuck in my sweaters when I'm traveling,

and a brush with a case won't do that!

Also, it's a pretty pink color.  I have the turquoise one.

The next day was Sunday.

I wore this:

blouse: Who What Wear? (Target)
camisole: JKY by Jockey (Target)
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
tights, slippers: Target

I added a sweater for extra warmth:

sweater: Ross

The scenery was pristine and glorious on the way to church. 

Greg was having fun sliding on the slippery ground.

Cora was wearing her special new golden birthday gold and diamond necklace

(from us!), in addition to a princess purple dress and silver fancy shoes (with heels!)

As we were picking the girls up from Sunday School after the service,

Greg found a Foosball table!

He played against this little guy, Thomas.

But soon he attracted lots of little kids

because he's great!

He gives big squeezes, too.

Look at Esme's cute little fuzzy bear coat. 

And look how happy she is to hang out with her Uncle Greggie.

The trees were equally as magnificent on the way home

as they were on the way to church.

Greg did a quick shovel of the sidewalk

because Mark & Jill and Cora and Esme were coming over

(and because he's wonderful!)! 

I switched into pants for the rest of the day to be more comfortable 

sitting on the floor and snuggling.

pants: Ann Klein (Ross)

I took a few little short rests during the day,

but I was able to rest a bit, then go back out and enjoy everyone.

My Mom kept decorating and making things prettier.

We had tasty food together. 

(Mark, where do you think Esme gets her funny over-big smile?)

Then Cora very carefully put the figures in the barn.

All the people were crowded around the baby Jesus because

it's all about Him!

We planned and decorated the kids' tree together.

And it turned out great!

More snow was expected and I wasn't sad about it yet!

The snow drift on the roof kept getting crazier,

and so did the icicles.

The girls got a little wild, so they were ordered outside.

They seemed excited about that,

and I couldn't resist accompanying them!

LOOK AT THAT SWEET FACE!

Mark & Cora found a huge icicle that needed to be munched!

Esme munched it.

I munched some smaller ones. I had forgotten how much fun that is.

Real life: notice she's only wearing one sock.

This icicle was humongous.

We made a little fence with some more icicles.

Then we played in the snow.

Falling snow is so peaceful and quiet

and soothing that we had to lie down and have a little snuggle

right there with it falling on our faces.

I'm grateful to Mark, who took these photos.

They are some of the most precious ones because

they're with one of my precious sweet small family members!

There was more food.

and some crazy wrestling with Uncle Greggie.

I tried to calm things down before someone got injured

by making sandwiches.

Bread, mustard, mayo, tomatoes, lettuce,

cheese, meat, pickles . . . and more bread on top!

Then SQUISH!!!

Ha!  I even got a double-girl sandwich!

I got made INTO a sandwich, too!

With all the fixings.

The next day the snow was glittering in the sunlight.

I walked around the house to see all the interesting winter changes.

Here's our huge icicle!

And there are more hanging from the roof.

The snow drapes over the edge of the roof like a blanket.

The birdhouse is empty.

My Mom and I decided to go to Hobby Lobby for a reason I can't now recall.

The snow was falling off the trees, but it was still beautiful.

I wore this:

sweater: Time & Tru (WalMart)
jeans: INC International Concepts (Macy's)
socks & slippers: Target
camisole: JKY by Jockey (Target)

It says "happy".

Which I was!

The snow and dirt looked kind of like seaweed and salty ocean waves.

We found all sorts of silly things.

We were both very very sleepy and tired.

Look at this HUGE "feast mode" mug!

There were LOTS of nutcrackers!

After a little rest, I got to go see Cora & Esme's dance class! 

They are TINY and CUTE!

Lots of learning and FUN takes place in these classes.

My Dad stopped off at Fleet Farm,

where I haven't been for years and years, and I enjoyed myself.

Even the trash cans were shaped like little silos!

I'm waving, but I can't see my Dad in the video screen.

And then the next morning we were headed back to Arizona.

The moments fly by.

We made lots of precious memories

and had a wonderful time.

blouse: Xhileration (Target)
camisole: JKY by Jockey (Target)
jeans: INC International Concepts (Macy's)

The airline had set up Christmas trees in my favorite color: blue!

It was snowing a bit when we left.

But we made it home!