Christmas Vacation Part III

Want to see how Hannah and I prepare for the holidays? This is us, resting up before Part 3 of Christmas vacation ...


Thoroughly rested, we journeyed north with Matt on Wednesday, beating the snowstorm. When the snow came, the first wave gave us 6 to 8 inches, and I was so excited to get out and shovel on Christmas Eve. The snow didn't dampen our holiday spirit, and Matt and I met my parents at church for a beautiful candlelight service before coming back to Adam's house for our traditional fondue dinner.

Mom had to coach Adam since this is his first time hosting ...


Is this what happens when Dad tries coaching? I just love this look on Adam's face!


Here's the gang: Matt, Adam, his buddy Steve, my mom, dad, and uncle Roger.


Christmas morning dawned snowy and gorgeous.


Playtime in the snow!!! Why the heck didn't we go out and make snow angels? I was far too busy with my ... ahem ... holiday preparations.

Okay, well ...

I was really sitting inside, being cozy on the couch with Hannah.



The delays started almost immediately ... "opening presents in the morning" became "opening presents around noon" because it took a few hours for everyone to shovel out and the plows to come through.

The wait was worth it. Opening presents is so fun ... we get to see what ideas everyone had for other people. As always, the dogs get to go first:

Please? Can I open my stocking now?

Okay, Hannah ... let's see what's inside here...

It's a candy cane especially for the puppies!

Adam may have stolen Molly's present:

Ruh Roh!! Scooby Doo Thief! But Scooby Doo is so lovable. I can totally understand.

This was one of my favorite gifts to give:


My Mom is holding the envelopes we placed inside the wrapping paper, labeled "Option 1" and "Option 2." They got to choose which they wanted, and they chose Option 2 ... which means they will go on vacation with Matt and I next summer to Colorado! We are considering staying at these cabins.

I gave Pioneer Woman cookbooks to a bunch of people. I needed to spread the PW love! Adam gave me my own Pioneer Woman themed present, when he gave me a cast iron frying pan to try out some more of her recipes:


Unfortunately, I got myself into some trouble on Christmas morning.

Want to see how?

Yep, this is my gift to Matt ... something he has long talked about, a Wii! But we "weren't supposed" to get each other gifts this year, so I was in big trouble for spending $200. Gulp.

After opening gifts, the dogs were plum tired and needed a lot of sleep:


We ended up having "breakfast" in the afternoon because of those snow delays, and "dinner" at Grandma's was postponed until the next day to give everyone a chance to shovel, snowblow, plow, and brave the icy roads. And when we all gathered at Grandma's, the whole family was able to be there. Here are a couple snapshots from our afternoon:

My parents, just being awfully cute together.

And this is baby Cruz, with cousins Rachel, Anna, and Alyssa. I told Matt - it's like Cruz is a little rock star with all his groupies!

More photos of family, gift openings, pups, and snow can be found on Matt's Holiday 2009 album.

Christmas Vacation Part II

Dad took me to the dog park!

Hannah and I awoke early Monday morning ... 4:00! We were just so excited to get to the Cities and see Matt that we couldn't sleep. We drove to the Cities for Part II of the Christmas vacation, and spent a leisurely morning with Matt, who also has the week off. Monday afternoon, Matt and I went to the Galleria for lunch at Big Bowl ... the scene of our first date, or -- as I explained it when we drove in -- "the scene of the crime." I was in the mood for Christmas shopping, and Matt was willing to oblige. After a delicious lunch, we wandered through Pottery Barn. It dawned on me that every time we are at the Galleria I want to shop at Pottery Barn, but I've never actually purchased anything there. Hmmm.

We also went to the Arboretum store, Crate and Barrel (peppermint bark!), and Barnes and Noble, stopping afterwards at Caribou for some much-needed mocha-ness. I had originally voted for Starbucks, but Matt's vote of Caribou won out because of their switch to real chocolate in their mochas ... I had no idea! You can choose white, milk, or dark chocolate, and they put real bits of chocolate in the mocha rather than a powder or syrup. Delish.

Tuesday was the day for visiting. I drove downtown to meet my girl, Erika, for lunch. I hadn't seen her in forever, so it was great to connect. While I was downtown, Matt and Hannah went and played at the dog park ... I'm jealous!

Tuesday night, we went to see the new house of our friends Jamie and Becky. Becky had cooked a delicious dinner, and we got to play Scene It afterwards. Their new living room is so cozy ... the fireplace was going, the tree sparkled, and Rebel the lab sat in the couch. A scene made for L.L. Bean ;).

Thanks to our friends for the great company during my stay in the Cities. Today we are cleaning the house thoroughly (showing on Saturday!) before heading north ... for Part III of Christmas vacation ...

Christmas Vacation Part I

I left work on Friday afternoon, not to return for a week and a half.

The first part of this treasured Christmas break was spent up north. On Saturday I visited with cousin Brooke and baby Cruz, followed by the swim meet in Superior of my godson Ben.


Isn't he cute? And a pretty good swimmer for a 6-year-old, too! This was his second swim meet, and it was fun to watch him interact with friends and teammates. He had a surprising awareness of what event was going on and when he would be swimming next. And he came up into the bleachers in between races to visit with us. I know I felt pretty darn proud; I can only imagine what his mom must feel like.

After the swim meet I got myself some Starbucks, shopped at Catherine Imports, and still made it home in time to take Hannah for a long walk in the winter sunshine. It was a perfect day.

Saturday night, I had my choice of social options ... dinner at Adam's house with his friends, or dinner with family at my Grandma's house. My choice? Do both! Everything was a whirlwind but I got to see a lot of people ... and still managed to get some laundry done in the meantime.

On Sunday I had coffee at my parents', and then Adam and I went to Duluth to bowl with my team ... it was the league potluck, so we got lots of good food, too. I came home Sunday night tired, but looking forward to Part II of Christmas vacation ...

Secret Girls Christmas Party

A few girls on the 4th floor held a "secret" girls gift exchange last week -- no boys allowed!

We had drawn names the week before. Although we hadn't discussed most of the details, the lunch hour party came together wonderfully--women are so good at this sort of thing! About ten minutes prior, a few of us started gathering everything from plates to linens, and before we knew it, we had a holiday party complete with food, decorations, a Christmas tree, music, and gifts.

The center of the table with decorations and cookies.

Jenn, Heidi, Joan, Pakou, Cherie, Terri, Cindy, and Jen

Heidi and I had drawn each other's names! I gave her a
gift box of "Italian Kitchen" seeds.

Heidi must listen to me well ... she knew I loved birds,
so my gift had a cardinal theme!

My new cardinal ornament, napkins (which I already used
for a holiday party!) and the cutest salt and pepper shakers ever!!

There was something so perfect about this party for me. The amazing company of brilliant, beautiful women with stimulating conversation, the party we just threw together, the gifts everyone so carefully thought out ... this is definitely among my favorite work get-togethers of all time.

Fun Hannah Videos

Since I got a phone with video capabilities this fall, I've taken a couple videos of Hannah. This first one shows her "talking" to Matt on a Friday night after he drove up north. She misses him and has lots to say!



The second one is Hannah one evening that we opened the "toy box" (a special event for the pups at Adam's house) and she gets to explore all the toys, taking them out one by one:

Christmas Preparations

Adam and Molly went to the hunting shack and cut down a beautiful balsam ... that looks the way real balsams look when they grow in the woods. Adam is hosting Christmas this year, so it's his first Christmas tree! Thankfully his big sister was here to help put lights on the tree.


Not that my handiwork was perfect, either ... difficult to try to hide the cords on this tree!

A few nights later I was wrapping gifts. And Hannah walked right up to me, laid down, and rested her head right on top of the gift I was wrapping for Tracey.


Sometimes the dogs make things so difficult!

Today is the last day for Christmas preparations in Cloquet. I have to make sure all my presents are wrapped and everything is ready to go, as I am heading to the Cities tomorrow for a few days to see my husband. Matt and I will travel back north for Christmas Eve/morning at Adam's and Christmas dinner at Grandma's.

Bentleyville

My mom's birthday is December 11, and since we're pretty sensitive about not confusing her birthday with the OTHER holiday of the month, we normally avoid Christmas events on that day (word of advice -- don't ever try to wrap her birthday gifts in that Santa Claus wrapping paper either. Yes, it's worth it to spend your time digging up wrapping paper with balloons or flowers, anything at least as it's not red and green. Or you can do what I did this year: hand over the gift in a gorgeous Shopko plastic bag).

But this year was different. Mom has expressed a specific desire to see Bentleyville. At first, none of us was really interested in going, but we rallied and decided to surprise her with a Bentleyville trip on her birthday.

All she knew was that she wasn't to make any plans on her birthday. She and my dad left their house, picked up Adam, then picked me up at City Hall. And we drove down to Bentleyville on one of the coldest evenings of December, with her whining the whole way: Whatever you guys have planned, it better not be outside! Tough, mom. Suck it up. No whining. Or we'll stop this car and you can get out right here.

The entrance was illuminated with the words "Dashing through the snow ..."


And just inside, we could see the Bentleyville castle that was the entrance of Bentleyville when it was in Cloquet. We missed being able to walk through it, though.


There were amazing scenes ... fish jumping out of a creek, complete with cattails.


A field displaying the 12 Days of Christmas - including this one, which reminded me of my Grandpa:

(At Tondryk family Christmases, we would sing the 12 Days of Christmas, which each of us taking a different part. Grandpa always did "five golden rings," and sang with such a silly voice it brought waves of hilarious laughter through the room. I don't think any of us to this day really knows what happened on the fourth day; we were all laughing too hard to hear it.)

There were tunnels to walk through.


This scene was one of my favorites -- Enger tower, surrounded by deer.


"Frosty's Fairways" was Santa's golf course (you can see that an elf serves as caddy).


And the other favorite scene, for me, was this replica of the lift bridge with an ore ship going through:


The name of the ship? The S.S. Bentleyville.


We had so much fun looking at the displays, and loved all the little amenities of Bentleyville ... steaming cups of hot chocolate when you walked in the door, reindeer characters acting as greeters, incredibly friendly, over-the-top volunteers, popcorn and cookies and even marshmallows to roast over an open fire.


The fires were roaring hot, providing wonderful heat on this cold winter night. Here's dad, Mom, and Adam around the fire (not the greatest picture, but my little iphone camera can only do so much).

And when we left, the exit bridge wished, "... and to all a good night."

November catching up

November just flew right by, and I realize there are a couple things I didn't get to blog about:

Deer Season
Deer season was one of those times that brought home how happy I am to live in the Northland again. While I don't deer hunt, it's part of the culture I grew up in, and on the Friday night before Opener, I remember driving north on Hwy 33, seeing the long line of pick-up trucks with four wheelers, thinking to myself, "I've come home. This is where I belong."

The second weekend of deer season, Mom and I drove up to Floodwood for the old Reed family tradition of meeting the guys at Bridgemans. Here is Mom, Mason, Dad, and Roger:


And, for the first time this year, when my dad shot a deer I got to help with some of the deer processing. This is something the rest of the family has been doing for several years, and I've always felt a little left out. We set up the butcher shop in Adam's garage, and then moved the production into the house for the last step of meat grinding:


Thanksgiving
Matt came North, and we spent Thanksgiving with family. We visited with the Tondryk family at Grandma's, took the pups to say hi to Roger, then had a delicious turkey dinner at my parents. I have a few photos from Thanksgiving here.

Ten Things I'm Thankful For

In the spirit of the day, I wanted to share ten things off the top of my head that I feel grateful for:

• Having my husband travel to celebrate Thanksgiving with me
• Sharing a candlelit meal with my closest family
• A wonderful brother who is nice enough to let us live with him
• Two pies baked by yours truly – both of which turned out great
• Nice conversations with cousins Sarah and Rachel
• A big extended family that provides a festive Thanksgiving atmosphere
• A healthy, happy puppy who gives her mom love every day
• Getting to see two cute pups every day
• The lovely weather we’ve had this month of November
• A fulfilling, challenging job in a great little city

I took pics of our holiday, and will post them soon!

Pioneer Woman at the MOA

I had been planning this all year.

Or at least the last few months, ever since I found out that my idol was coming to the Mall of America.


See that stage? She'll be RIGHT THERE in front of my own eyes! Ree Drummond -- Pioneer Woman -- would be there that very afternoon!

Ree has just published her cookbook (one of her many talents) and is on her Griswold-style book tour around the country. My cherished pre-ordered copy was safely in its bag (MOA "rules" stated you had to have your cookbook in hand before being given one of the wristbands that would allow you to enter the line). And yes, I included the Amazon link in case you'd like to order one of your own. Actually, you SHOULD order one of your own because I can promise you that you'll get hooked on PW too.

Anyway, back to Saturday morning.

When I first took my place in line, the line behind me looked like this:


A few hours later, there was no hope of escaping:


(and yes, like people warned me, the MOA cops occasionally embarked on power trips that took the form of them yelling at people to get up off the floor, or move that line six inches further to the left. Hey, I guess they have to do something to at least pretend they're real cops.)

See how there are a few people sitting on the floor, but lots of people standing?


After an hour just about everyone was sitting.


It was like one big girlfriend slumber party right in front of Nordstrom's. Mall cops aside, the women were friendly, cool, fascinating, and awesome at watching your bag and your spot in line if you wanted to sneak out for a minute! A girl can't ask for anything more. But ask I did. My loving husband was all over MOA, getting coffee, then lunch, taking pictures for me ... while I sat with my new friends and bonded over our shared Pioneer Woman love.

Like any party with your girlfriends, there was conversation about shoes. We all drooled over these fabulous boots:


I'm almost ashamed to even show this, because mine look so drabby in comparison!


The crowd kept gathering. If you look real close, you can see me waving at the camera.


When Pioneer Woman came on stage, she looked every bit as cute as all the pictures on her blog.


And no matter what she tells you -- or how much butter is in the Burgundy Mushrooms -- she is thin and gorgeous!

There were tv cameras and hundreds of flashes from all her fans as she answered a few questions and got down to the business of book signing.


She was so gracious and friendly. Every person that went on stage got her full attention, and got to sit in a chair next to her and chat while she signed their books. It didn't seem to matter that there were another 300 people in line; Ree made everyone feel special!

After a few minutes there were ooohs and ahhs as she was joined on stage by Marlboro Man and their boys.

I don't know if this makes him dutiful or well-trained or just plain nice, but Marlboro Man instantly grabbed her camera and started taking pictures of the crowd.


And we all took pictures of him. And the boys. I'm sorry, aren't those boys just so darn cute?? One thing's for sure ... they were smaller than I expected! When you read about them as cowboys and ranch hands, you start to think they are older and bigger. Seeing them in person made me even more impressed with what they do on the ranch.

When I have boys, they may have some big boots to fill ;).

But PW's boys are still boys ... and within just a few minutes they were goofing around on the stage, with one poking his finger in the other's mouth.


Great entertainment for all of us still waiting in line.

Finally, it was my turn. Oh gosh, what do you say to someone you think is just so cool? I don't even really remember ... but at least I have photographic evidence.


And if you need further proof, look inside my cookbook:


To make the day even more wonderful, PW gave each of us the cutest t-shirts.



On the drive back to northern Minnesota, I found myself reflecting on the lessons that have been gleaned from my brief acquaintance with Ree:

Always be yourself. Ree's web site is uniquely her own, and she has managed to put together a web site that incorporates seemingly disparate areas -- homeschooling, cooking, photography. She created a blog and web site simply to reflect who she is, and I find that very inspiring.

Be positive. There is wonder in the world around you, in your kids and dogs and everyday work.

Laugh ... especially at yourself. Part of what makes us all feel that Ree is just like the rest of us is that she isn't afraid to admit silly mistakes or embarrassing moments ... and poke fun at herself!

Put yourself "out there" for the world to see. Ree shares with all of us the stories of her life, and if she hadn't started her blog a few years ago she never would've gotten to where she is today ... with a published book and a tour around the country! You never know what can happen if you put yourself out there for the universe of opportunities.