Christmas Travels Part 1

We arrived at my parents' house on 12/21 in the afternoon.  Barely any snow, and mild temps, it was a stark contrast to years' past!  We jumped right in to the business of seeing everyone.


Thursday 12/22


We met my good friends Kelly and Jennifer, plus Jen's family, for lunch at Red Robin and a trip to the local Sioux City Public Museum.  Lunch was delicious, as always, and the museum was fabulous.  Just this year they moved it from the creaky old mansion it had been housed in to a new, modern, open space in the middle of downtown.  Everything is so nice and easily accessible.  We loved exploring our region's history with so much room to walk around!  It was hard to get the 5 kids all in one place for a group photo, and I never was able to accomplish that.

Katie, Abby, Natalie, and Kelly

Natalie, with some of the only snow we found

Katie, Natalie, Charlie, and Lincoln

I remember when my brother came face-to-face with This Guy at the old museum!

Charlie, Katie, Lincoln, and Abby

So much fun, and as always, soooo goood to see everyone!!!


Friday 12/23


We had some flurries overnight, but it was warming up in the morning.  I went for a run, then afterward, my mom and I walked the girls down to the park to play for a bit.  Not much snow to speak of, but they did get a handful...

Snow!

My brother Travis and his family came over in the afternoon.  We opened gifts, and had fun playing with the new things we received.

The aftermath

Natalie with her little horse farm

Dad and I cooked up a 12-lb pork loin for supper, and Trav and I helped him with all the sides.  It was a lot of fun working in the kitchen with everyone like that, especially with Mom and Dad's butt-kickin' new oven.  The food was delicious!!! 

Natalie, Katie, Ian, and Bryce

After more playing, Trav's kids all got their pajamas on for the drive home.  We had to have one good group picture before they left. 

Bryce, Layla, Ian, Katie, and Natalie

Saturday 12/24


Since the weather was nice, we wanted to get the girls out and walking around.  After lunch, we went to Trinity Heights, which is a beautiful area that formerly housed a Catholic college, then a high school.  Now it is a lovely landscaped garden filled with various statues to view.  Free of charge, it was a nice place to go and stretch our legs for a while.

Nice weather for a walk

Katie reads the Ten Commandments

Us with Mary

Later in the day, we went to Christmas Eve service with my parents at their church.  It was nice to catch up with some familiar faces and introduce the girls to some new (to them) friends.  We really enjoyed the service.  Afterward, we had our traditional trip to a family friends' house for soup, sandwiches, and desserts.  The girls and I played air hockey, and Natalie found a new friend in Gracie, a Great Pyrenees.

Before I beat them handily

Natalie and Gracie

So, the first half of the trip went really well!  Stay tuned for details from Christmas Day through the end of our vacation!