We flew out to Minnesota on Sunday Dec 20. We had a layover in Chicago which was extended due to the big storm which had hit the east coast the days before as the plane we were waiting for was stuck in DC. There was lots of snow on the ground and the kids loved seeing the snow through the airport windows. As they usually do, Alex and Ellie made lots of friends in the airport. They love to go up to people and say "What are you doing?". They then usually make themselves at home. Ellie has become quite the little chatterbox and talks non-stop. Papa Denny and Grandma Gwen were there to pick us up from the airport. The only hitch was one of our suitcases did not show up. It was the one with all the Christmas presents and Emma's warm shoes and clothes.
There was quite a bit of snow on the ground in Minneapolis and first thing Monday morning Alex and Ellie were all excited to go out and play with their cousins in the snow. After just a few minutes it was too cold for Alex and he wanted to go in. Ellie kept following the big kids out to the hill to watch them sled. Soon though she had lost both of her rain boots ( we don't have a large winter wardrobe) and fallen into a big pile of snow and then lost a glove. That was enough cold for her and they spent most of the rest of the visit indoors. After the rest of the kids had gone off to school we were off for some last minute Christmas shopping and haircuts for the kids which they really enjoy. Emma spent the day walking around in sandals as her boots were in the missing suitcase. The street the Hodgins live on looked very festive every night. Every house had lights all over and on all the trees. It looked very Chirstmassy and the kids loved seeing all the lights and really made it feel like Christmas.
Late that night Eric went to the airport to pick up OJ and Songul. Sometime while he was out from 0000 until 0100, the missing suitcase was delivered and waiting on the front porch. Emma now had some warm shoes and clothes and everyone else would get their special presents we had brought from the Caymans!
The weather forecast was for lots of snow coming just in time for Christmas so we were all excited. Tuesday we went to the Mall of America and Alex had lots of fun going on the rides with me. Ellie decided that while they looked like lots of fun she didn't want to go on them. She didn't really want Alex and I to go on them without her either. Wednesday morning we all went downtown to see the amazing Christmas display in Macy's. The kids loved the Santa's Workshop display. Alex has spent all Christmas season walking around going "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas". Ellie follows him around going "I'm a reindeer, I'm a reindeer." She has been eager to see some reindeer and we were hoping they might have some at the display. When we finally got to Santa's house the reindeer were out of site behind the big barn door. You could hear them and see the doors moving as if they were trying to bust out. This was not going to cut it for Ellie so she went over to the lady playing Mrs Claus and bluntly asked where the reindeer were? She didn't really like the answer that they were being kept behind the doors. She kept going back to Mrs Claus to keep trying to get to see the reindeer to no avail. After Macy's we wandered around downtown checking out all the lights, decorations and fountains. The kids had a blast wandering through all the walkways and seeing all the sights.
The snow started later that afternoon but did not keep me, OJ, Songul and Brad from heading back downtown to the Xcel Energy center to see the Minnesota Wild play the Edmonton Oilers. Brad got tickets from work and we had a fantastic time. Our seats were in the club level. Excellent food, lots of room and a relaxing atmosphere, and a good game which the Wild won 3-1. It was Songul's first hockey game and she had lots of fun. The snow was getting heavy as we left and it took a while to get home.
It kept snowing on Christmas Eve and most of the kids played outside and made a snowman. Alex and Ellie were content inside and watched the snowman from the window in the study. We had lots of great dinners all week and the kids had a blast playing in the basement with their older cousins. Christmas morning was a treat with seven kids going crazy over a huge pile of presents. Alex had lots of cars, trucks and planes and Ellie had lots of dolls, a tea set, crayons and bizarrely, a pair of scissors. The reindeer food Alex and Ellie had made in school and been carried across the hemisphere had been polished off and the cookies and milk for Santa had also been devoured. It kept snowing and the kids played like crazy all day. Emma got a Wii and a Wii Fit so we all know how we will be spending our year. The Hodgins already had a Wii and we spent lots of time trying it out. They also got a Wii Fit for Christmas so we got to try it out. Alex loved the ski jumping game and is all excited we now have one at home too!
We enjoyed our last few days relaxing and spending time with everyone. On our last evening, Alex and Ellie finally decided to venture outside again to go skating with their cousins over at their school. They aren't quite ready to skate but had loads of fun walking on the makeshift ice rink on the frozen baseball field. Alex also went exploring across the deep snow and had a hard time keeping his boots on. (They were borrowed so a little large.) They had lots of fun even though it was bitterly cold for us beach Blocks. They had lots of fun and keep talking about the snow. We had to be at the airport by about 0500 on New Years Eve. We figured it wouldn't be too crowded that early but were in for a shock when we saw the lines! Security was not too much of a hassle and all our flights went smoothly. We had a couple hour layover in Tampa this time and the kids told everyone they could find that they had been in the snow and were now going home to see Lala. (That is what they call Latha and of course strangers were very puzzled by what these two little munchkins were talking about.) We had a reminder of how small our island is when the Religious Education (RE) teacher whose classroom is right next to mine and her husband sat down next to Emma on the plane. One of the boys from my tutor group and maths class came down the aisle a few minutes later with his family. The kids were very good on the flight and were very happy to be home to show Lala all their presents from Santa. We had been up since before 0400 so we didn't make it to see in the New Year. On Jan 2 as I was driving by the airport, I noticed a huge fleet of private jets parked at the airport. I have never seen so many at one time here. Must be a lot of high flyers come in for New Years.
The tree was just taken down and the decorations all put away. Monday, Jan 4, I go back to work and the kids go back to school. We have had a wonderful Christmas and love being able to spend more time with the Blocks and Hodgins in the US after being on the other side of the world for a while. We hope everyone else enjoyed their holidays and the start to 2010. Our weather is perfect and while we enjoyed our white Christmas, the beach Blocks are glad to be back by the Beach.
