Christmas 2011

Our Christmas tree was up, so the next order of business was to send Santa a letter. A couple things were very high on my list, a tablet and a "Deep Sea Rig".

On Christmas Eve we went to Grandma Karen's in Belleville.
Grandma Karen giving me a big hug.
Opening some Christmas Eve presents.

Christmas Eve gets a thumbs up.  This robotic hand could come in very handy! Get it? Handy? hahaha
Looking to see if there are any presents left to be opened.
Jackpot!
This year I decided to leave a little present for Santa.
All set for Santa. Don't worry, I didn't forget to leave Santa's favorites, cookies, milk and carrots (for the reindeer).
I got up early the next morning to discover presents under the tree. Santa came!!
Showing Grandma my new tablet.

Christmas in Minneapolis

Every year we go up to Minneapolis a week before Christmas to visit my mom's side of the family. When I was just a toddler, we began the tradition of attending the Holidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis and then going to Macy's the next morning to see "A Day in a Life of an Elf".
Parades in December are usually pretty cold. Hot chocolate is a must.
"A Day in the Life of an Elf" is on the 8th floor of the historic Macy's store in Minneapolis.
This sure looks a lot like dad after I ask 10,000 questions in just 10 minutes.
More tradition! Eating the giant cupcakes in the basement cafeteria of Macy's.
Later that morning we took the convenient (Governor Scott Walker would definitely disagree) light rail from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America.
I love Angry Birds!
I think I might be experiencing a sugar coma on the train. Later today we will be at Aunt Muriel's for her Christmas party.

Decorating Grandma's Christmas Tree

This year Grandma needed help decorating her Christmas tree.


I knew Grandma would love a Christmas ornament with my picture on it.

As the picture label says, a "star" for the Christmas tree. It isn't exactly a "star", but it has great meaning to me. A very appropriate decoration for Christmas I might say. First, it is a container of one of my favorite foods. Second, I'm recycling something that would have ended up in a landfill. Lastly, it shows how you can still celebrate Christmas without fancy things.