A White Thanksgiving

We arrived in Minnesota Tuesday afternoon, and the girls were thrilled to see snow falling that evening.  We woke up Wednesday morning to perfect "snowman snow"!  Although it was mostly gone by the time we left MN on Saturday night, we were glad to be up north for a White Thanksgiving.

 On Wednesday, we went to Melissa's to help prepare for the Thanksgiving meal, and the girls loved running around her backyard with Expo.  I also offered to shovel Melissa's super long driveway and then felt it for the rest of the trip.  My sore back was a small price to pay for the calories burned, though.

 BFFs

 While we were busy playing in the snow/baking/meal prepping on Wednesday, the guys visited Charlie's on Prior Lake and a local brewery.  Adam joined Todd and Steve after he got off work at noon.  Glad they got this time together.

 The whole fam on Thanksgiving.  Melissa and Adam did a great job hosting 15 people!  Of course we ended the night with "Christmas Vacation" ... a family tradition.

 On Friday we avoided the stores, but did head to an outdoor Christmas Market in a nearby town.  The girls were excited to see real live reindeer (even though Emma doesn't look the least bit excited here).

 We took a break to warm up and consume a beverage at Excelsior Brewing Co.  The girls enjoyed root beer from the tap and old school games.

 We also took a trolley ride with Santa!  Steve and I not-so-secretly were super excited to check some important holiday to-dos off the list that afternoon.  We ended with drinks and apps at a local pub, and then headed home for movies and another appetizer spread prepared by Grandma and the girls.

 On Saturday morning, my mom, sister, and I did a little Small Business Saturday shopping at a longtime favorite: The General Store.  While we were there, the girls went to the park with Dad and Grandpa.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day!

 We all met up for lunch at Lion's Tap.  A little delicious walk down memory lane for me...and why not cap off a week of overindulgence with more overindulgence?!

 Since our flight didn't leave until Saturday night, we had time that afternoon to just lounge around.  We watched some football, and the girls painted pillowcases and sewed purses in Grandma's craft room.  It's a little piece of heaven for them up there!

We had such an awesome visit, and it was hard to say goodbye, but I'm thankful to a special kick-off to our holiday season.  And especially thankful for my family.