Man! Christmas is always a rippin’ good time and this year was no exception. It is perhaps one of the best times of the year in my mind if you do it right. A little bit of celebration, a little bit of humility and thankfulness for what you have, and plenty of food and drink!

While we couldn’t make it back to Minnesota this year, we still managed to carve out some quiet(ish) family time. At Meredith’s recommendation and Phil’s resistance, we decided to give the kids their first taste of ice skating. I’ll be the first to admit that my better half had it right; the kids loved it and I felt like a Minnesotan again.

Christmas Eve was filled with what has become a bit of a tradition: cooking home made lobster bisque, having fondue (and a great bottle of wine), then tearing through too much wrapping paper. We started the pre-cooking festivities with the usual lobster race. The only winners of the race were the humans. All fingers survived but not all of the pencils did nor did any of the lobsters.

After dinner we got the whole family together as best we could. There were a surprisingly large number of Storm Troopers in attendance… I always rooted for the Rebels growing up so it was somewhat unnerving. After we wished everyone a Merry Christmas it was off to the pile of presents. The skies even dropped a dusting of snow for the holidays. The kids were thrilled at the opportunity to shovel but strangely spent more time on the neighbor’s driveway then our own.

Regardless, it was a great Christmas and we were happy to spend it all together. Here we come 2018!