Christmas in the Great White North.

It was 65 degrees when I boarded the flight from RDU to MSP, tired and a little frazzled from a rare 3.5 days at home by myself, with just enough time to unpack and repack and do allthelaundry and clean the house from top to bottom and attempt to polish off the Christmas shopping and the myriad to-do lists I never get to when there are small humans underfoot.

It was snowing when I landed, and late, and Seth was waiting outside the teeny tiny Grand Forks airport in his Mom's car, and we skidded over unplowed roads to the only bar open that late and had beer and cheese curds and caught up for a few, long overdue minutes. Crazy that we had had to come all the way to the frigging Arctic to do it, but Seth had had a crazy, tumultuous couple months and our schedules were just insane and we adore our kids but there just isn't much left after juggling daycare schedules and jobs and storyhour before bed. It was nice, tucked in at this ridiculous college bar with the snow coming down out the window, feeling way too old and tired for the late night crowd but still kind of giddy to know F+F were warm and safe and nobody needed either of us at the moment.

Of course, they woke us up at dawn, excited about the hotel breakfast and the heated pool. Which, admittedly, was really nice and warm and luxurious-feeling, as we splashed around and looked at the snow outside.

We finished our Christmas shopping at the only Target within driving distance, and decamped to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch Army win the Armed Forces Bowl.

And then it was off to balmy Calvin, 3 hours away and with far fewer "town" amenities.

Unless, as Ford does, you count whipped cream and homemade pancakes.

And, as always, we had a great time and Jayne & Tony pulled out all the stops. In addition to the menu, there was "sledding" North Dakota-style (behind the four-wheeler)

shoveling lessons,

lots of much-needed family time (check out Seth in short sleeves!),

second-cousin time (careening around on dangerous-looking vehicles),

and "Ford's" beloved puppy, Mickey.

Tony indulged my favorite ND Christmas tradition, driving to church on the four-wheeler on Christmas Eve,

and neither kid burned up a hymnal during the candlelight service, 

a minor Christmas miracle. Although both insisted on sporting their slightly irreverent Christmas hats.

Christmas itself was a little nutty, with a present frenzy (here, Ford is actually drinking the M&Ms out of his stocking)

followed by the long drive to the Fargo airport (on which, hilariously, most everyone slept but Finley outlasted us all),

an even more hilarious truck stop Christmas lunch buffet at which Ford consumed ungodly amounts of fried shrimp,

and a fond (and funny) goodbye at the airport.

Followed by the long, long trip home, which included beer and Barbies in Chicago,

a midnight Sheetz stop, and a not-so early morning second-Christmas melee.

It was a lovely Christmas, full of family and cookies and dog slobber and motorized vehicles and sleeping in and cold, crisp North Dakota temps. Tough to pick favorites from the picture trove, although Ford took the cake this week. This one of he and Grandpa Tony (up way past bedtime) is priceless

and this one, all bundled up before his gocart ride, cracks me up.

And then there's this rock star shot, of his gleeful celebration of being home in his own playroom, after Seth slept in too late to take F+F to daycare and gifted them one more stolen vacation day.

It's back to the grind for us all tomorrow, but here's hoping everyone had Christmases full of love and laughter.

Another Cousin Trip to Sin City

My flight was delayed, my bags were the last one off the plane, the shuttle was nowhere to be found, and I hit traffic on 540, which never happens. By the time I made it home I had about four seconds to throw my bags inside, grab a uniform, and make it to my early morning Tuesday meeting.

Naturally, Seth had chosen this as the first time since we moved in to lock this house with a key, and I didn't have one. He was in North Dakota with the kids. The pinpad wouldn't override the deadbolt, and every window I tried was locked, including the ones on the second floor. 

Vacation was definitely over.

I eventually abandoned ship, went to work looking and smelling exactly like I had just taken the redeye from Vegas, and called our realtor to beg her to unlock the door while I was gone. I got a text from Missy that said she too had arrived home to disaster: the necessity of shoveling her car out of snowbanks coupled with having dropped her keys in one. So I guess it could've been worse.

Luckily, a couple days with the Walters fam- even in my least favorite place- had been exactly what the doctor ordered. 

"Walters Christmas" commenced immediately upon our arrival

and the holiday spirit stuck around for the next 4.5 days. (This is how Ford ["Christmas boy"] took his naps.)

F+F love traveling in general (even though a suddenly-sick Ford threw up all over me minutes after this photo was taken, before we even took off),

but trips to see their "puzzins" (cousins) are their absolute favorite. Bonus if it's somewhere you can swim in December

and you get story time with Ana & Ata

and Missy time.

This hilarious get-together also involved these bizarre masks, for some reason

Hawaiian dresses,

and more makeovers than I could count. (Ford was a real sport about this one after Natalie told him she was making him look "like a football player!")

No Vegas trip is complete for the Walters family without a hike at Red Rock, and "puzzin" rock scrambling did not disappoint.

 (Ford came for the snacks.)

We also bit the bullet and took the kids to the Strip to see the Christmas decorations, and it was a total blast. Vegas is surprisingly kid-friendly if you go early enough, and I always forget how groovy the dancing fountains are at the Bellagio,

not to mention their stunning Conservatory Christmas display.

The kids loved trekking down Las Vegas Blvd. and staring at the lights and the sights and the...

sigh. M&M store. (Lisa hacked Vegas and brought Wal Mart M&Ms for a treat afterwards, and Missy and I enjoyed a real "proud sister-in-law" moment over this bit of ingenuity.)

And Finley's dream came true when she and Tyler got to become real, live Vegas performers at the New York New York Christmas show. 

Seth joined the fun in time for this super relaxing wake-up

and the marquee event, Ben's graduation from Weapons School.

We couldn't have been more proud, my "Twitch" in the above photo notwithstanding,

made even more so when we found out he was the honor grad!

The rest of our early Christmas weekend was a blur of  PJ time and hide and seek,

hikes with Mom,

"we miss you!!!" calls to Peru,

and lots and lots of park time in warm, sunny West Coast weather.

And before we hit the airport, we made the eleventh-hour discovery of one more tree, and the world's largest observation wheel (our new favorite thing in Vegas.) (It had a BAR.)

There are always lots of great photos from cousin get-togethers, but this may be my favorite, an adorable reminder to stop & smell the roses (or at least a family member's armpit) before boarding flights and barreling toward the holiday weekend!