A Minnesotan Christmas

Our Christmas Vacation began very early in the morning at the Washington Dulles airport. Where we waited.



And waited.



And took pictures of our shoes.



(Which then made me instantly regret only bringing mesh tennis shoes and not some cute boots or something. Which then made me realize that I don't own cute boots. Which then made me want to buy some. Which then made me realize it was 6:45 AM and I was at the airport and dreadfully incapable of purchasing cute boots at that moment.)

After more waiting and thinking at the airport, we finally arrived and were greeted by this:



And this:



And maybe a little of this:



And strangely enough, none of the fine citizens of the State of Minnesota seemed to mind the torrential snow pouring out of the sky. I saw this guy walking by later that day:



Notice that he has no hat, no gloves, and doesn't seem the least bit concerned. Those Minnesotans are fierce.

Once we got settled in, we drove over to see Jenny, Josh, and Jay. Jay has gotten taller and cuter since we last saw him.



I think Steven enjoyed playing with Jay, and maybe, just maybe, we might be one step closer to convincing him that we might be able to handle a kid of our own. :) Maybe.



Cuteness abounded. Jay likes to throw a tennis ball across the room, and then proclaim that "I faaaaast!"



Back at the Steele house, there was much coffee drinking.



There was much teasing about making the wireless internet work... ("Are you sure you know the password, Dad?" "YES, I have a photographic memory!")



We couldn't visit MN without indulging in a French Silk Pie.



We relaxed and watched a few episodes of Boston Legal. The theme song jingle is really memorable. (Having said that, I can't remember how it goes now... rats.)



The Twins Bulb was hung by the chimney with care...



...in hopes that the Twins would refrain from trading Santana for just one more year.

Pizzas were made,



cakes were baked,







cookies were mixed, sandwiched, and devoured.



We had a lucky break on the way back -- we got bumped to first class and enjoyed a delightful Reuben sandwich as our in-flight meal. I officially love first class -- It's so luxurious!

We got back to Virginia and it was 45 degrees (ooh, warm!) and raining. I miss the snow but I was very glad to see sunshine and grass again. I'd almost forgotten what green looked like.



All in all, it was a fabulous trip, and I'm so glad we went. Merry Christmas to you all.


Love,
Us.