Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at home together.  I made a Mexican egg bake for breakfast and we painted as a family before lunch.

I grabbed some smaller paint brushes so we can get a little more detailed )and not waste as much paint). We did handprints and she thought that was a hoot!

We headed outside in the afternoon.  While it was a chilly 5 degrees, there was no wind, so it was actually pretty comfortable all bundled up.

While there is still a bit of snow and ice on the driveway, it makes for a fun little spot to pull sleds on.  Parker kept asking "again, again?"

We lit our final advent candle and read Christmas stories before tucking the kids in to bed.

Homemade cinnamon sugar popcorn and present wrapping to close out the night.  I think I've shared this before, but it felt stranger this year given the circumstances.  We don't really get the kids much, if anything, for birthdays and Christmas.  They get so many gifts from others and don't really need much.  We probably buy them more than we should outside of holidays as well.  Both of the large gifts were free items I snagged from Facebook groups, but know they will be loved.  These will get opened in the morning and my parents plan to drop off their gifts at some point.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Just a week ago, it looked like we were going to have a brown Christmas.  What was expected to be a light snow intensified over the weekend and we got (quite literally) a blizzard.  We planned to get take-out for dinner last night, but moved it to lunch with the projected storm.

We discussed getting Pizza Hut, but opted for Wahlburgers since it was closer and the rain was already starting to fall.  We got some coupons a few weeks back and took advantage of the BOGO deal.  Jimmy got the O.F.D. with fries and I got the Super Melt with onion strings.  Mine was huge and ended up being my dinner as well.

A cold front was moving in after the snow, so we got out to play in case we weren't able to later in the week.  Visibility was close to zero at this point and the roads were terrible.  I was very glad we didn't have anywhere to go.  Parker was asking for his snow pants even before it started snowing and was so excited to get outside.

I continued our tree sign tradition with a new one for Christmas and the New Year.  I will probably just keep these around and put them up every year.  It's been a fun think to do.  I will probably need to get some more hardboard so I don't have to paint over them.  This one was painted over Esme's birthday sign, which won't be needed again.

Playing outside has been a great activity to keep Esme busy.  All the toys in the world don't keep her as entertained as the snow.

We continued the seasonal activities by making gingerbread cookies.  Esme brought home a holiday cookie recipe book from school, so we are going to try to make all the recipes in there.  She has become quite the little kitchen helper and loves to grab her step stool to assist.

Esme didn't end up liking the taste, but we had fun decorating.

My blizzard covered Minnesotas were my favorite.  I just picked up this cookie cutter last week and was excited to use it.

It was such a fun-filled day that Esme fell asleep on the floor.  I moved her to her bed later and she did the cutest little gestures of approval in her sleep.

Reports say we got about 8-9" of snow, but it's tough to tell when it's blowing all over.  Regardless, it was enough to cover everything in a clean white blanket.

Journey to 100 Parks #23 - Triangle Park - Robbinsdale, MN

One final park visit of 2020.  The snow and cold came in quickly today and it's hardly to fully explore a snow covered park.  It was a mild 42 this morning and we got nearly an hour of play in before it started misting.  The park is just over the tracks from downtown Robbinsdale.

Key Features

The one was chock-full of spinning things for Parker!

One of it's most unique features was a sort of fitness challenge course.  It took us a bit, but we figured out you have to rock back and forth on the black board to start the timer.  There looked to be 4 different games, but I didn't spend enough time figuring them out.

There were some really great photo ops with the water tower in the background.

This was the most unique "wheel" I have seen.  Parker hopped between all the spinning things for most of our visit.

A four way water lily spring rider

It only seemed right to make a quick stop at Woullet Bakery for a donut before heading home.

The abundance of spinning features launches this park in to 8 swing territory.  I would love to come back here in the summer!