On the first day of Christmas, David and I flew from London to Minneapolis/St. Paul to be with my family for the holidays. Both of my parents grew up in Minnesota so almost all of my family lives there. This year, my parents and both my sisters (and Emily’s boyfriend, Kendal) were able to make the trip back home, as well as most of my cousins.
A couple of years ago after we flew in, my family started the tradition of eating at Mickey’s Diner near the airport for dinner following our flights. This year was no different, and because it’s impossible to find good, greasy diner food outside America, we thought Mickey’s tasted better than ever!
There's nothing like a bowl of steaming chili
and a grilled cheese/bacon sandwich to warm you up!
On the second day of Christmas, my mom’s sisters and most of her nieces and nephews met up with my family at Macy’s for our biannual walk through the winter wonderland. Every year, the downtown department store brings a children’s story to life through gorgeous displays. We’ve been going to this since we were babies and have seen past exhibits like the Nutcracker, Harry Potter, and Cinderella. And the best part is, at the end you get to meet Santa!
This year, Macy’s featured A Day in the Life of an Elf.
All the animals helping the elves decorate for Christmas
And at the end, David got to sit on Santa’s lap for the first time since he was 3 years old... and he didn't cry this time!
Ty, Elizabeth, Dad, me, Uncle Bob, Matthew, David,
Aunt Karen, and Lauren about to head onto the ice
On the third day of Christmas, we celebrated Christmas Eve with my dad’s side of the family. We always see a Christmas movie in the afternoon, and then spend the evening eating lots of yummy finger foods and playing brutal rounds of the card game Nerts. At the end of the night, we go to church for the candlelight Christmas Eve service.
This year, we suffered through Arthur’s Christmas 3D since it was the only Christmas movie out. Then we went back to the house where everyone got to meet my cousin’s new baby, Zooey! Erich and his wife Michaela live up in Alaska and just adopted this precious little baby girl. It’s been a long time since the St. Paul Kurzwegs were all back together, so it was really special that David finally got to meet the Alaskans on this trip.
Zooey is almost 2, so this year we broke tradition and went to the children’s Christmas Eve church service instead. All of the little kids led us in carols and for the sermon, the pastor read us Humphrey’s First Christmas, a story about a camel that met baby Jesus.
I couldn't help it when I burst out laughing when the pic of Humphrey and
his dislocated-looking jaw came up on the screen at church!
The church then gave out free copies of the book. With some of my cousins starting to have families, there was a lot of baby talk during this holiday (but no babies for David and me in the near future – sorry, Mom) and my dad even got in on the action when he snagged a copy of Humphrey’s First Christmas for his “future grandchildren.” Oh boy! We had fun playing with Zooey and getting to share in her first Christmas with her new family.
Zooey fell in love with David once she heard his "Baby Beluga" voice.
I don't know how he did that for so long...
my throat would've hurt so badly!
On the fourth day of Christmas, it really was Christmas! We always celebrate Christmas day with my mom’s side of the family. We had a big slumber party at my grandparent’s house the night before and then woke up early to open presents from Santa! And this year, David and I decided to actually get each other presents (usually we’re boring and count our trips as presents). Then we had a big breakfast and headed over to Aunt Karen’s and Uncle Bob’s house. There we had our Secret Santa gift exchange, where David and I made out with a Christmas-tree shaped candy dish and a fun new dice game called Farkle. Elizabeth was thrilled with the gift we brought back from England, a warm winter hat embroidered with the Union Jack.
Papa and Grandma with all of their grandchildren
+ David and my Uncle Brian's fiance's girls
Then we had some Italian sandwiches for dinner along with lots of good sides and played more board games, like Mexican Sorry. I love that game but don’t know anyone else besides my Aunt Julie and Uncle John that has it, so we always play when we go to Minnesota. After smoking the guys and drinking maybe a little too much homemade Bailey’s (yum!) we called it a night.
The whole Cocchiarella family
On the fifth day of Christmas, we went tubing with all of the cousins from both my mom’s side and my dad’s side. It was really nice bringing the whole family together! Most couples don’t have the opportunity to introduce their paternal cousins to their maternal ones, but since everyone is from the same area, all of ours know each other and get along great!
The original title of this blog was going to be “I’m Dreaming of a Brown Christmas” because there was no snow in Minnesota this year! It was soooo strange flying in and seeing brown, dead grass everywhere. I can’t remember the last time Minnesota had a brown Christmas. It was weird. Luckily the tubing slope was prepared and generated its own snow for us!
One patch of snow for the tubers.
At least it was nice and warm - a beautiful day!
Because the snow was man-made, it was icier than ever and we flew down the hill. All of us except Emily, though...
On her first run, Emily somehow couldn’t get down the slope.
She pushed herself about halfway and then gave up and walked back up…
In the end, David won the contest for who could go furthest. And Elizabeth won the contest for worst injury by accidentally kicking a girl in the face! Oops! I also had a collision... As I was spinning out of control down the hill, I smashed right into a little boy just chillin' in his tube at the bottom. Stupid kid – get outta the way! I had bad luck with running into little boys on this vacation.
All of the ladies getting ready to slide!
The whole gang... minus Uncle Bob and Matthew
(I don't know where they disappeared to during this pic)
On the sixth day of Christmas, we drove down to Faribault to hang out with the Lechtenberg’s.
On the way, we had to stop and get some Taco John’s. Taco John’s is kind of like the Taco Bell of the North. The sauce is a bit sweeter, rather than spicy, and every order contains potatoes. The potatoes, called Potato Ole’s, are basically tater tots with special “Mexican” seasoning. For dessert, our favorite is the Tex-Mex apple pie. Prepare yourself. It’s apple pie filling layered between two crispy tostada shells, topped with cinnamon sugar, red hots, and cheddar cheese. It sounds like a disgusting combination but it’s so good! David doesn’t understand our obsession with Taco John’s. I guess you had to grow up with it to appreciate its deliciousness.
Back to the Lechtenbergs!
Lee Ann Lechtenberg was my mom’s best childhood friend. And even though the girls grew up and got married and moved away and had kids, they’ve still always found time for each other and maintained their friendship. Lee Ann and Brad have four kids – Jacob, Charlie, Emma, and Annie. Jacob and Charlie are the same age as Emily and me and we found out Elizabeth was coming the day that Annie was born! We love going to Faribault to hang out on the lake with the Lechtenberg’s.
The winter tradition is to take a late night walk out on the frozen lake to have a bonfire on the island. Since it hasn’t been that cold in Minnesota, it made me really nervous walking across the ice. But everyone kept reassuring us that because there’s no snow, the ice is even more solid. The snow insulates the ice and can make it slushy and melt. I have fallen through ice (luckily only up to my knees!) twice before, and once on that very lake, so I’m always cautious. Everyone was right, though, and it was frozen solid and safe to walk on. This year, we built the biggest bonfire EVER.
David feeding the flames. This was before the fire became ENORMOUS!
Elizabeth and me. My hand looks HUGE in that glove.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my mom’s side of the family went to the Mall of America (MOA). When we were little kids, we would go to Camp Snoopy (the amusement park inside the mall) every year! Even though Camp Snoopy has been changed to Nickelodeon Universe and we can’t recognize the place, this year was better than ever! A lot of the rides are new and more thrilling. There’s now a SpongeBob Plunge that tilts riders back until they’re staring at the ceiling, and then drops them over the edge of the rollercoaster before spinning them upside down in giant loops. There’s also the Avatar Airbender, a giant skateboard that throws riders back and forth while also spinning them out of control. That one’s my new favorite! And thankfully there are still the oldies but goodies – the haunted house, log chute, and Screamin' Eagle.
This year we were even more excited because for lunch, we got to pig out on American food in the food court. Even Emily, who lives in Connecticut, was excited to chow down on fast food she can’t get in New England. David was thrilled to see Pita Pit, an old favorite I turned him on to during college. He got a turkey club while I headed to A&W for a root beer float, chili cheese coney, and onion rings. My sisters and I also split a side of Wisconsin cheese curds and hush puppies from Long John Silver’s. It was a hodgepodge of food, but it was so good! There was no dieting or working out during this vacation!
After the MOA, we said goodbye to Emily and Kendal at the airport. Then we changed into our UT gear and headed over to Aunt Julie’s and Uncle John’s to watch the Texas bowl game. For dinner that night, my mom was treated to her absolute favorite – chow mein. It was a great day at the mall, an awesome lunch, an equally delicious dinner, and an okay game. David and I were just glad UT won.
On the eighth day of Christmas, we relaxed! Whenever we go to Minnesota, it’s a marathon to see everyone and fit in all of the traditions like the MOA, tubing, and Mickey’s. This year was no different, but we did have a few days to unwind towards the end of our trip since we stayed longer than usual. On Thursday, we hung out at Papa’s and Grandma’s before meeting up with the rest of my mom’s siblings at a bar and grill, where we ate dinner before seeing Moneyball.
On the ninth day of Christmas, we met back up with my dad’s brother and his family at the MOA aquarium for Tayler’s, my cousin, birthday. We saw the usual fish, lots of sharks in the giant tank, and cute tiny turtles that couldn’t get enough of swimming against the man-made current. We even saw a pregnant seahorse, a first for all of us! In the seahorse world, the men carry and birth the babies. Crazy!
Male preggers seahorse
Shark Tank
Aunt Christine with her first grandchild, Zooey
For lunch, we were able to meet up with our friends from Austin, Jill and Noah. They are both from Minnesota and had driven up with their chocolate lab, Bailey, for the holidays. On their way out of town, they made some time to have lunch with the Houses. How sweet! It was so weird seeing them in Minnesota when they are our “Austin friends.” It was great to catch up. We miss our Austin family!
That night, we had dinner with the Kurzwegs at the Gasthaus. My Uncle Paul met my Aunt Christine when he was stationed in Germany during his Army days. They were married there and then moved back to his hometown in Minnesota. But every year the family visits Germany and they made sure that all of their kids speak fluent German. Dieter even lives there now and was able to take the train to visit us in London last year!
The Gasthaus is a traditional German restaurant where my German family likes to eat way too much food, sing loudly along with the accordion, and order enormous beer steins. What a great way to celebrate having the family together and Tayler’s birthday!
Sonja and Tayler
After stuffing ourselves, we caught the midnight showing of Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows. It was pretty good, but not as great as the first one.
On the tenth day of Christmas, we celebrated New Year’s Eve at Aunt Christine’s and Uncle Paul’s. We went over early in the afternoon so the guys could go ice skating out on the lake. They were so happy they decided to skate when they did because later that evening… it finally started snowing!
The family sporting T-shirts and souvenirs Dieter
brought back for us from the brewery he works at in Germany.
Dad and David showing off their moves on the ice
We rang in 2012 with big, hearty bowls of homemade chili and Michaela’s yummy jalapeno cornbread. Then we watched the NYC countdown and toasted with glasses of champagne and lots of hugs and kisses. In Germany, it’s customary to run around the streets at midnight on New Year’s Eve, so a bunch of us braved the cold and took off down the road to celebrate German-style.
The first snow of 2012. Minnesota finally looked normal again!
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Papa and Grandma made their famous spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. Then my mom got her family together to play card games and poker. David actually won! A whole $9 – yay!
For dinner we headed to Culver’s for old-fashioned hamburgers and frozen custard. I had a sundae with vanilla frozen custard, marshmallow cream, and hot fudge – all toppings I can’t find in London. That night we saw Mission Impossible 4. My family loves going to the movies, and with the flights’ movies added in, I definitely got caught up on some recent films during this trip.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, we packed up all of our stuff and had leftover meatball sandwiches for lunch before heading to the airport. Those twelve days went by way too fast. :( But next year, the family’s headed to London for Christmas and we can’t wait to share our English Christmas traditions with them!
