Winter Wonderland

Harper Marie Andrus - always so smiley!

Once again I am playing catch up.  December was a busy month as usual, but this year we had the added bonus of a family trip to St. Louis to attend my (Kristi's) cousin's wedding.  Grandpa Brian, Grandma Linda, Aunt Kali, Uncle Tom and new cousin Harper all flew to Milwaukee where we had an early family Christmas.  Then on a Monday morning, we all got on a train to Chicago and from there transferred to a train to St. Louis.  Cameron watched the scenery go by almost the entire trip to Chicago - he was so fascinated!  Nate didn't sit quite as still, but he had so many different people to entertain him that he did well too.  It worked out really well to take the train - no worries about icy roads, the kids could move around all they wanted, use the bathrooms whenever, eat whenever, etc.

In St. Louis, we met up with my aunts and uncles and cousins and their kids.  On Tuesday, we visited the Italian neighborhood, "The Hill" and walked around and had some fantastic coffee.  We had lunch at an Italian restaurant downtown and tried the famous Fried Ravioli (so-so).  After lunch we went to the Arch where Aunt Kali and I took the boys up to the top of the Arch.  Given how wobbly the ride up was (think riding in a pod on a pulley system and you will get an idea of what it was like), I was impressed they didn't freak out.  Brave boys!  Then for dinner that night we tried some St. Louis style pizza.  Did not personally care for it as it had some nasty processed cheese on it.

Riding in the pod up the Arch with Aunt Kali

Outside the Arch

Trapped in an old bank vault at a coffee shop in St. Louis' The Hill neighborhood

The next day (12/12/12), Ryan's wedding was at the Botanical Gardens so we got to explore the grounds some.  It was seasonably warm that day (50s in the middle of December) and quite the beautiful setting. 

At Ryan's wedding

St. Nate with his reindeer & bag full of goodies!

Merry Christmas!

Cameron with Great Grandma at Xmas

The other major event for our family in December was Christmas.  As is our usual tradition, we spent Christmas Eve at Great Grandma Kruepke's house.  Cameron found himself a comfortable spot for the gift exchange - right in her lap!  This was an extra special memory for us as Great Grandma passed away in March so it was a blessing that she was healthy for Christmas and we all were able to create some more lasting memories.

Christmas morning was quite a treat.  I heard Cameron come out of his room around 7 so I quietly followed him and watched his reaction.  He saw the gifts from Santa under the tree (there were only 6 total, but they were set in front so it was obvious he had stopped at our house) and said "Whoa".  Then he went in by the stockings and saw some dinosaurs peeking out of the tops and said "Dinosaurs - best Christmas ever!"

Now I only have 4 more months of catch up!