Thanksgiving

We started off our long holiday by driving 4 hours to St. Paul on Tuesday night. We got to "Great Papa's" in Highland Park at about 9:30pm, but the kiddies in their beds there and went to sleep. John had to work at the main office on Wednesday, so the kids and I spent the day with John's dad. The highlight for the kids was going to Perkins for "Rainbow Pancakes" and "Dollar Pancakes". We then made our way to Stride Rite for some new shoes. In the evening John came back, we all ate dinner together and hung around.

On Thanksgiving morning, we headed toward Balsam Lake, WI. We stopped in Taylors Falls for a short, but fun walk on a rocky path overlooking the St. Croix. The kids thought it was so much fun that we'll have to somehow fit a longer stop there next year (can we CRAM anymore activities into a holiday???). We got to Balsam Lake to have Thanksgiving with John's mom, step dad, brothers, grandmother, and extended family on that side. I always look forward to going to the beautiful log cabin on the lake with all the seasonal decorations, the good company, the delicious dinner, dessert, and talking and drinking wine by the fire. The kids have a great time seeing everyone and playing with another little girl who is Jane's age. Jane brought tutus to share with Alayna, everyone played "Pin the Hat on the Turkey", and some other funny game that my mother-in-law started. We ended the day by driving an hour back to Highland Park for the night.....It was a long day, but I was disappointed that it was over.

We have more time and lots more fun to be had, so stay tuned for the details!