A Not-So-White Christmas

Peter and Fredo and I are back in MSP after a wonderful few days in South Dakota with my family. It was so nice to see my mom and dad and Huck and Tom. They're my favorite :)

Although we did get a slight dusting of snow, it was a pretty brown Christmas in Bryant, SD this year. Even so, I got a talking to from the lady who runs the grocery store there when she found out I wanted snow. I walked in the door and was asked, "Are you happy now? Are you satisfied now that we got snow?" Sheesh.

The time back there was really relaxing, which was nice. Pete got in some hunting and ice fishing with my dad. We celebrated my parents's wedding anniversary. We made a gingerbread house and put together a big puzzle of the Eiffel Tower. We made lefse and baked lots of cookies and ate oysters. And we laughed a lot. I have pictures of the gingerbread house, but they're on Pete's camera and have to wait until he feels like getting them off there for me.

It was so nice to see everyone and spend time together. Thanks so much to my mom and dad for making the long trip from MT. I had the best time. Thanks to Pete for understanding how important it is for me to be able to see my parents for the holidays and taking time off of work. He has really become a part of my family and has been there for every high point and low point since we met, whether we were dating or not. I'm so lucky to have such great parents, such a great boyfriend, and such great dogs!

So now we're back in MSP and I'm still enjoying my vacation. Today I cleaned and did laundry at the apartment. I have some more chores to finish, but I'm hoping to fit some fun stuff in, too. I'm so excited for New Year's because after the first of the year Pete and I are going to start looking at houses :)

One Week and Counting

One week from tomorrow, my vacation starts! Yay! I get off work on Wednesday and don't have to start again until Wednesday, January 3. That's 9 whole days off, not counting weekend. Do I enjoy my job and love the kids at work? Very much. Am I so freaking excited about not being there for two weeks? Oh yes.

And here's the very best part: Wednesday Pete and Fredo and I are leaving for SoDak. We're going to meet up with my folks and the pups for a Christmas rendez-vous. We won't come back until the day after Christmas. That means we're going to make cookies, a gingerbread house, eat lots of bad stuff, and go caroling (Pete's not as overjoyed about the last one. He's not much of a singer.) We'll also get to eat some lutefisk or oyster stew if we're lucky, and we'll definitely get some lefse and fruit soup. :)

In other news, Pete guessed his Christmas gift this evening. This has happened three of the six years since I've known him, and it's awful. Usually it happens when we're in a store and he comments on the thing or something very similar to what I got him. Usually he's telling me how much he hates it. Then I panic. So, we came home and he unwrapped his present so that I can return it and figure out plan B. I'm not as sneaky as I think I am, I guess. I need to work on my lying skills, apparently. Silly Peter.

Oh yeah, our Christmas cards have been sent, so look for them soon in a mailbox near you! Also look forward to Pete posting making-of-the-card photos on his blog soon.

Wii Wish You a Merry Christmas

Pete and I decided this year that instead of buying each other gifts, we were going to go together to get something bigger. We debated a bunch of stuff. Kitchen stuff was out because we have NO space until we move into a house. I proposed some art, but Pete said, "What if when we move we don't have a wall for it?" Apparently he's planning to move us into a wall-less house. So we went around and around with it and guess where we ended up? That's right, we're the proud owners of a new Nintendo Wii and Zelda game.

We got up at 7:00 this morning to head over to Bloomington Target. They had already handed out all of their precious tickets. So we enjoyed some Caribou and made the drive to scenic Burnsville. There we drove by the Target and found the same deal. We decided as a last ditch effort to head across the road. We went to the Toys-R-Us. We were number 15 out of 21 tickets, and they let us wait in the entryway, which was frickin' sweet! We were there for about an hour, and had a little to much together time with a few odd people, but it all worked out in the end. Pete said it was like having a golden ticket. That makes me want to burst into song from the original "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

As I type, my uber-geek Peter is playing Wii baseball, alternating between showing me his best Neshek and saying "need some support runs here." :) So I guess he's enjoying it. Anyone who wants to come over here and geek it up with Pete is more than welcome. I think we might be picking up some Super Monkey Ball pretty soon, too.

We also got some snow today. Very nice!