Christmas 2013

This year's Christmas was even busier than last year's, so it's a miracle that I'm getting this post done already on New Year's Day. Highlights from this year include: Marla singing Jingle Bells, Holly Jolly Christmas, and Away in a Manger on a continuous loop for a month straight; cookie decorating with both Grandma Susie and Grandma Pam; picking out and cutting down our Christmas tree from Pleasant Valley Tree Farm in Elk Mound (so fun!); visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus at said tree farm; hosting the Schmidt/Swoboda/Hansen/Buchholz/Reischel clan at our new house for the annual family gathering; attending the Holidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis (no pictures of that miserable experience, unfortunately); decorating the tree; Marla breaking the baby Jesus in our nativity set; Marla successfully standing onstage for our church's entire angel choir performance (no singing or accompanying actions yet, but it was an improvement over last year, when she ran screaming off the stage); Marla opening up ALL the presents under the Christmas tree on December 23rd while nobody was watching; Christmas Eve at my dad's house and visiting Grandma Martodam; Christmas Day at my mom's house; toys, toys, and more toys; and eating, eating, and more eating.

Here's our second annual Christmas slideshow. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!