Christmas Eve with the Olson Side

The whole family on Christmas Eve.
4 Generation of Olson Boys + Auntie Stacy

The whole Olson Clan

A big thank you to Great Grandpa for the present. Can you tell it was on his wish list?

Also, a big thank you to Eileen who was sweet enough to help build with Aidan.

Santa or the Grinch who can tell?

On Christmas Eve we spent the day at the Miller's house with the Olson side of the family. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and lots of goodies as well as lots of laughter, good conversation, and our children were spoiled with wonderful presents. It was nice to see some of the cousins that we don't get to see very often. After the celebration Aidan fell asleep on the ride home so he stayed at home with Grandpa and Nick while the rest of us went to a beautiful Christmas Mass.

Ice Fishing

Jeremy, Nick and Aidan went ice fishing with my brother-in-law Steve and my nephews Steve and Aaron. They got a perfect day for it as it was fairly warm for Minnesota in the middle 20's. Both boys had a blast and it was all Aidan could talk about the rest of the week and even on the way home we saw some frozen lakes and he kept talking about how he wanted to go ice fishing in Alabama. They caught tons of fish thanks to the expertise of my brother-in-law and nephews. They kept some to eat which Aidan thought was great. You should have seen the joy in his face when he showed us his fish he caught. Jeremy said both boys complained about the cold some but once they hooked some fish they really enjoyed it.

Gilbert the Dog

Well somebody took about 50 pictures on my camera of various parts of my in-laws new dog Gilbert. We figured we better include a couple of pictures of him because he was an integral part of the vacation. Both boys chased that poor dog around until he hid from them. Aidan loved Gilbert to death but was also bothered by him since they were just about at the same height and Gilbert could nip at him. I am sure Gilbert is enjoying the peace and quiet now that we are gone.

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

We went to Minnesota for Christmas break. It was the first time we have been home for Christmas in 7 years. We loved being back home and enjoying a White Christmas! We saw more snow then we have seen in a long time. Feet and feet of snow. The snow piles were taller then my boys and it snowed several inches while we were there. The boys loved playing with the neighbor boys in the snow. They made snow forts and had snowball fights and helped Grandpa and Daddy shovel many times. And of course after you spend time out in the snow you have to come in and drink hot chocolate. Both boys drank their fair share over the week. As pretty as it was, it was also exhausting having to get two kids who can't dress themselves very well ready to go outside multiple times a day and there were lots of tears shed over cold hands that got wet while playing in the snow. It was fun but I am glad it was just for a few weeks.

Aidan's Christmas Program

Aidan had his school Christmas program on December 16th at night. All the kids in his preschool wore their Christmas jammies and sang Christmas carols. They learned quite a few songs with actions and memorized a Christmas poem. It was so cute. Our child did his hand motions even in songs that didn't require hand motions and only sang his favorite parts. His favorite songs this year were Jingle Bells and Old Man Hat. The little girl next to him kept hugging him and they kept trying to sit down together. It was adorable and almost made me cry because their poem was so sweet. It was a little overwhelming for the kids because there were a ton of people there. Aidan loves his school and his wonderful teacher Mrs. Vaughn.

Christmas Lights at the Zoo

On Friday night Nick went to a friend's house to sleep over and Jeremy was studying for his presentation he has to give this week so Aidan and I went to the Zoo to see all the Christmas lights. We rode the train which takes you all around the Zoo and they pretty much have the entire zoo covered with amazing lights. It was very beautiful. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and walked around a bit after our train ride. They also had Santa and other activities going on but Aidan was pretty much only interested in the train. We had a great time and Aidan was so worn out he fell asleep on the ride home. Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season.

The Polar Express

It has been a busy and fun weekend but I am exhausted. Tonight we went on the Polar Express up in Calera, Alabama. The kids wore their pajamas just like in the book. Aidan even wore his slippers. The real live steam engine takes you from the station to the "North Pole" which was all decked out with lights and Christmas trees and fake snow and really looked amazing. It had huge signs that said The North Pole. There Santa and Mrs. Claus and the elves boarded the train. The entire ride they played the Polar Express sound track and sang Christmas carols at the top of their lungs with the kids. Santa gave everybody a Christmas bell like in the book and a snowman plush toy to the kids and a train ornament to the adults. The ornament is a gorgeous hand painted train that looks just like the one they run there. The kids were in awe when Santa finally came to their car. Aidan was jumping up and down it was so cute. They had workers in chef hats and coats just like in the book and movie that came by and delivered chocolate milk and cookies while we waited. Despite the cold, it was truly a magical evening and my kids and I will cherish the memories forever.