CHRISTMAS SNAPSHOTS

Well guys, we are back from our Christmas road trip adventures, and we had quite the time! The trip started with a sick husband who couldn't drive because of terrible dizziness, so I spent our first day on the road behind the wheel. When he wasn't trying to sleep, Shane would do his best to keep me awake. We played "name that Disney song" and I'm happy to report I could name them all within the first few notes. I said, "aren't you impressed by this useless skill I have??"😂

After a full day in the car, we stopped in Iowa at an Airbnb to grab some sleep and hopped back on the road first thing in the morning to head to Shane's gramma's house in Wisconsin. Our time there was so fun and filled with family and games and football and yummy food. We all got "The Comfy" for Christmas, and I laughed hysterically at how ridiculous we all looked wearing them, but guys, they are SO WARM and wonderful. Haha!

On Christmas Eve we jumped back in the car for a quick six-hour drive to my in-laws' house. Aspen did not want to leave Gramma's -- she kept trying to get back inside when we told her to get in the car. Poor girl! We spent the rest of the week in Minnesota celebrating Christmas, resting, playing games, watching documentaries, going on lots of walks, and soaking up some family time. We had quite a bit of snow and Aspen was beyond thrilled to run her little heart out back and forth across a park in the neighborhood. She looks absolutely hilarious playing in the snow and had the time of her life.

This was the first Christmas in my entire life where I wasn't with my parents. But it was also my first married Christmas, and I love spending time with Shane's family, so it really felt so normal and cozy because they are my family now too! Marriage is cool like that.😊

Our trip home was LONG. It started on ice rink highways, and then we drove through torrential rain for a few hours before getting a much needed break without bad weather for just a little bit. Then 2 1/2 hours away from home we hit ice again (cars and semis were flipped over or stuck in ditches along the highway), and then the highway shut down and we grabbed a hotel room for the night (where the entire town's power went out for a while.) We kind of just had to laugh about it all at that point ha! We were simply grateful to be off the roads and in a safe place for the night. The highway had opened when we woke up the next morning, so we re-packed our car, headed out, and finally made it home safe and sound. And now, I'm going to go sleep for a few days.

It's a Christmas we'll never forget, that's for sure!