The Baccus Family

December 26th - Day 8 of Minnesota Christmas trip

Most of our trip was pretty cold in Minnesota, but today it got up to about 35 degrees, so we took the opportunity to play outside. The boys all had a great time, and Ronny made a great snowman.

A few days before Christmas, an apartment building that is just a few blocks from Grandma's house, had a catastrophic fire. It was so sad that so many people lost EVERYTHING right before Christmas. The day after the fire, someone anonymously donated a million dollars, which was divided among the families that lived there. I think each family was going to get about $17k on Christmas Eve. It was amazing to drive by and see what was left after the fire trucks poured water on the building for hours. A few cars were caked in ice.

December 25th - Day 7 of Minnesota Christmas trip

I guess I tried to use the Santa blackmail a little too much this season. (You know, if you aren't good, all you will get in your stocking is a piece of coal.) When we all woke up Christmas morning, Ronny told Jack that we were going upstairs to see what Santa left us in our stockings. Jack said very sadly, "Did I get a piece of coal?"

Jack was very surprised to see that Santa had consumed the cookie and milk we left out last night.

Here Jack is putting Charlie to bed on Grandma's love seat. He covered him up and patted him while counting to 20 just like we do at home.

Ah, blue candy canes...

The boys had lots of fun making a gingerbread house.

December 24th - Day 6 of Minnesota Christmas trip

I guess Rusty got a booboo and needed Mr. Bump.

Jack got creative with a toy shuttle and airplane - recreating a scene from a few weeks ago.

Charlie wanted to wear all of the Santa hats at once.

The boys took a little nap.

And another one...

Then later it was time to open Christmas presents. We all got lots of good stuff and the boys were ready to start playing right away.

One of the favorite toys was Marble Run. All of the boys loved putting it together and running marbles down in different ways.

December 23rd - 4 months pregnant

December 23rd - Day 5 of Minnesota Christmas trip

December 22nd - Day 4 of Minnesota Christmas trip

We went out to lunch at a local restaurant (The Roasted Pear) and instead of coloring crayons, the boys got Wikki Stix. They are wax covered yarn sticks that can be bent and made into all kind of things like a nice moustache for Jack.

As always, the boys loved playing on the organ (and often pulling down all of Grandma's Christmas pictures).

Grandma let the boys open one present a few days early. They were excited to get some Sesame Street watches.

December 21st - Day 3 of Minnesota Christmas trip

I'm a big fan of the Santa hat, diaper, and snow boots look. It is all the rage this winter.

This afternoon we went to my cousin's house for a relative Christmas party. Nicole and I were pregnant at the same time, so her darling daughter, Luella, and Jack are about the same age. Now my boys have no problem playing with girl toys (Charlie loved her doll houses), but Lulu had a great supply of ALL kinds of toys. She made louder dinosaur roars than any of the boys. At one point, she had Jack following her wherever she went, happily doing whatever she wanted him to do. When it was time to go, Jack sadly looked at Daddy and said, "But I want to play with her!"

December 20th - Day 2 of Minnesota Christmas trip

Our second day in Minnesota started with some relaxing on the couch watching a TV show on my iPhone.

Espen and Holly came over for more fun time. When it was time for them to go, Jack and Espen helped shovel the dusting of snow we had received from a mini-blizzard that moved through the area.

Jen came over the visit with the boys too. Jack had to make sure she had her share of stickers.

December 19th - Day 1 of Minnesota Christmas trip

Today we headed up to Minnesota for our Christmas vacation. The airplane ride went alright. Jack was pretty good at watching shows on Daddy's iPod. Charlie was not quite as disciplined. He kept hitting the button on my iPhone that would shut down the video and pull up the menu. He also managed to get my phone pretty sticky, but it cleaned off pretty easy.

When we got to Minnesota, Holly and Espen came over to Grandma's house and the boys had a great time playing. Charlie handed out the Santa hats for all the boys. We took a ton of pictures trying to get one with all three boys smiling.