We flew out of San Diego on Friday afternoon, leaving behind a warm and sunny climate, and landed in a cold and dark tundra. Even on our descent I could see the cold emanating from the ground. I SAW the cold. I always feel like I'm ready for it, but nothing prepares you for the first blast of cold to hit your face. We were waiting for the Light Rail in a balmy 16 degrees! And that wasn't even the coldest it got that weekend! After a quick stop for food, we were nice and cozy at my brothers house. Our nephew's, JG, William, and Aiden, were already in bed when we got there, but it allowed the 'adults' to catch up that evening.
We had nothing to get up for on Saturday, but I woke fairly early to the pitter-patter of footsteps above me. I was blown away with what I saw! Johnny told me before we came that the twins are growing so fast, and JG is almost like an adult these days! I guess I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself. The twins are literally running all over the place, and JG is talking clearly in complete sentences and he is even smarter than I ever knew a 3-year-old to be! At first sight, Aiden was pretty much feeding himself in his high-chair with some help from his dad, and William was about ready to come down the stairs. When I first saw Aiden eating, he shyly covered his eyes, but he quickly warmed up to me! He had nothing but smiles for me the rest of the day! When I saw William for the first time, it was the same thing, except he loved playing hide and seek with me! He would stand at the back of the couch or under the coffee table, peek around it to see me, smile and giggle, and then go hiding again! That went on all weekend and I loved it! William and Aiden were full of energy and words! I immediately started playing trucks with them ('truck' is their favorite word)!
Later that morning, we had a few errands to run. We were in the western part of the cities, so we took a trip down memory lane and drove past our very first apartment Robbie and I shared, and it was the same apartment we had when we got married. We also brought back one of our favorite midwest staples, Culver's, to have for lunch! We got back just before it started snowing, and it kept snowing through Sunday night! Robbie and I bought some fun gifts for Johnny and Maura that we couldn't wait until Sunday to give, so that afternoon, we gave those gifts to them. I think they really liked our thoughtfulness!
After the nuptials, there was a cocktail hour before dinner was served. This gave us time to catch up with some other of Robbie' friends from college, who I also met and became friends with throughout our years together. Most of Robbie's friends from college were his roommates and meteorology majors, and were also in the wedding. This included the groom Al, the Best Man Isaac, and a Groomsman Casey. Being their shared interest in meteorology, they all became very close in college and have stayed friends ever since! Robbie was not a meteorology major, but would often help the others with their homework so they could play Madden faster! Haha! So Robbie felt like he knew as much about meteorology as them at some points!
After the newlyweds made their grand entrance, dinner was served. They had food stations set up; one was a salad bar, one was a meat (turkey) carving station, and the other was my favorite, a mashed potato bar! At the mashed potato bar, they had martini glasses that each person could fill with mashed potatoes and any topping they chose! It was the best idea I have ever seen at a wedding!
After the dinner came the speeches, and I always get so emotional when the father of the bride especially talks about his daughter, and her and the grooms new life together. New beginnings get the best of me! The Best Man, Isaac did a great job with his speech, and he even stole one of Robbie's signature lines from when he had been the Best Man in previous weddings! We stayed through the cake-cutting and first dance, and then called for an Uber to take us back to the Kasper's! By then it was nearly 10pm, and the roads had gotten much worse from all the snow that had accumulated over the past few hours! Seeing that further strengthened our decision to move away from a winter climate nearly over half a decade ago! Just that short drive was awful; we saw someone almost spin out right in front of us! When we got back, all of us were tired, even the cat!
Sunday was our little family Christmas celebration. My mom was coming into the cities to see us for Christmas being we won't be back, and she isn't planning a visit to CA. Mom arrived around 11:30am, and by then, we were all up and at 'em! Mom and I had time to catch up, and then we ordered out from our other favorite midwest staple, Giordano's. Giordano's originated in Chicago, and has slowly been making its way across the midwest. In fact, they just opened a location closest to us, in Vegas. While enjoying our pizza, we were also enjoying the Packers game that afternoon as well. The Packers won handedly against the Seattle Seahawks, a score of 38-10! We spent the majority of the afternoon laughing and playing with the kids! Kids, not babies!
As the day grew on, JG and Maura went outside to play in the snow, and the twins were bathed and put down to bed. JG was able to stay up for our gift exchange, however. JG is at the age (3) where he is starting to understand the concept of Christmas, and it is fun to see him get excited about the decorations, snow, and gifts of course. I just hope he doesn't take after his dad, where he would need more presents than his brothers! Haha! Johnny and Maura told us to get him 'experience' gifts, so we got him a gift card to the movies (he had recently taken his first trip to the theater to see Zootopia), and 2 boxes of candy. I'm sure he will have a great time seeing another one in the future! During the gift exchange, we also celebrated mom's birthday as well being it was so close to our trip to MN. Robbie and I went away with way more gifts than we were ever expecting! Robbie and I love to give around the holidays; it fills our hearts!
Mom stayed until roughly 9:30pm, and it was so great to catch up with her, and it was great for her to drive in, and leave in the falling snow! I'm sure the roads weren't in ideal condition, especially on the way home so late!
Sunday evening came so fast, and our weekend was approaching an end already! Monday morning we had to leave for the airport around 8am for a 10:10am flight! We said a million goodbyes and thank you's and headed out the door while the boys waited for our ride to leave. Monday morning was the coldest of the entire weekend. When we packed our luggage in the Uber on our way to the airport, my phone was recording a -1 degree temperature. Sooooo coooolllldddd! We even saw a Sun Dog. This weather phenomenon only happens when it is SUPER cold out, when sunlight passes through ice crystals in cirrus clouds, which act like a prism and refracts light (credit, wikipedia). When we got into the airport, we knew that the next time we stepped outside, the weather would be much different!
As short as our weekend was, it was filled with old friends and family, which was just what we needed! Next time we have to plan better for a non-winter and non-snow visit, and our friends need to start getting married in the summer months! I'm only kidding, sort of! :) Maybe next year the family can come to CA for Christmas! I'll work on it! The next time we see our nephews, especially William and Aiden, they will most likely be talking in complete sentences like JG is now, and the conversation of pre-school or kindergarten will be happening for JG! They just need to stop growing up before our eyes!
"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." -Sinclair Lewis
