Sisters Christmas Extravaganza

Greeting from the Mall of America.....poor Jonathan!

Action shot - Margaret wishing Barnes & Noble cashier "Mele Kalikimaka"

Yes, my last post was a recap of our Thanksgiving celebration, however, during the past 5 years or so we have begun to kick off our Christmas preparations immediately following Thanksgiving.  Our good friends, Jon and Shirley (aka "Texas Grandma") were actually witness to this, as we began unearthing all of our Christmas decorations while they were still in town, visiting us for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bloody Mary lunch at Twin Cities Grill, Mall of America

Another Bloody Mary lunch - at Jake's City Grill, Eagan MN

Lunch with cousin Judy - at Dock Cafe, Stillwater MN

With our house made festive for the season, we welcomed another set of visitors to Minnesota.  Since 2007, the beginning of December has been reserved for some special sister time.  My sisters arrived only 9 days after Jon and Shirley left from their Thanksgiving visit.  In those 9 days we had a Christmas decorating blitz, Jonathan battled a stomach bug and David left for China (temporarily leaving me a "single" mom).  Needless to say, I was more than ready for my sisters to arrive.  The usual sister antics ensued - Christmas shopping, silly girl talk, Bloody Mary lunches, spiked eggnog evenings....which led to dancing to Gangnam style in my family room. We also had a wonderful afternoon with our cousin, Judy, who lives about a half-hour away from me.  After a nice lunch we continued our afternoon shopping in the very pretty gift shops and boutiques in downtown Stillwater, MN.

"The Fun Sisters" - shopping (with photographer, cousin Judy) in Stillwater MN

One thing I must say is that after this second consecutive year here in Minnesota (in prior years we went to my sister's house, outside of Baltimore), the Mall of America will never be the same.  Once silly story to attest to this revolves around a Christmas greeting. Prior to my sisters' arrival, my sister Margaret called me on the telephone.  When I answered the phone, Margaret said to me, "Mele Kalikimaka" (you know the Christmas song that explains that this is the Hawaiian way to say Merry Christmas).  During that phone conversation, Margaret suggested that when we are shopping, instead of saying, "Happy holidays" or "Merry Christmas" to the check out cashier, we should instead say, "Mele Kalikimaka".  Of course, after our first stop inside the Mall of America, I reminded Margaret of this conversation.  We had already checked out at the mall's Barnes and Noble, however, I dared Margaret to go back and say that.  Margaret stood in line again, waited for her cashier, looked him in the eye and said, "Mele Kalikimaka" and then walked away, leaving the cashier looking mighty confused.  Adolescent??...yep, but that is the kind of silliness that we sisters do.  We revert to our childhood.....but have a good time doing so.

David came home from China while my sisters were here. All of us out to dinner at DeGidios, St. Paul MN

Marysia and Margaret were scheduled to leave Minnesota on Sunday, December 9th however we got hit with a nice little snow storm that cancelled flights.  I know that they were looking forward to getting back to their own families, however I was happy that I was able to have any extra day with my sisters.  For a 6 night visit, it definitely wen wayyyy too quickly and it is sad to think that I may not see either of my sisters again until July.  Thankfully I have a huge slew of pictures and video of our time together.  Here are a few to share.....

Photo shoot - Take # 324??

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Awesome sister time!!