Christmas 2013 (picture heavy post ;)

I have to admit that it was nice having family to wake up to and celebrate Christmas Day with.  A lot of the times it's just Joacim, Izzy and I, and although that's great too, it's a bit lonely.

Izzy and Auntie Bri were VERY ready to dive in!

Dad opening his present....it's not a surprise anymore, as it's the same thing every year (chocolate covered cherries).  It's one of his favorites, and it's the gift I always get him....our little tradition.

 Meanwhile, Murphy was feeling very unloved, so he plopped down right in my lap for some love.

And so did Rosie eventually...

I got Bri this glass ornament called a "witches ball"...I think she loved it!

Izzy always gets great gifts from Sweden....this coat is from farmer and farfar

I think this is the only time I've actually seen her surprised to open a gift.  Normally, she's all goosey and shy, but I FINALLY got this look captured!  All it took was a doll from Frozen to create it.

After all of the gift opening and whatnot, it was time to go outside.  Mind you, the temperatures were ridiculously, stupidly cold with a blustery wind, but that didn't stop Izzy and Bri from wanting to go sledding.

The yellow dog is Champ....my family brought him up this time so he could enjoy the holidays too :)

I think this was her first show angel of the season

Izzy's an sneaky, ornery little thing....she kept smashing snowballs into Auntie Bri's head!

And these photos illustrate why I don't sled.  I can't drive the damn thing!

Snow and Smörgåstårta

More snow, which means SLEDDING!!!!!!!

Rosie absolutely loves this weather!

We also went to our friends house (Nina and Magnus) for a traditional smörgåstårta with their family.

According to Wikipedia:

Smörgåstårta (English: "sandwich-cake" or "sandwich gateau") is a Scandinavian cuisine dish that is popular in Sweden, Estonia (as "võileivatort") and Finland (as "voileipäkakku"). This savory cake is compositionally similar to a sandwich, but it has such a large amount of filling that it more resembles a layered cream cake with garnished top.

The smörgåstårta is normally made up of several layers of white or light rye bread with creamy fillings in between. The fillings and toppings vary, but egg and mayonnaise are often the base, additional filling may vary greatly but often includes one or more of the following: liver pâté, olives, shrimp, ham, various cold cuts, caviar, tomato, cucumber, grapes, lemonslices, cheese and smoked salmon. For the best result, assemble the cake the day before consumption and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. Decorate the cake on the day of consumption.

Smörgåstårta is served cold and sliced like a dessert cake. The types of sandwich cakes vary from meat, fish, combinations of cheeses and meats to vegan. The smörgåstårta top decor often reflects the ingredients used as a filling. Voileipäkakku (in Finnish) is part of family gathering dishes from birthday parties, weddings or funerals in Finland.

And it looks beautiful!  Such time spent!

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm no fan of liver pate, shrimp or caviar, and this night was no exception.  The beauty of this thing is that it's in layers, and you can really eat only the layers that you want, so the part I ate was delicious!  Joacim confirmed that the liver pate part was too :)

This is Joacim's newest buddy, Noa.  He's Nina and Magnus' youngest son, and he ADORES Joacim.

We had a lovely evening eating, hanging out and watching a movie.  They have one of those big leather recliner sofas that completely suck you in.  I'll admit it....I loved it!

Sledding :)

There were lots of things we could've done while my parents were here, but we decided to do some sledding.  The day before we had gone to the Chaska community center pool (no photos from there...sorry) so we needed some cold-weather activities.

Grandma and Grandpa had to go to Eden Prarie to buy Bri some snowpants, so we passed the time by doing some painting.

 And then we went to the hill....

Genius idea on Joacim's part to put the rope on

I pulled Izzy up this hill.  I thought my lungs might explode.

When we got to the top, Izzy got scared and didn't want to go  anymore, so Bri and I headed down

I wish someone would've gotten a video of it, but this picture that my dad took is all we have.  It was SOOOOO FUN...and FAST!

Then Bri went back up the hill again (no idea how she did that..must be those lungs that are only 14 years old) and her and Joacim headed down...everything was going fine

Until this point

and it kept getting funnier

until they finally came to a stop

 This hill, while exhilarating, was exhausting, so we decided to head home and sled on some more manageable slopes :)

Izzy's MUCH happier here

 but they had to break through the reeds surrounding the pond behind the house

Izzy was always ready for the next run

then she went with Grandma...love this photo because, even from this distance, you can see how much fun she's having!

and then with Grandpa

into the reeds

another run with Bri and they FINALLY broke through...look at Izzy's hat :)

Pappa and Izzy made it all the way across the pond

I'm so glad we got her these overalls....she LOVES being outside

And then I decided to go down with Izzy

Can I just say that I'm an AWFUL sled driver?  In all the times that I've gone down this hill, I only made it to the pond ONCE so far....

Auntie Bri and Grandpa headed down hear the end

This was SUCH a fantastic day.  This is EMBRACING Minnesota winters!