Cross Country Roadtrip: Minnesota Christmas

With Great Grandma Jensen in Rochester

Our Minnesota visit was focused on family time - Cora got to meet all her Jensen/Helland great-grandparents and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. We celebrated Christmas about four times over the course of the first week at Papa and Nana's house in Mantorville, which gave Cora plenty of time to figure out and appreciate the joy of opening presents. And eating sweets.

We had a couple pre-Christmas get-togethers with the Jensen side of the family, which I sadly failed to document with photos. Cora and Brooklynn, cousin Jamie's daughter who was born a few days before Cora, had several chances to hang out and practice chair-stealing from each other. 

Christmas day itself we spent at home in Mantorville, eating a wonderful breakfast and opening a few presents and stockings with Nana and Papa. Later in the day, we adults went to see Les Mis in the cinema while Cora had playtime at Great-Grandma Jensen's apartment. They had a wonderful time together.

The day after Christmas we were visited by the Helland clan - even Brooke, Alissa, and Lienna were in town.

Eventually, Christmas-related activities gave way to life in Minnesota. Sledding, Mall of America visiting, etc.  On our way to see Kelsey, Pete, and baby Samuel in St. Paul, we spent a morning at the Mall of America's basement aquarium. Cora loved it.

We got Cora her first sled, too, which she sometimes loved. Mostly she just seems to like going outside (she says "outssss"), whether or not it is freezing. She learned to hold onto our fingers to walk upright in her bulky snowsuit, a habit she now uses often as we walk around the world together.

Last stop on this roadtrip memory lane: two quick visits to Iowa and the road home.