Making the Christmas Rounds

Good thing we will be spending time with the Oborns next week, because Matt's family alone, kept us busy all weekend. And we enjoyed every minute of it. We started the Christmas weekend off, by visiting Grandma Lisa and Uncle Taylor. Bostyn had a lot of fun with the toys Grandma had at the apartment, just for her. And of course opening presents was a hit, and she really loved her new bedtime friend from Uncle Taylor.

Next stop was Grandpa & Grandma Ackmann's. And once again, Bostyn was showered with love and spoiled with gifts. One of the many highlights for her, was opening her very own computer ;). It was great to spend time there, and catch up with each other.

The weekend ended with the Tuma/Cruikshank/Zolik celebration. We sure missed Aunt Jodi, but Bostyn made sure to visit her last week, so that was a plus. It only was a matter of time, until Bostyn warmed up to everyone, and was having so much fun. She played hard with her cousins, sat and read with Grandpa, ate some nummies with Grandma, opened such fun gifts, and giggled with Aunt Cari all night long. She fought to stay awake until she finally passed out, snuggled up to Aunt Cari. We all had an awesome time and it was a great way to end the Christmas weekend. 

The Holiday Train

Last night, Matt, Bostyn and I, bundled up and headed over to Buffalo, Mn. to see the Holiday Train come through. Thanks to Bethany, my co-worker, we found out about this event.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is a freight train covered in hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights.  It travels throughout Canada and the United States, to help support local food banks.  Hundreds to thousands gather, to welcome the train into their community. Each person is asked to bring a donation or a non-perishable food item to donate to their local food shelf. The Holiday Train has raised over $5.6 million and 2.5 million pounds of food.

Even though the train arrived an hour late, we still had a good time. It was a true small town event, with local carolers, lines for hot chocolate and cider outside a little fish house, volunteers loading donations on big trailers, and Buffalo's Emergency Response team offering tours of their ambulance. :) We were even entered into the raffle drawings, for bringing a bag of donations. We were pretty pumped when one of our numbers was called and we won a Walgreens gift card. YAY!!!!!!! As soon as we were getting pretty cold, and Bostyns cheeks were rosy red, we heard the Holiday Train in the distance. And it was all worth the wait, as we saw it come around the corner all lit up. Even Santa was along for the ride, waving at everyone as the train came through.

Bostyn all ready for her night out :)

Dad & Bostyn restin at the car...trying to be patient while waiting for the train

Momma making sure Bostyn is all bundled up and ready for the night.

Matt droppin' off our bag of donations for the food shelf

It finally arrives...