Just two practices in and Theo had grown so much on the rink. He also looks really cool with his long hair sticking out of his helmet. We had to do a lot of bribing to get him to go to practice this morning. He had been dreading it all week.  After practice he came out smiling and said today was much better and he actually enjoyed it.  To celebrate Theo now liking rec hockey, we treated ourselves to  Isles Buns & Coffee's  famous cinnamon rolls. I spy mini Bundts. We had been wanting to try their cinnamon rolls and since we drove by we thought we'd stop. After we put our order in we were waiting and waiting for them to call my name. Somehow the cashier wrote down my name as Claire. 

My dads side of the family used to get together on Christmas Eve. Since Covid they stopped doing that. Mostly because our family is so large, no one was able to host anymore. When we got an invite to one of my cousins weddings, I figured we should go since I hadn't seen my aunts and uncles in a long time.  Our drive to Wisconsin wasn't great. This is why I don't like traveling in winter.  I told Theo he's going to have to sleep on the bed in the office this time. But silly bub said he could still sleep in the crib.  No kids at the wedding so these two would get to hang out all day.  After the wedding ceremony a few of us met up at The Vault in downtown Appleton. Their pizza was pretty good.  After getting drinks and pizza we went downstairs to check out the vault. A cute picture of Brooke and me in the 2020s? Didn't think it was possible.

St. Nick came! St Nick is the best. Just ask Theo. It definitely shows in his face.  And Meadow! Theo got Christmas pajamas, a mini Transformer, a penguin ornament, Andes Mints and another Dog Man book. Meadow got a plaid nightgown, kitty ornament, dark chocolates, Babysitters Club book and headphones. 

Another weekend, another smiley face breakfast.  Brooke didn't want to travel to her family's Thanksgiving for just the weekend. We'd be there in a couple of weeks for a wedding and then back for Christmas.  Yeah, I wasn't in the mood to be driving back and forth every 2 weeks. I hate driving in the winter as it is. On Thanksgiving morning, Theo and I went grocery shopping for our dinner.  Thanksgiving is also not really my thing. There's a reason you only eat this meal once a year. Since it was just us, we could make whatever we wanted. That meant for dessert we could have pavlova. 

You're telling me that we've got another workcation with the whole family planned! Oh, heck yeah. A shoot that was originally going to be shot by Daniel (yeah, he's kind of working for me these days) in Des Moines fell into November. That meant I could pick it up. A rare shoot in a state that I could just drive to. Anywho, Brooke thought we should get Signatures Supper Club on the way down. The just across the border Supper Club had a long wait, but we got cozy in the car and waited it out. I got crabby about this, Brooke got embarrassed about leaving and coming back, but it all worked out. We found this place when we went to the Waseca County Fair a couple years ago. They had a food stand selling hot beef sundaes. We never get to Iowa, let alone on a Friday night, so I said we had to eat here. If there is ever a wait longer than 20 minutes Scott will say no and find somewhere else to go. We had to wait 40 minutes or so without a reservation. Unlike in Wisconsin where you c...

My new thing this year has been taking a walk as soon as I wake up. Most people including the dog walkers aren't out yet. And I don't have to worry the rest of the day if I'll get my steps in. Somehow I did not know. Ha. Well, probably cause I was sleeping. Theo is invited to a birthday party next week so we went to our favorite toy store, Pinwheel, to find a gift. We got a gift and the kids split their money to buy a butter shaped squishy. Since we were going to Linden Hills, I brought along our bocce ball set to play at the Linden Hills Park.

After always wanting to get to Boston, I ended up working in the incomparable East Coast city for a third time in a single calendar year. So, whenever the family can come along, I guess I'll be an expert. I decided to check out Warren Tavern for dinner. One of the oldest bars in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States. The roast beef sandwich couldn't hold a candle to Baltimore or Buffalo's varieties,  but the chowder was worth the visit. I'd just get that next time. Finally got some clam chowda.  The colonial era-neighborhoods of Boston are some the best places to walk around in the United States. I suppose that's not too difficult when so much of the country is dedicated to automobiles at the expense of humans. Bunker Hill sits atop Charlestown looking out on the low slung city. Again a very American statement. Our cities seem to be obsessed with a height, a demonstration of our business might, at the expense of human scaled cities. San Francisco and...