Christmas 2010

Things are finally settling down a little bit since returning from Christmas in Wisconsin. The long drive up and back were a little crazier with Sofia being older. She naps less and is not pleased sitting in the car for the 11 hour drive one way. We returned last Sunday just in time for the Packer game and barely unpacked and it's been a crazy work week for Tim and I until today. Tim and I were fortunate enough to both have two weeks off for Christmas and since we haven't been in Wisconsin since April we decided to spend a week with each of our families. We started out the trip in Waukesha to see my family. We had a nice time catching up with my parents and sisters. My Uncle Kevin was also in town for a day to visit my Grandma so it was nice to see him as well. Tim and I also met my sister's boyfriend Carlos. He was not only a great guy but Sofia adores him. Christmas Eve we attended my cousin Bobbi's church. She just had a beautiful baby girl who was baby Jesus in her church service so we just had to see that. We spent Christmas Eve doing our traditional "fondue" dinner and teaching everyone a new game.

Here are some highlights from our week in Waukesha.

Here is Sofia hanging out with Sean & Ian, the children of our friends, Charles & Kelly.

When Tim and I lived in Milwaukee one of our favorite things to do was hang out on the lake shore and explore the art museum. Here is Sofia visiting the museum for her first time.

This is all of my family at the Christmas Eve church service.

Sofia hanging out with Tim & Carlos, waiting for our fondue adventure to begin!

Christmas Day we left for Baraboo to spend some time with Tim's family. We timed the trip pretty well so Sofia was able to sleep in the car most of the way. Shortly after we arrived the Sullivan side of Tim's family arrived and we all opened presents together. Some presents were more interesting than others as you will notice in the pictures below. The next day many of the Ruders came to visit and watch the Packer game. We were sad that we didn't get to meet Tim's cousin's new baby, Nimueh, but hopefully we will meet her in the near future. The rest of the week was pretty relaxing. We spent some time cross country skiing, sledding, building a snow man, ice skating, ice hockey, lots of games of ping pong, and of course, a few nights of Settlers of Cataan. Settlers is a board game that we learned about four years ago that Tim's family is OBSESSED with. To be honest, Tim and I like the game a lot too. Before everyone moved from Memphis for externs we got together with some friends of ours to play almost weekly. Go ahead, call us nerds! We also spent a day meeting with some different optometrists in Wisconsin exploring different opportunities for Tim. It will be very interesting to see how things work out in the next 6 or 7 months. Tim and I love Wisconsin, but we also love the mountains and the ocean and Wisconsin is close to neither. So although we are definitely looking in Wisconsin, we are keeping our options open for different locations as well.


Here are the highlights from our week in Baraboo.

Sonya, Liam, and Sofia checking out Uncle Christopher in his "morph suit' Christmas present.

She wasn't sure what to think at first, but Sofia quickly warmed up to Uncle Chris in his suit.

Jon, Chris and I cross country skiing at Mirror Lake State Park

Sofia's first ice skating experience at Bob & Bobbi's cabin in Pardeeville. She didn't exactly skate but she definitely enjoyed being pulled around the lake.

Sofia seems pretty comfortable hanging out in her chariot.

Family picture in front of Sofia's first snow man.

Sofia's first time sledding

Sofia hanging out in Tim's rocking chair he had when he was her age.