dazzle and awe

This past weekend was jam-packed with Holiday goodness. It all started on Thursday when my mom came down to join us for the weekend!

Friday after school, we all piled into the family truckster and headed to downtown Minneapolis. Our first stop was dinner on the 12th floor of Macys at the Sky Room. Not only was it delicious, but we also met Keith (Carl's brother) and dined with a skyline view.

After dinner, we all bundled up and headed outside for Holidazzle Parade! We have only seen it one other time when Ella was about Claire's age....I think we need to make it a yearly tradition! What is cooler than being downtown at night during the Christmas season and watching a parade featuring about a million lights?! We all had a blast!

here comes the circus train...


the giraffe has no idea why people are excited about her being in a cage... :)













Santa's coming!!!






After the parade, we headed back into Macys to see the Santaland attraction on the 8th floor. We were not the only people with that plan....so we waited in line for a little while. But, the wait was well worth it. There was so much to see the girls didn't even know where to look!

guess who else was there...


I finished up the weekend with Christmas shopping on Sunday. It's really beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.....everywhere you go. :)