Minneapolis

For the 3rd year in a row, my parent's have taken all of us kids (and girlfriends) to Minneapolis for 2 days to do some outlet shopping for Christmas. I look forward to this all year. Nothing beats going to the Albertville Outlet Mall. The deals were great this year, although everything seemed to be not what I was looking for. For I think first time ever, some of my better deals were at Ikea and at the Mall of America. Don't get me wrong, I still found some great deals at the outlet stores. My Christmas money was well spent!

Off to do some serious shopping!

Over the past 3 years I have enjoyed getting to know both of my brother's girlfriend's better during this trip. They are really sweet girls and I love them. We have a lot of fun together and we all just click really well. They add a great balance and dynamic to our family and all 7 of us have a lot of fun together.

After a long day of driving on the 27th to Minneapolis, Kevin, Dom and I were FULL of energy! We needed to burn some of it off, so we decided to take some "crazy" pictures in the abandoned store plaza after the mall closed (our hotel is right next to the mall, so it makes shopping extremely convenient).

Due to the apparent glare coming in from the windows in the car, Kevin felt the need to watch his movies on his ipod under his blanket. Dom and I thought he looked pretty ridiculous and made fun of him relentlessly for it!












I think what made this trip extra neat was that because we had to take 2 vehicles this year, Kevin and I had more time to spend together. We don't have that great of a relationship. Dominika is definitely the buffer between us a lot of the time, but these past 2 days we remained pretty sane and reasonable. We talked without insults or fighting and we actually had some pretty good laughs between us (It would appear that we are both growing up a bit). Our relationship isn't super stellar yet, but I am curious and anxious to see where it goes and how we get there. I am pumped and excited to see the work that God will do in both his life and in my own. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!

**On a little side note, my best friend Jodi got engaged over Christmas! Congrats guys. Love you very much. May God continue to bless the both of you as you plan this special day in the coming months.