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January

There's nothing like being stuck inside during a blizzard to remind you to blog. I recognize that MN gets a lot of snow, but this amount of snow and wind is pretty intense, even for our MN blood. I didn't stock up on water, toilet paper, milk, and bread like the rest of the East Coast, but we are sticking to the indoors and staying off the roads. One thing I've mentioned before is how narrow the roads are here. It's not that they can't or don't plow, it's that there is nowhere to put the snow. I've heard that with a big storm like this, the roads might be narrow and pretty rough for a long time. I guess I'll find out in a day or 2. Until then, let's catch up on the past month.

Christmas and winter break were really wonderful. We were in MN for 5 days and got to spend time with both of our families. I also got to catch up with some friends and take our nephews out for some Auntie and Uncle time. It was great to be able to be with our newest nephew when he was still so young and get some baby snuggle time. The only people we didn't get to actually be with was my sister and brother-in-law who were nesting in Denver. We got some good Skype time with them though, so it felt like they were with us. MN time was spent relaxing and doing very little. It was exactly what we needed.

We got back and took a day trip to New York City. We drove out there with plans to go to MoMA and see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and skating area. We also got to see the footprint of where the building Andy is working on is going to be at Hudson Yards. It was everything I wanted it to be. A bunch of roads were closed in preparation for New Year's Eve so we got stuck in some horrendous traffic, but that wasn't enough to ruin our day. We had some incredible food, some average coffee, and got home in time to let Deb out and not feel like terrible dog owners. I absolutely love that we are so close to so many cool cities that we can take day trips too.

The rest of our break was spent doing pretty much nothing. We read books, napped, and ate food. We went to a New Years Eve party at our friends house and had dinner with friends on New Years Day. It was a great way to spend a few days off and I am so grateful that Andy got to be home for most of that week. (Of course he went in to work on his days off, but that's why I love that boy so much!)

After New Years we just sat around and waited for Sarah and John to bring us a baby girl. And they sure did deliver a perfect little bundle! My niece was born and I was lucky enough that my flight was scheduled for just 4 days after she arrived. Talk about good timing! I flew out after work last Friday and got to snuggle their little angel for a few days. I took advantage of having Martin Luther King Jr. Day off and also took Tuesday off. I only get so many personal days, but you better believe I will use them to be with my niece! My parents also came out that weekend and it was nice to have so much family in the same house again. I am absolutely in love with that little girl and am so proud of my sister and John for being such loving, caring, patient, wonderful people.

Now we are more or less home until March. I'm sure Andy will be doing some traveling, but he doesn't normally schedule that until the week before he has to go somewhere. For spring break we are packing up the car for our second annual road trip to Panama City Beach, FL to hang out with Andy's dad. Last year we drove from MN and this year we get to see a whole new part of the country. We'll get to see the Carolina's and Georgia, which neither of us have been to before. I'm so excited! Until next time!

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