My mom knows how to party.
We had a great time at family Christmas in Eagan last night. There were approximately two million presents under the tree. We got my parents a digital picture frame (pre-loaded with old photos), a bath set including washcloths that I knit, and the Garmin software to upgrade my dad’s GPS. Stephanie got a Kiva.org gift certificate, a Gophers tshirt, and a scarf. We got Escobar cookbooks and a beer sampler, as he’s the resident gourmet.
I got a poker tabletop, Scrabble (the kind with the rotating board), a Gophers hoodie, WiiPlay (which we have already and will exchange), a couple of these awesome photo holders, and a gift certificate to go use the flight simulator with my dad, since we’ve flown a plane together before. SO AWESOME. And I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting something. My parents got Matt a bottle of Macallan 12, and the meat grinder attachment for our KitchenAid mixer. He’s promised to invent me some kind of fancy veggie burger with it, too.
My sister got me three pairs of Smartwool socks (holy crap, I love them), and a tent repair kit. She got Matt a Gophers flag to accompany the State of Hockey flag in our basement party room. Escobar got me a gift card for Robot Love, and Matt an ice bucket that matches the stuff on our bar. Scott, Ali, and kids made us a lamp containing shells they picked up on Sanibel Island. So cute.
After the present-opening, we hung out and my dad told stories about the time he almost shot a guy in Janesville, Wisconsin, during a drug bust. I realized, though, that my dad’s been retired from the DEA long enough that he no longer tells those stories in Chicago-cop voice. I really want Matt to hear him talking in the same exact accent as Dan Aykroyd in the Blues Brothers. It’s impressive.
Oh, and in addition to the ants on a log, there were mini corn dogs made with vegetarian little smokies. They weren’t exactly good, but they were strangely appealing. I’m hoping to never encounter them again.