Holiday Letter 2015

Holiday Letter 2015

December 14, 2015

We’ve combined some of our favorite things throughout 2015 into this year’s holiday letter.

For those who want a quick read, our 2015 is pretty well summarized in the “unfiltered parent” auto-generated holiday letter below.

First Quarter

We started 2015 with a trip to Sesame Street Live, which was one of the first family outings we had with Blake and Leslie where we felt like rock star parents since they had such a great time. We were also settling into the new house in Edina as a family. Drew’s mom Sally is living with us right now as Drew's father and her husband Keith of 43 years, passed away unexpectedly in October 2014. Sally began to settle in with us and she experienced her first full Minnesota winter! She also began making friends in Edina and enjoying spending more time with her grandbabies, son, and daughter-in-law who all love her very much!

In February Blake and Leslie turned 2, and we celebrated by attending The Okie Dokie Brothers concert in Minneapolis that evening, which was so much fun!

The Okie Dokie Brothers

Second Quarter

The Hensels left Minnesota for the snow covered state of Colorado in April, making a long overdue visit to Krista’s best friend Kate Pratt and husband Ryan Banagale in Colorado Springs, and had a blast. Blake and Leslie had fun playing with Felix and Theo, and we learned during this trip that Blake is not afraid of heights. He was the first of the gang to make it to the top of the play structure at Monkey Bizness and he had so much fun.

 We also fed Giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, walked/hiked Garden of the Gods, played on as many playgrounds as we could find, and all of this with majestic views of Pikes Peak in the background.

Garden of the Gods

Blake and Leslie’s favorite outing was the trip to the Arcade and quarter rides in Manitou Springs. The number of rides not only blew our minds as first-timers, but it was severe overload for Blake and Leslie as they bounced from ride to ride trying to decide which they would ride first, then next.

In May, Drew and Krista enjoyed a date night at the Allina Hospice Foundation Gala at the Raddison Blu hotel at Mall of America with good friends. Krista was co-MC at this year's gala and continues to be actively involved as a board member.

Allina Hospice Foundation Gala

In June we took a family week-long vacation to the Brainerd Lakes region of Minnesota, and enjoyed biking the Paul Bunyan Trail, visiting every Dairy Queen and playground along a 30 mile stretch of the trail. Each day we went biking we averaged 35 miles, which included some significant elevation due to plenty of hills between the resort we were at and where we would get on the Paul Bunyan Trail in Peaquot Lakes, MN.

Third Quarter

We traveled for 4^th of July to be with the Brinlys in Friendswood and all enjoyed the parade this year. It was great spending time with friends and family while back in the Houston area, and being able to watch the Friendswood Fireworks display from the comfort of the Brinly’s driveway.

In August, we took a trip to the Minnesota Arboretum to see the Lego sculptures that were on display, and we went to the “Great Minnesota Get Together”, the Minnesota State Fair.

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Everyone loves the Minnesota State Fair, and some go a few times during the "12 days of fun" the fair is held each year. We spent a half day this year and went early before the fair became too crowded, and yet a half day seemed to be all we needed with two-year old twins.

In September, we experienced our first Edina High School Football games and Homecoming Parade, which is a lot of fun as we are very close to EHS Football Stadium. Go Hornets!!  Blake and Leslie also started soccer with Soccer Shots in Edina, where they learned to control the ball, kick over cones marking the soccer field boundary, and generally kick the ball in the direction they intended to and sometimes even in the goal.

Coach Tony with Soccer Shots

Fourth Quarter

October kicked off with a trip to Red Wing with Grandma Sally, and a new playset for Blake and Leslie for the backyard. We still can't believe they already were outgrowing their Little Tikes Swingset that Drew assembled in early 2014, and made the move to Edina.

Grandma Sally in Red Wing for Fall Fest

Halloween trick-or-treating was a huge hit this year! Blake dressed as a dragon (friendly dragon), while Leslie was a princess. Both the dragon and princess were really into trick-or-treating and dragged their giant sock monkey from door-to-door on Halloween too.

November included a Frozen party with Queen Elsa at the Edina Community Center, and a Thanksgiving trip to the Brinlys in Friendswood, where Blake and Leslie were able to play on playgrounds in the 70/80 degree weather each day and with their cousin Jacob, who shares their birthday and will turn nine this coming February when Blake and Leslie turn 3. Blake and Leslie both helped mom and dad with leaf raking this Fall, as we found we have many leaves at the new house to rake along with the bigger yard.

Drew also led the Stewardship team at our church during October and November to help the church to raise its budget by 15%, which was no small undertaking. In addition, Drew's now 6 years of supporting and volunteering with Urban Homeworks included his hosting and filling two tables at their annual Perpetuate the Hope luncheon in Downtown Minneapolis at The Depot, and helping Urban Homeworks secure an additional grant from a family foundation that will also be matched.

So far in December we’ve had multiple Santa visits, and at the time of writing our annual holiday letter we are 12 days away from Christmas Day.

The Brinlys are joining us in Minnesota for Christmas, and they are arriving when we’ve had a string of 40-60 degree days for over a week and a little rain. I’m still dreaming of a white Christmas…let it snow!

Gingerbread House Decoration

Family Holiday Photo with The Brinlys in Friendswood, TX

We are incredibly blessed to have had such a wonderful year with our family, and taking several trips that we will remember for many years to come. In 2016 we are looking forward to a big family reunion in the early summer, and exploring new and old places together for the first time with our children.

May each of your holidays be filled with love, peace, and joy, and have a blessed 2016!

The Hensels
Drew, Krista, Blake, and Leslie