Holiday Letter 2016

2016 Year in Review Holiday Letter

December 14, 2016

Thank you for taking the time to visit our site and read our annual holiday letter. We know many of you are very busy, and like us, might also be exhausted parents who have modest goals, such as putting your head down on the pillow by 10pm three nights a week, and of course to not be woken up those same three nights when one of your little ones wants to snuggle. Hopefully you find our holiday letter entertaining, yet not entertaining enough to keep you up way too late.

First quarter

• We survived our 9th winter in Minnesota, winter #3 of course for Blake and Leslie.
• Drew traveled to Nashville with one of his best bud, Chris Lynch, to see Texas A&M play Louisville in the Music City Bowl. Unfortunately for Drew '00 and Chris '01, both Texas A&M Former Students, the Aggies ran out of time playing the Cardinals. 
• Family winter trip to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where we had a great time at Metropolis, enjoying the indoor water park. While in the area, we drove over to Chippewa Falls to see Leinenkugel's Brewery. Unfortunately we didn't get to take a brewery tour, yet look forward to doing so when we visit again.
• Blake and Leslie turned 3, and became 'big helpers' at church, serving as greeters on Sunday mornings, typically one Sunday per month with mom and dad.
• Blake and Leslie also had their first attempt at ice skating and outdoors at our neighborhood ice rink. Leslie and Blake both enjoyed being on the ice almost as much as the hot cocoa waiting for them in the warming hut right outside the rink. 

Second quarter

• In early Spring we had some warmer weather, which meant early Spring bike rides around Minneapolis on our fabulous bike trails. Drew also began commuting to work downtown on his bike after enjoying his inaugural bicycle commute participating in Minneapolis Bike Week events.
• Krista enjoyed a relaxing girls' weekend in Colorado with her best friend Kate.
• Completed our first major family road trip to Chicago for Kellogg Reunion Weekend, which typically is six hours each way from Minneapolis. The kids were great and we only had to stop 5 times on the way there, arriving 7.5 hours later.
• In late Spring, we had our 2nd annual week long family vacation to Breezy Point, Minnesota. We bought a trailer package and Yakima trailer bike rack for the new minivan, and brought our bicycles with us. That's right, we joined the minivan club in late 2015! 
• While at Breezy Point we rode our bikes 30 to 40 miles several days during our vacation, and once again visiting Dairy Queens in each town along the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail. This year we traveled further North (by mini-van, due to the distance) and visited Bemidji, MN, where we met Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Paul and Babe had just finished clearing some land around Lake Bemidji, so they were kind enough to pause for a group photo. We also caught the turtle races in Nisswa and spent one day boating, fishing, and relaxing on Pelican Lake.
• Blake enrolled and completed T-ball in late Spring.

 

Third quarter

• For Fourth of July weekend we started the third quarter with a family trip to Houston. We always have a great time visiting family in Krista's hometown of Friendswood, where the annual Fourth of July parade and fireworks display is amazing! Blake and Leslie (along with mom and dad) had so much fun swimming and having fun at Grandma and Grandpa Brinly's. We love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Scott, Aunt Melissa, and Cousin Jacob. 
• While in Friendswood, Leslie went with mom and grandma on an American Doll Adventure.
• Back in Minnesota we had fun enjoying Minneapolis Lakes beach time.
• We went to the State Fair and on Prince Day, the first Friday of the great Minnesota get together and day of celebration of Prince's life. This was also the first year Blake and Leslie were able to experience the Giant Slide (riding tandem with mom and dad of course...and also a first for mom and dad). Wheeeeeeeeee!
• In early Fall, Blake and Leslie started Preschool!
• Leslie also started dance in the Fall, a creative movements class that serves as an introductory tap and ballet class for toddlers with focus on motor development, rhythm and following directions. 
• Leslie and Daddy had daddy daughter date night in mid-October, enjoying dinner at George and the Dragon in SW Minneapolis.
• Blake started Flag Football through the Y, and while he was the youngest of the toddlers on his team, he really got into practicing the drills that his coach had them do each week, and did a great job avoiding 'tackles' and protecting the ball during scrimmages.
• On Halloween, the Paw Patrol (Ryder, Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta, Marshall and Skye) kept the streets of Edina safe for trick-or-treaters.

Fourth quarter

• In late Fall we had family photos taken by the always amazing Kristi Ruport, with Studio Six Pictures.
• We took a much anticipated family vacation in November, a four-day Disney Cruise aboard the Disney Wonder, which sailed from Galveston, TX, to Cozumel, Mexico. Krista affectionately describes our Disney Cruise experience as 'Vegas for Kids'. The excitement and resulting daily exhaustion were well worth it!
• Before and after our Disney Cruise, we stayed with the Brinly's in Friendswood through Thanksgiving. The Brinly's had a full house this year as it was the first year both kids, son & daughter-in-law, and grand kids all stayed at their house. Scott, Melissa, and Jacob recently moved to San Antonio from League City, Texas, and are no longer 20 minutes away from the Brinly's. San Antonio has been a big change for them, yet has also been a great opportunity for their family. We are excited to be able to visit them in San Antonio and hopefully in early 2017. We think the best time for us to visit is when the temperature drops to -20F in Minnesota. We hope they will plan to visit us when the temperature rises to 110F in San Antonio. 
• While staying in Friendswood over Thanksgiving, we completed one final day long family adventure visiting Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake. It was reaffirmed during our visit that 3 yr olds are full of 'independence', as the phrase, "I'll do it myself", is heard frequently in our home. At Johnson Space Center, this meant Blake and Leslie trying every switch they could get their hands on to attempt to launch themselves into outer space while on board Space Shuttle Independence.
• We are looking forward to winding down the year at home in Minnesota and planning our adventures for 2017!

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