Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for December 27, 2015

Christmas came and went this year.  It started fun with an office party with my co-workers on Tuesday.  I work with so many fun people!  We had lunch together and then went bowling.  Very Christmasy.

On Wednesday night, I went to see the Minnesota Timberwolves play the San Antonio Spurs.  The home team got smoked!

Bizarrely enough, when I first walked into the Target Center, I bumped into my old buddy, Karl Towns.  He's the father of our #1 draft pick, Karl Anthony Towns, and I met him at the team's home opener as can be seen here.  I shook his hand again and said Hello.  My boys asked me if I thought he remembered me and I said "Sure.  Why not?"

I was down near the locker room at half time snapping pictures of the players.  We have a lot of great young athletes like Andrew Wiggins and Zach Levine, but the wins are still kind of slow in coming.

When I was walking back to my seat, I noticed a couple of court side seats still open so I figured I could rest there for a few minutes and take some pictures.  I'm sure no-one minds that kind of thing.  At least that's what I tell myself.

If I didn't do this kind of thing, how would I ever get to see Kevin Garnett barking up real close?  I wouldn't.

Walking back to my car, I stopped to admire the Christmas Tree in the IDS Tower.  There are certain benefits to working downtown.

On Christmas Eve, we drove to the farm in Inwood, Iowa to be with Grandma Leona.  We made it just in time for a most pleasant church service.  We got to hold candles and sing Silent Night.  I especially like it when the wax drips on my fingers.

Later that night, we hooked up with Uncle Jerry and his family to play games, eat, drink, and be merry.  Being merry is my favorite part.

The boys opened most of their presents in record time this year.  It was more quiet than usual, but also much more efficient.  We tore through those bad boys in no time.

The family re-connected for a fantastic Christmas meal including both turkey and ham.  I was ready for my Christmas nap after that one.

On Saturday, I drove to Canton, South Dakota to see my step-sister, Martha, my nephew, Ryan, and his friend, January.  It was great seeing them all and we had a wonderful lunch together.

They took me to a restaurant called Paul's Place.  If you're ever in Canton, I highly recommend it.  They had one of the best burgers I've ever had before.  It was called the Mama Popper and consisted of a great burger, topped with two Jalapeno Poppers, and a raspberry chipotle sauce that was incredible.  I'm going to have to see if they'll mail me another one some time.