Break Is Still Going Strong

We planned to meet up with Anna and the cousins at the Children's Museum the day after Christmas. But when we all pulled into the parking lot, we realized that it wasn't open. Anna laughed and claimed it was her second year in a row of things not being open. I maintain it was her second year in a row of having a back up plan that was even more fun than the original! She promises that she'll mess up a plan next Christmas so we can have another great time.

Mike dropped the kids and me off at Anna's (the back up plan) and while six cousins ran around, laughed, played, and pulled out every toy in the house, Anna and I sat at her kitchen island with coffee and talked more than we have been able to in probably five years. So delightful. Since the kids were having so much fun, Anna made a quick lunch from them and Mike grabbed tacos for the tall people. Liv and Beau joined as well. We stayed there until early-mid-afternoon and then headed back to Gma and Gpa's for about an hour of downtime.

Then we were off again to the rink and sledding hill by Liv's house. The afternoon was a little chillier than we expected, but a few trips pulling short cousins up the sledding hill and we warmed right up. Quinn really really wanted to skate, so Mike skated with her while the rest of us sledded. The rink was right at the top of the sledding hill, so she could keep an eye on us - and Beau could watch her with rapt admiration.

The sledding hill was awesome and we didn't even have to yell "tree!" There were, nonetheless, good life skill development moments. Otto learned that it is not funny, and in fact quite painful, to intentionally stand in the path of a fast moving sled. Declan and Hux learned about momentum and that a fast-moving sled will run over a four-year-old cousin. Auntie's butt learned that going over jumps in your 30s can be bruisingly painful.

After dinner that night, we went on our annual moonlight walk in the woods with Gma, Gpa, and Auntie. We only had a sliver of a moon, which made the walk so dark (and really cool). We decided to not walk out on the lake this year as the wind had picked up and it would have been really cold. We did get in a few runs on the sledding path before we turned back ... and I don't even think D's sled hit a tree.

As usual, the kids got pulled in their sleds as we walked - but I think we are getting close to them self-propelling themselves. I'm sure it will be met with resistance - until they discover it's just as much fun and they can do more exploring. Of all the things we do over Christmas break, our walk in the woods is always one of the favorites. It's something I hope we are still doing when the kids are teenagers. And maybe pulling the rest of us on sleds!