Avoid the Snow - Part 2

By Tuesday, when we'd been up north for a week and still weren't heading back, there was some doubt expressed in my Instagram story comments as to whether we'd ever return. The doubters weren't entirely off-base. We were pretty cool with life up north, especially when we woke up to see a fox wandering around "our" backyard. Needless to say, we enjoyed our second weather-related bonus day to the fullest.

I called my dad that morning and told him that Mike and Dec wanted to invite him to come up and go ice fishing with them. It didn't take much convincing! Shortly after lunch, Gpa arrived and the boys headed out to the lake. The girls and I decided to get some fresh air on the sledding hill. They had the best time together, most often jumping into the same sled and careening off course down the hill. They were full of adventures and giggles and had the best time just being sisters. Eventually Dec got bored with fishing so Mike brought him back (on the snowmobile) and he joined the craziness of the sledding crew. 

When the kids got cold and went inside, I decided to go for a walk on the lake. Dec was not a reliable narrator and told me that Mike's fish house was one waaaaaaaaay out in the middle. I was not interested in walking that far, but figured I loop around a couple of the islands. In the most Up North Minnesota experience of my life, I walked around the curve of the second island and saw my dad, in a furry hat, sitting on the ice with a line in a hole. He saw me, reeled in his line, and hopped on the snowmobile to come pick me up. It was delightful. And great timing for the guys, as I helped them pack up all their gear (the fish weren't biting). 

Once they unloaded the fishing gear, Mike and Dad went exploring on the snowmobiles. Dad headed into town when they got back and Mike took each of the kids on a sled ride. Meanwhile, I pulled together dinner from our random assortment of food. I had not planned for another day when I ordered the groceries. Thanks to Gma having sent an extra can of tomato soup and some bread with us, I was able to make a perfectly lovely dinner of soup and grilled cheese. And the best news, we had hardly any food left to pack up!

The winter storm that had hit the cities during the day finally arrived in GR around 6pm. Since we knew it was our last night up north for a quite while, we went out for one more moonlight sledding adventure in the falling snow. It was the perfect way to end our cabin stay.

Mike and I packed up as much as we could after the kids went to bed and were on the road shortly after 10am Wednesday morning (and not completely happy about it). We made a quick pit stop to say good-bye to Gma, Gpa, and Auntie (and drop some stuff off) and then pointed the car south. The roads up north were a bit slippery since it had snowed all night, but cleared off the farther south we got. My favorite part of the drive was when I told the kids that the next day was New Year's Eve. Minds were blown. [Fun fact: we stopped for lunch at Subway. I got the kids the kid meal sandwiches. And the girls complained the rest of the drive about still being hungry. Apparently we are hitting the milestone of outgrowing kids meals.]

Other than hungry people, the drive home was uneventful (we never take that for granted). We arrived home mid-afternoon, just as our neighbor had finished plowing our driveway (thanks Chuck!) The kids were so excited when we walked in the house to find their presents from Santa (as well as a host of other still unopened presents) under the tree. It's perfectly normal to not get your Santa gifts until December 30 ... right? 

We spent the rest of the day unloading, unpacking, doing so much laundry, opening and enjoying Santa gifts*, and SHOWERING small humans. It was early to bed in our own beds. As much as our trip north was amazing, so were our beds. 

*Santa surprised Declan with Super Mario legos that he put together all by himself, Quinn with a pizza oven and American Girl food set, and Fiona with an Alex Morgan barbie and the Barbie Dream Closet that I had told her she did not need. Mr. SC was very popular ... five days post-Christmas.