The Ups and Downs of Christmas Day

The fallout of the very late arrival night started to show its cracks on Christmas Eve. The cracks broke wide open on Christmas day. Uff da! The behavior and attitudes were not our holiday finest. But after a strongly worded "come to Jesus" meeting about expectations, we reset life and the day. I feel like that is noteworthy, because there was a time not too many years ago when once a day went sideways, it was rarely recoverable. 

The girls woke up a little after 7am, but Dec was still sleeping. He had been up in the middle of the night with a bloody nose, so was pretty tired. The ladies and I went upstairs and watched Kids Baking Championship with Gma and Gpa until Dec, Mike, and Auntie emerged. Just before 8am, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and passed out the stockings. 

Declan was thrilled to discover a new Sonic winter hat, the Sonic movie, and Pokemon cards in his stocking. He was also delighted that our elf Tyler had passed along his message that Gpa should get Pokemon cards too, so that they could trade. Gpa seemed very "excited" about his cards ... Quinn got the most perfect new shirt that says "I skate like a girl. Try to keep up" and a buffalo plaid dress. Fiona found ear muffs and perfumed body spray, which she deemed to be very fitting of being big. 

The present opening was fun and relaxed. We didn't have any firm plans for the day, so there was no rush. Everyone seemed very happy with their gifts. My dad tried out his new leaf blower. Mike set up his new outdoor movie screen and projector. My mom wore her new fleece and earrings. Auntie and I tested out our new slippers. Dec was thrilled with his beyblade stadium from Auntie, Quinn crawled into her giant wheeled hockey bag, and Fiona was delighted by the surprise of modeling clay.

It was a really nice day outside (much warmer than Christmas Eve), so we talked to Auntie Tracey and decided to make the trip up to see her family and use the lake skating rink that Uncle Kyle and Ben had been working on! We typically spend Christmas day with them, but had all agreed that there would be no inside parties this year. However, we were hoping the weather would cooperate for some outside fun. 

The afternoon was lovely and the ice was great. But the attitudes were ... ugh. I should say mostly the girls' attitudes. Dec had a blast skating with Ben and ice fishing with Mike. I think his favorite part of the day was schooling his big 17-year-old cousin on skating skills. The neighbor also has a rink, so Ben and Kyle got D to skate full speed from one end of the rink to the other, jump the pump bump between the two, and keep skating to the other end of the second rink. Dec did it over and over and thought it was such fun. Ben was a great sport and watching them made me so happy. However, the rotten attitudes took their toll and Mike and I eventually voted to call it a day. We were willing to give a little grace because we knew everyone was tired. But we made the point that we were unimpressed.

After another delicious dinner from Grandma, we did a Zoom call to open presents with Auntie Tracey/family and Gpa V. The kids were not well-behaved. We ended that call and I led the aforementioned "come to Jesus" discussion. The point was made, because our next Zoom call with Gma and Gpa N went much better! 

After our Zoom Christmases, we bundled up for our annual moonlight walk through the woods. I had stated earlier in the week that everyone would be self-propelled this year. Somehow I was overruled and when I got outside, there were three kids in sleds. Auntie also wondered how she wound up pulling a human through the woods! Maybe next year will be the Year of Self Propulsion. Or the year that Auntie stages a mutiny. 

It was a lovely night and we had so much fun out in the woods. It was just what everyone needed to reset. The kids did a bunch of sledding, Mike and Quinn got way ahead of the rest of us so obviously hid behind trees to leap out and scare us, and as is also tradition, Declan slid into a tree. I'm so glad we were able to end the day on a high note, because ultimately, that is how we will remember it.

A Different Christmas Eve

We had a quiet, relaxing, and fun Christmas Eve. But it felt weird. There was no cousin skating and sledding date, no hurry scurrying because of all the events, no giant family party, and no going to bed so much later than planned. The day just felt so ... anti-climatic. It was really different - and everyone commented on it at some point - but it was a good day. While we are all hopeful that Christmas Eve 2021 will be back to our usual craziness, Christmas Eve 2020 is memorable in its own right.

It was brutally cold (a high of 1 degree), but after lunch, we bundled up to drop off presents at all the cousin houses. Just because we weren't partying with them didn't mean we weren't thinking of them! Fiona had the great idea of making "You've Been Grinched" signs for each of the cousin piles of presents, which turned out so cute. We planned out our delivery route to end near the sledding hill. We might not be sledding with the cousins - but Christmas Eve sledding is still a tradition!

After we traded bags of presents with Liv, off we went (with Auntie in tow) to the sledding hill. It was cold! Auntie headed to the hill with Q and D while I tried to convince F that this was a good plan. By the time I got out of the car, Dec already had a bloody nose. Things were not going particularly well. Then butts went in sleds, sleds went down the hill, and suddenly there were smiles and giggles. Funny how that works! We didn't stay more than 20 minutes, as it was too cold to be out much longer. But it was well worth the effort. Even Fiona would agree.

Everyone needs a Grammy as awesome as Gma J! She knew it would be a strange day for everyone, so she did so much to make it special. Including making a most delicious dinner. So good that we couldn't even eat the apple pie that she and Q had made because we were so full! After dinner was cleaned up, the family band practice from the night before culminated in quite the amazing family recital. Declan, Mike, Fiona, Auntie/me, and Quinn were the headliners. We were quite disappointed that Gma and Gpa didn't break out the accordion and saxophone!

Once the recital was over, the kids got ready for bed, read The Night Before Christmas, made reindeer food, got Santa's cookies and milk ready, and tucked everyone in. Then the rest of us pulled out Telestrations and sat at the dining room table laughing for a couple hours. The day was proof that different does not mean bad - and we all had such appreciation of being together.

Avoid the Snow - Part 1

We had school and work through December 22nd, so planned to head north mid-morning on the 23rd. I had my team holiday party (a virtual wine tasting ... where I drank whiskey) until 5:30 that evening. There were some great plans between Mike and I around taking breaks from work during the day to do some packing ... but you know what they say about best-laid plans. They went awry.

[Pandemic disclaimer: because we were working and schooling from home, we made the commitment to self-isolate for two weeks before Christmas. My parents and sister made the same commitment so that we could safely see each other for the holiday.]

As I started to get dinner ready, my dad called. "Sar, you are keeping an eye on the weather, right?" Um, I think so ... why? "Because we are supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow tomorrow." Mi-ike!!! Turns out, we were keeping an eye on the weather. But the forecast had changed dramatically during the day when we were working [thank you, Dad!]. After studying the forecast and the radar, Mike determined we had three options ... none of which included leaving mid-morning on the 23rd. 

We could hustle it up and leave that night (yikes! We were NOT packed - and such a late arrival!), we could get up early and hit the road around 5:00am to try to beat the storm, or we could wait until Christmas Eve to travel. There was a team discussion during dinner (including the kids because any decision impacted them too). No one wanted to wait until Christmas Eve. Mike wasn't sure that leaving at 5am was actually going to help us beat the storm. Which left ... leave that night. 

I took a few deep breaths, told the kids that the only way this would work is if they cooperated, and tried not to panic. We made the decision to change the plan at 6:30pm. Against all the odds (for real, all of them), we were on the road at 8:58pm. The kids were super helpful, Mike and I had our standard holiday stand-off about bringing too much stuff ... basically smooth sailing. 

As we got on the freeway, Mike said, "I wonder what we forgot." The girls started listing things and one by one, I confirmed we had them. There was a lull while they tried to think of more stuff. Out of the blue, Dec yelled "Keevvvvviiiiinnnn" [nod to Home Alone] and everyone burst out laughing. His comedic timing is so perfect and it such a perfect start to our trip. 

Even though it was already an hour past their bedtime, we knew they wouldn't be sleeping while we went through the cities. Too many lights. So we put on our Disney Christmas carols DVD and let them veg out a bit. Eventually I turned it off and they tried to sleep. It was hard and uncomfortable for them. They dozed, but no one slept much. However, they were great during the trip. [There was one pit stop on the side of an entrance ramp in the middle of the night so four out of five Vannestes could pee on the side of the road ...]

We got to GR at 12:30am (we did arrive on the 23rd!) and immediately brought the kids down to bed and tucked them in. Auntie helped us onload all our crap and then everyone was off to bed. It was a late (or early) arrival, but we were so happy to wake up already at our destination!

The 23rd was super low key. The girls and I got haircuts, Grandpa taught Dec how to play checkers (and true to form, did not give him any advantage. Even though he is only SIX, Gpa!), Mike and my dad played chess (kinda), we played in the new snow (and were thankful we made the travel choice we did), and there was some serious family band practice that evening. The kids were in surprisingly great moods for the very late night. Winter break had officially begun!

A Good Birthday

Having a birthday five days before Christmas is not the greatest. Last year, despite our best efforts, Mike's 40th birthday was not good. So the kids and I really wanted to make this year better. His birthday was on a Sunday and we still had a couple days of school/work left, so I knew we would be in town for the big day and could do something special. 

I splurged and bought Mike a Nintendo Switch video game console - and let the kids in on the secret. I was shocked and proud that they all kept it a secret ... even Dec, who was beyond excited about the Nintendo! Mike did know that it would be good when D kept asking if we would open presents at breakfast. There was also a big box from Gma, Gpa, and Auntie that they were very curious about. I had not shared that secret with them.

We let Mike sleep in on the birthday proper and then Dec begged him to open his presents. The Switch was a big hit, although I had not realized that it didn't come with any games. So Mike got a few ordered for pick up later that day (ooops!). Dec could hardly wait to "help" test out the birthday gift. Then Mike opened the mystery box ... and found a slackline ninja warrior course. 

I made eggs and bacon for breakfast, got Mike a couple McRibs for lunch, and made a successful (and significantly less disastrous than last year) dinner of pork chops, au gratin potatoes, and strawberry shortcake. It was a good food day for Mike! [Our grill was broken last year, which is part of why the pork chops dried out. Mike grilled the chops this year and they were much better. We had a flame up issue that we feared would ruin dinner yet again - but instead, gave the chops a perfect char.]

It was a fun and relaxing day and the kids were in great moods. Mike put up the slackline course even though he had said he wouldn't (no one believed him)! It is quite difficult and will be a good challenge for the kids. My gift was watching Mike get tangled up in the ladder on the course. We also made sugar cookies and spritz cookies to bring north for Christmas. Basically I was in the kitchen all day while everyone else played video games on the new Switch. Mario Kart and Animal Crossing were big hits!

I had one final surprise up my sleeve and enlisted the kids to help me pull it off. They were so proud and excited to be part of the plan and did a great job. We hurried to make sure showers were done and dinner was cleaned up. Quinn distracted Mike while I made a couple whiskey drinks and hid them in our mailbox. 

At exactly 7:10, we headed out the door for our walk and I yelled to the kids that they could watch "one show only" ... except they knew that this night, even though I said one, they could watch two. Because at the end of our walk, I grabbed the drinks and our two neighbor family buddies walked to the ends of their driveways to toast the birthday boy and visit across the street from each other. Mike was so surprised!

Later that night, he told me that it was the best birthday he has had in quite a while. That's exactly what the kids and I were going for! They were so happy when I told them that we made Daddy's day really special. And now I know, involve them in the plans more often. They are great helpers!

At Home: Week 4

Happy 2021!! It's New Year's Day. But in typical fashion (that is not entirely my fault), we are not even close to done with December stories. So it'll be 2020 here in blog world for a few more posts. Which is pretty on brand, since we were still opening Christmas presents today ... (also not entirely my fault. and totally worth it ... wait about five posts, and you'll agree)

Week four of the great self-isolation / distance learning / work from home experiment was decidedly better than week three (granted the bar was really low). We had spent the weekend outside on the lake and by Monday, Mike decreed the rink ready for children to boot skate (no blades yet). It's so interesting - and not at all surprising - that attitudes, spirits, and general outlook on life improved dramatically the more days in a row that we were able to get outside and get the energy out!

Because snow fell on Sunday, the rink needed to be shoveled. But the ice wasn't solid enough to support Mike (or so he said) ... so maintenance was outsourced.

On Tuesday, a "warming shack" was popped up in the yard. It seemed to be used more for snack consumption - and in the case of Quinn, one virtual math class. It was also a great conversation starter when Mike and I were out on our nightly walks around the neighborhood. Apparently not everyone has a fish house in their back yard.

It wasn't all ice and rinks around it (only 95% - give or take). We were also getting ready for Christmas and the kids made homemade cards for their awesome teachers. It's always so fun to see the unique and creative ways that they each show they care.

Quinn had a virtual Bingo night with her hockey team - and even though she didn't win, she was so happy to see the faces of her friends and teammates. Hockey starts up again January 4th and she is ready!

Wednesday night was the big night here. Mike decided the ice was ready for kids ... with skates. After dinner, they all put their blades on and Fiona did the inaugural puck drop. We did it in full MN Wild style and as the puck dropped, she said "let's play hockey." Then she shrieked because Q and D were all over that puck!

It was so much fun to see them out on the rink, skating, battling, tumbling over the boards (we might need higher boards), and enjoying the fresh air. The rink looks so big until you actually start skating on it. Coach Mike says that it will force people to work on their stick handling - and their hockey stops! [Also, please admire Mike's rink light. And yes, we can control it with our Alexa device.]

On Saturday, we were sick of our house and Mike wanted to test out his brand new BIG ice house. So he put it up in the yard and we had lunch in the fish house. Creative? Desperate for a change of scenery? We didn't think too hard about that question. Indeed, there were two different fish houses in our yard in one week. We really were the talk of the block!