We Made It to January

Congratulations! On this, the tenth post of January, we have finally caught up to January 1st. Let me tell you, our extended Northern vacation certainly made New Year's Eve arrive quickly!

We were definitely still putting our lives back together and were pretty tired from a week of adventures, but we did not want New Year's Eve to be neglected. To mark the end of a very strange 2020, we gathered with the Ps - our New Year's people - for an outside sledding and skating party. It was different (the theme of all things 2020), but a safe and fun way to welcome in the new year. 

After a day of doing more laundry, getting groceries, opening more presents under the tree, and repairing the rink after two winter storms and a week of neglect, the Ps arrived shortly after dinner. We met them outside, grabbed our sleds, and formed a 10-person parade down to the sledding hill. When I had texted C earlier in the day to tell her to bring sleds, she responded with "Won't it be too dark to sled?" If you have been reading the blog, you know that there is little the Vs like more than moonlight sledding. We truly did not understand that question. So the kids were committed to showing their buddies that there is no such thing as "too dark for sledding."

Once the kids were done sledding, it was back to our house to put on skates to test out the rink. Cooper would have skated all night, but eventually the rest of the kids got cold. Mike had shoveled out our fire pit and had a lovely fire going, so we warmed up with hot chocolate and s'mores. 

The cold, fresh air did its work, and by 9:00, the kids were wiped out. B&C gathered their gear while everyone else tested out the slackline ninja course (our yard never disappoints) and the night ended with our traditional confetti cannons. It may have only been 9:30ish, but we still yelled Happy New Year with great enthusiasm.

Mike and I cleaned up the last few things (an outside party doesn't require a lot of clean up!) and then settled in to toast 2021 with a Polar Bear shot and a couple episodes of Scrubs. It was a low-key celebration, but a lot of fun. And felt like the right way to close the book on 2020.

Everyone slept in on New Year's Day (hooray!) and we had a very slow and relaxing morning. We also managed to finally open the last of the Christmas presents. Longest Christmas ever. However, by the end of the weekend, life was mostly back in order. The Christmas décor was down, the tree had been replaced by a card table (known as "the Lego table"), our 2021 calendar was ordered, and the laundry was finally put away. Other than actually putting the presents away (which would not be accomplished until January 15 ... don't judge), we were ready for 2021. And more importantly, for work and school to start on Monday.

I lie. We were physically ready for work and school to start. Mentally, we were still at the cabin.

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.

Grammy's Birthday

We woke up Monday morning to a rather awful weather forecast for the following day (when we planned to head home). There was a winter weather advisory with blizzard conditions in the cities from 9am to 6am the next day. Usually this would mean that for the millionth year in a row, we  would bail on Grammy's birthday and head home early to beat the weather. But not this year. We had promised Grammy a celebration at the cabin and it was happening! 

After examining the forecast and the radar, Mike sighed and said "we better hit the road early tomorrow." I looked at him in shock and said "that's not what I expected you to say." I was completely prepared for him to suggest we contact the cabin owner and see if we could extend our stay an extra night. Honestly, that was all the permission Mike Vanneste needed. Within the hour, he had done just that and we were excited to spend an extra day up north (on top of the extra day we got on the front end of the trip).

We spent the morning making Grammy's birthday cake and testing out Fiona's new modeling clay. Then shortly after lunch, Auntie, Grammy, and Grampy arrived! The kids had to give the grand cabin tour first (mostly to show off their rooms and the pool table) and then out we went to the sledding hill. It has gotten colder overnight and we discovered that the snowbanks at the bottom of the hill that we had been going through the day before were now solid ice launching pads. We learned this because Grampy went sailing off of one! 

As I warned the new sledders about the various obstacles, Auntie jokingly told me that I forgot to mention the fire pit. I told her that I figured if you missed the septic tank pole and the snowmobile trailer, you'd also miss the fire pit. [Fact: I had to text Auntie the next day because the girls had crashed into the fire pit. So many obstacles. So much fun!]

When Mike had talked to the cabin owner earlier in the morning to extend our stay, she mentioned that there were sleds in their shed and to feel free to use them. She had failed to mention that there was also a toboggan! GAME ON! We had so much fun sledding, but after watching Gpa launch off the jumps, Gma decided that she didn't want to kill herself on her birthday. So while Mike hung out at the hill with kids, the original Johnson four went for a walk on the lake. It was a perfect day and a great walk. We even got a visit from Mike and Fiona on the snowmobile!

Then we were back inside to play games, shoot some pool, make animals out of clay, and enjoy the fireplace. Meanwhile, I had the important responsibility of making Grammy's birthday dinner. We couldn't take her out to eat (all indoor dining in Minnesota was paused), but we could make her dinner in a different location. Quinn helped me (we had to make several game time substitutions with what we could find the spice cupboard), but we made brown sugar baby back ribs and cheesy au gratin potatoes. My dad said the ribs were better than at the Forest Lake (which is high praise). We ate sooo much - but still managed to squeeze in birthday cake. After we sang to Grandma, that is. 

We went back outside after dinner to enjoy moonlight sledding and walking (or to work off all that dinner!) before we said good-bye to our visitors. Grandma sent messages to the kids the next that that it was one of her very best birthdays. We are all quite proud of ourselves that we made not one, but two, December birthday people feel very happy and loved.

Vs Were Made for Cabin Life

We woke up to snow flurries on our first full day at the cabin and were not sad about this development! While we took our time getting ready (clearly in vacation mode), once we got rolling, we did not mess around and packed in the fun. 

Mike and I were antsy to check out our surroundings, so we all got our gear on and headed outside. Before we could explore though, we had to test out the sledding hill that was literally right outside the door. The hill did not disappoint and was so much fun! It was steep enough that you could get some good speed and there were big snowbanks (from the plow) at the bottom that we would blast right through. Dec and I went down the hill together and completely destroyed the snowbank at the bottom. His face was covered in snow/water and we were laughing so hard.

We did learn quickly that there were a ... handful ... of obstacles to be aware of. Including, but not limited to, the pipe for the septic tank, a random metal pole, the dock spanning the entire bottom of the hill, the road, the garage, the snowmobile trailer, and the fire pit. The obstacles amped up the excitement factor! 

Once we were ready for a break, we walked down the road to check out the woods and lake. The snow was falling and it was so pretty - and quiet. Quinn and Dec decided to offset the quiet by off-roading a bit from the trail. They ended up doing some forest sledding - which means aiming your sled verrry carefully so you don't hit a tree. Fiona decided the smart play was to stay on the trail and not flirt with danger. 

We ate a late lunch back after our walk and then headed back up to Auntie Tracey's (it was only 5 minutes away from us!). Uncle Kyle had been hard at work on the rinks, so we had to test them out. However, the continual snowfall during the day made things a little tricky (and made for a lot of shoveling by Uncle Kyle). We skated and played in the snow for about an hour and then brought the snowmobiles back to the cabin (we had left them at Tracey's earlier in the week). It was much more enjoyable than Christmas Day because we had kids in better spirits - and nice to end our limited time together on a better note.

Back at the cabin, the kids pulled out some of their new toys while Mike got the snowmobiles unloaded and set up an ice fishing spot on the lake. Then the girls and I made dinner while the boys headed out to fish. After dinner, Mike and I wanted to go for another walk. The kids countered with the suggestion of moonlight sledding. The kids were right. We had such fun zooming down in the hill with just the moon, the stars, and a few lights from the cabin. 

Eventually, we all wandered out on the lake where we could see the stars so clearly. Mike helped the kids find the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and Orion's Belt. At one point, we were all lying on our backs on the lake, just staring at the stars. Even though it was late when we went inside, we turned on the fireplace to warm up and watched a bit more of the movie we had started that morning. 

It was the perfect sandwich of a day - relaxing and calm on the front and back end with lots of fun in the middle

Change of Scenery

The day after Christmas, we had big, big plans. We were meeting the cousins at the sledding hill!! The joy of seeing each might have been even greater than anticipated - and we had been looking forward to this day for weeks. The tall cousins stood at the top of the hill, monitoring for injuries and catching up. The kids did all the things together and could not have been happier. Quite honestly, neither could the tall people. We have missed each other deeply.

As the true oldest boy cousin, Declan modeled all sorts of skills to the rest of the little boys. He proudly showed off his snowboarding skills. And then he stood on Mike's back like he would stand on a snowboard, Mike laid on a tube, and down the hill they went. Somehow unscathed. 

[Anna and Liv - I can't control my boys. Hang out with us at your own risk!]

About ten seconds after we got there, Hux plopped himself in the sled with Fiona, flashed her his patented smile, and the two of them had a blast zipping up and down the hill. Milo was having the best imagination day and the girls thoroughly enjoyed walking through his magical make-believe world with him. Sweet Beau was not quite sure about this cousin gang and thought he would hang with his mama instead. The girls did manage to pull him away on occasion to give Liv a break. 

It was a gorgeous day, so we didn't have too many complaints about being cold (other than poor Fiona, whose boot came off, making her step in the snow). But shortly after noon, we figured we should start moving home before the troops became hangry. Anna asked the kiddos if they wanted to play at the playground "for two minutes" before we left and off they ran. Spoiler alert: it was not two minutes. But holy smokes was it entertaining. Somehow, Dec, Hux, and Otto got into the biggest wrestling match. They could not stop giggling. Then they recruited Quinn, Fiona, and Milo and they all attacked Mike. It was Pure Joy. [Mike was Pure Exhausted.]

We swung through the drive thru for tacos on the way back to Gma and Gpa's because everyone was starving after all that fresh air and exercise. It was just the most fun morning and we were so thankful for good weather so we could be outside. We were also thankful for tacos and potato oles!

After lunch, Mike and I started packing up all our stuff while Auntie introduced the children to her favorite I Love Lucy episodes. No, we weren't heading home (yuck! No one was ready to go back). As part of our family Christmas, Mike and I surprised the kids by renting a cabin on Deer Lake in GR for a few days. 

Since we have been home forever, we  wanted to make the most of being away for Christmas. Auntie is temporarily working and living at Gma and Gpa's, so we worried that things were going to get crowded quickly. With the cabin, we could still be up north, together, and having a little breathing room for everyone. It worked out perfectly.

I was sweating it a bit when we had the car fully loaded up for our 4pm check-in and still had not received instructions from the owner. But thankfully, just a few minutes after 4, she called Mike and we were set. Mike and I ran our gear to the cabin and got everything unpacked and settled. Then we went back to my parents' for pizza dinner before we loaded up the kids and headed to our new digs. 

The kids LOVED the cabin. They were so excited to explore, check out all the rooms and cabinets and corners, and stake claim to their beds. There were two bedrooms upstairs - one with three beds and one with a bigger bed and a small bathroom. Fiona got her own bedroom, while Q and D planned to share the other. Mike and I took the downstairs bedroom. 

After they explored, I ran everyone through the shower where there were strong opinions about the smell of well water! On that first night, Mike ended up sleeping upstairs as the kids weren't too sure about this separate floor sleeping arrangement. Thankfully everyone got a good night's sleep so we could enjoy our next few days of cabin life.