Good Bye 2020

I can't bring myself to make jokes or comments about how awful 2020 was. We all know. It sucked. 

I will say though, looking back at just December, we have been having some fun. Date nights, skiing, and of course all of the Christmas traditions. 

Kristin needed boys out of the house, so we got to go to Zisters.

Henry bakes his own snacks now. 

St. Nick

We had a bit of an issue this year with St. Nick. He came on the wrong night. We discussed which night he came on at dinner and kind of left off that he was coming that night (December 4th) and Kristin and I never doubled check. Later we just set it all up. 

I woke up in the morning of the 5th suddenly thinking we were wrong, so I doubled check and sure enough. St. Nick 2020 - December 6th. Only Cole was up and Kristin didn't think he noticed anything, so I distracted the boys and Kristin hid everything. 

Then, of course, we hear Cole telling Henry that St. Nick came. Henry went to check it out and couldn't find anything, so then Cole was confused and insisted the stockings were there and full of stuff. 

It was a mess. I ended up getting the boys out of the house. Kristin put back the stockings and hid the ice skates. Somehow they are still believers. I think we said Frosty, our Elf on the Shelf, was playing a trick on them. 

Boys did bell ringing for Scouts. Henry danced for almost the entire time. Cole warmed up and was pulling out some good moves of his own for awhile too. 

Waited in the longest line ever for the Country Christmas lights. Totally NOT worth it. 

Christmas Tree

This year we went to Buffalo Bill's Tree Farm to cut down our own tree. Not a lot of options but we eventually found a good one. It was a bit on the wide side, but it fit okay in our family room. 

Lou joining me while I was working at the kitchen table.

Gus joined too. 

Date Night

We decided to switch off and Kristin and I each take one of the bigs for a date night. For our first night, I had Cole and Kristin took Henry. Cole and I decided to go to Sluggos for dinner and then do some baking and play video games. 

Kristin and Henry went shopping for exotic fruits. It sounded like they drove all over the place. Sorry, no pics. Kristin must not care about memories. 

Cole had his first bite of ribs. He was not disappointed. 

Basically a peanut butter Rice Krispy treat covered in chocolate with cut up candy bars on top. Super good. 

Filling up the ice rink. I have high hopes this gets used a lot this winter. 

Lou got stuck. 

First ski club outing to Little Swiss. 

Ice chunks from when two walls fell down on the rink. We had to put it back together and fill it up again. It's been a bit of a disaster. 

Bye bye snow man.

Their first taste of Mountain Dew.

Christmas Eve

It was a COVID Christmas, but didn't totally feel like it. We went to the Fuchs' on Christmas Eve and the Stear's came over on Christmas Day. Only Jess and Dan came to Christmas Eve, so we thought it would be much more quiet than usual. It wasn't. Apparently we are the loud families at Christmas. 

We also opened our family presents that night at home, minus Gus and Lou. By the end of the Christmas Eve party we were done with them and put them to bed. Sorry guys.

Cole made this Merry Xmas sign out of Legos. 

The setup

Christmas Day

This desert dome thing where you can grow your own succulents and cacti may have been Henry's #1 gift this year. 

Cole got so many books. I think at least three entire series. He'll still be out of books in a month or so, but should keep him busy for the time being. 

More Puff the Magic Dragon from Lou. 

Gus found these and decided to crack them open. Busted. 

New Years Eve

Henry and I had a good time shopping for party supplies. We got  noise makers, hats, glasses, confetti cannons, and all kinds of good stuff. We went out to Outback Steakhouse for some Aussie Fries and steaks, and then we played some fun games. We didn't let the bigs stay up until midnight, but maybe next year. 

Yuck