After a busy week and an amazing Christmas, I was so grateful for a boring Monday and Tuesday. Nate and I both had work to get back to, so the boys enjoyed unlimited screen time and basically anything goes. On Monday, I took the Christmas tree down and packed up all the Christmas decorations. I LOVE Christmas, but once it is over, I am ready to be done. I was really happy to have our house back to normal.
On Wednesday, the boys went to Camp St. Croix for a day of winter camp. They sledded, made s’mores, played outside. It came at just the right time as they were starting to annoy each other and get stir-crazy at home.
KT and his family lived in Rochester when he was a kid and his family has stayed in touch with his former piano teacher. She invited him to spend the week in Rochester with her and her family, so that was fun for him to have a change of scenery.
On Friday, Augustus and 15 other 4&5 year olds celebrated a classmate’s birthday at Build a Bear Workshop. It was pure (organized) chaos, but very fun.
On Saturday, the boys headed to Grandma Debbie’s house for a slumber party. They went to see a movie, went to a play place, went swimming, and had a great time as always. Nate and I walked 3 doors down for a raging New Years party at Kelly and Silas’s house. I laughed until my cheeks hurt. I ate SO MANY snacks. We rang in the new year and were home and in bed by 1am.
On Sunday morning, we slept late and lounged around on the couch drinking coffee all morning. Pure luxury. Grandma Debbie wins MVP for letting us have such a peaceful beginning to the year. After lunch, I picked the boys up and they played with Sam and Abby. Nate and I went next door to Aaron’s sauna to sweat out some toxins. It was fantastic.
Last night, Aaron texted the neighborhood chat that he wanted to start the new year by doing the Nookie Challenge. The Nook (a fabulous St. Paul institution) has a challenge that dares you to eat 2 enormous burgers (2 patties and 3 buns, plus lettuce, tomato and cheese) and a huge pile of fries. If you can do it, you get a tee shirt. No one else thought they could do it, but 13 of us decided to join him in support.
Lunch for 14 was exactly what you’d think- a long wait, the kids running around, a crabby waitress, so much laughter and pitchers of beers for all. It was the most fabulous way to spend an afternoon. The amount of food that Aaron had to eat was INSANE but he did it. He struggled a little bit midway through, but ultimately prevailed. We were excited for him and then the waitress broke the bad news that they are out of shirts! Shamrocks (their other bar just down the street) had them, so he got a certificate and could go collect it there. But the manager felt bad and so he gave him a nice Nook flannel. Bonus!
Nearly 3 hours later, we all walked home together and then immediately jumped into the car to go sledding. The weather was nice and the hill was FAST. Augustus fearlessly went down the crazy jump that launched him straight into the air. It wasn’t until multiple times later that his face bounced off the ground when he landed. A few tears, but he was ready to get back on his sled pretty quickly. The boys (along with Sam) dubbed themselves “the Danger Dudes” and had a lot of fun sledding connected to each other.
And with that, winter break comes to an end. Backpacks are packed. Alarms are set. We are ready to get back to our normal routine. It has been so fun, but I am excited to wave goodbye and have them back to school all day!
2023 is here. January here we come!