Christmas Eve Day - Hayes Family

The pied piper offering a small snack before the gaggle of people arrived!

It's been a part of my families tradition, for as long as I can remember, to get together Christmas Eve with 2 of my mom's sisters and all their kids.

How this whole thing started! Credit to Melanie for the picture.

The reason we get together! Credit to Melanie for the picture.

Since "kids" turned into families of our own, the group has gotten much larger, much noisier, yet just as much fun! We don't make it every year, but when it works out, we love to catch up with and see my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousin's kids. This year it changed venue to our house. It worked beautifully to have a little extra space for the adults and kids to run around. If I count correctly, we had 20 adults and 9 kids (plus 1). It was a full house, but we fit and had a blast.

Also, for as long as I can remember, we have tacos for our meal. Love tacos! It's perfect for everyone, even those needing to watch ingredients  Over the years, tacos turned into Quesadillas (we miss you Laura!!), but since Laura wasn't with us to make them just perfectly, tacos it is back to. A lovely shot, Melanie (wink, wink). But seriously, you captured the only shot I've seen of our buffet line and stuffing our faces!

Credit to Melanie for the picture.

As it turned out, my cousin's son Oscar, sent a look alike to our Christmas celebration (the plus 1!). We got a group photo to document his travels!

Numbers of our offspring are increasing, so we drew names for the little ones, then did a gift exchange extravaganza for the adults. Opening gifts by the fireplace was so cozy!

Credit to Melanie for the picture.

  Cousins being cousins. Or rather, 2nd cousins being 2nd cousins. 

Carl opening his gift!

 The gaggle!

The newest members of the clan, figuring it out and being cute in the process!

This was the end of our fun filled day. Brianna and Carl were ready for bed. They were still a little excited, but the thought of rest calmed them down enough and they went right to sleep. Christmas Day was now just around the corner and promised to be another fabulous day, celebrating Christ's birth.

*Also a credit to my dad for all of the other pictures in this post (minus the piep piper and others noted), and many more throughout our blog. He is so awesome at keeping his camera handy and capturing moments, THEN passing them along so we can us them. THANKS DAD!

Christmas Eve Day - Afternoon

The cousins finally arrived! Before any gifts were opened we had to get a group photo of the kids. 

Since Oliver was holding Carl, Lucius decided he wanted to hold Casen. It's not exactly what Casen had in mind!!

We had to wait, just a little bit longer before opening gifts, to allow time to prepare lunch and get it in the oven. Everyone was being really patient. I opened one of our Christmas books called Red Sled by Lita Judge. There are not many words, but the drawings are fabulous and lets the mind wander into the mystery of forest animals borrowing a little girls sled for the night. As you can tell, they loved hearing and helping me tell the story.

At last, Santa's helpers passed out the gifts and everyone had a gift to open and thank you's to share. It is so much fun to have the cousins sharing in the excitement of Christmas together.

We had a yummy hot dish for lunch then it was off to bed for the kids. Some naps were long, some were short, and some were not at all, but that is what you get! Gammie was kind enough to read a story after nap. Then, it was off to the great outdoors for some different fun - sledding!

Having a sloped backyard is great for little kids. It just takes so long to get bundled up, then to think of driving somewhere, you'd get hot, people get cranky... There were 5 young ones this year, so being close to a hill was perfect. You can enjoy as much as you like outside, then when temperaments slide, simply come back in and warm up!

Plus, this year, the eventful day was about to get even more people filled since extended family was set to arrive at any minute. Not having to drive to a hill for fun sledding made the afternoon much less stressful and worked out better with timing. Now, onto more fun...

Christmas Eve Day! Family Time

The morning began as it usually did, Brianna making her way up the stairs and into the bathroom. Only this time, she noticed Rumble Tumble's large bag of books that he delivered. She came grunting and groaning into the bedroom, trying really hard to carry the heavy bag into us so we could read the note and start reading books. She did not, however, notice all the presents under the tree or in the stockings. Next year might be different, but I thought it was fun to have her anticipating her Christmas books, not just presents. 

We had a busy day ahead of us. We were expecting my parents for breakfast, then my sisters and their families late morning for gift opening, lunch, then naps. Then my extended family that evening for the yearly family get-together. So before everyone arrived, we had a little family time opening our stockings. It was fun to see them get into the unwrapping groove. They really enjoyed the animal puppets - a pig, a rooster, and a horse!

My parents arrived and we ate our breakfast feast! We had swedish pancakes, strawberries, and yummy whip cream!

After breakfast we relaxed, read our new books, and waited for the cousins to arrive. Brianna and Carl were both excited for the next step in our day and could hardly wait more family arrived!

Cookie Making and Wrestle Mania

The Sunday before Christmas, after church, we headed up to Grandma's house to spend some time with Betsy, Dave, and Justin while they were in town. It was so fun to see Brianna and Justin playing and creating together. Justin is 2 years older than Brianna, but he played so well with her, helping her and offering suggestions of things they could both do!

We ended up having quite the afternoon, filled with, you guessed it... cookies and wrestling!

Way More Lights!

Just before Christmas, we made it to the annual lights display at Phalen Park. This was our second year going and still as fun. Brianna was a little more reserved but quite excited to see what was coming next. Carl was also very excited to see the flashing lights. I believe he slept the whole way the last time. Not this year, he wanted to hang his head out the window to get a better view!

It never ceases to amaze me, the excitement and pure joy of little kids for the most simplest of things. Christmas lights are simple, yet brilliant and pierce the darkness with such mystery and beauty. Just like that star over Bethlehem. This Christmas I was so thankful for the constant reminders from both Brianna and Carl to simply enjoy the season.

Work of Art!

Travel back in time with me for a few moments... The last picture of the whole Bonkoski clan that I had proudly hanging on our living room wall(s) was from our wedding in October 2004. I believe there were others that happened in the midst of the past 8 years, some maybe even on our camera. Which means, I don't have any excuse... I should have printed out the most current picture for the wall. Alas, wedding day maintained it's place in the frame. But no more!

When I heard Betsy, Justin, and Dave were coming into town for Christmas this year, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get a new family photo. And not just go grab the tripod and set the timer! We made arrangements for a photographer and a fun location. I had hoped to do more outside, but pictures outside on unpredictable December days are simply that, unpredictable. It was cold! We did manage a few, but inside or out the pictures were amazing!

Our Photographer: FINNollie Photography, Margaret Grafenstein
Location: Mill City Museum - perfect for photos and an after shoot adventure up the flour tower.

I feel so blessed to have a wonderful family. And for Brianna and Carl to have such amazing older cousins that I know they look up too and love to be around (which made taking pictures all that much easier). Hooray for family photos! It was fairly painless and everyone seemed to cooperate. A real work of art!

Cranky Pants

After being away from mommy and daddy for a whole weekend, Brianna hit a wall (figuratively speaking). She was happy to be home, but just had a really hard day. I think we've all felt that way, being happy to be in your own space but oddly feeling like you're missing the thrill of being somewhere else. On the couch, snuggled up under blankets, simply "resting" was how she spent the majority of the afternoon. Carl kept checking on her, which she didn't appreciate, but he couldn't help himself. Then he wanted the blanket which was even worse...

Thankfully we worked through it and got to bed time. Poor little B, she was ready to go to bed.

Then it was rise and shine the next morning; happy as a clam with a shiny pearl!

The Winter Fall

During our adventure on the Centennial Trail, we hit a small snag - or rather a steep cliff. This cliff was marked with a triangle caution sign on our interactive map, leading us to believe there might be a steep cliff ahead. Then when we actually reached the cliff, there was a posted sign, providing even more evidence that we should be careful. 

Well, this should not be marked with an ordinary caution sign. This should have been a huge sign, indicating the proper steps to make the decent. It was a pretty rocky trek up to this point but we kept our snowshoes on for  the added traction. However, when we reached the cliff that was more like a slide, we both removed our snowshoes and tried taking it slow. I had snow pants on so I literally slide down on my butt the whole way. There was really no slowing down once I got going. Then when I looked back it was even more slick because I brushed what little snow there was, off. Now it was Jon's turn...

Jon did not have snow pants on and was a little more cautious about going on his butt because he didn't want to get them wet and dirty. It was cold and windy so the wet factor would have been an issue. He slowly shifted his snowshoes from one hand to the next, then the next thing I see is him off balance and starting to topple over the side of the cliff!!! 

Thankfully a large branch stopped his tumbling. Seriously, I wasn't sure what I could have done to stop him. I started maneuvering through the brush over his direction, hoping not to slip myself, but he had already stopped and was starting to shake it off. Unfortunately, his snowshoes were still at the top of the hill so I had to go get them, but fortunately he let them go so the sharp metal didn't do any more damage. It was interesting shimmying back up the slippery slope to retrieve them. We were also grateful the camera wasn't damage in the fall, as it was in his pocket! The picture is of the cliff with me by the snowshoes, basically where he started. It was a good distance.

I couldn't stop laughing, which I felt horrible for. It wasn't for making fun at the fall, but because it made me nervous as to what I would have done if he was more seriously injured. I know I could have helped him, but am grateful for God looking out for us! It makes for fun memories!

Weekend Sans Kids, Sans Gadgets

Jon and I got a much needed break in between the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and the 24/7 life of parenting. We made arrangements for the kids (and Eko) to split time with Grandma and Grandpa, my sister Margaret, and my mom. A HUGE thank you for your willingness to watch the kids (and Eko) and keep them safe while we got a little rest.

We had arrangements for Saturday and Sunday night at the Gunflint Lodge, but we opted to extend our mini vacation and maybe be able to enjoy more of our Saturday by leaving Friday evening. So we packed up and headed North; one of our favorite directions! First stop, drop the kids (and Eko) off at Grandma's house just in time for dinner. Then it was off to Tofte where we spent our first night. Getting a majority of the way up north was an excellent decision! We were just a short drive into Grand Marais where we walked around a little and enjoyed an early and delicious lunch at Sven and Ole's Pizza.

From there we headed the rest of the way and up the Gunflint Trail to our destination. We arrived shortly before 1. They let us check in and we made ourselves at home. I'm glad we got there when we did because there was a craft we could do over in one of the buildings - wreath making. It was an interesting and fairly simple process, yet so much fun. We helped trip the boughs and the instructor used the wire machine to bind the trimmings to the wire base. We took it easy that evening, relaxing by the fire, reading books.

What's cool about being that far north, at least in this area, is that cell phones don't work and the internet is sparse. They did have wifi in the main Lodge that I used a couple of times, but that was it. And I only logged on to their network because I said I would check email just in case they needed something regarding the kids. No emails, no worries. (Again, I reiterate how thankful I am for all of you!)

We had loaded in our cross country skis and our snow shoes, just in case they had more snow than we did in the cities. And again, we were glad we did! Saturday we had breakfast then went snow shoeing out from our cabin and found some nice overlooks. Than after lunch, we took a recommendation from the front desk and went walking along the Kekekabic and Centennial Trail. Oh yes, it was interactive! The hike took 2.5, almost 3 hours. A little longer than anticipated, but we were still back to our cabin in time for watching the deer come out to eat.

Now, at the Gunflint Lodge, it is the responsibility of the guests to keep the birds and deer fed. I was a little overwhelmed, I'll be honest, as to what that meant. But once we arrived and saw the huge bins in the front entry of the main Lodge, I quickly got on board. I was a little giddy at the fact that the deer come right up to your cabin windows if you put the corn out. AND I was ecstatic that, when I was out laying out the corn on Sunday evening, a deer came out of now where and started eating from my piles while I was still only a couple yards away. I didn't want to make a move for the door and startle the deer away. I saw Jon, capturing this on camera, motioning to put the corn in my hand to see if it would eat out of my hand. AND IT DID!!!! CRAZY!!

So, as you might be able to tell, I was a little bit excited about this! I made sure to go back to the Lodge and get more corn and bird seed so the area would be plenty stocked for breakfast. Our Sunday wrapped up calmly in the cabin by the fire. Monday we took in our last sounds of silence, packed up, and headed back down the Gunflint. We made it home safe and sound with the kids, awaiting the arrival of Betsy and Justin, coming into town for Christmas.

A fabulous, much needed, weekend away. Ahh, good memories! Oh and stay tuned for "The Winter Fall"...