Danzinger Christmas

 

We finished up the last of our Christmas celebrations with a visit from my parents.  This was the first year I wasn't able to be in Eau Claire over the holidays  We just didn't feel comfortable traveling this year because of the pandemic.  It took a lot of creativity, but we were able to come up with a safe plan to get together with them, which was so good.  Aside from the brief bonfire for Dad's birthday, we haven't seen them since Grandma's funeral back in September.  We started our day with another bonfire - this time with hot dogs to roast, s'mores to eat, and hot toddies to drink.  The kids also finally got to smash their Las Posadas pinata, which was really fun.  We then headed inside for our masked, socially distant gift exchange.  It was weird having to keep our distance, but it was fun regardless, and the kids were blown away by the TRUCKLOAD of presents Mom and Dad brought for them.  My Dad made a beautiful Pikler Triangle climbing toy for Simon.  It works perfectly and he had a blast climbing up and down.  It will be fun to see his balance and coordination continue to improve with this special gift from Grandpa!  Livi got a unicorn scooter she named, "Uni" and has been scootering everywhere in our house, clothed and unclothed over the last several days.  Simon likes Uni too, so there have been a few battles about whose turn it is.  Maybe Simon will need a scooter for his next birthday!  Nolan got so many awesome Pokemon toys - Pokeballs, books, and plushies, and both of the bigger kids got lots of crafts and activity books to keep them busy well into the new year.  Great Grandma D also made each of the kids a fleece scarf, which they have wanted to wear non-stop.  They love how soft and cozy they are!  Great Grandpa Arnie sent some vintage Christmas treats along with some ornaments from Granma Edie's tree.  Oh, how I miss her! On top of the rest of the nice presents, we were also thrilled to be gifted hamburger, roasts, and steaks from a steer my cousin raised.  It feels good to know where our meat came from and we will enjoy this gift all year.  Being together made me miss Mom and Dad all the more.  This past year has been hard with not being able to see them as much as we'd like.  I sure hope that 2021 is the year where we get covid conquered and we can go back to seeing our family regularly.  It is so hard to be apart.  

After our gift exchange, we headed over to Tom and Sara's for another bonfire and the first annual Lights of the Northwoods fireworks.  We were able to see them pretty easily from the ice and it was beautiful to see them soar over all of the beautiful lights of the park.  The kids were very impressed. It was about a 15 minute show and was very well done.

Later the next day, we met at the cabin to do some sledding.  The kids got new saucers for Christmas, which worked beautifully on the hill down to the game opening.  Simon got such a kick out of watching his brother and sister slide down the hill.  He giggled and giggled, but wasn't very convinced that he needed a turn.  I bet by next winter we won't be able to get him off the sled.

It was a great couple of days - definitely more activity than we've had for months!  It was wonderful to spend some time together.