Happy New Year! 2020

We have a fun little tradition at our house that if the kids are extra good all year, then Santa leaves them an extra gift to help them celebrate New Years.  They usually get a letter in the mail on New Year's Eve that leads them on a scavenger hunt to find the extra gift that he hid on Christmas.

Of course it is always a mad dash to see who can get to the next clue first and we usually have to break up a fight or two, which defeats that whole "You were extra good this year" principle, but we are always excited when we get to that extra gift that we can enjoy with our family.  It is usually a game, a puzzle, or a movie.  This year, it was some confetti poppers, silly string, glow sticks, and the game of Catan.

The kids decided they really wanted to spend New Years at the cabin which is their favorite place in the world aside from home.  They all had to snuggle up close to the fire as it was really cold in the cabin.  The thermostat was temporarily broken and it took some time to get the heat up where it needed to be! 

We ate so much food.  I love this picture of the boys washing dishes, because that doesn't happen very often ;)

And we played tons of games.  We learned how to play the Settlers of Catan and we LOVED it.  We are sad that it took us so long to learn that game.

We partied hard waiting for midnight. 

And then on New Year's day, we did what the boys always vote to do for every family outing.  We fished! 

Whitlee caught the first fish of the day all by herself!  She was jigging her fishing pole and I noticed she had a bite, she was able to hook it and reel it up all by herself!

Zac manufactured a way to hook his drill to our ice auger so that we could more efficiently drill some ice holes. 

And Tanner caught the second fish... this is my favorite smile. 

It was a beautiful fish, but since we don't like to eat them much, we put it back in to catch for another day.

Winter in the forest is beautiful.  And an ice tent makes the temperatures bearable while fishing. 

Bronson and Charlotte decided to dig some snow caves and spent hours working on them. 

At the end of the trip.  Bronson said, "That may have been my favorite trip to the cabin ever."  Which is saying a lot since we have been there tons.  We are so blessed to have the opportunity to make memories with our kids at that special place that Grandpa Frank built.  It is the happiest of places and a great way to start the New Year.