Yuletide festivities

We had a very festive day on Sunday.

It started with a trip to the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center. This is a beautiful nature preserve that Kris discovered a few months ago. It was the first time the boys and I had been there.

Every year they have a Yule log celebration to mark the start of winter. Somewhere hidden on the miles of trails on the property was large log with a ribbon tied around it. After receiving a few clues, everyone sets out to see who can find it first.

I got the impression that for most of the people there, this as been a longstanding holiday tradition. As the newbies, we never stood a chance at finding the log. But that’s okay. We still got to go for a nice winter hike.

Later the log was brought back to the cabin we started at where it was burned on the campfire. Inside the cabin there were snacks and crafts for the kids to work on. There was going to be an outdoor treasure hunt too, but we had to leave as that was getting started.

Afterward we went to mom’s house to help her put up her Christmas tree with my sister Annie and her daughters Helen and Olivia.

We usually help mom put her tree up every year. But there was something special about it this year. My sister Mary Ellen, my brother Tim and their families will all be visiting over the holidays. It will be the first in a long time that we’ve all been together at once. So it was fun helping mom get her house ready for everyone to enjoy.