Downtown Estes

Tuesday in Estes was supposed to be even colder - and more importantly, incredibly windy [the closed down several ski hills across the state, including Vail, because of the wind that day]. Because of the weather, we decided to start our day in downtown Estes while we waited to see how the weather shook out. 

Unfortunately downtown Estes did not have the same plan. We arrived around 10am to find very few stores open. Apparently Tuesday in the off season is when most stores are closed for the day - or are only open in the afternoon. Because of this, we just spent more time in the stores that were open. Mike and I told the kids we would get them a shirt and one souvenir each, so to choose wisely. 

It did not take Dec long to decide he wanted a geode. Not just any geode - one that we picked from the ore cart in the store and they cracked open for you. Since we had been downtown for less than an hour, we questioned him multiple times - but he stayed committed. And still, to this day loves his geode!

We also found a glass-blowing shop and the kids could have stayed there all day watching the owner color and shape the glass. They were fascinated - and a bit disappointed that we said the pieces were too expensive to buy. Expensive, but beautiful!

Late morning, the weather seemed less windy and warmer downtown, so based on a tip from a local, we headed up into the park to walk around Sprague Lake. It was not as far up the mountain as we had gone yesterday and was less than a mile hike. We barely got out of the car before we abandoned that plan! It was so cold and windy that we knew it would ruin any fun on the hike. 

Dec wasn't feeling particularly well on the drive back down (wind was rocking the car), so Mike pulled off at the Bierstadt Lake trailhead to take a break. This area was a bit more out of the wind so we wondered the trail and checked out several groups of mountain deer (no sheep or moose ... to Mike's continued disappointment!). After that break, we returned to town for lunch at Penelope's [apparently a famous tourist destination for burgers. 5 out of 5 Vs would not recommend. It was fine. It was shockingly expensive for the level of "fine" it was.]

After lunch, we made Fiona's day and did an Old Time Family Photo - which is now hanging in the upstairs hallway. It was pretty fun getting into costume and we all laughed quite a bit as we tried to narrow it down to the one photo we bought. The rest of the family also learned something I've known for a long time - I cannot smile with my mouth closed. Not "I don't like to" - I truly cannot. The kids get the biggest kick out of asking me to try.

We continued our downtown wandering and eventually ended up at a winery. Mike and I got a tasting package, the kids got to taste several flavors of cider, and we all enjoyed some snacks. We didn't buy any wine, but brought a couple bottles of cider back to the rental house with us to enjoy. We also tested out the two rival taffy shops in town - and bought a ridiculous amount of taffy at each. We didn't want to play favorites and, turns out, all Vs love salt water taffy!

We headed home late afternoon with a t-shirt (Dec), two sweatshirts (the girls), a geode, and a tie dye visor (Quinn - as if you couldn't guess that!) in tow. Fiona hadn't yet found the perfect souvenir, but we promised her we'd go back downtown before we left. 

Snowy Hike

On our first full day in Estes Park, we were out the door by mid-morning and off to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Quite fortuitously (as we didn’t discover the information until we had already booked the trip), there is a national program where 4th graders get free family entry to all national parks. So, Miss Quinn scored us a free park pass that we enjoyed throughout the trip. And we have already decided there will be another national parks spring break during the year Dec is in 4th grade!

We decided to tackle the trail to Loch Vale - and had to access the Glacier Gorge trailhead at the Beaver Meadows park entrance across town. As we drove through downtown Estes to get there, we decided it looked super cute and we would need to make time to explore it later in the trip. Our rental car had a sunroof and the kids loved popping out the top (when we were stopped) to take pictures of the mountains. 

It was clear ground at the park entrance, but by the time we got up to the trail, there was a lot of snow! The switchbacks up the mountain were a little rough on the Vs prone to carsickness, but we made it. There was a lot of licorice snacking as a coping mechanism. [Does it help? Does it just distract? Didn't matter. No one puked!]

I will not lie – the weather forecast was chilly for the week. And ooof, when we got up into the mountains, it was really not warm! We were glad we had brought the snow gear! As we unloaded at the trailhead, the seasoned hiker next to us strongly encouraged boots. Fiona really didn’t want to wear hers, but eventually caved. And was glad she did! The entire trail was snow pack. We were grateful for the boot treads – and since several of us got our feet stuck in the snow, we were glad for the waterproof footwear as well! 

[For real stuck. If you went off the packed trail, it was so deep. Mike had to pull me out at one point because my leg was so stuck that I couldn't pull it out myself ...]

Hiking the snowy trails was a lot of fun – and definitely what we had all imagined when we dreamed about hiking the Rockies. However, snow pack is NO joke. That combined with the increasing altitude and we didn’t quite make it as far as intended. However, we made it to Alberta Falls … sort of. Since the snow hadn’t started to melt yet, it was more of an Alberta Trickle. Apparently Alberta Falls freezes during the winter months ...

A bit of a disappointment, that was quickly remedied when we followed the advice of a few hikers on the descent. They told us to head up just a bit higher for a great view. And they did not lie. 

Mike and I would spend the next several days commenting on how much we love the mountains. We tried (and failed) to capture the beauty in a photo. They are just so majestic and wonderful! If the Vs ever decide to leave the lakes (highly unlikely), you’ll find us in the mountains! [Especially once the kids’ legs get a bit more stamina and they can handle the altitude better – because Mike is determined to summit something!]

After a car lunch in the trailhead parking lot, we went up the mountain a little farther to Bear Lake. It’s one of the most popular mountain lakes – and our lake snob selves were not terribly impressed. However, the views were amazing. So we decided to hike the loop around it anyway. The lake itself was still frozen, but we chose to off-road it (I know you all are surprised). Occasionally the trail was blocked, so we’d have to portage around using the frozen lake. Thankfully I was the only one whose foot went through at the edge and had a wet boot!

On the far side of the lake, there was an amazing icicle formation. Even though the kids have outgrown Frozen, they all thought it looked like Elsa’s castle. We spend some time climbing and sliding on the icicles before finishing the lake trail. At this point, the kids were done hiking for the day. So we headed back to the house to test out the outdoor hot tub. It was quite refreshing – until we had to get out. That sprint from the hot tub to the front door was exhilarating! 

We finished the night with breakfast for dinner, games in the rental house game room (shuffleboard and mini bowling), and showers!

Mountain Bound

Welcome to April! We followed up the hockey jamboree weekend and the play performance weekend with a short school week and a trip to the airport for Spring Break. Back in January, we had started talking about going on a trip ... just as the omnicron variant was spiking. The kids mentioned Colorado several times and kept saying they wanted to go climb mountains. 

Eventually, I proposed Estes Park to Mike as our destination. It was an easy drive from Denver and was right in the foothills of Rocky Mountain National Park. Early April was also off-season in Estes, so we found several rental houses for a steal. Then we did math and realized how few years we have until Fiona is off to college. With that, the Vs were headed to CO!

With careful planning, we managed to get everything - including hats, gloves, boots, and snowpants - into 5 carry-on suitcases and 5 "personal items." We were flying Southwest, which doesn't assign seats, and I was relieved to get a good line position when I checked us in. While we had prepped everyone for the possibility that we wouldn't set together, no one was particularly fond of that scenario. 

The other benefit of flying Southwest was that we got to fly out of the smaller MSP terminal. We breezed through security and the kids even got to piggy-back on my TSA pre-check status. They thought they were pretty hot stuff. We grabbed some lunch for the flight and wandered around the terminal, checking out the people and the planes. 

Boarding went smoothly and we were able to snag five seats, back-to-back. The girls and I sat together and Mike and Dec sat right behind us. They were very excited to discover that they could stream movies on their iPads and everyone ended up watching Encanto. It was a pretty easy flight, other than a few bumps going into Denver that Fiona did not appreciate (she was the one most worried about being separated on the plane). Then the fun started.

The prep work paid off and we had great attitudes during the long process of navigating through the Denver airport, finding and riding the shuttle bus, and then waiting in line to get our rental car. We were all very happy to load into the car and point toward the mountains. First up, a pit stop of ice cream in Boulder with my friend Kristin. We were definitely in need some food at that point.

Then it was off to Estes. And you have not heard five people oooh and aaaah so much. It is official. Five out of five Vannestes love the mountains. Driving into Estes and seeing the Rocky Mountains was spectacular and hearing the kids' excitement from the backseat was just the best. 

Quinn, Dec, and I battled a bit of carsickness (a common theme throughout the trip. Switchbacks are not our friend), but we powered through. It just meant we took several breaks at scenic outlooks and admired the mountains!

Our rental house was on the other side of Estes, so we drove through town - pointing out the Stanley Hotel (and promising the kids that we'd watch Dumb and Dumber together someday when it is less inappropriate. And no, we will not be watching The Shining as a family. Fiona, Dec, and I are not horror movie material!) and remarking that Lake Estes seemed quite unremarkable when you are from the land of 10,000 [actual] lakes. [Fun fact: we learned on this trip that Vs are lake snobs. And the mountain lakes that we saw did not measure up!]

We arrived at our house and were delighted with it. It was small, but a perfect size for a home base. We had an outdoor hot tub and a river running through the backyard. We unloaded, ordered pizza, and got settled in. After dinner, the kids and I explored the river while Mike ran into town to get groceries. Then we took a short walk around the neighborhood and called it a day. 

Skip Day

The last few weeks of Quinn and Dec's mite seasons were crazy busy. One might even say too busy. Most of the upper levels were done for the season, so there was plenty of ice time available. Which meant 4-5 nights of practice each week. The players, the coach, and the support crew of the house were feeling the pressure.

Mike and I woke up on the Sunday (the 13th) and both said that we just wished there wasn't practice that day. It was supposed to be really nice out and we were all craving a family day. I got up, headed to the bathroom to get ready, and by the time I got downstairs, Mike had marked everyone out of practice for the day and declared we were doing something together. 

After a very low key morning [thank you, daylight savings time] and a scrapped bike ride because Mike's front bike tire was popped, we decided to hike down to Spring Lake. Ironically this was the same trail that the kids and I hiked on the last Daylight Savings day when Mike was up north hunting. 

This time, the trail was very wet from all the melting snow. Some nameless 7yo boy in our group made poor choices about stomping in the puddles with his tennis shoes. Some nameless 9yo girl saved the day by pulling out extra socks for everyone from her pockets - because she had planned ahead! I feel like my parenting is basically done at this point.

The lake was really fun because although the snow was melting and the weather was beautiful, there was still a ton of ice. So out we went to run around on it. There was lots of rock skipping and ice sliding - and best of all, lots of giggles. It was the perfect end of winter/early spring day where it was chilly, but not freezing. The sun was warm. The air was crisp. And there were plenty of puddles to jump over ... or in ...

It wasn't anything fancy, but saying "no" to the schedule and spending the day together was exactly what we all needed!

Big Games and a Visiting Cheering Squad

The big games continued at the end of Presidents' Day week. Quinn's team had only lost one game so far in the season and the big rematch was coming up on Saturday. Because of this - and Uncle Kyle being out of town, Auntie Tracey and Nate came down to spend the weekend with us. We were so excited to have them, show off our new house, and have some company in the bleachers!

Before Auntie and Nate arrived, however, we had games on Friday night. Mike and Dec headed up to Eden Prairie for Dec's game while I took Quinn to the rink in Shako. Her team was playing Minnetonka, who they had handily beat earlier in the season. Of note: in the prior Tonka game, Quinn was in net. This game, we had a pretty inexperienced goalie playing and Tonka showed up to play. Q's team came out flying, grabbed an early 6-2 lead, and then thought they would coast for the final period. 

Minnetonka took advantage and tied it up about halfway through the third. Having won (by a lot!) most of their games, Q's team was pretty unaccustomed to having to gut it out. Lucky for them, Quinn is a grinder. She never got into coast mode during the game and played like a beast! The best part, Mike and Dec walked into the rink about 20 seconds before she chipped in the winning goal on an awesome shot. Quinn is normally the steady, non-showy player. But in this game, she stood out big time. Super fun to watch! [Dec's team did not win, but he scored a goal, played well, and was happy as a clam!]

On Saturday, Auntie and Nate got to experience the full range of weekend activities. They got to make a trip to our favorite local donut shop, Auntie ran lines with Fiona after morning play practice, and off we went to the rink to catch the end of Dec's practice and snag good seats for the BIG Edina game.

Last time Q's team played Edina, we had one of our best skaters in net (she did fine, but she's one of our best defensive players and is a top scorer) and were missing another one of our best players. So the team was confident with Quinn in net and Ariya and Kate on the ice, they had a good chance to win. And they did ... have a good chance, that is. Win, they did not. It was a very close game (until the end when the defense gave up). The girls were devastated after it and the locker room had a lot of tears. The coaches (the next day) used it as an opportunity to highlight why you have to play to the very end of the game.

In case you are worried about Q after a tough game like that, don't. I asked her how she felt about the loss and she looked me right in the eye and said, "I'm fine. I did my job." Way to call out your defense, Quinn! Auntie Tracey was more worried about one of her two favorite nieces, so she and Nate grabbed a DQ cake on their way to our house. It is the continuation of a tradition they had with Ben when he was a swimmer on the HS team. Whenever he got DQed (or had a really bad race), there was a family DQ cake. We all happily ate the consolation prize!

[Side note: I was really excited to have company, so made my homemade enchiladas - that my whole family loves. Nate doesn't eat enchiladas, so Tracey grabbed him a frozen pizza at the gas station. Because my enchiladas required the oven, Mike popped Nate's pizza on our Traeger grill. And then when it was dinner time, everyone drooled over how delicious that dang pizza looked and my enchiladas felt like the consolation prize. Nate kindly shared a few slices with his cousins and apparently smoked pizza is delicious!

Presidents' Weekend Northern Adventure

Earlier this week, we had dinner aptly named "Choose Your Own Adventure." Between piano lessons, hockey practice, and the final submission of the school yearbook (yay!), we ate dinner in three different shifts. We've noticed in the last year that this is becoming more and more common. It used to be the exception when we weren't all together for dinner. Now, I'm pretty excited if we are together for five nights in a week. I know it will only get worse - so I'm trying to both enjoy the days we are together ... and learn how to reconfigure my meal planning to accommodate this new reality.

There is a lot of reconfiguration needed right now. Between activities, homework, my new job, generally later bedtimes, and other various factors, we are struggling to slot in Adult Responsibilities. It's possible you've noticed the blog has been neglected. This is one of the current casualties of general life balance. I [mostly] promise it's not dead. Hang in there as I figure out the best way to share all the great stories that are written in my brain - but haven't quite made it to the blog.

With that, we'll travel way back in time to mid-February when we headed north for Presidents' Day weekend. But before we talk about the fun of that, we'll make one more jump backwards to New Year's Eve - when Mike and I closed on the purchase of the hunting shack and accompanying nine acres of woods. The owner of the shack had reached out to Mike right before hunting season to see if we would be interested in buying it as she was planning to sell. She offered us a very fair, below market value price, and we went for it. Both Mike and Gpa V are beyond thrilled.

Since the kids had a four-day weekend, we decided to use Presidents' Day as our inaugural weekend at the shack. We had planned to go up on Friday but because of the aforementioned issues with Adult Responsibilities, we took the day to catch up on some things and headed north first thing Saturday morning. The weather on Friday ended up being pretty crummy, so the plan worked out perfectly!

Saturday morning, we headed out bright and early and were at the shack by lunch time. Gpa was already there and had the fires roaring inside. Facts about the shack: there is no running water. There is a very nice outhouse. There is electric heat, but we supplement it with wood fire stoves in the kitchen and living room. There is a bunk room. It is rustic, but nice - and we love it. 

There was so much snow up there. Holy smokes! It was over waist-deep in spots (for the kids). Our neighbor (Mike's old neighbor when he was a kid) had taken the snowblower to a path between the properties to create a sledding hill for the kids. So we spent most of the afternoon outside - sledding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, digging the snowmobile out from where Mike and Dec got it stuck ... and generally enjoying the sun and the snow. We also headed over for some hot cocoa with Jim and Diane (the neighbors). 

Gpa made steaks for dinner, we discovered that the girls were allergic to the animal pelts on the wall (I was not sad to see them removed), and it was off to bed. Sunday was more of the same - lots of sledding, some snowshoeing, a bit more snowmobiling. And a visit from Gma and Gpa J, who wanted to check out the new place! Gpa made roast for a late lunch and then we packed up and headed back toward the cities. It was a quick, but really fun trip. Just the break from city life that we needed!

We have several ideas to update the shack to better align with how we plan to use it. But are reminding ourselves that it is functional now and we can take our time and do it when it makes sense. We have a lot we want to do here at the new house too, so it's been easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead, one thing at a time is the game plan. It's exciting to have a place in the woods that is ours - and can be used for the family time that is becoming rarer and more important.

Mt. Itasca Day

The day after Christmas, we decided to hit up the ski hill in Rapids. Winter is my favorite season and I love almost everything about it ... sledding, skating, snowshoeing, snowmen, even shoveling. 

But real truth, I do not know how to ski. I can sort of cross-country ski (if Mike ever catches up on the blog, I will know because he will make a comment about my epic wipeout last time we x-country skied together), but I have never downhill skied. And now that I have to pay my own medical bills and don't want a broken leg, I'm not so interested in learning [should have taken advantage of the interest from teenage me many years ago!].

Fiona is grown up me in 11-year-old form and is also not terribly interested in skiing either. But - Mt. Itasca has tubing and she and I were both down to try that. Mike knows how to ski, but wasn't sure about the interest from numbers 2 and 3. Our plan was to do a family day of tubing and if a group was interested in hitting the actual slope, we'd make that happen. 

We bought passes for everyone for the tubing slope. They were two-hour passes, but the hill didn't enforce the time limit - so Bugs and I tubed for three hours! I think everyone's favorite part was the rope tow that pulled us (in tubes) up the hill. I ended up with over 10,000 steps as it was - so I cannot imagine how tired I would have been if we were also climbing that hill! There were single tubes and doubles, which was perfect for our gang. Fiona decided she felt more comfortable in a double, so she and I partnered up for the afternoon and had the best time! 

After an hour or so, we headed to the chalet to warm up. From there, Mike, Quinn, and Dec decided to rent snowboards and try out the slope. Bugs and I were good to stick with the tubing! So we headed back to our happy place - only to find the tubing hills being freshly groomed. Holy fast, Batman! Those first few runs after the grooming are not for the faint of heart!

Meanwhile, Mike was also trying to figure out how to snowboard along with the rookies. He is a very good skier, but has not snowboarded since he was a teenager. He much prefers skis. Fiona and I could not stop laughing as he tried to get up on the snowboard when they were practicing on the bunniest of bunny hills. Both Q and D were doing better, and Mike was not a fan! Eventually they all felt minimally competent enough to get on the chair lift to the top of the "mountain" [what passes for mountains in Minnesota]. Mike would like the record to show that he did much better on actual slopes instead of the bunny hill. 

Bugs and I timed a "check in" pretty well and got to see them finish the first trip down. Quinn really wanted to try again, so she and Mike headed back to the chair lift. Dec decided to join Fiona and me on the tubing hill. While Fiona and I enjoyed sticking together, Dec had no time for us and left us in the dust (or snow powder) many times. It's fine ... totally normal for a 7yo to be independent on a giant ice-covered hill. 

We also ran into one of my sister's best friends and his family on the tube hill. Fiona was super excited to see Jeremy and ask to get a picture with him so she could show Auntie. Jeremy willingly obliged her big smile. I also think he wanted to make her happy because she and I had just survived a major crash at the bottom of the run. We ran straight into the ice/snow wall that is supposed to slow you down at the end of the hill - and when we went straight up, my weight caused her side of the tube to go up and then ricochet back. She basically folded in half and her head landed in my lap before it bounced back up. According to Jeremy, it was pretty epic - and looked really painful. He even texted my sister later that night to make sure Bugs was doing okay. She was - she was sore for a couple days, but no lasting damage.

We had the best day and I would not be surprised if this becomes a normal part of the Christmas break entertainment rotation. We also learned after the fact, that all Minnesota 4th graders (Quinn) can get a discounted pass that gets them in to every ski hill in the state. We were bummed - except here we are, end of January, with no free weekend in sight for Q and Mike to go to a ski hill around here. So maybe it's not such a big loss that we didn't jump on that opportunity.

We Were Not Messing Around with Christmas Eve Traditions

Remember how last year's Christmas Eve was good but different? Well, the pendulum swung right back squarely to the traditions camp this year! And honestly, it was one of our favorite days of the whole year. Christmas Eve is honestly the very best.

We started the morning with [very needed] haircuts for the girls and me. Mike and Dec dropped us off and then headed out to Anna and Luke's for Christmas Eve morning skating. Dec loved his solo time with Hux, Milo, and Otto (and the dads!) before the sisters got there. Once the girls were done with their cuts, Auntie scooped them up and brought them out to join the skating party. Bugs would like the record to reflect that her haircut took 13 minutes and Q's took over 30 minutes! #2 has so much hair!

While I got my hair cut, I hear there was a very exciting game on the Francisco rink. Mike V, Mike J, and Jesse took on the kids in an epic battle. I missed the whole thing (my dad picked me up and brought me out when my haircut was done. Nothing like needing a ride from your dad to bring on nostalgia of the good old days!), but caught all the grins as they warmed up with hot cocoa. Fiona was still skating when I got there, so I was able to watch her a bit. 

After the skating party, we headed to Gma and Gpa's for lunch. Then we relaxed a bit, decorated Christmas cookies, made reindeer food, and finished the movie we had started the night before. Then it was time to head out to the lake lot for pre-party sledding, We were the first ones to arrive at Brenda and Mike's, so got our own ride in the trailer over to the sledding hill. Not long after, the rest of the cousins joined. Hux told Fiona that he couldn't wait to 1) sled with her and 2) hit a tree. They managed both on the very first fun!

All the kids are fully independent, which meant that the adults got to have just as much fun as they did on the hill. Next year, we may need a few extra sleds ... because kids were not always willing to share their sleds with us. I was just as disappointed as the kids when Luke told us that it was time to head back to the party. We all piled into the wagon and giggled our way back to the house.

We ate a delicious dinner and then didn't really see the kids for the next few hours ... other than when it was present time. It was just the best return to some normalcy and we were all so happy to be back together to celebrate the holidays. It was a evening spent with our favorite people, laughing, visiting, eating so much food, and snuggling Baby Arlo [he's so delicious]. 

After the party, we read The Night Before Christmas and tucked everyone into bed. And with that, all our favorite traditions were back and we fell asleep with smiles on our faces. Especially Declan, who is sure he saw reindeer flying in the middle of the night. 

Covid Turkey

My parents and sister had tickets to a play the day before Thanksgiving. Even though our celebration was canceled, they decided to come down for the play anyway. They also dropped stamps off on our doorstep (so I could work on my Christmas cards) and we waved at them through the door. It was as sad and pathetic as it sounds. I invited them to come back the next day and I'd serve them some of our "covid turkey" dinner outside. Strangely, they declined. More covid turkey for us!

By Thanksgiving, Mike, the girls, and I were on the mend (and Dec woke up sick - but in the very best mood. The fever wouldn't hit him until Friday). So I made caramel rolls for breakfast and the [lightly edited] standard turkey dinner with everyone's favorites. Mike and I cleared our "to do" lists (other than cooking the dinner) and declared it a Fun Family Day. 

We watched the parade for a bit in the morning, but as usual, there were too many commercials to hold our attention. So the kids headed outside to play soccer in the rink while I got the turkey in the crockpot. While we never lost our sense of smell completely, it was definitely dulled for most of us. There were lots of noses right next to the turkey, trying to enjoy the smell of Thanksgiving. Luckily, our sense of taste was just fine!

To pass the time while we waited for the turkey to be ready, Mike brought up a bunch of board games from the basement. Then he spent the next hour teaching the kids Stratego. I had my doubts, but they really enjoyed it. Once the first game was done, the girls immediately played a second game. They are still perfecting their strategy, but it was fun to hear them think through what was working and what wasn't - and try to determine why. When asked, Mike would chip in some advice or opinions. I have great memories of playing that game with my dad and have no doubt it will come back out many more times over the years.

Then, as I finished up the sides, the four of them set up at the kitchen table (which made me feel very included) for a high stakes game of Pictionary. Truth: our kids are really good at Pictionary. The girls legitimately beat Mike and Dec (it was neck-to-neck at the finish). The only concessions we made for both teams was that answers like "that kind of car where the top goes up and down" counts for "convertible" because there were a few words they simply didn't know. That said, both Fiona and Declan drew impressive versions of Mt. Rushmore. 

The games wrapped up just in time for a mid-afternoon Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out really well (Fiona told me it was my best turkey so far. So there, family who didn't want to eat turkey on our front step ...) and we all over-stuffed ourselves. There was a very light dinner, some peanut butter pie, and then movie night! We had originally planned to watch Home Alone, but had watched that earlier in the week (so bored!). So instead, we started Night at the Museum. 

It was not the Thanksgiving we expected and hopefully we'll host a redo in the new year - but considering the circumstances, it was a good day.

House Update: Basement Family Room

Five Vs are currently allowing their heart rates to return to normal. Tonight was a big night: The Cleaning of the Fish Tank. Mike and Dec got most of the way through the process, started the new water nitrogenizing, and came down for dinner. About 20 minutes later, Mike ran up to check the water and came down looking concerned. "We're missing a fish!" WHAT?!?! So off five Vs ran to search for Ron. Somehow I spotted him on the floor next to Mike's foot (we will never know how he did not get stepped on), Mike scooped Ron and dumped him back in the water, and he righted himself and started swimming along. Whew! During the next Cleaning of the Tank, there will be a deeper bowl. Or a cover. Or both. Oh Ron!

So, now that Ron is safely returned to the tank, join us for a small tour of the family room area in the basement. Come on down!

Right at the bottom of the stairs (and 90 degrees to the left), we have a little hallway bar area. It's a fantastic overflow storage for our barware, bakeware, paper products, and giant roasting pan. There's a fridge, a microwave, and our keurig (for when the grandparents come to visit). It will be the perfect prep area when we host a party in the backyard - and is also great for movie nights. My favorite thing is that our shot glass shelf and collection are back on the wall!

The end of the mini hallway opens up to the main family room area. If you look to the left, you see my office area. When we moved, we got rid of the old (very small) desk that I still had from college and got both Mike and me new grown up desks. Mine can even convert to a standing desk, which I love during long conference calls. I work from home 2-3 days each week, so having a functional, dedicated workspace is awesome. [Graduating from using the camping table as my desk is also very awesome!] Mike is currently storing his outdoor speakers on top of the bookcase (he's clearly an interior decorator at heart). And you can see just a peek of the slider curtains on the right side of the photo. I have fantastic natural light pouring in during the day and love it. 

[The guest room is on the other side of this wall and that's where Mike's desk is. I will show that room another time as I am hoping to paint it first. Stay tuned.]

Continuing to circle, the slider is in the middle of the family room. It opens out onto our patio and gives us a great view of the back yard.

Another view of the back yard from the slider. On days the kids are home, I can almost always hear giggles from the trampoline while I work (you can see a corner of it on the left). That rounded area of the patio is the perfect location for a fire pit - and we finally invested in one last week. Fall and winter fires are our favorite!

If you walk out the mini hallway and turn to the right, you are in the family room. Our sectional fits beautifully down here and the art shelf as been repurposed as a bookcase and photo display. Behind the sectional is an entertainment center that is no longer needed and we hope to sell - but the plan is to put our sofa table (still in storage) here. So we were using the entertainment center to get a feel for furniture in this spot. 

And finally, the new piano lives down here too. All three kids are taking lessons, so the piano is a popular place. Last weekend, Mike dug out the laser level and we hung up the kids' artwork along the wall and created the expansion plan for future masterpieces. With the weird school years and lack of art class, we only have one piece of art up from Kinder Dec. We are very much looking forward to adding a few more of the Dude's masterpieces over the coming years!

The door at the end of the room leads into the toy storage closet and the basement bathroom - which will also be shown a different time. The bathroom is on the short list for things that will be painted very soon!

Thanks for joining the mini basement tour. As with any house, things will continue to change and evolve. But we are very happy with how it is coming together and how inviting it feels.

The Last of the Last Summer Weekend

Labor Day morning, the girls and I got ready for the day and then took off on a fun date with Gma. It was really a girls and Gma date, but I was invited to tag along. Meanwhile, Dec talked Mike and Gpa into a few games of darts and some wiffleball in the yard. I suspect he didn't have to work very hard to sell that plan. 

Kinda like the purple sequined sweatshirt that Fiona found. I told her "no way" and before the hanger could even go back on the rack, it was Gma to the rescue. To be fair to Gma, Fiona wears it a ton. To be fair to me, it is a purple sequined sweatshirt that weighs a million pounds ... and someone has to wash it. 

Then after lunch, we headed out to Auntie Tracey's for one more lake day. It was a beautiful, sunny day ... but not overly warm for swimming. Nonetheless, Q and D hopped in the water. And then hopped right back out. And then stared at it longingly because they really wanted to swim more but dang, it was not warm. So they settled on some paddleboarding and kayaking. Dec made the best of lake season this year ... with his first day of swimming on May 1 and his last ( maybe ... will he swim in Lake Michigan on fall break later this month???) day on September 6!

Fiona decided she was not interested in the cold water, but happily chilled out in the sun on the pontoon. Once Quinn and Dec were done in the water, we all hopped on the pontoon (five Vs, Auntie Tracey, Nate, and Gpa V) for a boat ride around the lake. It was the perfect day to be on the lake! I was so glad the kids had a weird school start and we could take advantage of the holiday like that. 

Once our boat ride was over, the kids were done in the lake - so they talked Nate into letting them drive his go kart. Mike rode with them a few times, and then ... we let the girls drive it on their own. It was both exciting and terrifying. Fiona delights in being a daredevil. Quinn is very precise and rule-oriented. Neither Mike nor I can remember if we let Dec drive on his own (this is the drawback of blogging a month after the fact). The responsible side of me wants to say that we didn't. The Vacation Mom side of me thinks it could have happened. The blog world may never know. Unless Auntie Tracey remembers ...

Then the next day, we pointed the car south and headed home. It was a quick trip, but just what we needed to mark the end of summer! Since I didn't go back to work until Thursday, the kids and I were able to get us settled back in, prepped for school, and ready to kick off fall. **And make a ton of marinara sauce and salsa while we were at it!

Last Summer Weekend: Went North

It is our last year of the crazy weird schedule of the kids starting school on the Thursday after Labor Day. Only elementary schools start on Thursday. Middle and High School start on Tuesday ... and we have a middle schooler next year! So we decided to take advantage of our longer Labor Day weekend one last time - and headed north for a few days of trees, lakes, and family before the craziness of the school year started!

Because of work and sports schedules, we decided to head up on Friday ... even though that meant that traffic would likely be less than ideal. You guys, traffic was less than ideal. So we went some back roads, where in the world are we and is there a gas station anywhere in the next 30 miles route. Other than honestly only vaguely knowing where(ish) we were, it was just fine and much less car-sick-inducing than the stop and go traffic on our regular route. Lunch was a little trickier than expected and we ended up with gas station pizza slices. As one does. We made it to Rapids mid-afternoon and were very happy to be there. 

Gma surprised the kids with a brand new bunk bed in the guest room and they were thrilled! The girls slept on the bunk and Dec decided to make himself a bed on the floor in their room. It was the world's best sleepover! The rest of Friday was pretty low key. We headed to the park to burn off some energy, played a full contact frisbee version of keep away, and tested the path between Auntie's and Gma's a few times. We even tried the [fairly sour] grapes on Auntie's grape vine. 

Saturday was the day we had been looking forward to since the 4th of July ... CABIN DAY with the cousins! We headed up right after lunch and were sooooo happy. It was a lovely sunny day (until it wasn't ... more on that in a bit) but not terribly warm. Quinn and Dec (mostly Dec) went in the water. Fiona was happy to just put her feet in and play in the sand. They were all so excited when the rest of the cousins arrived.

The kids were all happily playing in the water and sand until a bunch of clouds blew over us. It started sprinkling and the whole crew huddled under the canopy of the pontoon. We could see that it was going to blow over pretty quickly and were telling the kids to just wait for a few minutes. Then there was a gigantic crack of thunder and the.kids.were.out. Of course, two minutes after the thunder, the storm was over. But it didn't matter. The safety-first moral compass gang was done. 

So we got everyone dressed, cleaned up the beach, and headed up to go on a woods walk. With a short pit stop in the cabin to wait out another quick rainfall and refuel with fruit snacks. Once the rain was done, we headed out for the loveliest hour-plus long walk on the trails. The kids had so much fun running ahead, hiding, jumping out, exploring, running back to us, and just being together. Fiona delighted in being able to carry Arlo part of the way - and he even fell asleep on her shoulder! She felt so grown up and was such a big help to Anna with Baby A. 

We all headed out around 5:00 to get to our various dinner locations. We were so glad to get one last day at the cabin - and even better, to have such a fun day with our people! The kids live for days with their cousins and always look forward to the time together!

Auntie's grapes

Sweet baby Arlo

Just a Bug and her Gpa