Living that Backyard Dream

The final weekend of January had simply beautiful weather. On Sunday, all our hockey commitments were over by lunch time. Dec's buddy A was on goalie rotation for the week, so we invited A over to practice on the rink that afternoon. A's sister Lo came too in order to hang out with the girls. And because that was not enough people, the girls went and invited the 2- and 4-year-old neighbors as well. 

Quinn joined the boys on the ice for a while until the cuteness of the neighbor kids was too much! Meanwhile, Andrew and Dec were living their best life on the ice. Both Mike and A's dad were out playing with them. A's dad is a pilot, so he's missed the last few times we've had their family over to skate. Super fun to have him join!

When the boys were done skating, they joined the girls and littles on the sledding hill. It was extremely fast and one area was also glare ice. As he examined the icy hill and the ice rink, Mike decided to test out a dare from one of his coaching buddies. When the other Coach Mike was over on MLK day, he dared Mike to sled down the backyard hill and onto the rink. So Mike and A's dad Dan built a ramp (after a few failed runs) and once the ramp was packed down, it was on! The kids (and Mike) had so much fun. And I can happily report that no children (or adults) were harmed. Real truth: I was concerned. 

As we are on week 400 of a very cold and windy February, I'm even more grateful for the wonderful outside time we had with friends. We are a winter family - but need to be able to get out and enjoy the winter. Days like this one are what make winter our favorite!

So ... January ...

I was chatting with Bugs a few nights ago and she said, "mom, I don't know why, but I just feel 'off.'" I told her, "yep, that's called mid-winter." It's cold, it's gloomy, the snow is currently deadly ice pack, and while our schedule is busy, it's also monotonous. Such is February in Minnesota. We still love winter - but these are the hardest weeks to love it. We have big plans this weekend that will hopefully shake things up and put us all back 'on' our game.

But before we got to the February slump, we had to power through January. Not going to lie - it started with a bang. As I wrote the week's schedule on our whiteboard before Winter Break was even over, we all just took a deep breath. It was intense. If I had to describe our January, I would say it was a crap-ton of hockey, lots of play practice, with a side of distance learning (round 3) thrown in for good measure. Rinse. Repeat. Except the distance learning part. We just did that for a week and a half. Meanwhile, I was trying to get up to speed at my new job. 

If you are wondering why the blog has been so behind, see previous paragraph. So to summarize a pretty uneventful month, here are three things about each kid as we kick off 2022.

This girls is in her first official play! She had to audition and everything (everyone gets a part - but it was her first audition experience). Rehearsals are every Saturday morning and she loves it! At the end of March, Fiona will debut in Lady Pirates of the Caribbean. Her character is super sassy and we cannot wait to watch her perform.

Fiona was a champ at distance learning. Third time was a charm for her. She was delighted with her new purple desk chair and I was delighted with the deep cleaning of her room that we did in order to prepare it as a learning environment. She did a great job participating in class and staying focused.

While running the homeschool (the kids will tell you that my new job has a lot of meetings), Mike was looking for new music to play. He put on a Pink playlist and it was love at first note for Fiona. She is constantly asking for Pink radio and So What! is now her very favorite song. Related: I played the Hairspray soundtrack for her and she was indifferent. I have now played it enough times that she loves it ... and Declan knows almost all the lyrics. I knew it would grow on them!

Round three of distance learning was not a charm for Quinn. Girlfriend needs to be IN school! She gets her work done so quickly that she has too much downtime and not enough challenges. This equals a bored Quinn and everyone who lives here will tell you that a bored Quinn is not a good thing. Thank goodness for Mike keeping her entertained. This often meant her throwing on street hockey goalie gear in the living room and Mike throwing balls at her ... but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

Quinn invited a friend from her hockey team over on MLK day (no school) to skate on the rink. Reese brought her little sister who plays with Dec and they had the best afternoon in the backyard - both on the rink and on the sledding hill! Mike and I were grateful because this was just the beginning of the distance learning run and we were already close to killing each other. Thankfully, distance learning for elementary school ended earlier than expected and we were so ready to put them back on that bus!

Q is not our reader - but her friend Maddy is. There is a reading competition in 4th grade and Q completed the top level ... because she wanted to keep up with Maddy. I'll take it. Reading is never going to be her go-to like it is for Fiona and Declan. But the fact that she's found success and some books that she really enjoyed has made a big difference. I do see her more willingly picking up a book when she has downtime. 

Declan completed his turn in goal mid-January. He was really excited to try it out during practice and did fine in the game they played. It was actually the closest game they've played so far (less because of his goal-tending skills and more because they were just evenly matched teams). But once the game was over, he decided maybe the goalie gig was not for him. Thank goodness!

Distance learning started out rough for D and there were tears by mid-morning (and perhaps a swig of fireball by teacher dad). But - he pulled it together and did a really good job. Once we got past day 1, he did much better. We were really proud of how he stayed on top of his schedule and his work. It helps that his best buddy is in his class and is also a great student. They loved comparing notes once class was done and they could meet outside to play [until it got crazy cold. Because that's what you need when everyone is trapped at home together].

Dec hosts a random trivia portion of most days. I tend to be on the receiving end of the battery of questions. Trivia ranges everywhere from "mom, who would win in a fight between a bull shark and a hammerhead?" (bull shark) to "mom, can you name some pilots who were in the Battle of Midway?" (I cannot) to "if 1 World Trade Center is the tallest building in the US, what is the second tallest building?" (Sears Tower). We have discussed rogue waves, the fact that the Titanic had four smokestacks but only three worked and one was decorative, and Dwayne Johnson's film repertoire. You literally cannot prepare for Declan trivia ... I never know what he's going to come up with.

On to 2022

Happy New Year! The blog has made it to 2022!

We happily spent New Year's Eve with our NYE people and it was so much fun. While we celebrated last year, it was a more muted, cold, and outside only celebration. This year, it was still mostly outside - but that is because it was just the most perfect winter evening. 

Mike spent a lot of time between our arrival return from up North and NYE evening repairing and reflooding the rink. He also popped up his giant fishhouse to use as a warming shack ... and apparently it lives in our backyard now. It really does make a perfect warming house for all outside activities! And - in the freezing cold, he hung the lights on our patio that I've been dreaming of since we moved in. They look awesome and we all appreciate that he risked frostbite to make the outside perfect for our party. 

Once the Ps arrived, we were outside for over three hours. The kids enjoyed the rink, the sledding hill, the warming house ... and the snacks [I made homemade chex mix and snickers fudge that was very popular with everyone].The adults enjoyed the sledding hill, the fire, and the beverages (and the fudge!). Fiona was not interested in joining the hockey players on the ice, so she and I did a lot of sledding in the early evening. Then Hannah and Quinn joined her and I tapped out. Dec lived his very best life on the rink with Jack and Coop - until the giggles on the hill were too much for the boys! 

Our next door neighbors popped over for a bit to hang around the fire too and we were so happy to have them. Around 10, the kids got cold and we all headed inside. The adults visited upstairs while an epic hide and seek game happened in the basement. Shortly before 11, we all headed out one more time to do our countdown and shoot off confetti cannons. We've learned that when Vannestes are just getting back from a week plus up north, our partying has a limit. So we sent our friends off to another party, we watched the ball drop on Miami (and then turned it off before Miley's wardrobe malfunction), and sent the kids to bed. 

Even though we didn't party until midnight, it was the best way to welcome the new year!

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.

Enjoying a White Christmas

Christmas morning was fun, relaxed, and delicious. As we opened stockings and presents, Gma had an egg bake cooking in the oven. That was a fantastic treat once we had finished the presents portion of the morning. We cut back a lot on presents this year across the board - and no one seemed to mind a bit. In fact, everyone seemed to be able to enjoy what they did get a little more. 

Fiona was thrilled by the white board and dry erase markers she got for her room; Quinn immediately wrapped herself up in her new tie dye blanket; and Declan made good use of his new Battleship game. 

They had opened their big presents from us before we headed north because this year, they were actually big. Declan got an air hockey table that has proven quite popular and Quinn got a balance beam. We got Fiona a chair for her desk, but I fell victim to the risks of online ordering and it was waaaaaaaaaay too small for her! Post-Christmas break, it was returned and a new chair has appeared in its place. 

After we all thoroughly enjoyed Gma's egg bake, I pulled out the gingerbread house kits that I had bought for Thanksgiving that were never used (ahem, covid). I put together two gingerbread treehouses and then divided the family into two teams. It was Mike, Gpa, Q, and Dec vs Fiona, me, Gma, and Auntie. 

We had 20 minutes to decorate our treehouses and it was, of course, a competition that was taken VERY seriously. The end results were pretty impressive. 

Early afternoon, we headed out to Auntie Tracey's house to see everyone, including Gpa Vanneste. It was a beautiful day, so our gang spent most of the afternoon outside. Auntie Tracey and Uncle Kyle have a rather death-defying drop-off at the end of their hill, which of course meant we needed to sled it. There were a lot of wipeouts and bailouts - combined with a ton of laughter. Gpa watched from the window and thought we were all crazy!

Declan (and the girls) also spent plenty of time checking out Nate and Ben's new slot track. There were some serious races. Auntie and I spent our time placing cars back on the track. I think their favorite part was making the cars fly off around the corners. And, of course, there was playing with the cats too. That was probably Fiona's favorite part of the day. So when we got back to Gma and Gpa's, no one was allowed near Gpa until they were showered and wearing clean clothes! [And a convenient reason for me to require the showers that they very much needed]

We had a wonderful dinner back at Gma and Gpa's, played a few more games of Battleship, and started a movie to end our night. The day was a perfect balance of activity, downtime, outside time, and fun. We never felt rushed, but the day have a good amount of things to look forward to. As we tucked the kids in that night, they all agreed it was a very merry Christmas. 

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. 

Annual Moonlight Walk and Auntie Dates

Thursday morning, we loaded up and pointed the car north. The kids happily watched their favorite Christmas movies in the car (the Disney Christmas Sing-a-long lives on! At this point, it doesn't feel like Christmas until three of us have watched it and two of us have listened to it from the front seat!) and we made good time. Always grateful for decent traffic and no one puking (Dec did feel a bit carsick for the ride because he overheated early on. But we managed it). 

We unloaded the car and then I brought Quinn to meet Auntie at her work. Part of Auntie's gift to the kids this year was 1-on-1 dates with each of them. Q's date was first and was a total surprise ... Auntie had arranged for Q to help in the kitchen for a couple hours. Q was delighted! After a kitchen tour and some cooking, they took a break for hot chocolate. When they were done, Mike, Fiona, Dec, and I met them for a little happy hour and apps. 

Then after dinner, we bundled up and headed out for our annual moonlight walk in the woods. We brought the sleds with us for the hill, but for the most part, small humans were self-propelled! The sledding hill was DARK (not a lot of moonlight), so Gpa stood in a strategic spot and shined a flashlight. Nonetheless, we hit a few trees and broke a sled. We figure that means it was good fun! We continued across the swamp and then walked back home on the lake. It was just a beautiful evening and we had so much fun outside! 

Fiona and Dec had their dates after Christmas. On the morning of the 27th, Auntie and Dec decided to eat popcorn, play games, and watch Encanto. Auntie said that they had a blast and remarked on the level of energy D brings to everything he does. Then that evening after dinner, Fiona headed down the road with Auntie for popcorn, girl talk, and a movie. This time, Auntie got to watch Princess Protection Program, which she remembers watching when she was a teenager. They both returned to Gma and Gpa's with smiles on their faces [although they did show up 7 minutes past curfew, for the record!].

They still talk about their dates with Auntie and how much fun they had!

The Last Days Before Winter Break

Once the piano recital was complete, all we had between us and twelve days of Winter Break was Mike's birthday, a couple days of school, and the first two days at my new job!

Saturday afternoon, after hockey was over, the girls had a Secret Santa party with a few of their friends. This meant we didn't see them for most of the day - and Mike and I got two-on-one Declan time. The dude wasn't too sure about it at first, but once he realized that he got to dictate the agenda of the evening ... well, he was all in. We ended up going sledding in the old neighborhood (and stopped by to say hello to a few of our favorites!). Then we picked up Arby's on the way home and made a movie night of it. Pro tip: watch Luca. It's super sweet.

Then we celebrated Mike's birthday a day early on Sunday because we had plans to go to the Team USA v Team Canada women's hockey game on his actual birthday. Quinn's whole hockey team was going and even Fiona was excited to watch the game. We made a special birthday dinner [both Mike and I can remember was good ... but neither of us can remember what it was. Because when you blog a month later, you forget things!] and I proved to the kids that I can, in fact, make cheesecake. Everyone was a fan of the dessert! 

We do remember that Mike didn't get to use his new birthday present for his birthday. We combined our birthday money and his holiday bonus from work and bought a Traeger grill. I joke that it's his present - but let's be honest. Anytime I don't have to cook dinner on my own, it's a gift to me too. We didn't get to test it out until January, but so far, we are very pleased!

Unfortunately, six hours before game time, the hockey game was canceled out of covid caution. While we understand, it also felt like a very late and arbitrary decision. Quinn (and her teammates) were so disappointed. In order to patch some bruised hearts, we went out to eat at a local cafe for Mike's birthday proper. It opened during The Covid Times and the kids have asked repeated to try it out. We were the only ones in the restaurant, which was lovely - but we also felt terrible for the business. As we were leaving, a few more customers arrived. Whew. Then Mike and the kids played out on the rink until I ruined lives and called them in for bed. While not the birthday we had planned, it was still a fun day! [I declined the rink time and nursed a migraine instead. The first day at a new job is exhausting!]

We also fit in some time to watch Mike's favorite Christmas movie - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Quinn cracks me up more than the movie does (which is saying something!) because she honestly does.not.laugh the entire movie. She claims she likes it, but her face says otherwise.

The kids and I made it through two days of school/work (seriously, two days of work and then twelve days off is not a bad deal!) and used Wednesday to pack for our trek north. We loved how Christmas in the new house felt (yay for new, taller tree and stockings hung by the fireplace!), but we were so ready to get out of town. Christmas up north is our favorite and we couldn't wait!

Feeling Very North Pole

We were still in quarantine when our annual Legion breakfast with Santa happened. All three kids were surprisingly disappointed to miss it. So I promised I would find another Santa visit opportunity for them. Based on the weekend schedule (and the weather), Sunday afternoon was our best option. I was delighted to find outdoor Santa photos at a local restaurant on Prior Lake. 

As luck would have it, Mike had an early game of his own Sunday night that the kids and I could actually go to! So we decided to eat a combo late lunch/early dinner at the restaurant after seeing Santa. It was the first time the five of us have eaten out together in almost two years. When we got the bill, we remembered how expensive it is to feed five people at a nice restaurant. Might be another two years before we go out again ... [ha!]

Mike asked me while we drove to the restaurant what my Plan B was if the line was really long for Santa. I told him there was no Plan B, so to think good thoughts. While the restaurant parking lot was quite full (it's also a very small parking lot), there was virtually no line. I think we waited for maybe three minutes. The kids were so excited that both Santa and Mrs. Claus were there! They climbed into the sleigh, told Santa what they wanted, and smiled for a picture. Easy peasy.

Then we headed in to eat and the children remembered that nice restaurants are hard because you have to wait a looooooooong time for your food. To pass the time, Fiona made up a game. It's essentially Rock, Paper, Scissors - but instead was Santa, Elves, Reindeer. So funny! Then after we were done eating, we ordered dessert. The kids have been asking about cheesecake lately, so we got a slice of caramel apple cheesecake to share. Needless to say, they loved it. They also expressed extreme doubt when I told them I knew how to make cheesecake. Mike's birthday cake the following week may or may not have been a homemade cheesecake! [Well played, children]

After a short break, we piled in the car to head to Mike's game. Unfortunately Uncle Brad wasn't able to make the game (and Q was not happy). But she got to watch Coach Mike (not her dad), Coach Mike (her dad), and Coach Nathan (another Shako coach) play. Coach Nathan's family came too. His oldest son plays at the same level as Q and his younger son is at the same level as Dec. The five kids had a great time running around the rink and cheering for their dads. Mike's team even handily won, which made the trip even better.. Always so much fun to go watch our favorite grown up hockey player. 

The Magic of the First Snow Day

Most of us came out of quarantine (*cough Declan cough*) in time for me to head back in to the office ... to resign. After 15 and a half years at Emerson, I was leaving. That sentence makes it sound so.much.easier than it actually was. In truth, it was the hardest easiest decision I've had to make professionally. Emerson has been my family for a long time - and I loved my current job, team, and awesome network of friends.

But the new opportunity was just too great to pass up. Even good friends at Emerson who wanted to give me a hard time for leaving couldn't when they heard about the new role. It's absolutely something I needed to take a chance on! While there were many sleepless nights leading up to the resignation, everyone was so incredibly supportive and I proud of how I transitioned out. 

I'm on Week 3 (but with the holidays, Day 4) at C.H. Robinson and I'll tell you more about that in a different post.

All that to say, my final day at Emerson was ... weird. A huge winter storm was predicted to blow in that Friday afternoon so my happy hour was postponed to the following week. My boss told everyone to work from home ... except for the two of us. We headed in, finished up a few transition plans, packed my cube, and were on the road by 1pm. Only a few flakes were falling at that point, so the drive home wasn't too back. I ate a quick lunch and by 2pm (when the kids were due home - school was releasing 2 hours early to beat the weather), I was out shoveling about 2 inches off the driveway. 

The kids immediately put their gear on and gathered their neighborhood friends. Our backyard has a great sledding hill and promises to be a popular winter gathering spot! The kids sledded, played in the snow, helped me shovel the rink, and enjoyed the storm for over 3 hours. There is nothing more magical than a snow day. And since I was temporarily unemployed, I was able to simply enjoy the magic with them. Around 5, we invited the gang in for hot chocolate and then tucked in for the night. 

The roads were getting pretty questionable by the time Mike headed home from work. I had just finished shoveling another 3 inches off the driveway when he pulled in. Quinn had hockey practice, but Mike and I decided that a snow day and a family night were more needed than practice. We ordered pizza, ate Christmas cookies, turned on the fire, and watched a movie! All with the snow continuing to fall rapidly outside. It was the perfect winter day!

After we put the kids to bed, the day became slightly less perfect (adulting is hard). Mike's rink hadn't frozen through yet, so the weight of all the snow on the ice had pushed it down and pushed water up. Mike and I spent over an hour shoveling the heaviest slush I've ever tried to move. Especially when one has to throw it over the boards. Mike was convinced that the rink was ruined for the year, but I know he would save it. [Spoiler alert: he did!] We wanted to give up when we trudged back to the front of the house and saw about 7 inches on the driveway. Thankfully, our neighbor and his snowblower took care of it for us. We were tapped (and we learned our lungs were not fully recovered from our covit bout). 

It snowed all night and there was probably another 7-8 inches on the driveway in the morning. Mike figures we got around 20 inches total. We did not make it to Q's 7:45am scrimmage (through very little effort on our part), but Mike and I did work hard to clear the driveway so she could make her 10:45 game. We got a path cleared for them - just in time for the plow to come through and deliver the plow pack death blow to the end of the driveway. I shoveled it as fast as my covid lungs would allow while Mike and Q got ready for the game. I cleared a path just wide enough for them to get out - and then our neighbor snowblowed the rest for me later. 

We spent the rest of Saturday playing in the snow and shoveling all.the.things. Including our shed. Mike got it framed up during quarantine - but he hasn't got the roof on it yet. So yes, we shoveled the driveway, rink, deck, patio, stairs, and inside of the shed. No wonder our arms were sore for the next few days!

Holiday Fireworks

Alternate title: The Day We Finally All Left The House!

By Saturday, December 4, Dec was on his last day of quarantine. He had been stuck in the house for three weeks and one day. Boyfriend was over.it! His spirits were greatly lifted, however, when he came downstairs to find our elf Tyler had returned and brought his annual North Pole breakfast. Neither D nor Q lasted very long before they came to wake up the rest of us for breakfast.

Tyler brought donuts, strawberries, hot cocoa, matching buffalo plaid pjs, and tree ornaments for each of them. Declan got a baseball glove, Fiona got the Hogwarts school crest, and Quinn got a beautiful hand-blown set of hockey skates. 

Approximately, 45 seconds after admiring them, Q's skates got knocked off the table onto the hardwood floor. Want to know what hand-blown glass does when it meets wood? It shatters. So do Q's feelings. But don't worry, Tyler brought her a new ornament a couple days later that was significantly less breakable. [Sweet D offered to let Q hang his glove ornament on the tree. He felt so sad for her.]

That night was the annual (except for last year) town Christmas tree lighting. Instead of the usual parade, there was a "walk through" parade. And there would be fireworks. Since Dec was on his final hours of quarantine and everything was outside, we decided to go to the festivities, mask up, and keep our distance from people. The parade was pretty much done by the time we got downtown, but we walked through what was left. Then we grabbed a great spot to see the tree lighting. 

Hannah and Cheryl joined us for fireworks and the four kiddos had so much fun watching them. There is something so magical about winter fireworks (especially since they go off at 5:30pm!). We had a great debate about the best fireworks (complete with sound effects ... as that is a factor in which fireworks are the best!) and thoroughly enjoyed the finale!

We grabbed takeout on the way home and then settled in for a a Christmas movie. It was the perfect way to welcome the Christmas season - and to finally all leave the house together. That felt just a magical as Christmas!

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.

Roses Were Red - and Pink

We have now officially celebrated every holiday under the umbrella of covid. By St. Patrick's Day last year, school had just been suspended. We would not have predicted this - but we did it. All holidays were appropriately acknowledged and celebrated. There was often cake. 

Valentine's Day was on a Sunday this year. Which meant Hockey. Both Quinn and Dec had games, so I convinced (coerced) Bugs that we should show them we love them by masking up and going to cheer them on. She was on the fence (at best), but she agreed. I'm pretty sure she knew how much her presence would mean to her sibs.

Before hockey, however, it was quite the festival of love at our house. The kids woke up to find gifts at their table spots and everyone had our annual heart where each family member writes why they love that person. I especially enjoyed reading what the girls wrote to each other - you can tell the past year has really strengthened their relationship. Fiona wrote that she loves Quinn because "she will always understand me." Quinn wrote that she loves Fiona because Q can "always make her laf [laugh] easily." Both of these statements are so true!

They had fun with their gifts (D had legos while the girls got new dresses and body spray) and were quite pleased with the day. We also mixed up some red velvet cake batter, tossed some mini chocolate chips in, and made cupcakes. Then the neighborhood parade to our front step started. Our neighbor Mary dropped off some candy for the kids with a Valentine's Day wish. The Es came over with a homemade decorated cookie and a couple other treats. And then the Gs came over with treats and cards too. Grinchy Mike joked about disabling the doorbell. [Fiona and I had made our neighborhood deliveries on Saturday.]

Both hockey games were over lunch, so we grabbed a late morning snack before we left for the rink. Mike and Quinn left first for Q's game. Then I brought Fiona and Dec around the time D needed to start. Fiona and I watched the end of Q's game, met Q in the locker room, and then the three of us watched the end of D's game. 

Both Q and D got roses at the end of their games from the hockey association. The tags on the roses read "Red lines are red. Blue lines are blue. Hockey is Awesome. And so are you." Q's team loved it. Dec's team mostly handed over their roses to their moms. But they were both really excited to get a flower. While Fiona pretended that she hated going, she was delightfully happy for the rest of the day. And freely admitted that getting out of the house was a big contributor to that. 

After the games, Q and I ran to grab tacos at the drive thru. We were all so very hungry and ate our weight in tacos and potato oles. At 2pm. I should have considered that schedule before I made a nice turkey dinner. But the kids were so excited for our fancy holiday dinner. The girls put on tights and dresses and did their hair and makeup. Dec put on a button down shirt with his sweat pants. So Mike and I put on nicer clothes too. Dinner turned out really well. But holy smokes, we were painfully full.

Nonetheless, we made room for the cupcakes that the kids and I had decorated that afternoon. Fiona was very excited about the cupcake she decorated with white icing and mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top. She was going for a cookies and cream theme. She made the mistake of asking Mike what he thought the theme was. His answer: "poop on a cloud." And with that, our fancy dinner devolved into a pile of giggles and ended with milk coming out of Mike's nose. This is why we can't actually go out for a fancy dinner. But you sure can't say we don't have fun.

We had a great time throughout the early days of the month making homemade notes and cards for our family and packing up treat bags to spread the love to our neighbors. All the deliveries and flowers on Valentine's Day made them feel so special in return. It was a really great day thanks to really good friends and family. Plus there was really good cake.

Subzero

So far, February has been ... cold. Not "we live in Minnesota and it's winter" cold. More like "I talked Mike into going on a walk and now he's questioning his choice of life partner" cold. It has been two straight weeks of pretty much subzero temps. This also means that it has been two straight weeks of being stuck inside. We.are.over.it. Thankfully, it should start warming up to normal February temps on Wednesday and the extended forecast looks downright lovely. We could use some more snow - preferably in the form of a snowstorm. Snow or not, we are thankful for the warm up to highs above zero!

While we hang inside, we've done a lot of singing and dancing ...

We've layered on a lot of clothes to brave the cold, get out of the house, and breathe in fresh air. One of us complained a lot about his face being cold. One of us was so excited to be outside that she didn't care. Two of us cursed a couple of times when we had to fight our way through -20 degree winds ... and someone may have refused to join his wife on a walk for a couple days after that.

On Monday, February 8, we dropped three people off at the bus stop for the first time since before Thanksgiving. It was a very happy day! They are all back in school, going five days a week. Since Mike and I are both still mostly home, the kids have been taking the bus home instead of going to the after school program. I suspect we'll have to head into our respective offices more frequently in the coming weeks, so we are playing the after school arrangements by ear. It is eerily quiet here without them. And oh so noisy when they get home. The best part ... not making lunch for everyone every.blasted.day. I mean, also that they are getting a better education. But no lie, we were OVER lunch!

I did manage to go for a handful of runs despite the freezing cold weather. It only required wearing long socks (yuck!) to not expose my ankles, layering a light fleece coat under my winter coat, putting a hat over my headband, and putting mittens over my gloves. Oh, and a scarf! I mean, what's an extra 10 lbs of clothing ... [For the record, on my last run, I had the winter coat tied around my waist and was holding the mittens and hat by the end. You start out cold. You get hot!]

Bugs is so tired of the monotony that she asked me to braid her hair. She's generally a "keep your hands away from my hair" kind of girl. So being asked to style it was pretty exciting. She even left the braid in for 30 minutes or so before she took it out! 

We just finished up a long weekend that was spent mostly at home ... inside (no school Friday or today for Presidents' Day). Quite honestly, I think we survived the deep freeze because at least the kids were going TO school. They are all excited about the return to outside recess later this week when it is warmer. And we are excited to get out on the backyard rink. I guess that's the thing about subzero - the promise of life above zero is oddly invigorating!

January Summary

Since most of the January blog posts recapped life in December, it seems fitting that we would close out January in February. Luckily, other than significant moments I already blogged about, January was fairly quiet and uneventful. We were mostly still home for work and school - only venturing into the public domain for hockey and piano. So I'll summarize how we spent our mid-winter days in a single post and then close the book on January.

[Side note: Fiona is at a not-at-all-perplexing tween crossroads where she both does not want me taking her picture. And is mad that there are no pictures of her on my phone. So ... yeah ...]

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We pulled out the skis in early January and tried out the hill by our house. We agree that we need people to a real ski hill - but that may be a 2022 goal. Until then, we need both non-frigid temps and more snow here to get back out on the "local slopes."

We ate icicles because ... why not.

We got back into the work and school from home life. It had its share of bumps and tears ... but overall, all three kids did a good job managing online learning and their assignments mostly independently. Fiona started a little bumpy, but got into a good rhythm and finished strong. Quinn started strong, was OVER it by mid-January, and crawled her way over the finish line. Dec did consistently fine on everything. Except journaling. Where he consistently cried. Mike and I took turns being exasperated. BUT - we made it. Go Team V!

Recess was often spent on the rink. Note Quinn's dress, boots, and hockey stick. That outfit perfect sums her up. Worth noting, she's also wearing leggings with holes in the knees that she won't let me throw away and I don't have the energy to fight her on the issue. [I believe this recess was where we learned to make passes off the boards]

We hid from the news and election drama and Capitol insurrections by going moonlight sledding. 

Fiona found a willing participant to practice on with our face paints. She was going for "leprechaun" but it feels a bit more devilishly handsome to me.

There was a lot of coaching. On the rink. At the rink. At the dining room table. 

And there was a science experiment to see if they could all still fit on Dad's back for a horsey ride. Turns out they can. But the horse is not tamed so it's hard work to stay on him!

While low key, we had a lot of fun getting outside and back into the swing of school, work, and evening/weekend activities.