Thanksgiving in Idaho Springs, Colorado.

The original plan had been to spend Thanksgiving in Colorado with our intern and then to celebrate Allie and Jake's wedding on the following Saturday. And then the interns were halted, and then Allie's wedding numbers were cut, and then cut again. But we decided that if the stars aligned and everyone was healthy, we would go anyway and spend the time as family and be together. 

And the stars aligned! Off we went, it was the kids' first time in an airplane since London last year and the biggest difference was that we had way less stuff, and the masking. It was a slick, one hopper and then a rental car later and off to the cabin. The cabin was so cozy and quaint, with a fresh blanket of snow, we quickly found our 'spots' and settled in for the long weekend. 

Our Thanksgiving meal was nothing traditional. We purchased all items we could easily pop in the oven to reheat (including lasagna) and overall, it was a great success. We watched Christmas movies and snuggled near the fireplace, family happy hours, hikes, panning for gold, hot tubs, and loads of time spent together. It was great to have a change of scenery. We watched Allie and Jake's wedding on a facebook live and the kids squealed when they smooched. While we would have loved to have been there in person, it was still fun and special to see their small group and the love surrounding them. 

Much like Christmas, there is something so special about not having a schedule to keep during the holidays. The kids definitely missed their cousins, but knowing no one was gathering back at home made this an easy decision for us. We look forward to the next one whenever that might be. 

Enjoy the overload of family photos on this trip, no wonder the kids get so sick of me make them pose for photos. HA! 

Joe Foss Field, ready to go. 

Thanksgiving morning with Frosty. 

Family photo outside the cabin near the creek. 

Pizza pajama party. 

Thanksgiving meal. 

Gold Mine Tour.

Wrestling. 

Afternoon hike. 

Dave and the kids, Echo Lake. 

The kids were obsessed with standing 

on the frozen Echo Lake.

My sweet sidekick on a gorgeous hike. 

Me with all three. 

The daily Uno match, or three. 

St Mary's hike. 

The hike up was brutal, our kids were the 

only kids. But the race down the mountain

made the grueling hike worth it. 

Allie and Jake's virtual wedding. 

Streamside hot tub. 

I love this family photo on the way down the St. Mary's hike. 

What a beautiful part of the world. 

Scenes from Quarantine

Back to Covid. The rest of the family tested negative, which meant I had to isolate away from them for 10 days in my basement in order to prevent infecting everyone, but more importantly, to get the kids back to school as soon as possible. During my isolation, I filled my time with Great Gatherings prep, election coverage (more than I ever cared for), Netflix series, and loads of screen time. I felt pretty good after the first 4 days so by the end, everyone was over the isolation period. The kids would come down occasionally and leave me notes or messages, on their way down, they would let me know of their arrival and I would put my mask on. All of my meals were away from them. COVID had terrible timing for me. Between birthdays and Halloween, I had so much mom guilt, but its over and we are moving on.  

"get well sune."

mom

Piper tucked her doll into my bed for me. 

views from my bed. 

card delivery. 

Greta turns 7!

Greta turned 7 in quarantine this year. What a week this has been. I was afraid she might not feel the same love she would in a typical year, but I was so wrong. We had birthday deliveries of gifts and goodies all day. And the weather was gorgeous which provided me the opportunity to spend some time outside with them in my N-95 mask. We gave her a long board for her birthday and she was so excited, she squealed with delight. We dined (in separate rooms) on Golden Bowl and Casey's pizza for dinner followed by a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. She proudly exclaimed it was "the best birthday ever!" and I was so relieved. 

Happy birthday, sweet Greta. I love your spunk and spirit, and your willingness to be such a helpful member of our family, I love you and am so proud of you. 

Gift excitement. 

Pajamas all day everyday :).

Our sweet GG. 

Thank God for N-95s. 

'7th Greta!' Haha. 

My girl and her long board. 

Halloween in Quarantine

When I found out my Covid test was positive, I knew that meant the kids were going to be home on a close contact quarantine for Halloween. What a let down. They had their costumes and all of the Halloween cheer with nowhere to go with it. We (Dave) made the best of it, I stayed in bed most of the day, Dave carved pumpkins with them and they put their outfits on for a quick photo op and then took them off to get cozy and stay in. Again, we had a steady stream of gifts and love and support from neighbors and friends and family. We will certainly be paying the COVID KINDNESS forward when we are out of the quarantine. I am free to emerge on Monday 11/9 and the kids are allowed to go back two weeks after their last real contact with me, which will be Friday 11/13.

Get will soon messages from Pip. 

Get well soon cards from Greta.

My sweet unicorns. 

Sweet trio.

See you all next year! 

Unicorns and Richard Best

Halloween in Quarantine. 

Piper turns 5!

Piper turned 5! Unfortunately it coincided with a quarantine Dave and I were on for a close contact, which turned into me feeling terrible on her birthday. I actually kept the kids home from school because I knew I needed a COVID test. So, we spent Piper's birthday morning at testing site, me in an N-95 mask to prevent exposure to the kids. 

Piper had a great day in spite of it all, she had a constant train of gift drop offs, treats, balloons, and smiles. We are so lucky to have such thoughtful family and friends. 

Piper is the sweetest little sister. We love her humor, wit, bravery, and tender heart. We are so lucky she is ours. 

Oh, and I tested positive for COVID, this is the beginning of a long road.

Birthday pancakes. 

Covid testing line. 

Sweet Pip. 

Double decker birthday cake by daddy and Greta. 

So excited for the birthday girl. 

We Voted Early.

I took the oppportunity this year to vote with Sully. Greta has been on a quarantine for a close contact at school, so Sully and I were able to drive to school by ourselves for about a week. We talked on the way to school about voting and who was running for office and why it was so important. We had planned to vote on Friday afternoon togeher. I happened to capture this photo in the monrning on 10/16 when the weather had changes significantly and at dropoff, these big beautiful snowfalkes fell. Sully asked me to snap a photo to show Greta. When we arrived at the polls, we had to wait in line for probably close to an hour, it was cold outside, but the line moved as quickly as it could. Sully was so sweet. When he isn't wanting to watch video games or play them, he instantly turns into my little boy again. He so innocently asked "so mom, will both of the people who want to be president be inside that building?" My heart melted. The woman at the office gave him a specific job, he followed directions precisely and was happy to be on the adventure with me.

Grandma Banana gets a new knee.

Maggie, Liz and I were on the schedule for months in anticipation of my mom's upcoming knee surgery. We had tv shows, meals, shifts, and nothing but time for our mom. The time for surgery was finally here on 10/7 and to say she rocked the process is an understatement. She was home and moving and doing her exercises as instruced and she absoulutely wowed her PT, PA, and doctor. She had a minor setback becuase she couldn't tolerate some of the pain medication, but once we worked out those issues, the road to recovery wasn't too long. 

It was fun to be with her, to care for her like she has cared for me all of these years. We got to cook and clean for her, read to her at bedtime, refill her ice, and to make sure she was on the right track. 

Next up is the next knee and we get to do it all over again, I secretly can't wait...thanks to Dave for running the homefront while I was away.

Back away, walker! 

Showing off, this is 48 hours after surgery. 

Bedtime stories. 

Nap time for Maggie and mom. 

Front porch visitors.