Christmas and NYE 2020

It was certainly a different Christmas this year with limited group gatherings, no fancy parties, and a basically empty December calendar. As much as I missed the extra outings, being home suited us just fine. It was a stark contrast to last year's holiday. 

We gathered at my parents as families one on one which was fun. The kids missed the cousin chaos, but I appreciated the quiet conversation around the dinner table. I do feel that is one thing Covid has provided us, more intentional dinners with my parents. I will forever cherish those conversations around their kitchen table. We exchanged small gifts and the kids played their piano pieces for them and we called it a night.

Christmas Eve was quiet, prep for Christmas day. We did go to visit Julie's grave. I had this great idea of cutting out a branch from our tree to put on her grave. Another way for us to feel like she is part of our celebration. The kids loved it and it will definitely be a new favorite tradition. 

Christmas morning started at 4:51am. Sully busted into our room, exclaiming it was Christmas morning. He was so excited, and although I was mad at the time, I catch myself giggling now at the hilarity of it. That sweet, innocent, burst-at-the-seams enthusiasm to see if Santa came and to open and discover if you got what you were hoping you would get. Much to their delight, they got everything they wanted, and more. 

My brother and his family and sister and her family came over for a happy hour and games and we fell into bed by 10pm, exhausted. 

We laid low for a few days and then met Maggie's fam and my friend Jamie and her family in Okoboji for New Years Eve. We had a great time, the kids each had a built in buddy, we swam, played, ice skated, watched movies, and played some more. It was definitely a fun way to end the holiday break. 

Visiting Julie's grave. 

Santa came! 

Ready for Christmas!

So excited to give Daddy his gifts. 

Christmas chaos. 

High Tea

Champagne toast. 

Christmas Cheers. 

A perfect sledding day.

Ice skating in Okoboji. 

Full on Christmas break mode. 

NYE crew. 

The adults. 

Christmas prep and fun.

Our Christmas prep was slightly delayed this year since we had been traveling over the Thanksgiving break. We scrambled to get a tree right when we got home as Dave was traveling the following weekend. As a result, we picked out a tree in the dark, which probably has a lot to do with the result, but Dave is also party to blame 😉😂. 

We got home and set it up, we knew there were problems when we couldn't turn it just right to hide the bad spot, it turns out, there were more bad than good. It turned into an inside joke and Dave lost Christmas tree privileges from here on out. The tree definitely served is purpose, we had plenty of family dance parties ("Im walking around the Christmas tree!" Sung to the tune of 'Rockin' around the Christmas tree.' per Piper), and many other family memories. 

For Christmas, Dave and I got COVID vaccines! Yay! 

The anticipation is so fun right now, the daily countdown, the nervous energy that someone will spy Santa on Christmas night, Iz the Elf, we are at a fun stage around here. 

Putting up the decorations. 

😆

Girls day. 

Sister matchy match. 

Yay! 

Dave's turn. 

We found the Christmas Star! 

Hosting a campfire in December, 50 degrees.
There was a blizzard the following day. 

Piper's first lost tooth. Her Sis (Maggie) is thrilled. 

My sweet baby is growing up so fast. 

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.