Suz and Greta go west, the rest go east.

Our girl's trip had finally arrived! Greta has been asking for years to go on a Greta/mom only getaway and we finally made it happen, I'm so glad we did. And if you know Dave, you know he can't stay in Sioux Falls for too long, so he made his own fun with the other two in the opposite direction. 

Greta and I flew to Coronado with my mom, it was mostly seamless, but there are always hiccups. This one came in the form of a cancelled flight on United due to Boeings needing to be assessed do to a recent plane malfunction. We changed gears and flew Delta through Minneapolis, only adding a few hours to our itinerary. Everything else was easy. 

We went to museums, candy shops, Starbucks, candy shops again, and Starbucks again (everyday). Greta would wake me up every morning at 6:15 and ask if she could come with me on my walk because she knew it landed me in the vicinity of Starbucks. We made the most of it and I loved it, too. We went to the Natural History Muesum and Scripps Aquarium, Solana Beach, Point Loma and one day on Coronado. We saw insects, gems, dinos, sunsets, an octopus, jellyfish, and got to feed seahorses. One component I didn't appreciate was seeing Greta interact with my parents for 4 whole days. The conversations and questions they asked each other were interesting and unique. One thing I appreciate about both of my parents is their ability to find connections with each person regardless of their age or interest, they are so inquisitive and great conversationalists, in fact we spent the last evening together listening to Taylor Swift's NYU commencement speech just because my dad is wanted to learn more about her because we all love her so much... he even took notes ;). My mom is everything, she is kind, interesting, hospitable, nurturing, generous, and I'm just so thankful for the time we have together. One of my highlights was dancing to a live band with my dad after Greta and my mom had gone back to the condo for the night.

On the other hand, Dave and co had a mega travel adventure. They departed Sioux Falls for Montreal on Friday evening and had terrible delays in Minneapolis. They didn't arrive to their hotel room until nearly 4am, ouch. They made the most of it after a proper sleep in, they wandered around the old town and caught a hockey game, the home team lost in overtime. They had only intended to stay two days but because they lost a day, they decided to extend and they snuck in another hockey game, this time, the Canadiens won!!  Sully and Pip got to celebrate with the mascot after a goal. Otherwise they did some shopping, went to a Children's Museum and ate pizza for most meals. They had a great time, until they missed their flight home and what was suppose to be a 6 hour commute turned into a 34 hour journey which included a stopover in Atlanta. Life. They were so happy to be home and we were all really happy to be reunited. 

Off we go! 

6 foot swells on Coronado, the largest I've ever seen. 

Balboa Park

Checking out the tarantulas. 

Never miss a sunset. 

The Sun Decker at the Del. 

Point Loma sunset. 

Meanwhile...

Greta and my dad. 

Quick facetime to share our 
advenures. 

Scripps 

So cool. 

Greta and my dad doing a science experiment. 

Piper auditions and we FINALLY get a snow day!

Piper, leave it to Piper to challenge us to something new. One of her friends had a roll in a local children's theatre production and after seeing the show, she was committed to being a part of the fun. So we looked into it, and much to our surprise, there was a workshop and an audition right around the corner for a spring show. We signed up for the workshop and Piper walked/ran in with her head high with excitement. She did her homework and practiced her lines and songs and was ready for her audition, until it was time to actually audition. Her emotions were so overwhelming, I had a feeling we would have some hurdles to cross, but it was a lot harder than I anticipated. Her tummy hurt and she was SO scared..."mommy, I want to do this and to be with Khloe so bad, but I just can't." I walked her into the bathroom and had sixty second pep talk with her and we walked out as they were lining up and off she went. She DID it! She was so brave for overcoming that fear. She walked out with a splotchy face and I asked her how it went and she said, "great! I mean, I did almost cry when I was waiting for my turn, but I was able to make it." And that was that, we celebrated with Bread and Circus and ice cream and two days later we got the email...she got a part!!!! She is in the animal ensemble in Cinderella...if the Shoe Fits. She can't wait to get going with rehearsals and to be a part of the fun. Good for you, Piper. I'm bursting with pride. 

We followed up that fun and excitement with back to back snow days. The first one is always more fun than the second, ;) but we are making the most of it! 11 inches...better late than never! 

Measurements and photos. 

Just as the nerves were kicking in, but before I knew. 

Snow day neighbor fun. 

NYE

Nine days in Sioux Falls with a minimal agenda was enough! So...we busted out of town for the New Year to Okoboji for some waterpark fun, although it brought a few blunders (abbreviated hours, minimal establishments open, a lake that hadn't yet froze over), fun was had by all. 

We arrive on 12/31 in time to get a couple hours of water fun in, well Dave and the kids did while I ran to get some snacks for the room. We had a brief happy hour in the hotel room so the kids could shower and snack before we ventured out to find something to do. We landed near Arnold's Park for a freezing photo op and cozy bar with good appetizers and ok wine. We left as the party animals were arriving. We had dinner close to the hotel and made our way back to the hotel room for Taylor Swift name that-tune (because what else would the theme be??), first one to 24 wins, get it? ;) Greta 'won.' Winner got to choose breakfast. We had so much fun. 

The next morning consisted of brunch at O'Farrell Sisters, a much needed nap, and then more water and arcade fun. We made our way back for showers and then pizza and trivia at The Ritz before coming back for an early bedtime. 

It was a great way to ring in the New Year. We are all ready for the newness and the opportunities a new year brings and are looking forward to the fun and memories that lie ahead. My resolution is to consistently fuel my body with good things, with an emphasis on my mental health. To reroute myself as needed, because I am human, after all. 

Cheers! 

A freezing photo op. 

Photo by Pip, 1/10000

Excited for cheese sticks and chicken strips. 

Me and my jeweler. :)

HNY Cheers! 

The sillies are setting in, time for bed! 

De La Salle Basketball

The weekend after Christmas my parents host a dinner for the De La Salle basketball team on their way to a basketball tourney. Fun fact- my dad is a De La Salle alma mater and is still a strong supporter. He loves it, he loves to be around the kids and loves to find opportunities to encourage them. This year he invited Sully to come to Mitchell with him to watch a game, Sully had so much fun. He was telling us about his day and said he got to give a bunch of high 5s and was able to go into the locker room with my dad to talk to the players. He said "mom, it was so cool, everyone knew grandpa and wanted to talk to him!" I could just picture it. He talked it up so much, in fact, that we all decided to join my dad for the trip the following afternoon, we all wanted to get in on the fun. We left a couple of hours early in order to grab dinner, it was probably my first time in Mitchell in 10 years. It was a great game, but spending uninterrupted time with my dad and family was the icing on the cake, we look forward to next year, I think it will be the 14th year (I'll fact check that with my dad this week). 

Sully helping grandpa with the QR code program.

High 5s all around!

Three generations, slice of life version. 

Christmas Chaos/Fun

We had a very merry Christmas, being close to home definitely lended its hand to an abundance of gifts for the kids, but no one was complaining about that. 

We spent Christmas Eve with part of Dave's family as we remembered Julie who passed 20 year ago this year. Favorite treats and snacks and memories were shared. We toast to her and to all she brought to us. We finished the evening with games and fun at my brother's house before racing to bed with strict instructions no to wake up before 7am. Much to our surprise, the kids followed the rules. They were all thrilled with their gifts and loved watching Dave and I open their gifts to us. We celebrated with my parents and aunt Patty with high tea and then nachos Navidad as a family that evening. It was low key and a really nice day with plenty of puzzle and tetris time and simply time to laze around, we all needed that! 

Cheers to Christmas Break! 

Christmas with the Connelly family. 

Christmas Eve 

Christmas morning.

Handmade blindbag gift from Piper. 

Another angle. 

Christmas Day tea. 

I needed one of each. :)

Santa gifts...electric scooters! 

Sully's new fancy eye mask. 

Piper with her bunnies. 

Family movie night. 

One of my fave gifts from Sully, new jammies. 

The kids learning to play MASH, 
worth documenting. 

Hit my goal of 200 camps at Burn this year, 
worth documenting ;). 

Post dental apts brunch. 

Sully crushing records on Tetris. 

The kids get the final puzzle piece three way tie.

Wash Pav fun with friends. 

Impromptu holiday flowers,
Piper's note adds the flare we love.