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. 

Halloween DIY decor.

We learned the hard way that store bought Halloween decor is overpriced and doesn't withstand autumn in South Dakota. Year after year, we would purchase soemthing and usually the day after we put it up, its blown down or completly blown away. We've decided to add a new piece of DIY Halloween decor each year, and this year, it was Sheets. An old bed sheet + two spatulas + an old dodgeball ball was all it took. Making him was the easy part, finding a way to get him strung up in the tree was they hysterical part, seeing Greta's face when she got home from school as Sheets was blowing in the wind was the best part. What will next year bring!?

A speech graduate!

After a literal lifetime of speech therapy, Sully graduated! It consisted of a zoom call, where his therapist, teacher, principal and I met for 5 minutes and Sully received lots of praise before we clicked off. I then took a moment to reflect on all of his speech therapists and all of the rides to and from over the years and how the girls and I used to drop him off at our neighborhood school and we would drive our route; we grabbed coffee and then made a loop down by Falls Park and then it would be time to collect him already. He had mostly good reviews from his therapists, but definitely had a year or two of being silly and pushing his limits. Overall, it was the best experience for us and we are so thankful to have made that call to the Birth to Three program more than 6 years ago. Way to go, buddy, we are SO proud of you!

Yay Sully! 

A 10th anniversary trip, hurdles and all!

Dave and I had actually started planning our 10th anniversary shortly after our 9th anniversary because Dave was able to get a hotel room at the Ahwanee in Yosemite National Park, which is hard to come by. We had lots of tentative plans incorporated with the hiking trip... Napa? Big Sur? Tahoe?, but then the fires started in California and they were relentless, so we decided to go the Tahoe route. We booked the flights pretty last minute because everything was so up in the air with the kids and COVID, but we felt good about it. And then the email came from school, Piper was to be quarantined for two weeks due to a close contact, now what?! Over the next few days, we monitored Piper's symptoms and then the news broke that the wildfires in California shifted and Yosemite closed.

We went to work, googling back up options, and landed on Colorado Springs. A bit closer to home, but it still had hiking options, R&R, restaurants, and time away. We stayed at a resort called the Broadmore, and had a view of the mountains. We had wine with lunch, spa treatments, a golf game, hikes, long dinners, early bedtimes, watched the Office and splurged on plenty of wine and room service. 

It took about 2 hours to settle into resort mode. No schedules, no overbooking, just time and space to enjoy the slower pace and be together. 10 years has gone by in an instant, between kids and work and the house renovation and life, its often hard to take the time to appreciate each other, but I'm so glad we were able to, and Im so thankful for our life. 

FYI- couple photo overload ;).

Seven bridge hike.

Golf outing.

The leaves were changing and the weather was perfect. 

Sunsets in bathrobes. 

Garden of the Gods. 

Anniversary dinner. 

Happy hour.

The drive down from Pikes Peak. 

Munstream Adventures Ahead

After the idea was born in May, and after months of talking and dreaming about adventures to be had, we made it official... we ordered an Airstream! We had been pouring over manuals and styles for a few months and made a quick trip to Minneapolis to purchase our own. Because the industry is booming, the wait time is about 6 months, so we anticipate going pick it up in April, just in time for summer. Our bucket list has grown, we have so many ideas of places we want to explore, and the kids are just as excited. We purchased a Globetrotter, 27ft, in London Grey, and it's absolutely GORGEOUS. Prepare for camping post overload this spring/summer/fall. Upon returning home, Dave read the owners manual from front to back, and the more he reads, the more excited he gets. It's a win all around. 

The layout. 

A photo of the interior. 

Waiting on paperwork. 

See you in April!