HOME!

After a busier than anticipated spring, we've been home for awhile, and are so thankful for that. We've been filling our time with downtime, friend hangs, reading, movies, dinners out, connecting with friends, play rehearsals for both Greta and Piper who are in two different plays this spring, and an Edison Middle School open house Greta(!!!). Catching up with some photos...

A golf outing where the girls did everything but golf. 
Oh well :).

Painting at the Erie's.

Bootcamp friends at Level Up Games. 

My partner Ann and I placed 2 in our division! 

Greta gets ready for middle school.

Greta and Daphne. 

Piper and Elin left me some
love on my phone. 

Sully and his team for the Escape Room Gathering.

Greta and friends rehearsing
for talent show auditions...spoiler alert, they got in! 

5th grade girls.

Two fantastic neighbors, Virginia and Tom.
Celebrating Virginia's birthday.
xoxoxoxo

45th in Sedona

Mag, Jeff, Dave and I went to Sedona to hike and unwind for our 45th birthday, and it was beautiful. We were long overdue for a trip with Mag and Jeff, and our birthday fell on a Friday, so, why not? We departed on Wednesday and arrived in time for a late dinner (luckily), we didn't realize how early Sedona goes to bed at night! The restaurant was near our hotel and the airport and hit the spot after a full travel day. 

We hiked the Cathedral Rock Trail, a moderate to hard out and back hike with a bit of scrambling on the way to the overlook. It was challenging and beautiful, and windy as heck at the top. We returned to the Sky Ranch Lodge for a quick happy hour before calling Larry (a highlight) the shuttle driver to take us for pizza. 

The following day was our birthday and we were greeted with 6 inches of snow! We had to completely rearrange our day as hiking was off the table, so we ended up taking a wine tour with Bliss Tour Company. We were in a group with two other couples and made our way around 4 wineries, and by the end of the day, we were all a bit tipsy and the best of friends. We had dinner that evening at Mariposa, a fantastic Latin fusion restaurant. 

Saturday was our last day and we rented an off road vehicle to get to some hard to see places. The ride was ok, as in, we tolerated it. The terrain was rocky and wet from the snowmelt, and it was incredibly loud. The lookout was jaw-dropping. We went to Chicken Point and sat atop these beautiful rock formations and took in the view. Someone was there playing the winds and it made for a memorable scene. We drove back, grabbed lunch, did a bit of souvenir shopping and then went for drinks at this incredible resort called Enchantment, its literally nestled in a canyon. We enjoyed a glass of wine and the most spectacular views before coming home and grabbing dinner at the Vault in the downtown area. 

It was a great weekend, lots of relaxing, some activity, and loads of fun...where to next time!? 

Flagstaff arrival.

Cathedral Rock hike. 

Maggie scrambling to the top.

At the vineyards in Cottonwood. 

Meanwhile...it snowed in Sedona! 

Sunset photo-op. 

Birthday dinner with my kiddos in Sioux Falls. 

Coronado Solo

When we returned from Steamboat, I knew my dad had Influenza and was feeling pretty crappy, but as the week went on, and after a dose of tamiflu, things didn't improve. Finally, on Friday, he was admitted for influenza and pneumonia, so I booked a flight. I arrived on Saturday afternoon and went right to the hospital to relieve my mom and be available for what might be needed. He was in decent spirits but had a terrible cough and looked tired. Piece by piece, we put him back together. He was discharge on Sunday and we worked all week to rebuild his strength. By the time I came home on Friday, we had good walks and made it out for meals and even went to the fitness center. 

It was a tiring week, but a great week to be together, and knowing how much the help is appreciated makes it all worth while. I'm thankful to my village at home for showing up to get the kids to school and home from school and to all of their commitments, biggest thank you to Dave for never even asking me when I was coming home and trusting that I would come when it was time. By the end of the week, I was so happy to see my family. 

Morning walks solo.

Daily Goals

Going home! 

Much needed. ;)

Steamboat Ski Trip

We did it! This sort-of skiing family pulled off a ski trip to Steamboat and we had a great time. We chose Steamboat because of positive reports from friends who have been there and enjoyed the many green runs and laid back atmosphere, it turned out to be perfect for us. It snowed every single day we were there, 20+ inches total! We skied so much, Piper and Sully were total dare devils, every jump Sully would take, Piper was right behind. On one run, they went ahead of us and missed the turn landing on a blue run. Dave wasn't about to take that chance, so I followed them down while he and Greta took the safe route. I made my way down ever so slowly and when we got to the bottom, they were so pumped at their 'mistake,' haha! The family favorite run was the 3 mile Why Not that was filled with secret short cuts and little jumps, they did it over and over again. We enjoyed the restaurants on the mountain and spent a day in town looking through shops and having lunch. Our hotel was called Gravity Haus and it was super convenient to the main gondola, but quiet enough that we could regroup when we needed to (usually in the hot tub). The only snafu was Greta getting strep throat, fortunately the urgent care was handy and she was able to muster up the energy to ski after a Motrin dose and a Starbucks drink. Cheers to a great week! 

Sully mid wipe out! 

Lunch break. 

Greta looking so grown up. 

Dare devil. 

Bluejays!

For Christmas, the kids got tickets from IZ for a Creighton Bluejay's game and it 1000 percent exceeded our expectations. We all had so much fun. We went down to Omaha on Friday after school and had so-so pizza from Zio's (it's not what is used to be :() and then went back to the room to catch some basketball on tv (we didn't know it at the time, but this would begin Sully's basketball obsession). We went for brunch the following morning for brunch at Lula B.'s which was fantastic and really fun to see all of the Creighton fans there pregaming for what turned out to be an awesome game. The Jays won! We played indoor minigolf across the street after and then made our way back for dinner at the hotel and an early bedtime. It was a great weekend, we will definitely do it again...great idea, IZ! 

Zio's

Let's go Jays!

So much new swag.

Games before dinner. 

Coronado with Pip - Burger Battle at Home

Piper and I snuck away to see grandma and grandpa in Coronado and had a great weekend. We swam, ate great food, walked on the beach, explored tide pools in La Jolla and the highlight was Grange Garden in Solana Beach where we got to hold bunny rabbits and feed them herbs, Piper was in heaven, it was a treat. Piper and I loved our one on one time and our grandparent time. There were plenty of quiet moments where we read or watched movies together, usually focused on what Piper might find interesting, what treat! 

Meanwhile, at home, Dave, Sully, and Greta placed in the family burger battle for Mandy's birthday, fun for all! 

Tidepools in La Jolla.

Walking to dinner. 

Beach day - so grown up. 

Grange Garden

Pip and I. 

Sweet trio.