January 2021

Spa days are a thing around here, and when you can't find cucumbers for your eyes, any vegetable will do.

 

The first good snow of 2021. It's pretty amazing to have three capable shovelers.

This little guy didn't last long. Snow creations never do in Colorado.

For MLK weekend Clifton and the kids skied with the Parsons at Arapahoe Basin for the day.

Naomi and Amelia are still great ski buddies. They like to take the slow way down and have conversations as they ski, planning blog content and talking about how amazing their moms are.

I drove up after work and we spent the evening in Keystone.

This was Sarah's birthday celebration weekend. Yes, her birthday was in November. No, I didn't do anything for her prior to this. Covid was a little nuts in November and December so there really wasn't much to be done. So we did this weekend away to celebrate. I baked a cake and everything. I did not remember to bring candles. So here Sarah is humoring me and pretending to blow out pretend candles.

Hot tub and pool after a long day of skiing. I don't even know why they waste time in the pool.

Day two at ABasin.

Love these guys so much.

We spent Clifton's birthday this year up at Dave and Val's cabin. Dave bored some holes in the ice so we could go ice fishing.

Speaking of bored, Jeremy may or may not be asleep in this photo. :) 

Some of us were luckier than others.

Just like regular fishing, lots of sitting and waiting. I actually got a fish on the line, forgot I was on ice, jumped to my feet to set the hook, and in the process did the most cartoonish banana peel slip ever and landed flat on my stomach. The fish got away. None of this is captured on film for your enjoyment.

It was kindof cold.

Dave cleared a section of ice for ice skating.

There was some sledding...

And some shenanigans with a shopping cart and, I mean, what could go wrong?

After lunch we went snowshoeing.

It was pretty much a winter snow activity extravaganza!

All for this guy's birthday!

Naomi was at a babysitter's course all day so she missed the fun, but was home at night to celebrate with him.

Luna, so loved and so tolerant.

Inauguration Day -- I don't care who you voted for... Shattering glass ceilings is good for everyone. Happy to share this moment with my 12 year old daughter who will hopefully grow up in a world where more women will be found in the places that decisions are being made. (RBG)

So this probably needs an explanation. The very short version is that our elementary school was giving away this papier mache camel that they had built a couple years ago. And I wasn't sure why we needed this papier mache camel, but I was super sure we needed it. So under the cover of darkness, Clifton humored me, and we went and threw it on top of the CRV for our drive home.

And the not small camel lived in our garage for a couple weeks.

Until I decided that Suzi *must have* this camel for her birthday. Fortunately my friend Erin came with her pick up which was just slightly less embarrassing than driving it across town on top of the CRV.

And she didn't just need it, she needed it in her bedroom and we way underestimated what it would take to get this thing upstairs in one piece.

These girls each won the science fair for their grade. So if you're wondering how to keep apples from turning brown or if music helps improve scores on math tests, these are your girls.

Clifton did a ski day with Sarah and Annika who are always looking for challenging runs. Naomi and I had girl time at home.

View from the top

I love that our kids love this.

Naomi and her ballet buddies enjoying a nice day. So thankful for these connections in such a disconnected year.