Rachael's Blog

I See London, I See France

2022-04-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

We last saw our teenage heroes sleeping on the train to Paris.

Well, when we got to Paris, we were in for a culture shock. We knew that Parisians aren't fans of Americans, but as soon as I stepped off the train, I made that situation worse. My bag got away from me and bumped into a man on a walkway. The look he gave me drew blood (mine, not his). I apologized, of course, in English because I was too flustered to remember I was supposed to say "pardon". I will add that we tried so hard to be polite in Paris, sprinkling our communication with plentiful "Bonjour"s, "Pardon"s and "Merci"s. , but any reciprocal kindness was such an anomaly that it shocked us when it happened.

Anyway, after the suitcase debacle, I started doing what YouTube had taught me to do. I needed to find a weird photo booth for our transit passes. It took awhile to get our mugshots on account of the first photo booth being broken. The second one smelled like urine, but it produced these beauties:

And then, on to finding a ticket agent who spoke enough English (because my French is very minimal) that we could communicate that we needed a week long transit pass. It was all worth it in the end because we ended up only paying about $30 per person for unlimited transit for the week.

Now, all this had taken longer than anticipated so by the time we left Gare du Nord, rush hour traffic had started. So, now, not only were we Americans in Paris, we were Americans with a week's worth of luggage on the Metro at rush hour. Many dirty looks were received. By the time we got to the hotel, we had started to build up an immunity to the judging glares.

Luckily, we chose a hotel that advertised itself as being friendly to English speakers and so we were able to relax when we got there.

Also, look at the view outside our window! We stayed in the St. Germain de Pres neighborhood within view of St. Germain herself. The neighborhood was perfect for our family.

Immediately upon arrival, we headed for the Eifel Tower. The weather forecast was garbage for every day in Paris after our arrival day, so we knew we had to get in our most important outdoor activity that night.

There are multiple ways to get to the top of the tower. We (I) opted to get tickets to climb to the "second floor" and take the elevator to the top. This option was very hard on the kids, but I am even more immune to their whining than I am to the eye-daggers of the French.

The views were great, the climb well worth it.

By the time we got down, the tower had been lighted.

And, then, we walked across the Seine to have some crepes on the Trocodero while the tower sparkled in the background. It was just before the moment captured below that I finished my crepe and threw the wrapper away - with my credit card, a fact I would discover the next morning. You know all those ads for credit cards where they overnight a new card to your hotel? Well, they're crap. Total lies.

Anyway, let's not ruin the moment with the details.

Another magical moment in Paris: We got back on the Metro near the Trocodero. The train crossed back over the Seine, giving us one more spectacular view of the Eifel Tower while it carried us to our hotel. Truly amazing.

While the people of Paris lived up to their reputation, the food did as well. We only had 3 full days in Paris so we regretfully couldn't eat everything we wanted to. But we really gave it a go.

I had multiple pains au chocolat while in Paris because I just couldn't help myself. This one was the best - from a small bakery called "Josephine" near our hotel. I will dream of this pastry for years to come. There was a cartelization situation on the outside. It was poetry.

I am not a fan of macarons. I now know that's because I'd never had them from Peirre Hermes on the Champs Elysees. Now I have. And they are clouds of complex beauty. I still hate the gummy macarons I can get in the grocery store.

We met Chris' cousin for dinner at a creperie. We hadn't seen her in years because, well, Paris is a long way from Wyoming. It was wonderful to see her and equally as wonderful to enjoy some authentic crepes. It was also great to have someone with us to assist with the language barrier for a couple hours.

While we did not actually eat at a McDonald's in France, it was fun to walk by and check out how different they are. Can I just say how much I appreciate the variety of sweets in France? We were never more than a few steps from a delicious confection.

Okay, so below is pictured my favorite place in Paris. My favorite should be some great landmark, but it is a grocery store on steroids. Next to the Bon Marche is a wonderland called "Le Grand Epicerie". We love going to grocery stores in foreign countries because they really showcase what people eat on a daily basis.

But this place was extra special.

We came away with a huge assortment of gourmet sweets and enough prepared food to keep us uncomfortably full for the rest of the day.

Almost (but not quite) as wonderful as the food of Paris was all the beauty.

We spent a rainy morning at the Louvre. I'm a little bit reluctant to admit that I found the building more interesting than the art it houses.

I think the biggest reality check was the Mona Lisa. Small, behind glass, in front of a black partition, and swamped by crowds. I'm not sure I'm educated enough in the significance of art to really appreciate such things.

The Jardin du Luxembourg was an incredible place. Just steps from our hotel, it was exactly how I imagined Paris would be.

That same day we visited the Arc de Triomphe. There was a bit of awe overload happening.

We really wished we could have seen Notre Dame before the fire. But even from a distance, and even severely damaged, it was still gorgeous.

And, yes, the weather was garbage, but how often do you get to see Sacre Coeur in the snow? I think this was my favorite building in Paris. It was so sacred inside. We lit candles and enjoyed the beautiful peace.

And then, we wandered the streets of Montmarte and sipped hot chocolate.

What trip to Paris would be complete without buying a beret?

The kids looked super adorable.

You know what else is required during a trip to Paris? (at least if you're in our family)

Disneyland... of course!

Space Mountain Paris is head and shoulders above the two American Space Mountains. The inclined hydraulic launch changes everything. It is so fast and so fun, that it may have caused an adult female member of our family to vomit after the second run. But she still had the time of her life.

We were super excited for Ratatouille. We just missed the opening in Disney World after it got pushed back duetocovid. At least we now know we weren't missing out.

During our time in Disneyland, it was so cold that we went for hot chocolate three times in one day and we spent $200 in gloves, hats, and hoodies. But it was gorgeous and uncrowded.

Even the Tower of Terror is beautiful in Paris.

And, because it is an all-weather park, there are two "arcades" running down main street. These were a great place to get out of the rain and snow and they fit in with the incredible aesthetic of the park.

I mean, just look at how stunning that castle is.

And one more shot at night, under the gathering storm that was beginning to shoot tiny pellet snow at us. How many people get to experience snow at a Disney Park? I'll count myself as fortunate.

We were on the fence as to whether or not to visit Disneyland. I'll admit, Space Mountain factored heavily into our decision. At the end of the day, I think we made the correct choice. Jane said it was the best day of her life. Admittedly, that's not the first time she's said that and it won't be the last. But, all hyperbole aside, it was a darn good day.

The morning after Disneyland, the moment we'd been dreading finally arrived. It was covid test time. One at a time, over the course of about an hour and a half, we all tested negative in our hotel room. The feeling of relief made me realize how anxious this test had made me, how I had flinched every time someone coughed on the Metro. A positive test would have meant being stuck in France for a week or longer.

But we were going home. After one last snowy, magical day in Paris (this was the day that we visited Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and Le Grand Epecerie), we woke before dawn, took one final ride on the metro

and took a quick flight back over the English channel to Heathrow.

For a three hour layover that grew to 6 hours

which we didn't mind much because it gave us more time to access "real" Dairy Milk Bars. Did you know Hershey's has blocked the import of British Dairy Milk? Well, it has. So when you can get the real thing, you avail yourself of the opportunity.

(The kids are pictured above in their hidey hole we discovered behind a vending machine at Heathrow. Jane's glasses are off on account of her not being able to see her phone because of pupil dilation attributed to the miracle of ScoPatch. She's wearing a ScoPatch on account of people not enjoying her vomit on the plane. It's these little vignettes we'll remember when she's grown.)

Given the travel mayhem happening at the time, we were lucky to only end up with a 3 hour delay and one lost bag on the way home. Within a couple of days, Emily's wayward bag was delivered to our house and all we had left of the trip was a giant pile of laundry and hundreds of wonderful memories.

I'm so grateful we were able to take this trip and to give the girls the opportunity to see some other countries. They don't have many years left at home to make memories with us. I'm glad we got this one in under the wire.

Come Along, (across the) Pond

2022-04-06T07:50:00.001-07:00

Last year, we were had big plans to visit my parents in London, where they were serving their mission. Covid pooped on our plans. But by the time Spring Break rolled around, the covid restrictions had been whittled down to a single rapid test before re-entering the US. We decided to take our chances on that test and headed across the pond.

Our trip started when we checked the kids out of school on a Wednesday. This was a first for us. We've never pulled our kids out of school for a vacation. Now that we've done it, I'm wondering why we don't do it more often.

Who knew you could fly directly from Denver to Heathrow? Now I do. This was the kids' first red-eye, their first flight over 4 hours, and it was the first trans-Atlantic flight for all of us. This flight was brought to you by Ativan, Valium, and ScoPatch. No, we didn't give the kids benzos. And that makes us saints. Of course, being on benzos ourselves made it easier to be saints.

We got to London after very little sleep and were welcomed with a 6 hour time shift (which turned to 7 hours a few days later during daylight savings, and crept to 8 hours when we entered France). Needless to say, it was tough to keep our eyes open.

This scene at my parents' flat repeated itself several times throughout the first day.

We tried to fight the jet lag by going to Hyde Park, which was very close to where we were staying. Jane was especially drawn to this place. I don't know if it was all the flowers, or Kensington Palace, or if it was the fact that there seemed to be more dogs than humans enjoying the park. It was probably the dogs.

We also walked to Buckingham Palace. I was too exhausted to change, so I ended up really looking like a tourist, and betraying my Benedict Cumberbatch fan-girl status.

We also got well-acquainted with London's Underground. This was one of our favorite parts of the trip. It was so easy to get everywhere in the city. No worrying about cars, or Ubers, or parking. We just hopped on and went. My dad was an expert at public transit and showed us the ropes.

The only downside of the tube was that London had just done away with their mask mandate. We knew we had to pass a covid test to get home. But I think we all realized the masks were pointless if no one else was wearing one. Except for Jane. Jane was determined not to be stuck in Europe. The rest of us just put our trust in our recent vaccines and plowed onto the crowded trains.

One more note about Jane: She is pictured here in her "London Coat". She purchased it from Amazon because she was convinced that everybody in London would be wearing a pea coat. She wore it the entire time and looked incredibly put together for a 13 year old.

We were in and around London for 5 days. I can honestly say we made the most of our time. My dad served as our tour guide and wanted to show us everything. My parents made incredible hosts and we were very grateful to them.

We ventured out a bit to see Leeds Castle in Kent, along with some of the famous Kentish countryside immortalized in Jane Austen's novels.

Canterbury Cathedral did not disappoint. During the visit I tried to piece together the story of St. Thomas Becket. It is very complicated and nuanced. Nevertheless, he was martyred here and it seems there are pilgrims that come to visit the place of his death.

Canterbury itself is everything you would wish from a historic English town (village? hamlet?) - including a Starbucks.

We got a brief glimpse of the White Cliffs of Dover. We couldn't get too terribly close as there was a shipping strike happening. All the trucks that were carrying cargo to be loaded onto ships at the Port of Dover were clogging the highway. This brings up two points: 1) the British highway system does not come close to the American highway system. 2) British people love a good strike - especially as it concerns transportation. We were affected by several strikes during our time there.

Royal Albert Hall was also very close to where we were staying. I wish we could have seen a concert, but no performers we would want to see were touring at the time.

Why is this an obligatory shot? I don't know. But we walked where the Beatles walked and I got a t-shirt. In all honesty, I think Abbey Road may be the best album of all time.

We saw a West End play. This was quite the experience because everybody was so excited to be out and about. As mentioned previously, the UK had just lifted their covid restrictions - all of them. The streets were a continual party. It made for a great atmosphere for our first pond hop.

We were very disappointed to find that Piccadilly Circus is, in fact, not a circus. Instead, it is similar to Times Square.

And, of course, we couldn't visit London without going to see the Harry Potter sets. This was a really cool experience.

It was incredible to see the actual sets where the actors worked for so many years to create the greatest franchise in movie history.

Of all our experiences in London, the Eye may have been my favorite. Being able to see such amazing views made for a unique morning.

The River Thames was a constant backdrop for our London adventures. Apparently this is Tower Bridge, not London Bridge as most people believe. After learning this fact, I may turn into one of those people who starts sentences with. "Well, actually"... Ugh. Wait. No. If you want to call it London Bridge, go ahead and call it London Bridge. It's not worth being a douche just to correct you.

Pictured below is Greenwich. Believe it or not, I actually did not seek out the Prime Meridian. We were within a few hundred feet of it, but I completely forgot to go looking for it. When I got back, one of my squad members who works with GIS chastised me for this omission. It was cold that day and I was tired. This is close enough.

One of the last things we saw was (the tower that houses) Big Ben. Big Ben is a bell inside the tower. There goes my "Well, actually...." side again.

This next one's for Chris' mom, Carol. The best way to honor her memory is to visit British T.J. Maxx, which is inexplicably T.K. Maxx. in the U.K. It felt as though she was there with us as we purchased discount clothing to fill the holes in Jane's packing.

Now, as we leave London, I'll pose the question: "Which is the "real" Platform 9 3/4 ?

Is it the one next to the Hogwarts Express from the movies?

Or is it the one at King's Cross, adjacent to Platforms 9 and 10?

This question keeps me up at night. But it didn't keep the girls up. As soon as we boarded the Eurostar for Paris, they were out like lights. Apparently they didn't think traveling under the English Channel at impossibly high rates of speed was very interesting.

Next post: Paris!

Just Keep Swimming

2022-03-22T07:47:00.001-07:00

This year, Jane decided to join the swim team.

In our family, just engaging in sports is an automatic win.

She made friends. She had fun. She overcame her stage fright to be able to compete.

The Olympic Committee will not be calling.

It was a success.

Becoming MADD

2022-02-23T10:58:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, Emily went to her District speech meet in Spearfish, SD. This time of year, she heads out almost every weekend for speech meets. They left after school, which meant they would get there late. There was some snow on the roads, so I was a little bit on edge. But what happened wasn't at all what we expected.

Right about the time we got home from work, we got a call from Emily. The bus she was on had been pulled over. The driver failed his sobriety test.

I wanted so badly to just go get her. But I knew I couldn't. Because that would just be teaching her to be afraid. So we waited.

We waited three hours until a new driver arrived and the bus got on its way.

We waited until the wee hours of the morning when we finally got the news that the bus had arrived in Spearfish.

And then, for the next 4 days we talked two or three times a day on the phone. We heard about how the driver had been swerving so dramatically, that another driver (God bless them!) had called the Highway Patrol. We read the articles about how the driver blew double the legal limit (quadruple for a CDL) several hours after the incident. We heard about how he had two bottles of vodka on the bus and about how he was mixing it with soda and drinking it WHILE driving.

The kids were shaken. Some of them displayed false bravado, trying to defend the driver's actions. Plenty of them had driven drunk themselves. Some of them were afraid to get back on the bus. All of them were affected. None of them qualified for the National meet.

On the trip home, Emily called wherever she could get cell service. In rural South Dakota and Wyoming, this wasn't often. She was nervous. We were nervous.

It was nearly midnight before the bus finally pulled into the school parking lot. I've never been so grateful to see a big yellow bus in all my life.

Emily is already working with the Goshen County attorney's office to issue a statement. She wants to do something about what happened.

We're doing our best to encourage her to participate in the judicial process while not becoming obsessed or fearful about what happened. It's a tough balance but we'll get there. In the meantime, I'm just glad she's home.

Christmas 2021

2021-12-28T14:02:00.001-08:00

There's a chance we are getting too set in our traditions here. But we all love the traditions, so here we go:

The girls are getting better at decorating Jesus' birthday cake. It was also very tasty.

Our special ornaments this year were from Clearwater Marine Aquarium

And Kennedy Space Center

There was also one from Yellowstone, but somehow I missed getting a picture of that. And now the tree is down.

It made me happy that we still had travel ornaments even though we had to cancel our trip to Europe. We can't let life stop for COVID.

On Christmas morning, we had a fresh blanket of snow. Amazing.

And, of course, presents.

Jane wanted something called the Comfy, which is a cross between a hoodie and a blanket and it definitely doesn't scream "I've given up". She loved it.

Emily got some fun items for Speech trips, including a new make up bag and a new suitcase.

I love our quiet family Christmases.

Lucky 13

2021-12-11T13:46:00.001-08:00

Both the kids are officially teenagers now.

It's an interesting phase of life.

Now, every time either of the kids have a birthday, we're all keenly aware that we are inching closer to their independence.

For this birthday, she got an adult bike. Let's hope she is more responsible with this one than the last one. .

And she wanted Culver's. She's a pretty accommodating individual.

Happy Birthday, Jane! It's amazing to see the person you're becoming!

Thanksgiving 2021

2021-11-30T11:59:00.001-08:00

Last year, COVID put a damper on Thanksgiving. So this year, we were determined to get together. Plans were made to gather at my parents' house, despite the fact that they are on their mission in London. Everything seemed to be coming together until a few days before Thanksgiving, when Emily got sick. Two anxious days and a negative PCR test later, we breathed a sigh of relief and carried on with our Thanksgiving plans.

I was really bad this year at getting pictures. This is literally the only picture I have of Thanksgiving:

Maybe I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want my mom to know we served Thanksgiving dinner out of cooking pots and tupperware. Not pictured: the Christmas themed paper plates we ate off of.

After dinner, Jane and Lucy put on a Thanksgiving parade. These two girls are the best of friends. They talk or text almost daily. For weeks, they had been having Zoom meetings to plan this parade. The result was an incredible quantity of floats.

Here's just a quick sample:

The "magic" float, featuring wands:

The "shopping" float, featuring Target, Walmart and King Soopers symbols, along with some branded grocery bags.

This parade left Macy's in the dust. It even featured a dance number to Shaquira's "Estoy Aquí".

We were also able to Zoom with my parents, Which was kind of funny because we were in their house. It was good to get together again. Maybe next year, we will be able to be all together again. This was a nice start.

Farewell Winter

2021-11-15T08:30:00.001-08:00

Jane's always loved animals. But Winter was special.

From the minute she first saw Dolphin Tale, she wanted to meet Winter. In 2018, her dream came true.

It was life changing for Jane to meet the famous dolphin without a tail.

We got to see Winter again this past spring, although this time it was from a distance. She was less energetic. It made Jane sad and I think we all knew it would be the last time we would see her.

Last week, she passed away and Jane has been inconsolable.

She decided to draw a picture as a tribute to her favorite dolphin.

We will miss Winter, but we are glad she lived.

Stranger Sheep

2021-11-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

Halloween gets a little less exciting the older the kids get. This year was especially un-exciting because it snowed.

But Emily got to go to a party and Jane still went trick-or-treating, accompanied by Emily for a short bout.

Emily is Robin from Stranger Things. Jane is her favorite character from Animal Crossing, a sheep named Dom.

Not familiar with Dom? Neither were any of Jane's friends. She didn't care.

And I think we did pretty well. Here is the sheep himself for comparison:

And we've finally reached the stage where the girls can be totally responsible for carving pumpkins. I don't even have to remove guts anymore. This is a fantastic development.

They turned out pretty nicely.

Our neighborhood kids are getting older. It seems that our block used to be full of little kids. Now it's packed with teens. That meant less trick or treaters. That part was a bit sad. But it also meant more leftover candy for me. If I ever turn down a peanut butter cup, the end is near.

7th and 10th

2021-09-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

Another first day of school.

Emily is a sophomore this year - no longer low man on the totem pole.

Jane, however, is in her first year of junior high.

I wish I could tell them that life won't always be like high school (or junior high). But we all have to pass through this weird gauntlet in between childhood and adulthood. Some days will be rough. But I hope that home continues to be a good place for them - even if they have a lot more years of teenagerhood ahead.

Not Missing the Dance

2021-07-24T12:07:00.002-07:00

7 months ago, Chris and I passed the milestone of 20 years of marriage. And you know how we celebrated it? In the parking lot of Storey Gym eating Dairy Queen Blizzards and being approached by a homeless man who was either carrying a big gun or fake big gun. We drove away screaming and bemoaned how truly, truly awful our anniversary had been.

We decided to make up for it with Garth Brooks tickets for Frontier Days. At the appointed time, we both signed in to get tickets. I had the tickets in my cart, and then the system glitched. We missed out.

Now I know it's not advisable to support scalpers. I know it just makes them bolder. But we have missed out on so much lately. So did I sign onto StubHub immediately after we lost our chance at tickets? Yes. I did. Did I pay $900 for a pair of tickets to see Garth? Yes, I did. Do I feel bad about it? Not a bit. Because I wasn't about to miss out on even more.

We spent an absolutely magical night with Garth Brooks. It was worth every single penny. It was as if the pandemic never happened.

Happy belated 20th anniversary, Chris! Next year will be better than Dairy Queen.

Fiery 4th

2021-07-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

After our trip, we were a bit worn out.

But we still celebrated the 4th of July by making patriotic food...

lighting some stuff on fire, and watching the City light some stuff on fire.

What more could you ask for?

Summer Vacation: Pivot! Pivot!

2021-07-01T11:38:00.002-07:00

We were supposed to go to London and Paris this summer.

We got our shots. We thought the end of the pandemic was in sight. We were wrong.

There's been a lot of discouragement surrounding the pandemic. So much life has been put on hold. We still had hope that this summer's vacation wouldn't be ruined, so we left the decision until a few weeks before we were supposed to leave. It became clear that the mandatory quarantine periods weren't going to be lifted. So we cancelled. It was heartbreaking.

But we had the time off and we didn't want to skip summer vacation 2021. So with a few weeks' notice we threw together a trip to Yellowstone. And you know what? It was great.

First stop: Devil's Gate. Our ancestors came across the plains and it was really amazing to see this history. I haven't been there since before they did the visitor's center so I'm glad we got the opportunity to go.

Next we headed over to Independence Rock. This is the rock that the pioneers scratched their names into on their trip west.

We chose to go through Togwotee pass, which affords some truly amazing views of the Tetons coming into Jackson.

And, because I'm a Wyoming native, I'm allowed to say this: Jackson grosses me out. It is an abomination of inequality where insanely rich people shelter their money from taxes and don't pay the people who serve them enough to survive in this gross, gross town. There. I said it. It wasn't nearly as bad when I was a kid. There are some good memories there and I still wanted the kids to see it. We saw it. But just long enough to stay the night.

And then... on to Yellowstone!

Yellowstone was still amazing.

Our room reservations were last minute, so staying inside the park wasn't an option. We stayed at West Yellowstone, Gardiner, and Cody. We knew the crowds would be out in force, so we bought picnic lunches at grocery stores every night and then brought them into the park with us the next day. In reality, we barely felt the crowds. We did everything we wanted to do.

Old Faithful...

Grand Prismatic....

Mammoth....

including ice cream...

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone...

And a quick stop at Lake Lodge, where Emily purchased the perennial classic, "Death in Yellowstone".

We exited the park through the east entrance after 3 memorable days and spent some time in Cody, where we ate at Bubba's, which continues to be mediocre but iconic.

I'm glad we took this trip. I'm sick of missing out on things duetocovid. The kids needed to see Yellowstone before they fly the coop. The past year and a half has been about adjusting, pivoting and changing plans. But we refuse to let this pandemic trap us in the house. We'll still go to Europe. But now the kids will have had the experience of Yellowstone and Europe. We're doing our best to make the most of this.

Camping and Dancing

2021-06-19T21:00:00.001-07:00

The girls were able to go to Young Women camp again this year. Last year was weird. We did the best we could, but it still ended up being a mix between virtual and in person. But COVID number were down this year and they were able to do a ropes course and then head down to Colorado Springs where they had the treat of showers and flushing toilets. Truly a luxury.

The day after they got back, Jane had a recital. A real, in person, recital. She missed it last year because they rescheduled from May to August - duetocovid. It just so happened to fall during our trip to Disney World.

But this year, she danced her little heart out.

Things are starting to get back to normal. We want to be done with these strange times.

Not Throwing Away our Shots

2021-06-09T08:33:00.010-07:00

The whole family is officially vaxxed.

As soon as the first shipments started arriving, I've coveted that precious shot.

My opportunity came early. The hospital sent me a message in February telling me I qualified based on my unpleasant health history. I jumped up and down, celebrating like I'd won the lottery. Pfizer has become a more desirable brand than Gucci in the past few months.

The first dose was easy. The second came with a high fever and body aches. It was totally worth it.

Chris got his early too. He was on a waitlist at a local pharmacy and they called him one Saturday, asking if he could be there in the next 15 minutes. They had one dose left. He was still celebratory, but didn't indulge in a selfie.

The kids finally got the green light in May. We took them to the clinic after school and it was almost all teens.

I was even more excited for the kids to get theirs than I was when I got mine. They need to go back to normal life so badly. We haven't been hiding in our house this past year, and they've been attending school in-person since September, but things haven't been normal either. It's been tough. The girls miss regular church activities and in-person school activities. Emily has been competing at speech meets over video. It's surreal. We're done with surreal. We're ready to get back to real.

Hooray for the vaccines! May they help usher out these dark times.

Fifteen

2021-05-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

Emily is fifteen.

It's strange thinking that she's already been with us for a decade and a half. It's even stranger to think she only has 3 more years before she goes to college.

We've been trying to give her responsibility and privileges a bit at a time. We decided that this year, she is finally ready for a smart phone. She was so excited to finally be able to have the internet in her pocket.

She also got her learner's permit. That particular achievement is not pictured here, but just imagine her taking the wheel of an actual vehicle, her parents terrified on the one hand, but also very excited at the prospect of her being able to transport herself.

For her birthday, she requested a movie day with her bestie and an Oreo cheesecake with a brownie crust. Fairly simple requests that were easily granted.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Easter 2021

2021-04-06T16:49:00.001-07:00

It seems like Easter is always a bit rushed, given its proximity to Spring Break.

But we didn't care.

We got off the plane on good Friday.

The next day we dyed eggs.

Easter is a nice low pressure holiday. You throw some candy in a basket, heat up a ham, and voila - It's properly celebrated.

The kids still consented to hunt eggs this year. Probably because they contained candy.

We need photo evidence while we can get it. Every year could be the last hunt.

Happy Easter!

Sun, Space and a Sea Kayak

2021-04-05T16:24:00.002-07:00

If there's one thing we've learned during the pandemic, it's this:

Florida will never turn us away.

Chris and I were fully vaccinated by the time Spring Break rolled around. But we would have gone even if we hadn't been. We've been cooped up for too long. So, for the second time in less than a year, we got on a plane to Florida for a little sun.

Kennedy Space center was pretty amazing. After visiting Johnson Space canter a couple years ago, we had to complete the spacey tour of the country.

This is the space shuttle Atlantis. It lives in a big building on the space center campus. It's pretty cool.

The hours were shortened due to covid, but we saw most of what we wanted to see. And we had plenty of time after closing to visit Cocoa Beach.

The next day, we engaged in a bit of kayaking.

When we decided to reserve a kayaking adventure, I had visions of paddling alongside a friendly manatee. Someone in our group caught a glimpse of one of the mythical creatures. But the closest we got were some manatee bubbles. They were pretty amazing bubbles. We did see a couple dolphins. That was a nice consolation prize.

And then, because we couldn't not, we drove across the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico. Because Clearwater is amazing and we had to spend some time there.

Also because Winter the Dolphin lives there. Winter isn't looking too lively these days so I'm really glad Jane got to see her one more time.

I'm really glad that Florida won't turn us away. The girls are getting older and I don't know how many more family vacations are left in the hopper. We try to be careful, but we also refuse to let these years be stolen by a pandemic.

Thanks, Florida. We'll be back.

Winter Wonderland 2021

2021-03-21T16:10:00.001-07:00

It's been a pretty dry winter so it only makes sense that the entire winter would be compressed into the course of a few days.

We saw 30 inches of snow fall over the course of a couple days.

This resulted in us being trapped for 4 days. That's a long time when you live in a small house with two adolescent kids.

Luckily, Jane didn't spend much time inside.

School was cancelled for a week. Work was technically called off. Unfortunately, I had received remote access a year ago when the pandemic started. So, because I could log in to my work computer, I was required to.

The first day I was irritated with this arrangement.

But by the third day, I was pretty happy just to have something to do.

It was a relief when we could finally get out into the world again... replenish our fridge and interact with other humans.

This storm followed the pattern of so many others - at first the novelty was fun, but cabin fever set in quickly. Thank goodness we're so close to spring. I'm not sure I can take much more of this.

Them's the Breaks

2021-01-30T08:19:00.002-08:00

It happened again.

The only difference was, this time, I was home. Also, I was actually inciting the behavior that caused Jane to break her arm.

We have a small entryway between the living room and kitchen. I was showing Jane how I could put my back against one wall and my feet against the other and magically suspend myself a couple feet off the ground, thanks to the beauty of friction.

Of course Jane wanted to try.

Jane is a great sport and the best playmate that a 41 year old girl could have.

She tried.

She fell.

She screamed.

I knew from the pitch of the scream that she was hurt.

I was in the midst of blaming myself, so Chris took her to urgent care. He sent a pic of the x-ray. He couldn't see it, but I could. The same break as 7 months ago. The same place. Different am.

Again, no cast. The break was too near the shoulder. Just a sling and a wrap for a month. The orthopedic surgeon assures us that it is just bad luck. Jane doesn't have a rare disease that weakens her bones. He also said a little vitamin D wouldn't hurt her. After all, we live in the frozen tundra and it is a long, dark winter.

Jane's primary care doctor says she would rather see kids with broken bones, due to activity, than obesity, due to inactivity. I guess that's a good way to look at it.

Jane will spend a little time doing things awkwardly. But since it is her little arm this time, she will be able to care for herself. Last time was more challenging because it was the big arm.

And when she's older, she will have some great cautionary tales for her own children.

The Christmas that Still Was

2020-12-29T14:23:00.001-08:00

Christmas in the time of COVID....

It wasn't actually a whole lot different.

The girls still made a birthday cake for Jesus.

And we still had our lazy-mom-make-your-own-darn-sandwich Christmas Eve dinner.

Jane's sweater put us all in a festive mood.

The girls got new pajamas and then we went out to go see Christmas lights, stopping at a convenience store along the way for hot chocolate.

And then made the girls go to bed so we could make the magic of Christmas happen.

Every year our Christmas tree has one special ornament that represents our travels. For awhile, we thought there wouldn't be a travel ornament for 2020. And, yet, here it is.

Seeing this ornament, instead of the stupid toilet paper and mask one that everybody has, makes me so grateful. I can't express how incredible it was to have a week of magic in the middle of the misery.

Something else new this year....

I was talking to Chris about how parents don't get stockings and how that kind of makes me sad. We've never had stockings before. So... on Christmas Eve, while I was busy with baking and the like, he went out and saw what Menards had left on the shelf. Because Menards is where you go for Everything.

Below is the Masterpiece that he found...

right next to Jane and Emily's homemade stockings. They look like medical devices.

Thanks, Chris, for the very, very sweet thought.

Christmas morning proceeded as usual.

Emily got a Nintendo Switch and not much else. Because those things are pricey.

Jane got a million little things and showed disproportionate excitement about every single one. Every hair clip, every backpack pin, every book was met with Joy.

We rounded out the morning nicely with some cinnamon rolls

and a great deal of Animal Crossing. Christmas ended with a screening of the movie "Soul", which was lovely and fun and sweet.

It was a delightful day.

20 Years

2020-12-21T05:00:00.002-08:00

20 years ago, Chris and I were 21 years old. We didn't know much about life but we knew a few things:

We loved each other.

We wanted to be together forever.

We would, respectively, never be able to find another human being who shared our senses of humor with the notable exception of each other.

So we made it official.

20 years later, we still know all those things to be true. We've seen more, good and bad, than our 21 year old selves ever dreamed of. But we still love each other unreservedly.

2020 was supposed to be a huge year for us... 5 years cancer free and 20 years of marriage. Both of those celebrations look wildly different than anticipated. I guess that's fitting with the rest of our marriage. Not as planned, but beautiful nonetheless.

Next year we can have a blowout anniversary date or trip or, really anything that involves leaving our house for more than a couple hours. This year it's enough to know that we're alive, we're together and we're in love.

Happy 20 years Chris!

A Dozen Years of Jane

2020-12-11T12:38:00.002-08:00

12 years ago I was so worried that having a baby two weeks before Christmas would make it so Jane's birthday would be swallowed up in Christmas.

Luckily I ended up with a kid who loves Christmas so much that she wanted an Elf birthday party a couple years ago.

This year, there were no birthday parties due to The Great Unpleasantness, but she desperately wanted to open her presents under the tree... just to make things seem a little more festive. So glad she embraces the proximity of her birthday and Christmas.

Jane's really into unicorns right now, so there were many unicorn themed items at her celebration.

When you're twelve in our house, there are a couple rites of passage.

The first is ear piercing.

I figure 12 is old enough to be responsible for your holes. Both to make sure they don't get infected and to keep earrings in often enough so they don't close up. Jane is thrilled to finally be able to wear real earrings.

When you're a little sister, it's tough watching your big sister get to have all the rights and privileges that come with age while you wait your turn. In no other way was this more transparent than in the cell phone issue.

Anyone who knows Jane knows that she craves the company of other humans. Lockdown has been hard on her and it's been especially hard because she wasn't old enough for a phone.

When the phone was finally in her hands, she took to it like a fish to water.

It's not a smartphone. We're not there yet. But she has enjoyed several marathon phone calls with her friends and sent us random texts such as "Chicken nugget" and "I am JANE". Right now, her favorite thing is to put her phone on speaker with her friends and then just go about her life for hours at a time. If they feel like talking, they talk. Not my cup of tea, but whatever makes Jane feel more connected during social distancing is okay with me.

I'm grateful that I get to have Jane in my life. I'm not sure what I did right to get such a funny, creative, charismatic little creature in my family, but I can't imagine life without her.

Thankful Together... Apart

2020-11-30T14:58:00.001-08:00

Of all the Holidays this year, Thanksgiving has been the weirdest.

My folks are leaving soon for a year long mission in England so we really wish we could have spent Thanksgiving together. But we decided it was too risky.

The day before Thanksgiving we headed South to spend some time outdoors and masked with cousins.

It was the best we could do given the circumstances.

The kids were thrilled to get to see their cousins, even if it was just a couple of hours.

And then, we had our own little Thanksgiving, followed by a Zoom session with the rest of the family.

It was weird. And a little sad.

But when my brother came down with COVID the week before Thanksgiving and my sister came down with it two days after Thanksgiving, we were grateful that we hadn't gotten together to celebrate. One small thing to be grateful for in this weird world we are living in.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

2020-11-01T14:47:00.001-08:00

As with the other holidays this year, we tried to make Halloween as normal as possible.

We mostly succeeded.

Pumpkins were carved.

Jane's is the one with bows, Emily's is the Dwight K. Schrute one.

Costumes were donned.

Jane is Dorothy. Emily is a WWII service member. That's all the specifics I know...

And candy was collected.

This is just Jane's haul. I think it was her best year. Jane is a sunset to lights off style trick-or-treater. While the traffic of trick-or-treaters was a little bit lighter this year, it still was relatively steady. For better or worse, we don't live in the kind of place that cancels Halloween due to a pandemic. I'm glad for that because the kids needed it. They need every morsel of normalcy they can possibly get this year.