2021 Christmas Letter Blog

 

Q1

 

We kicked off the year determined to make the most of these times and Minnesota winters.   We went on a ski trip to Lutsen on the North Shore of Minnesota with dear friends.   We got in lots of snow shoeing too.   The kids enjoyed participating in the Skijammers program where they skii with friends every Saturday at a different Minnesota area ski hill.  (yes, there are several within 90 minutes of the twin cities).    Krista also signed up and participated in a "Frosty Fat" charity bike ride.  It turned out to be one of the coldest days of the year at 22 below zero windchills.  

Spring Break took us to Kentucky where we did a day trip from Louisville over to Cumberland Falls and Natural Arch Scenic Park.

Drew loved introducing the twins to the amazing milkshakes he discovered during his Appalachian Service Project at the Dairy Bar in Whitely City.

Q2

Like many we raced for COVID-19 vaccines as they became available.  Spring was incredibly busy as outdoor activities commenced, cub scouts activities in particular.   We had the Pinewood Derby, where the kids discovered a baby turtle they named "Shell-y".   Shelly lived on our front porch for a couple of months before she escaped back to nature.     We also had a cub scout camping trip to Whitewater State park, it was a beautiful part of the state down near Rochester we hadn't spent much time in. 

We had to say goodbye to our amazing dog Libby in early May.  She was a great running partner in her youth, a great doggy mama to the twins and a great eater of all crumbs that hit the floor. She had a great almost 16 years and while we remain dogless for now, that likely won't last for long.  Both kids have been bringing home books like "worlds cutest puppies" home from library day at school almost weekly.

We kept up our family camping with a memorial day weekend trip to Jay Cooke State Park up near Duluth, Minnesota.  We ended up getting flooded out our last night of camping when a series of thunderstorms rolled through and we discovered we had some small holes in the tent.  

We rounded out June with our annual week at Breezy Point and another cub scout camping weekend over near Stillwater, Minnesota.

Q3

We had a fantastic summer!   Once again it was full of outdoor time- bike rides, hikes and summer soccer.   We trekked out to some beautiful sunflower fields and the kids went to sleep-away camp for almost a week, so we got in some great date nights.  We spent the day we picked them up on a pontoon boat in Pelican Lake with our friends- it definitely felt like a Minnesota summer, jumping into the lake off of the boat.   Blake got braces in August and is making great progress, which is good because he's missing chewing gum and popcorn a lot!  

Labor day weekend we did another family camping trip to Flandreau State Park in New Ulm, MN.   Luckily Drew had repaired the tent because we did get rain on the first night, but we stayed nice and dry. 

Krista checked off a bucket list item in September with a girls weekend in Chicago seeing Ani DiFranco and The Indigo Girls live at Ravinia.   After mothering in a pandemic and working full time it was an amazing weekend of connection with friends - including cruising Lake Shore Drive in a Mustang convertible.   

Q4

Its been a beautiful Fall in Minnesota.  We took advantage of a teacher in service day in September and packed a lot in- the morning at the zoo and the afternoon at a local orchard. 

Fall Soccer for both kiddos took up Saturdays, and swim lessons too.  Cub scouts kept them busy preparing for the Egg Drop, Rocket Day, selling and delivering Christmas Wreaths.  On Thanksgiving day a cold front came through and despite the 14 degree temps we participated in a Turkey Trot as a family.  By far the most exciting part of fall has been the kids getting their COVID vaccines and mom and dad getting boosted!

2020 Holiday Letter Blog

 Holiday Letter 2020

 

We debated whether it was worth summarizing 2020 in our annual Holiday Blog, but decided to forge ahead.  Despite the highly unusual year, we’ve made the most of it and its worth reflecting back on the highlights as a bit of self-therapy going into a holiday season defined by more “safe at home” time.   We hope that all of you have stayed well, you and your loved ones are healthy.

 

Q1

Blissful ignorance of what was to come, January and February were the standard hectic lives of two working parents with young children.  Blake and Leslie did a series of ski hills.  We are lucky to have a small ski hill about 10 minutes from our home, so Sundays we’d race from church, grab a quick lunch and get them out on the hill!  Leslie had a dance performance at MN Timberwolves game, we hosted the Kids 7^th birthday- jump roping style, and we hosted a 2^nd grade Mom’s night out fundraiser at our house in early February.  We participated in another school fundraiser that was a snow shoeing adventure and local ice harvest festival.  In the “adulting” category of activity we spent most of  January/February signing up for summer camps, mapping out week by week kids activities at MN Zoo, Church, sleep-away camp, YMCA day camp, I refuse to tally the amount of time in online waiting rooms for these registrations.    In the midst of it all we got away for a date night in January, seeing Ben Folds @ MN Orchestra.

As stay at home orders began we decided we’d likely be doing a lot of biking so Drew and the Kids got new bikes! And we’ve put quite a few miles on them so far.

Q2

Many of you likely saw the daily whiteboard in Q2, striving for any sense of control and structure in days that tended to blend together with us all at home.  Like many households there was a lot of stress and a little sleep trying to balance work and childcare.  I’m sure appliances like the dishwasher also noticed the drastic change to family routine.  We managed to keep our sense of humor through it all, likely because we discovered an amazing new barista-style coffee maker.   Home haircuts were a grand experiment.   (We are all grateful that since June salons have been continuously open)

May brought a new element of fear as riots broker out through Minneapolis and got too close for comfort.  Some neighbors decided to head for their cabins.  We held tight at home but took precautions like having a friend about 30 minutes west prepared to welcome us, backing our cars in the garage and having “go bags”.  It was a new level of sleep deprivation as we all piled into one bed for a few nights too. 

June was a turning point.  Stay at Home orders began to lift and we decided to go ahead with our annual week up at Breezy Point up at Pelican Lake.  Of course that was modified too- We now own two units next to each other and while we’d planned on having out of state friends join us, we decided to defer that for another year.  The good news is we had a family from the kids school willing to join us spur of the moment and it was awesome!  The kids had built in playmates.  We got in lots of playground and beach time and it felt amazing to be starting at something other than the four walls of our house.  It was good for the soul.  It also gave us some confidence that we could find ways to be safe while travelling. 

We also Discovered the small joys right around us- including wading in Minnehaha creek less than a mile away.

Q3

We tried to re-imagine summer.  It was chaotic at times with most of the kids camps cancelled.  We were grateful their first year of sleep-away camp was not cancelled.  We got so much done the week they were gone including stripping and restraining both the deck and their playset.  We also did quite a bit of camping.  Yes, Krista doesn’t camp, but with COVID this year her dislike of sleeping in a tent was outweighed by COVID risk.   In July we survived cub scout family camp, even a rough night of thunderstorms.  That encouraged us that we could camp on our own and we did a long weekend trip to Mount Rushmore, or as Blake and Leslie call it “The Four Heads”.  

We snuck in a visit to Kentucky and participated in the Norton Commons golf cart parade and got some pool time.

Summer faded gently into fall with a delayed start to the school year in late September.  We were able to get the kids in school Mondays and Tuesdays, then had other childcare options Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.  We appreciated every second of kids experiencing in person learning again.  We have a huge appreciation for teachers and recognize that’s not been our calling. 

 

Q4

The highlights of Q4 so far see to revolve around cub scouts.  Blake and Leslie built contraptions to keep eggs safe enough to survive a toss off of Edina Fire Department’s tallest extension ladder.  We had several iterations and at home practice and…. Both eggs survived!   They also build rockets to blast off in the neighborhood park for rocket day.   And of course, many of you reading this supported the annual wreath sales.  The weekend before thanksgiving we dressed up the van as a reindeer, piled in and spent the day delivering our orders. 

As we look to round out the year, the schools are once again closed to in person learning, we are all at home working/learning and we are navigating ways to live a meaningful life during a pandemic.  Like many, we are full of gratitude for our health, friends/family and all of our blessings.   The news of vaccines give us hope for 2021.  In the meantime we will enjoy the extra family time.  Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, healthy and happy holiday season.