Christmastime 2020

I had a week of vacation before Christmas.  We made a one-night trip to Chicago to see Elise's new home and meet their new baby for the first time. [There is so much to say about COVID I don't know where to start].

Lately the girls have been listening to Beverly Cleary audiobooks at night. I downloaded a new-to-them series narrated by Neil Patrick Harris to listen to on the drive.  We were listening to a scene in Henry and the Clubhouse during which Ramona sings a jingle from a commercial.  The girls erupted in uproarious laughter in unison and then begged to hear that paragraph again (and again. and again).  Later I wondered why that particular scene should be so hilarious to both of them ... I think much of their delight came from investment in and familiarity with these characters.

Meeting the bebe!

Big sister - wearing a Hanna hand-me-down from us!

Bundling up for a walk to the playground.  We had delicious Detroit-style pizza for dinner and visited until bedtime intervened.

In the morning we took some photos in front of a church across from our hotel and picked up quiche and pastries from Hoosier Mama Pie Company. Luke took some family photos of Brett and Elise.

Then we drove to Elgin to see this much-loved family!

Headed to St. Charles to visit with Vince and Kate and co.

Playing "NPR news" with the karaoke microphone.

Mike sent us home with gift bags that included these wax sticks.  I thought these were pretty delightful.

Had to get home for colonoscopy prep! Jenny cracked me up when I told her about it:

Vacation week: Went to the pool.

Christmas Eve: started the day with CrossFit and an hour of family tennis.  Made this disastrous gray, greasy buttercream:

Prepped Bravetart's sweet potato brown butter cinnamon rolls while the girls watched Prancer.  After they went to bed Luke and I watched The Crown... it got later and later and the cinnamon roll dough didn't proof properly. Finally I shaped them and put the pan in the fridge and it was time to put out the presents...

Luke had stashed many of the wrapped presents in his work van... and after midnight he could not find the keys.  We were already concerned this would be the last Santa Christmas and now this! Christmas locked in the van! He searched for the keys for what seemed like a long time and then found them, in the pocket of some pants.

Four short hours later, the girls were up at 5:30.  They surveyed the presents and reported back to us - Santa came! - and we convinced them to doze until 7.

Josie added just the right complements to her cinnamon roll breakfast.

Clementine asked for a typewriter.  She likes the scene in Ratatouille when Anton Ego types out his review of Remy's restaurant.

The rest of the weekend was lazy and wonderful. Went to gym, made sourdough pancakes. Luke and C got a court and played tennis for a long time while Josie and I snuggled up and read Dory Fantasmagory. More swimming in the empty pool.  Early evening NachoMama's run.

Our friends hosted us for a wonderful New Year's Eve - I miss parties so much!

New Year's Day: lazy day of reading magazines, baking with Josie.  We started Honey I Shrunk the Kids and paused the movie to see the Rep's outdoor Glowy Snowy Day.  We bailed for pizza and salad takeout from Dewey's after 30 minutes in the line got us no closer to seeing the production.  Finished the movie (which the girls love) and watched a few episodes of Bluey (which I love - it reminds me so much of our family!)

Jan 2: Wreck bag walk, an annual tradition at the gym.  Three miles as a team of three sharing two weighted bags.  Went to work while Luke took girls swimming. Took Clemmie to Novel Neighbor, where she picked out some books for herself and for Josie - with almost no input from me. 

Looking over the books, Josie held up Cozy and asked "is this by the same person as The Mitten?" I don't remember The Mitten so I googled it immediately ... it is the same author-illustrator! "Do you read this book at Grandma's house?" I asked. "Yes," she said. "And she has a big puzzle of it."

The astounding thing is that she hasn't been to Grandma's house since July - and they didn't read The Mitten then, according to my mom.

Cozy; image via Amazon

                                                         Happy 2021 everybody!

Leavenworth, WA

Luke's best friend and his wife have two girls almost the same ages as Clementine and Josie and we've gotten the girl gang together several times:

San Antonio (2013)
Seattle (2015)
Denver (2016)

(looking back at these I cannot believe I traveled so far with such little kids!)

with our last visit overshadowed by Josie's hospitalization for asthma (2017). I wanted to go to Seattle this time and I asked Adrienne about vetted vacation spots. She suggested Bavarian-style village Leavenworth, WA, where they had vacationed before. She made the plans - including a train trip that we agreed the girls would love.

We got up very early and flew to Chicago and on to Seattle. The girls were so excited to have their iPads (=flyPads) on the plane, the only time they see them.  The day was long but uneventful. Traveling with kids was EASY! Luke, we have arrived!

everybody loves free snacks

Josie can't bear being hot (or even warm) and rolls up her pants constantly. As someone who is investigating all weighted blanket offerings, I just don't get it.

Jeremy picked us up at the airport, we met Adrienne for lunch, and then caught cabs to the train station from their house.

The four hour train ride passed quickly, with the girls chatting away and playing games. Adrienne packed bags of fantastic snacks.


Late night pretzel and sausage in Leavenworth.

The morning was a surprise - we arrived at night and couldn't see the scenery. We opened our hotel room door overlooking the courtyard to see the Cascades!


After breakfast we went for a walk.

Becky at Broken Barrel Distillery. She was so hilarious - Adrienne bought an insulated growler and mused that it would be perfect for champagne and Becky said with impeccable timing, "it's perfect for a champagne day." Here's to champagne days!

Discussing piano lessons.

Amy and Joel, who have become first time parents since this photo was taken, joined us for the day.

Strolling to dinner at Andreas Keller for German fare.

Christmas lights up most of the year!

Alphorn serenade at our hotel.

Needing to get the wiggles out, we asked the front desk if any playgrounds were nearby. Fortunately this school playground was unfenced and a basketball was lying around.

Mexican for lunch.

Ice cream in a sunny spot.

Nutcracker museum. Each pair of girls completed successively more difficult scavenger hunts but somehow always ended up in front of this display - the most brightly lit and Disney-themed. They raced around this place - a long rectangular two story space - for 90 minutes and we had to establish a zone defense to corral them.

Italian for dinner.

Introducing us to a now-favorite game, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, plus a viewing of Frozen 2.

Another long travel day. The train was a little delayed - we caught it around 6:30 am after waiting in the bracing cold on the platform.

Sunrise in the snowy Cascades. This was so beautiful!

Getting to play "with the electronic" on the train.

We had eggs in the dining car and the attendant surprised the girls with trifles of whipped cream and Hershey's syrup. A perfect ending to a busy but also relaxing couple of days with friends.

We flew through Phoenix and finding our car in the parking garage late Monday night, Josie asked Luke, "do you remember how to drive?!"

The next day we dropped the girls off at school and Luke and I went to sit on couches for a sectional purchase in the future. We had lunch at the Pan-Asia grocery store.

Now Luke and the girls have been home almost one month and this trip feels like a long time ago. Fortunately, none of us were sick upon returning from Seattle (our trip was almost two months ago) up until the present. I've been keeping a daily diary for the past month, keeping note of policy changes (limitations on gatherings until, finally, a shelter-in-place order for all of Missouri that begins Monday) and how we are spending our time. Elective procedures have been cancelled and my department began a week on/week off rotation to help our families and limit our exposure.

Be safe, everyone! Let's get back to champagne days with friends. 💙