Twenty Twenty Too?!

(12/2) My office's holiday party was this evening. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo's Wild Lanterns. What a wonderful display! It was so good to see and hug everyone again. 

(12/3) Work and school for us all today. Next week will be insane and today was the quiet before the storm. I took a break from work today and ended up buried in puppies. Toffee was so soundly asleep she was completely limp when I had to roll her off and get back to it. 

(12/4) Nanan came down this morning so we could get our Santa pictures taken. I have all of them on my wall except for 2020. We totally failed on even getting a Christmassy photo last year. Whoops! We had a Thanksgiving redux this evening and Dad made ham and all the sides. It was delish! Dad, C, and I all went to the Teddy Bear Toss tonight at the Silvertips. We unfortunately lost due to horrendous officiating, but the Tips played hard. 

(12/5) Nanan and Dad went to go change out her phone this morning and took a long detour at the animal shelter. Nanan spend time with some puppers but ultimately did not come home with one. She misses having a dog so much. She went home later this afternoon and we had a quiet evening in. 

(12/6) It's gonna be a busy week for me. Work launched a website refresh which has all hands on deck to field all the questions. I went upstairs to work and left the children to Dad to manage for the morning. 

(12/7) Meeting Tuesday was meeting heavy as we worked through all the kinks. But we also got to talk about returning to in-person parties next year and that felt hopeful! My brain was pretty fried once we were done tonight and I was more than happy to close up my computer.  

(12/8) I had the day off and attempted to sleep in after our dark thirty walk was called on account of rain. The cat, however, had other plans and I ended up giving up and going downstairs to see C off to the bus without getting that extra hour. Pout, pout. I had Zoom book club this evening--we read a fascinating book last month (Red Notice by Bill Browder) and after we discussed the book, we talked about other books members were reading. I always get great suggestions on what to read next! 

(12/9) The twins had their second vax today and were troopers. Their virtual school hosted pictures this evening, so we ran out and got those done to update the second grade pictures that have been up since the madness started in 2020. They talked a lot about how they missed school once we were there and might be getting the tiniest bit excited to go back in-person in January. 

(12/10) What.a.week. My work team survived and convened for a (virtual) happy hour this afternoon.  Everybody is hanging in there but we're all very glad it's Friday!

(12/11) The plan was to take the boys to Alfy's for one more goodbye before they closed their doors permanently. We aimed for 2pm thinking that would be the quietest time, but the parking lot was jam-packed. Sorry, boys. We decided then to head to Middleton. Dad had to double back for the dog because we cannot go there without a pupper apparently. We enjoyed their beer nachos and pizza and then wandered back home and spent the afternoon being lazy. 

(12/12) Lazyish day for us today. Dad ran some errands and took the Casserole with him. The Loaf could not deal and was running around whining. Cass selected himself an extra treat from the treat bar at the pet store. I think things are strategically placed at dog-height to encourage such shenanigans. The boys and I made brownies this afternoon and didn't do much else. 

(12/13) Wasn't it just Monday? Today was a work and school day for all of us. We're all so ready for break. I sent the official notice to withdraw the twins from virtual school today. They love their teachers, so that part is sad, but they are excited to return to in-person schooling in January. 

(12/14) Shew, what a day. I had meetings, meetings, meetings all day. Add a couple of long phone calls into the mix and I was so very done by the end of the day.  

(12/15) I had the day off today, which was a good thing because we ended up having an extra kiddo virtually schooling with us. My kids have forgotten how to people and the dogs went bananas but we made it through. He'll be back again on Friday which is class party day / THE LAST DAY OF VIRTUAL SCHOOL!!! If you can't tell, I'm just a little excited about that! 

(12/16) I had to work today and we decided to take the extra kiddo on Friday again instead of today so I got in as much work as possible while it was quiet. The boys have an early release tomorrow as well as class parties, so I know it will be chaos. 

(12/17) I left Dad alone with the three crazies while I went to a dentist appointment. Then I came back for the insanity. The boys had SO much fun and I even snuck in some solid work time while they were playing outside. 

(12/18) Apparently it's monsoon season. It dumped buckets on me while I tried to finish up my shopping this afternoon. I got it almost all done and now just need to wrap everything. We decided to do our fam's presents together tomorrow morning before we scatter. 

(12/19) Dad made us a delish breakfast before we opened our gifts. Dad gave me a new squirrel proof bird feeder and a coupon to the wild bird store. I was in heaven when I went shopping today! Totally my kind of store! The kids each got some new clothes, a tech item, and a fun item plus new video games and a donut maker. D was ready to bake all day, and we decided on banana bread minis. They turned out pretty tasty! 

(12/20) The boys are off on winter break this week. I have a shorter week, and we'll be headed to the grands' mid-week. The weather is starting to look like it might snow, and the boys were sorely disappointed that it didn't start this afternoon. I could go for a white Christmas--only, make it for after we're done travelling! 

(12/21) I decided to run in to work today to drop off cards. It's so weird being back, though it was good to work in the quiet. It was fun to see everyone and I even got to pop by and hug Margaret on my way home. 

(12/22) The kids and I are all off today so we packed up and headed to the grands' after having all tested negative. Phew! We got there a bit after lunch and Grandma got us going making mousse and coffee cake for the whole crew. J brought his chef hat and even C got in on the baking action. 

(12/23) I had to work a half day today and the grands took the boys out for breakfast to leave me with a quiet house. When they got home, D and Granddad made pastry tarts, which he has been wanting to do since before the Thanksgiving disaster. Grandma, J, and I all walked down to the marina to get out for some air and then we all came home for some eggnog and goodies. 

(12/24) Merry Christmas Eve! My sis and brother arrived with their fams this afternoon and we did a full Christmas dinner. I haven't seen Miss Mazie since she was a few days old before Covid shut us all down, and she's now running around and talking. So cute! It was so wonderful to have everyone together! One more brother and fam arrive tomorrow for the big day. J made various concoctions for Santa to try tonight with cookies and left feedback forms. So darling! Santa was so very full by cookie time though so may have winged it. 

(12/25) Merry Christmas! Grandma hired a photographer since we have everybody together and gifted us all family photos as well as one of the big group. I can't wait to see them! It snowed today and Jake's home got hit hard. He had 7" by the time he got home and more throughout the night. 

(12/26) We had a bit of sketchy drive back home today through the snow. Nothing was plowed and I slid right on by our road coming in. But we all made it safely. We got about 5" throughout the night and it's supposed to be in the teens this coming week. BRRR! We're supposed to leave tomorrow and now are questioning going over the pass.   

(12/27) The hosts of our Airbnb graciously offered to rebook us for July since travelling now looks so dicey. If anyone is looking for a beautiful place near Wenatchee with a fantastic view and hosts, we have a recommendation! Dad went out and bought all things and we made hot chocolate bombs and the boys went sledding.

(12/28) We had a hangout at home day. I went in to town to run an errand and the roads were great. The boys played screens today and I listened to books all morning. I'm closing in on my goal of 200 books this year! Just a couple left.

(12/29) The boys played outside allll day today. They got the lower two levels of an igloo started down at the park. I had to drag J home for a warm-up after he'd been out there for four hours and he couldn't wait to go back out. We're expecting more snow tonight too. 

(12/30) Snow day! We got a few more inches last night and a lot of the igloo progress was covered and/or knocked down, so the boys gave up on that and went sledding. They played for hours again. After taking some pics, I came on home and had a lazy day in.  

(12/31) The snow foiled our plans to have our Christmas with Nanan and S & S today, but Dad still made a huge spread and we had a turkey dinner and sparkling cider for toasting. While he was cooking, I went on a hunt for new backpacks and lunch bags for the boys. The twins haven't needed them in two years and when I pulled J's pack out, none of the zippers worked. It took me a few stores, but I succeeded and we're more or less ready for Monday. The twins made it to midnight this year, and we did poppers out on the deck in the snow. 

(1/1) Happy New Year! We went to bed shortly after ringing in the year and got up a little later in the day. Sarah and I went walking out in the snow and grabbed some coffee. They were out of lids, so we got thimbles full of coffee (with lids) and picked our way home. Dad and I went to the hockey game this afternoon and Rob & Mel joined us since none of the boys wanted to go. It was a high-scoring game but we lost partially due to bad calls and partially because their goalie was on fire and made some amazing saves. 

(1/2) Sarah and I went walking before the rain started in. I intended to put away Christmas yesterday, and got the outside stuff down, but lost all motivation in favor of re-watching the show I fell asleep during yesterday. And then I may have proceeded to fall asleep again, but I digress. I got Christmas put away today, and now the hunt for all the things I forgot begins. 

(1/3) The boys headed back to in-person school today. D has the same teacher that taught C for fifth grade, and we know him well. I think it will be a good placement for him! J has a teacher I'm not familiar with, but seems very nice. They had a two-hour delay, which was a nice ease back in to in-person learning. 

(1/4) Today was a work day and school day. The schools had a two hour delayed start again today. Conditions are getting better, but I'm glad they started late. I left work early for a dentist appointment and C fixed dinner while I was out, which was super helpful!

(1/5) This is my first Wednesday off with the kids in school. It is SO QUIET in here! The boys want me to start volunteering in their classes again. I told them to talk to their teachers and we'll see if my application is even still up to date. It's been a while! We're attending the qualifiers for the Small Dog Races tonight. If Noodle qualifies, he'll get to race on the ice at the Silvertips game. Paws crossed!