Well its the beginning of April, spring has spring, but 2020 is proving to be a rough year.
We started 2020 coming back form Christmas in Wisconsin with Mac and Crystal being sick with a flu like virus more than we have even been. This was then followed by a tonsillitis abscess and a broken toe for Crystal then another cold. The kids were sick multiple times and it was feeling like we couldn't catch a break.
End of January brought a breath of fresh air with a trip to Bend to enjoy the snow. Elliot really hit her stride skiing at Mt Bachelor and was able to ski the entire learner slope by herself! She took her first formal skiing lesson and is really making forward progress towards being able to ski by herself. Wes was on skis for the first time and, while he fell a lot, he LOVED IT!!! We got some quality time in at one of the snow parks for sledding and goofing around in the deep snow. It was a welcome break to being in town and a nice get away. As part of the process of getting down there, Wes got to spend his first day at ABC and he absolutely LOVED IT!!! He was so excited about going there and being with the big kids, there is actually a picture from his day at school where you can see his body vibrating with excitement. He will start 2 days a week at ABC in the fall and so this was a nice introduction for him.
Uncle Patrick came out for a visit and we were able to to go camping and get some quality screwing around time at home! It was great to see him out here in Oregon. Around about this time, Fiona began to turn into a smiley pumpikin! She is a VERY good natured little girl - smiling to say hi to people, giggling and laughing. While she did have some troubles sleeping at times, she transitioned into being a pretty good sleeper, all things considered. She loves looking at the camera and eating peoples noses!
We got to go to a birthday party at an indoor waterslide park for one of our friends kids and it was AMAZING! It was next to an airplane museum and the waterslide park had a 747 parked on the roof that you could climb into and have the slides come out of! Birthdays abounded as we celebrated Andrea's birthday at our house with a number of au pairs over, the kids LOVED IT! Andrea had fun too.
We continued our skiing adventures with a trip to Timberline and again the kids were LOVING skiing and Elliot can pretty much ski by herself now, while Wes just wants to go as fast as possible. Andrea was able to watch the kids for a bit while Crystal and Mac got in a few adult turns, not exactly shredding the sicky gnar pow - but at least something other than the Bruno lift for a bit.
Mid February we were able to take a weekend to the "Getaway" cabins in Washington up by Mt Adams for a break. A series of tiny home cabins between Hood River and Mt. Adamas, these were really off the grid - no cell service even. We went for a night with Boni and rented two of them - one for Mac, Crystal and Fiona and another for Boni, Wes and Elliot. We got to go on nature hikes, roast marshmellows and relax by a fire - letting grandma Weis and the kids enjoy themselves. Stops in Hood River before and after for playground time and visits to brewpubs really capped off the experience!
Grandma Cook also came out to visit during this time for a special treat visit for Elliot - a real ballet show!! Chris, Crystal and Elliot got to go see the Sleeping Beauty ballet and it was a VERY special treat for Elliot! A trip to the zoo, multiple walks, messy cheesecakes and lots of fun time with Grandma. Also, perhaps most shockingly, Grandma Cook didn't get sick!!!
Early March brought more and more news and uncertainty with the cases of Coronavirus expanding. Out much anticipated trip to Maine for spring break and the Elliot/Wes' plan to stay at Cooks Camp for the week needed to get canceled as well as a trip to Wisconsin for Easter. Our planned May trip to Belize is looking borderline, at best. Mac and Crystal got thrust into a head spinning world at work.
So many unknowns, limited data and science about how to properly treat patients. Unclear protocols that are changing day to day. Concern for bringing the home the virus to the kids and Andrea. Lack of PPE at work making it unclear the proper way to protect ourselves. Thoughts of if we are really a an asymptomatic carrier and were we putting the kids at risk. Shelter in place orders got put in place for Oregon and pretty much everything (school, swimming, gymnastics, violin lessons, music, OMSI, the children's museum, the zoo, restaurants etc) closed. Physical distancing and concern over the virus has kept us away from friends and family...although we do a lot of facetiming now. Keeping Elliot home from school, no real outlets for the kids other than walks and bike rides - and Elliot got a new bigger bike while while Wes is cruising on his scoot bike and will likely start a peddle bike this summer. Fiona is happily riding in the bike trailer and we eagerly await the arrival of our electric Bunch Bike.
The kids are generally doing ok with all the staying at home and we are trying to build routine and educational time into the days - reading, working on letters, building physcial skills etc. We are cooking a bunch, baking more than usual and just refinished the deck! There are great online resources for yoga classes and ballet classes and we are doing ZOOM violin lessons to try and keep up. Fiona is making huge steps forward on her mobility, rolling all over the place and can now pull to stand and really, really, really wants to move! She has her first tooth and is working on her second one.
We started 2020 coming back form Christmas in Wisconsin with Mac and Crystal being sick with a flu like virus more than we have even been. This was then followed by a tonsillitis abscess and a broken toe for Crystal then another cold. The kids were sick multiple times and it was feeling like we couldn't catch a break.
End of January brought a breath of fresh air with a trip to Bend to enjoy the snow. Elliot really hit her stride skiing at Mt Bachelor and was able to ski the entire learner slope by herself! She took her first formal skiing lesson and is really making forward progress towards being able to ski by herself. Wes was on skis for the first time and, while he fell a lot, he LOVED IT!!! We got some quality time in at one of the snow parks for sledding and goofing around in the deep snow. It was a welcome break to being in town and a nice get away. As part of the process of getting down there, Wes got to spend his first day at ABC and he absolutely LOVED IT!!! He was so excited about going there and being with the big kids, there is actually a picture from his day at school where you can see his body vibrating with excitement. He will start 2 days a week at ABC in the fall and so this was a nice introduction for him.
Uncle Patrick came out for a visit and we were able to to go camping and get some quality screwing around time at home! It was great to see him out here in Oregon. Around about this time, Fiona began to turn into a smiley pumpikin! She is a VERY good natured little girl - smiling to say hi to people, giggling and laughing. While she did have some troubles sleeping at times, she transitioned into being a pretty good sleeper, all things considered. She loves looking at the camera and eating peoples noses!
We got to go to a birthday party at an indoor waterslide park for one of our friends kids and it was AMAZING! It was next to an airplane museum and the waterslide park had a 747 parked on the roof that you could climb into and have the slides come out of! Birthdays abounded as we celebrated Andrea's birthday at our house with a number of au pairs over, the kids LOVED IT! Andrea had fun too.
We continued our skiing adventures with a trip to Timberline and again the kids were LOVING skiing and Elliot can pretty much ski by herself now, while Wes just wants to go as fast as possible. Andrea was able to watch the kids for a bit while Crystal and Mac got in a few adult turns, not exactly shredding the sicky gnar pow - but at least something other than the Bruno lift for a bit.
Mid February we were able to take a weekend to the "Getaway" cabins in Washington up by Mt Adams for a break. A series of tiny home cabins between Hood River and Mt. Adamas, these were really off the grid - no cell service even. We went for a night with Boni and rented two of them - one for Mac, Crystal and Fiona and another for Boni, Wes and Elliot. We got to go on nature hikes, roast marshmellows and relax by a fire - letting grandma Weis and the kids enjoy themselves. Stops in Hood River before and after for playground time and visits to brewpubs really capped off the experience!
Grandma Cook also came out to visit during this time for a special treat visit for Elliot - a real ballet show!! Chris, Crystal and Elliot got to go see the Sleeping Beauty ballet and it was a VERY special treat for Elliot! A trip to the zoo, multiple walks, messy cheesecakes and lots of fun time with Grandma. Also, perhaps most shockingly, Grandma Cook didn't get sick!!!
Early March brought more and more news and uncertainty with the cases of Coronavirus expanding. Out much anticipated trip to Maine for spring break and the Elliot/Wes' plan to stay at Cooks Camp for the week needed to get canceled as well as a trip to Wisconsin for Easter. Our planned May trip to Belize is looking borderline, at best. Mac and Crystal got thrust into a head spinning world at work.
So many unknowns, limited data and science about how to properly treat patients. Unclear protocols that are changing day to day. Concern for bringing the home the virus to the kids and Andrea. Lack of PPE at work making it unclear the proper way to protect ourselves. Thoughts of if we are really a an asymptomatic carrier and were we putting the kids at risk. Shelter in place orders got put in place for Oregon and pretty much everything (school, swimming, gymnastics, violin lessons, music, OMSI, the children's museum, the zoo, restaurants etc) closed. Physical distancing and concern over the virus has kept us away from friends and family...although we do a lot of facetiming now. Keeping Elliot home from school, no real outlets for the kids other than walks and bike rides - and Elliot got a new bigger bike while while Wes is cruising on his scoot bike and will likely start a peddle bike this summer. Fiona is happily riding in the bike trailer and we eagerly await the arrival of our electric Bunch Bike.
The kids are generally doing ok with all the staying at home and we are trying to build routine and educational time into the days - reading, working on letters, building physcial skills etc. We are cooking a bunch, baking more than usual and just refinished the deck! There are great online resources for yoga classes and ballet classes and we are doing ZOOM violin lessons to try and keep up. Fiona is making huge steps forward on her mobility, rolling all over the place and can now pull to stand and really, really, really wants to move! She has her first tooth and is working on her second one.
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| Hiking with Uncle Pat |
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| You have to see this video. Mom slept through this. At least there was a helmet. |
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| Look at those smiles |
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| The dogs barely get included in photos these days |
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| Toes! |
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| Worn out! Post-birthday party |
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| Wound, marker to face, no pants...going on a trip. |
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| Fi wants to eat mom |
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| Wes in a sea of ladies for Andrea's birthday |
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| Snow! |
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| Wes loves skiing |
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| Getting some ski rentals |
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| Elli can skin on her own! |
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| Hugs! |
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| Mom and dad get a little skiing in alone. |
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| Can you feel the love? |
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| G-ma weis came to visit |
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| "Glamping" at Getaways up by Mt Adams |
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| Hi Dad! |
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| Don't forget about us! |
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| Of course they want to play on the abandoned snow mobile |
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| Fiona has a buddy to play with. (anyone noticed what is on Fiona's chin) |
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| Ow! |
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| That smile! |
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| G-ma Cook came to visit. |
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| Music Together Concert |
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| What a good big sis |
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| Crossaints! |
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| Wes went to ABC school! |
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| Siblings! |
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| Mom and Weston date. |
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| The boys. |
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| Yes it got this warm in Portland in March. |
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| First Bike Ride |
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| Look at that excitement. |
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| Lime-aid stand |
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| Making pasta with dad |
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| We built a fort. |
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| New Bike |
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| COVID Pandemic |
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| Out for a hike. |
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| Baking has increased during COVID Pandemic |
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| Big Kid |
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| Quiet Book Reading time |
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| Cinnamon Rolls |
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| First Tooth at 7 months |
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| Dad has mastered stuffed peppers. |
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| The whole crew Irish Dancing |
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