2021 off with a bang

Hello 2021!  The Pandemic continues but at least the weather is reasonably nice.  We got out into the snow, including a hike in the mountains on a snowy / rainy day.  

Skiing at Ski Bowl - Elliot really took to skiing this year and, by the end of the season, was really able to ski independently.  She would lap the magic carpet all  by herself and, with a boost, could ski the beginner chair lifts.  Weston loves the idea of skiing but is still working on the balance and strength to really make it happen (and patience) and there are a lot of snacks involved in ski days. 

More hiking!

Snacks while hiking - an essential part of the hike!  They are really good about sitting in a line here because they are getting hot chocolate - not usually this organized ;)

and bike riding in the city even in the middle of winter.  Wes is on a peddle bike and a tearing it up next to Elliot - they are a pair of speed demons! 

The kids continue to grow up and Wes is becoming a loving, supportive and thoughtful big brother.  He loves Fiona and really likes playing with her and making sure she is safe and happy.    

And Fiona is developing into a young woman in her own right - strong willed, talkative an adventurous.  Look at that hair!!

As the pandemic wore on, we started trying to do special days with each of the kids - to try and get some 1:1 parent / kid time.  Here are Wes and Crystal enjoying a snack at our local coffee rosters. 

And Elliot on the ski hill with Mom! Elliot really shreds the sicky gnar pow at this point and is legitimately fun to ski with! 

We still had family adventures, however, and this is us up sledding at White River snowpark on Mt. Hood - we met some friends up there for a sledding day and a fire / roasting hot dogs to follow!

We also took some time for ourselves through the winter - scheduling some childcare to make time to go on an adult ski day....although the weather didn't really cooperate. 

As time went along, we planned our last trip with Andrea - to Black Butte Ranch in the winter! Snuggly baby Fiona!  Look at those teeth!!!

And Wes drove the car a bit, or at least pretended to!

We skied for the first time at Cooper's Spur - on the far side of Mt. Hood, and it was GREAT!!! A bit of a longer drive, but very few lines, great snow and very accessible lifts for kids.  A hit for sure and we will definitely be back!

 

I told you....she shreds the sicky gnar pow!

Through all of this - Elliot was in Pod Kindergarten.  With the pandemic, her kindergarten instruction was all online and we partnered with four other families to hire a teacher (Bella!) to run a full day of in-person kindergarten based on the PPS curriculum.  Rotated houses each week and the kids got some consistent instruction, a solid group to learn with and really did better than we hard dared to hope at the beginning. 

and Fiona is pooping on the potty!

One fateful day, Wes was very quiet at nap time and only later did mom discover the extent of his coloring from a stashed marker.....

the true extent......smh....

no wonder he was quite for over an hour!!

Snowpocalypse 2021 brought us a series of winter days with a few inches of snow in Portland, however because it stayed cold - the snow stuck around longer than usual.  The roads were never plowed and we had a blast getting out and sledding / skiing / walking through our snowy neighborhood.  The kids loved sledding down "suicide hill" and the uniqueness of true snow in Portland was not lost on us. 

Welcome to Oregon Brenda!!!

Crystal volunteering as the physician on duty at one of the mass COVID vaccination sites!!!

Goodbye 2020, we made it through.

Goodbye 2020, we made it through

Well - that was a crazy year.  We pick up the story around Halloween. Boni came out to visit us and we were able to head out to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins.  Even with physical distancing in place, we were able to have a great time in the fields, get some great pictures and enjoy the time together.  

Boni was able to keep an eye on the kids while Crystal and Mac went on an "adult" trip out to Leavenworth, Washington where we rented a house, slept a bunch, ate sausafe and pretzels and undertook a single day traverse of the central Enchantments. It was almost 14 hours of hiking in the snow and was AMAZINGLY beautiful.  We could not have asked for a better day. We got some great pictures and were really very tired afterwards, although exhilarated from a great hike. 

Fiona continued to grow and develop as a big kid and we had a fun time carving pumpkins and decorating for Halloween. The highlight of this year was two skeletons who found themselves in new and interesting positions each morning, kind of like Elf on the Shelf, but for halloween!  Halloween itself was actually a lot of even - even with the adjustments needed for COVID.  The number of kids out in the neighborhood was notably less and more than a few houses were dark, but a lot of people were out with pulleys / slides / swings to deliver the candy to the trick-or-treaters and the kids went around in their little school pod.  It was actually a lot of fun!  

The Halloween holiday was topped off by Andrea putting together a Dia de los Muertos celebration for the family - cookies, an ofrenda, face panting and a lesson for the kinder-pod on Mexican traditions.  A fun and educational experience. 

The rest of fall was marked by a trip to the coast, to enjoy the weather and then a lot of time around home enjoying the weather and watching the kids grow, learn and develop.  Fiona continued to grow into a spunky young girl who is FULL of personality and curiosity, while Weston was becoming a responsible young man and Elliot lept into school full force

Thanksgiving, as with everything in COVID lockdown times, was different than usual.  We had a small family gathering at home and we able to have Boni join us via Zoom to help celebrate. Different than usual, but there was tasty turkey, mashed potatoes and pie as well as happy kids and thanks for a healthy family. 

Grandma Weis joined via zoom for dinner

We decorated the tree before Christmas, picking a small one this year, as we were planning a road trip out to Wisconsin!  We left and drove overnight to Montana - spending a day in Big Sky (hotub!!!! sledding!!) and then a few days outside of Red Lodge in a rental house.  We were able to go dog sledding (they let us drive our own sled!) and get a few days of great skiing in!  We then drove overnight again, stopping once at a water park to get kids tired, to Wisconsin.  The Ruppels were kind enough to host us and we got to spend several days in Wisconsin re-connecting with family and letting the cousins catch up.  The lake was frozen solid, all the better for skiing, and we got even more skiing in!! 

After a night a Boni's for staging, we flew home to Oregon for Christmas, arriving just in time to set out cookies and carrots for Santa and the Reindeer, celebrating a Merry Christmas back in Portland as a family.  Elliot and Wes definitely got the excitement this year and Fiona was just excited to tear wrapping paper and run around yelling.  Presents were a bit hit this year and it was great to see the kids so happy after such a tough year.  

Right after Christmas, Crystal and Mac became eligible for their COVID vaccine and the roll out of this vaccine hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the pandemic and associated lockdowns.  

A highlight of Christmas for Dad, at least, was a woodfired pizza oven that let us make ~12 inch pizzas right in the backyard.  While the oven gets to nearly 1000F and the right of burning your hands is fairly high - the pizzas are delicious and worth it.  

With that - we came to the new year!!  Mac was on call but celebrated in spirit with the family.  Here is to a happy, healthy and hopefully less chaotic 2021!

New Years