A tribute

We lost our beloved Great Grandma Ruby two weeks ago. She lived to be 103 years old. Brian and I got married on her 90th birthday and Adelyn's middle name is in her honor. She was truly special. The loss is significant and in these pandemic times it feels even more unfair. However, I am trying hard to focus on how lucky we are to have gotten her for so long. Her stories and poems were truly remarkable. I'd like to think my kids got her poetic genes. Both kids happened to be in a poetry unit. Below are poems from each of them and one we wrote as a family in honor of Grandma Ruby. 

Addy's Poem:

My dear, dear blanket. How I adore your soft, soft fluffiness. Like a great big pom-pom, or a cloud of everything great. I shall always appreciate. You wrap me in warmth, like a silky thread of velvet. How will I ever repay you for your kindness? With you there is no darkness, only lightness. In the midst of a nightmare, you will help me through my scare. It feels so right to have you wrapped around me, with your designs ever so fancy. You will always hold special place in my heart, and I do hope we will never have to depart. 

Cameron's Poem (about a car)

Arrow Dynamic
Faster than the wind. 
Sharper than a saber.
More emerald then a jewel. 
Shinier than crystal. 
Stronger than a boulder. 
Engines more powerful than a rocket's. 

Our beloved Grandma Ruby.
We are inspired by your strength and patience.
Your smile was as sweet as your raspberry jam.
Your hugs were as warm as fresh baked cookies just out of the oven.
Your laugh was as full of joy as the happy memories of Booya on the farm.
We will always treasure your handwritten recipes.
We think of you every time we see a crossword puzzle or taste your famous and delicious sour cream coffee cake.
Your poems, stories and thoughtful gifts filled those around you with gratitude. 
You will forever hold a special place in our hearts and we will honor your legacy by being generous, kind and humble. 
Just like you.

More Winter Fun

 The skiing conditions were absolutely perfect! It was colder than we are used to (about 15) but the snow was perfect, no ice and a new ski hill for us to explore. We agreed it was one of our best ski trips yet and we loved doing our favorite runs over and over. The kids explored the terrain park which included some jumps and tunnels. Addy lost her skis on the chair lift for the first time (twice!) but survived and Brian and I did some skiing on our own for the first time. It was all you could ask for in a ski getaway. 

Since we left a day early, we also had time to enjoy some sledding. We found several different hills and the kids eventually settled on their favorite one. 

Last but not least, our rental house was right next to the river and an awesome trail. There were tons of ducks and geese and we loved exploring the woods. It was a wonderful winter weekend! 

Winter Weather Weekend

Last weekend we escaped the snow in Seattle to get to the winter weather of Wenatchee in Eastern Washington. We had this trip planned for weeks, but due to a big storm headed to Seattle we left a day early in order to avoid getting snowed in. It was the right call because we made it out just a few hours before the snow started falling at home. We drove through snow most of the drive but made it with no troubles and from there the snow continued every day! The kids had a blast sledding and playing in the snow and we spent 2 days skiing. It was a wonderful getaway and the kids even got to still see the snow at home and build a quick snowman in the backyard. My winter weather fix is met and now I'm ready for spring!

The beautiful snow in Wenatchee compared to the wet (but perfect snowman snow) at home! 

The Broncos!

 Last weekend was a big moment for football and I don't mean the Super Bowl. Cameron started a flag football league a few weeks ago and Saturday was his first game! We moved into a new phase (but still no in person school!) so his team could do more than just practices. It was so exciting for us to have something to go do. Despite the wind and light rain, we were still thrilled to have a reason to leave the house! 

Unfortunately the boys (and Brian as the assistant coach) didn't score any points and lost by 3 touchdowns it was still super fun to watch the Broncos play their first game. I've never been so excited for an outdoor winter sport! I can't tell any of the kids (or even the spectators apart!) but no complaints. 

Same But Different

 As we are getting closer to the first month of 2021 being done and the one year mark of this pandemic, I keep thinking about how some things are the same and yet also different. Cameron just started a flag football league. It feels awesome to have him in a sports activity again, but obviously very different considering that he has to wear a mask and there will be no games. Addy just kicked off girl scout cookie season. Usually a very familiar tradition this time of year, but this year feels dramatically different since there will be no booth sales and you have to limit contact with your customers. Cameron just had a pine wood derby car race for Cub scouts. Over zoom. Similar to prior years and yet very, very different. 

I think it's a good comparison for how I feel about the state of the world right now. We are still in a pandemic, we are still unsure of when this will really end and there is still a lot of uncertainty. All the same. Except now I feel hopeful about the plan, optimistic about the vaccine and relieved that it's the start of a new chapter. It is somewhat the same and yet very different. 

Wise Words from Adelyn

 This was a jarring week and not quite what I had hoped for as we started the first week of 2021. I had a very hard time on Wednesday, but tried hard to model the right behavior and allow our kids to ask questions. I'm not sure I did a very good job, so the next day I asked Addy to tell me what she thought about Wednesday's events and these are her words. 

“It made me feel sad, confused, and mad.  I was confused why this happened because it hasn’t happened before.  It seems like the Trump supporters could have taken the news of him not winning the presidency better than attacking the capital of the United States.  Especially since they were citizens of the United States.  It all seems like a bad and ridiculous thing to do that most people would never dream of doing. I hope those terrible people realize they can’t change the voting results because the Senate people still were able to count the electoral college votes.  They just need to learn to accept that he didn’t win.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.  That’s a quote from MLK Jr. that my teacher told me.”

2020 by the Numbers

There was a lot we'd want to forget of 2020 but I think what's most important is what we remember. 2020 was a year we will never forget. For our card we made a list of the top 10 things we learned.

10. Playing the piano is actually fun.
9. There is such a thing as too much family time. 
8. Zoom fatigue is real. 
7. You can never have too much toilet paper, but you can have too much hand sanitizer. 
6. Pajamas count as "being ready."
5. Working from home is the same as living at work. 
4. Everything is better at a lake.
3. Going to school in person is pretty great. 
2. Perspective is Everything.
1. We miss you all. Dearly. 

We also got a recap from our piano app which I thought was interesting and definitely makes us feel better than if we got a recap from hulu or Disney+ on how many hours of TV we watched. Here are some numbers we can be proud of.

• 378 hours of piano played
• 771 songs
• 1881 stars earned
• 1559 lessons completed

I couldn't and wouldn't want to count how many hours of zoom we logged, but I'm sure we also read a record number of books, listened to thousands of our favorite song, and walked hundreds of miles to try to keep our sanity in 2020. It wasn't the year we planned but I don't plan on forgetting all of the lessons we learned.