BYE, 2020

The final week of 2020, aka the second week of Christmas break, was spent sleeping in, lounging, playing games, and watching movies, with a smidge of daily exercise tossed in to make the lounging feel cozier. On New Year's Eve, we did a family 5k, watched 4 movies, and had snack foods for lunch and dinner. It was a very laid back day--so laid back that I struggled to stay awake until midnight! Also, watching four movies in one day is a LOT. In fact, we watched four and a half movies, finishing up a movie that we had started the previous day. I couldn't even watch the last movie--I was overstimulated and exhausted! Somehow I managed to stay awake until midnight. The kids were all tired, but they would not admit to it. We toasted the new year with Martinelli's sparkling cider and then went straight to bed. 

On New Year's Day, we put away our Christmas decorations and took down the tree. It felt nice to reclaim a little space in our already crowded little family room. I was surprised that I did not miss the Christmas tree at all this year when it was gone. It helps that we always keep up a string of white lights above the windows in the family room to combat the wintry gloom. The kids engaged in several epic battles with pillows and blankets, using their air lounger chairs as battle ships. The weather warmed up and melted the snow by the end of the week. 

January is happening!

This picture is so 2020: taken by a runner, doing her best to get exercise without running, making the most of impossible snow, catching her breath with her bike propped against la basura. Even though I recognize a long list of valuable lessons from 2020, that doesn't mean I can't joke about its impossibilities! 

I ventured forth on a snowy bike ride on December 26th. It was slow going and my legs were wobbly by the end from the effort of pedaling through snow, but it was a pretty winter wonderland ride.

Orchard rows in the snow: still pleasantly symmetrical.

Home sweet snowy home.

The White house, surrounded in white, with two little girls playing in the front yard.

Real life picture: our retro basement kitchen linoleum is the perfect drying area for wet winter clothes. It looks extra junky with all of that apparel strewn about, but it's the only place for the snow clothes to dry. Jeff's road bike on his indoor riding stand also became a clothes drying rack.

After we finished the Book of Mormon as a family before Christmas, I kept thinking we needed to wrap it up somehow, so we could process the book as a family. A week later, I finally thought of something to do. We each wrote three highlights from the Book of Mormon on sticky notes, then went in a circle saying why we liked the parts we chose. Then we stuck the notes on giant Jenga blocks and built a tower. The idea was that every scripture story/lesson/verse builds our testimonies bigger, but by the time we constructed the building, the kids just wanted to knock it down, so I'm just going to hope that they remember something beyond scriptures equal destruction.

Our wilting snowman

I went on a bike ride around Sunnyside's perimeter--all the way past the Dairgold factory--riding through major messy slush the whole way. I was soaked to the skin from the waist down when I got home. 

It was the first ride with my new windproof waterproof padded winter biking gloves, and they were effective!

So soaked, you can barely see it.

Boring but important: the faux leather upholstery on the bench at our kitchen table was shredding and the three kids were getting to big to sit on the two person bench together without disagreements. We needed a change. We needed more space. But the kitchen is skinny. We rotated the table 90 degrees. It barely fit in the limited space, but we were able to put actual chairs on both sides of the table, and now everyone can eat in their own space. I know it's a minuscule adjustment, but it has made a massive difference to have everyone comfortable at the table. It's also great for playing games.

Side shot of the newly rotated kitchen table.

Jay is hot blooded, and didn't wear gloves or long sleeves for our New Year's Eve family 5k.

Waiting for the girls for our pre-run pic.

We ran/biked back and forth on the paved half mile pathway behind our house this time because the canal road was a slick snowy icy mess.

2020 will always be the year of fogged glasses.

Air loungers! They look so funny and comfy all lined up.

New Year's Eve snack meals. Jeff cut up fancy cheeses and salami for crackers.

Special drinks! 

The New Year's Eve snack buffet. Hot cracker dips, little smokies, stinky cheeses, special drinks, salsa, veggies, and snowtop cookies.

My last picture of 2020--taken 3 minutes before midnight. I was so tired. Amber was too, but she was in denial and acting silly.

New Year's Day Christmas cleanup: the sub-woofer was coated in pine needles.

Our mountain Christmas tree had such thick long needles! The Roomba only managed to vacuum about 2/3 of them, so I got out our "real" vacuum and gave the carpet a good scrub, dodging the Roomba as needed. Double vacuuming got the job done!

Rose lost her first molar on January 2nd, leaving a massive side-gap in her mouth. The next day, Amber lost her second tooth in a week. It was a tooth fairy extravaganza! Our tooth fairy is feeling overworked. Three kids have sixty baby teeth between them, and they all seem to be falling out at once!

Pillow fight! I did not condone this (these three kids do not know how to play fight--they always seem to get out of control and end up injured and either weeping loudly or flaming mad), but I had to photograph it anyways. Then I listened and gauged the enjoyment/anger levels until the anger was in danger of taking over, whereupon I stopped the battle.

That tiny blue speck is Jeff on his bike. We went on a bike ride together on Saturday, January 2nd. It was SO WINDY, and I also mistimed my food intake before the ride, so I bonked while battling the wind and the final four miles were feeble. I have been hungry ever since, and it's been over 24 hours since we finished this ride!

Amber styled my hair.