Staycation Break Week

Last week was School Break, and for the first time in many years, we did not travel (obviously!).  We embraced the Staycation with a variety of outdoor activities, including some safely-distanced fun with friends for cross-country skiing and sledding.  We had a spectacular sunny, warm day of downhill skiing/snowboarding, and we even enjoyed a night at The Essex Resort (a whole mile from home, ha ha!) for some swimming and hot tub time (and our first night away from Frankie!).  It's amazing how refreshing it was to stay somewhere other than our house, even for 24 hours, and leave the to-do lists at home.  We had a few self-pity moments of missing our usual Florida vacation, but all in all, it was a fun week!

Noah and his friend were exhausted after outdoor adventuring

We couldn't have askd for a more perfect day on the slopes!

Pictures don't capture the beauty of this view!

On the last run, Matt and I got to ride the chairlift together!

Two cousins on their way up the lift.  They took their own route down and met us at the bottom!

Noah is working hard on his snowboarding skills, too!

This might be the real reason he wants to keep going to the mountain (donuts!)

Vacation Night

Lounging in our cozy room

It felt like vacation when we were in the warm pool area!

Making our addition to the "Snowman Garden" - we named her Covie

These two shared a bed, and actually slept well.  It was a miracle!

Take-out dinner in our room

Dinner on the bed

Winter hot tubbing is awesome

Going to a warm, sunny destination in our minds

Thin Mint Milkshakes made everyone feel like they were on vacation, too!

Enjoying some extra time for music-making

We hit a big milestone last week with Evie's orthodontics - she's all done with her expander!  Evie has been a trooper for the past 7 months with this metal device across the roof of her mouth, avoiding hard, chewy, sticky foods, gum, and popcorn without much complaint.  She has a retainer now, which will present its own challenges, but she can pop it out for meals and snacks and eat freely.  We celebrated with a trip to Target after her Ortho appointment and to pick out a few treats that had been off-limits with the expander!

We ended the vacation with a very strange Saturday night with NO POWER!  We were in the dark from 4:15-9:15pm, but thanks to our trusty Costco lantern, a couple headlamps, and a few candles, we were able to manage just fine.  

Frankie says hello to all her adoring fans.  She did great at Grandma and Grandpa's house for her first sleepover!

Hiding from the vacuum