Quarantine Winter Continues in Idaho

Winter has hit the point where it feels really long and dark. It doesn't help that the gyms are still closed, and I have to work out at home. It's fine, but DeA and the kids tend to need stuff while I'm down there.

Leo found the top of a deer skull. He's pretty proud of it.

He's pretty mad that he doesn't get to bring it into the house, but rules is rules.

We try to go on hikes. Wet, muddy, cold and dark hikes.

Jens got a giant sweatshirt called a comfy. It is freaking sweet.

We snuck away for a weekend in Idaho. They don't have all the stupid rules and we all needed a breath of normalcy.

We went to a play center and the kids got to do laser tag (I won), a ropes course, and an arcade.

We walked around in the Idaho cold. It's like Washington cold, but feels like freedom.

Lake Coeur D'Alene

We got to eat in a real restaurant, it was amazing.

The hotel gym was open and it was awesome to get sweaty.

 

Random Stuff

Rock is still coming to work with me on Mondays. He still isn't wearing a coat, even in the winter.

The gyms were open for a brief month, but otherwise I have had to work out at home. It's fine, and in theory should be convenient. But, at least once a workout I have visitors, and usually more than one.

I love my visitors, but at one point everyone else in my family, Leo included, was trying to ask me questions while I was doing box jumps. 

Speaking of Leo, he found himself quite the treasure in the orchard. He was pretty offended that DeA wouldn't let him bring it in the house.

"It's not fair, the other kids get to make messes while they eat all the time. Why can't I?"

Speaking of making messes while eating...

We've been going on walks, but they've been cold, wet, and muddy. 

Jens tried going four-wheelin', but it just turned out to be a giant mud bog.

Boxing Day Nonsense

Boxing day is the day after Christmas. Ryker thinks it means "walk in the snow without shoes" day. 

Grandma was worried that Ryker had only been eating cotton candy, pop tarts, and cereal. She made him eat a carrot, but she had to be a little surprised that his system didn't reject it. 

DeA gave me a shooting date as a Christmas present. I cashed that baby in as soon as I could. 

We made a little campfire and cooked some tinfoil dinners.

They were hot and smoky, just like her.

More cotton candy. Surprise, surprise. 

 

Christmas!!

Covid has made Christmas quiet, isolated, and weird. It was nice to have SuperCheese and Heather come up and help make things interesting.

We played a small, but fun Reindeer Game.

Chayo and Irma made delicious pork tacos for Noche Buena.

DeA put on her comfiest pjs. 

Leo did his normal lazy thing.

The tree with the presents at 1am. Next year we are giving the kids Benadryl at 7pm so that DeA and I can get to bed earlier. 

5:30am was as late as this crew could wait.

She's never looked more sexy.

A cute homemade doll that Maddy made!

Ryker was very excited to get a cotton candy machine. We immediately had to try and get it going.

A bullet casing helicopter. Perfect.

 Mom got a fancy herb grower machine. 

More cotton candy!!

Later in the morning we got a pretty snow storm. 

The gyms have been closed almost all year, and it's getting harder to come up with things to do in the basement. I got DeA a pull-up bar and a bar for her bands. Her first words? "You aren't installing them, are you? I don't want them to fall". So I spent a chunk of the afternoon proving her wrong. 

The cotton candy machine seems to have found a new home next to the ice cream machine. Gpa just needs a corn dog maker and he's got himself a carnival. 

We were pretty tired from the early morning, and I didn't get a nap after putting up the pull-up bar, but we had a nice and relaxing evening watching football.