Day 2315 | Family Celebration
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Robbe had birthday celebration #2 today. He requested time with his Stevens Point cousins so that’s what we did. Also, there was ice cream cake. It was a pretty great day.
Day 2314 | Piles for Days
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Do you sometimes feel like there are themes to your days? I’ve noticed this every now and then and yesterday had an obvious theme: piles. Pokémon cards (we just had a birthday here, after all), laundry, dishes, and puzzle pieces. At least I enjoyed one out of the four.
And I’m happy to report all four piles were taken care of by today. Laundry folded and put away, Pokemon cards stacked. Dishes washed and returned to cabinets. And Robbe finished the puzzle after school. A sense of accomplishment on all fronts!
Day 2313 | Robbe Turns 8!
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Our sweet boy turned eight (8!) today! It was a day filled with all of his favorite things: bunny snuggles, Pokemon everything, video gaming, a new bike, a sushi dinner, and brownie sundaes. Also Pokemon…did I mention Pokemon?
We’re lucky every day to call this guy our son. His energy and enthusiasm are contagious and he never fails to crack us up.
Day 2312 | Back to the Movies
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It’s been well over two years, but we were back at our favorite theater tonight. It was us and about six other people in the whole place, so at least it felt safe! I guess the $5 showing of Encanto doesn’t bring in a big crowd anymore. It was perfect for us, though. I’d say it was our sixth viewing of Encanto but the big screen really did make it even better. The pizza, popcorn, and candy didn’t hurt, either.
I’ve missed the movies. It was really lovely to be back again.
Day 2311 | Friends with Flopsy
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Flopsy was in a spunky mood tonight. We’re not exactly sure why but he was in rare form. We did hang out with a dog for a bit this afternoon. It’s possible Flopsy was jealous.
Day 2311 | Winter Fun
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School was out, the sun was shining, and we headed back to the sledding hill. It was a beautiful winter day—including some fresh snow for ideal sledding. The ice skating was pretty good, too. I wouldn’t be upset if spring decided to come a bit early, but winter is pretty incredible, you know?
Day 2310 | Snow Day
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Finally! A snow day! We were worried we weren’t going to have one this year. It was a bit cold for full-fledged playing in the snow but the boys got out for a little bit of sledding, at least. I watched from the window.
Day 2309 | Winter Sunshine
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Today was the type of day all Wisconsinites dream of. It was 40° and sunny and I’m pretty sure everyone got outside to enjoy it. That might seem very cold to you (depending on where you reside), but when we’ve been dealing with 10° days for what seems like months and months, one 40° day is enough to give you hope. Hope that warmer days are ahead and we’ll all be able to officially re-emerge someday soon—even if there is a snowstorm forecasted for this week!
Day 2307 | Me and the Bun
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He looks happy, right?
Day 2306 | School Outing
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It’s been A LONG time since our school did a full-fledged family outing. That changed tonight when a group of us gathered in 5° weather to do some sledding and ice skating. It was heartwarming to see so many folks come out even though it was crazy cold. Here’s hoping it’s not 2+ years until the next one!
Day 2305 | Birthday Celebrations Continue
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We had so much fun celebrating Chris today. The boys put together a birthday mantle for him, we got takeout from a yummy restaurant, enjoyed delicious dirt dessert, and played video games as a family. We also got him this mini fridge. His office is going to be so much cooler now (see what I did there?).
We’re so lucky to have this guy in our lives. Like, the thankful-every-day sort of lucky.
Day 2304 | My Birthday!
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I had such a good day. Some self care (an amazing massage AND a lovely manicure!), a bit of reading scattered throughout the day, a snacky dinner, ice cream sandwich special treats, lots of family time (all dressed up, as you can see), and some thoughtful gifts. It really doesn’t get much better. Being 38 is pretty great, it turns out.
Day 2303 | Happy Heart Day
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The little one was home with me today because of a stomach bug, but luckily he felt ok so it was a sick day without feeling too sick. Luckily, our Valentine’s Day plans were able to continue as planned: cut-out cooking decorating, flowers to swoon over, and a pizza + video game evening. Our Valentine’s Days have stayed shockingly consistent over the last 19 years.
I hope all of you were feeling the love today, too.
Day 2302 | Snowshoeing
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It might have been 5° outside but we managed to sneak out for a little while for the boys to try out snowshoeing. I think the last time we tried it was about three years ago (maybe four!). The wind was pretty uncomfortable and the snow wasn’t *quite right* for prime snowshoeing, but we did it. Cross it off our winter 2022 bucket list!
Day 2301 | Seasonal Shedding
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One surprising fact about bunnies: they seem to go through seasonal shedding. So far, this bun sheds like crazy about every three months. Weird, right? He doesn’t shed at all the other months and then it’s real crazy all of a sudden. Let’s hope this current shedding-fest wraps up soon.
Day 2300 | 2300!
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Another round of 100 posts. Boy, these always sneak up on me. It’s a nice reminder to slow down and reflect on what’s going on in our lives, though. And I really love looking through the past 100-day posts (see below). New for this round of updates: bunny-related categories. Obviously, we couldn’t leave him out! Not to sound too obvious, but, man, the days really do fly by, don’t they?
Here’s the team update. Enjoy!
Sara
FAVORITES: reading (my new favorite is The Book of Longing…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!), dried mangos (always), homemade chai lattes (my official cold-weather beverage for winter 2021-2022), spotting the boys in their natural habitat when I’m subbing, Chris’s hot toddy recipe (my official adult-beverage for winter 2021-2022), listening to musicals, playing board games with the boys, volunteering at/for the school
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: when he jumps up on my stomach (while laying on the floor) and requests pets
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: navigating his propensity to communicate using the only method he thinks we understand—peeing (thankfully, it’s not smelly and he expresses himself this way in small quantities).
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: saying no to subbing requests. I just want to help out that lovely group of educators in every way I can, you know?
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: being warm again. I don’t need winter to be over entirely but temperatures above 30° with some sun would be welcomed.
Chris
FAVORITES: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1&2, researching and planning upcoming vacations (this guy is becoming a deal-finding expert on flights), listening intently and responding enthusiastically to all video game/role play game/Pokémon commentary going on around him, enjoying music from his new record player, playing HeroQuest
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: periscoping (when he stands up on his hind-legs…it’s adorable)
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: not receiving the amount of love and attention he would like with every encounter.
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: finishing all of his continuing legal education credits before July. He’s making good progress.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: the chance to use his new outdoor lights for a sweet game of football with his new sticky wide-receiver gloves (can you tell we’ve been cooped up in the house for too long?!?)
Chase
AGE: Almost 10 (Eek! Ten!)
FAVORITES: Roleplay games, being in charge, Smarties, video games, school (including his teacher), pretzel hummus sandwiches, chocolate chip pancakes, drinking tea, reading (and reading and reading), the Encanto soundtrack, giving Flopsy treats, re-reading books he’s already read
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: the sheer excitement and intensity in which he accepts every meal he receives.
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: getting scared when the bun startles after being sneaked up on.
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: all of his pants shrinking. It’s the weirdest thing…they just keep becoming too short.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: having all of his friends over for a role play game hangout
Robbe
AGE: Almost 8
FAVORITES: Pokemon anything, the card game Frog Juice, puzzling, reading graphic novels, playing video games, sneaking snuggles from Flopsy, waking his mom up in the middle of the night for bonus snuggles, chocolate chip pancakes, hot cocoa with Reddi-wip and peppermint stir-sticks
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: when he washes his face with his cute little paws.
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: not being able to hold him (the bunny rescue told us young children shouldn’t)
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: waiting. For anything and everything. He’s always just waiting.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: collecting all the Pokemon cards in the world.
LOOKING BACK AT 2300 POSTS
Day 2299 | A Tampa Getaway
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It was a lovely weekend in Tampa. The musical was AMAZING, the company was THE BEST, and the food was DELICIOUS. The weather could have been *a bit* warmer for a fully tropical vacation, but that didn’t keep us down.
Trip highlights included:
Touring Skylar’s campus (University of Tampa, baby!)
Experiencing Tampa Fresh Foods a grocery store made out of all hand-crafted, felt products. Zoom in on the photos below. It’s crazy impressive.
Several yummy meals - Urban Cantina (the tacos!), First Watch (the eggs benny!), and American Social (the cocktails!)
A stop at Skylar’s apartment.
An evening hot tub party.
Lots of walks in the sunshine.
The Dear Evan Hansen musical production. It was everything I hoped it would be.
The only thing missing was my favorite boys. Luckily, I got home in enough time to catch up with them last night and they had a super-fun weekend, too. Everyone wins!
Enjoy the photo gallery from our adventures below.
Click on a photo to enlarge the images.
Day 2298 | Hello, Tampa
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Look at me at an airport! Without children in tow! Can you believe it? Neither can I. I guess that’s why until I boarded the plane I didn’t let myself actually accept that the trip was happening. I didn’t even pack until last night/this morning. That’s never my traveling strategy—but living/learning through a pandemic will do that to a person.
This trip is 2.5 years in the making. No joke. I had the dream of attending a production of Dear Evan Hansen with my nieces pre-Covid down in Madison. Fast forward all those 30+ months and we’re finally going to see it…in Tampa. Three nieces, two sister in-laws, my mom, and I are all together for a little girls weekend with hopes of soaking in some sunshine, laughing a lot, and singing along (in our heads, of course) to a musical that I’ve been listening to on repeat for years and years. I have no doubt that my high expectations will be met and then some!!
I’m taking a bit of a blog-break as I disconnect over the next few days. I’ll be back with photos to share as soon as I can.
Day 2297 | Carcassonne
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A perfect tile configuration for our game of Carcassonne tonight. That’s a pretty big deal.
Day 2296 | Winter Walk
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The temperature was pretty reasonable so we busted out of the house for a walk downtown today. You can tell it’s been cold, though, as the river is pretty iced-over. I don’t remember seeing it like this (but maybe I’m just never out of the house to see it when it’s that cold). It is pretty beautiful, though.
