a slow rebound

We went into 2021 with high hopes that COVID would be improving, and that vaccines would soon be made available. In the meantime, we had to continue to find ways to pass the time. We were starting to do a few more things, but it was clear that things were still nowhere close to back to normal. January can be a very long and boring month! I wanted to try and find a few ways to keep things fun so I arranged for the Kona Ice truck to swing by one Saturday to deliver frozen hot chocolates to the girls. It was a fun surprise and it put smiles on their faces!

Our first official snow fall fell in January as well, so the girls were super excited to get out there and play in it. Sledding, snowmen, snowball fights...they did it all!

It had been quite a few months since Cece had seen Holly, her former babysitter, so we arranged a sleepover. Since Cece no longer needs a babysitter and Holly has since moved on from watching kids, we have to find ways for them to stay connected. Holly is the best and makes a point to spend time with Cece every so often, and it means the world to her. I love the bond they still have with one another. 

Despite the pandemic school was still going strong for the girls, and we were so grateful for that. In  fourth grade the Science Fair at Canterbury is required. We went through it with Olivia and survived, so we felt a little more prepared to tackle it with Cecilia this year. She chose to do her project on breath mints that advertise a cooling effect and whether or not they can cool down water. She worked hard on it (with some guidance), and presented her project with confidence. I was proud of her for tackling something she was uncomfortable with and giving it her all. 

Valentine's Day has always been a fun holiday to celebrate with our girls. We have our traditions, and a pandemic was not going to get in the way of that. We have made heart shaped pizzas for years, since before Cece was born. They have perfected their pizza making techniques and have learned to make some pretty delicious heart shaped pies!

The girls also made time to decorate Valentine's Day cookies with their Nana. The cookie decorating technique has also improved drastically over the years. They love taking their time with each cookie and the end result makes for some pretty and delicious treats! 

Each year a bunch of Olivia's friends and their families go to Boyne, Michigan on Presidents Day weekend for a ski trip. The last few years she has been invited to go along and she has learned to become a pretty good skier. Well, this year's trip obviously did not happen because of COVID and she was super disappointed. So, Todd offered to take Olivia and her friend Sara skiing for the day at a different resort. 

They had a full day on the slopes and had a blast! It may not have been the big skiing weekend they are used to, but they still got to go and with all of the ongoing COVID restrictions, that was considered a success! 

It's not often that all of Olivia's friends get the chance to get together during the past year and a half. One of her friends decided to have a small gathering of just girlfriends for her birthday. These girls were beyond excited to get together and just hang out. They had a fancy dinner at the country club. It's amazing how getting dressed up and spending the evening with friends can boost your spirit.

School continued in person and we were so relieved! There were not as many of the typical events, but Olivia's 8th grade class was able to have their "Touch of Class" event. The kids all dress up and enjoy a fancy meal at school. Usually this is all done together, but thanks to COVID they had to do it in their advisory rooms. At least they still got to enjoy the event. Cece was enjoying 4th grade as well, despite having to wear masks all day. I cannot quite remember what was going on in this photo, but I think it must have been crazy hair, spirit day, or girl power day...who knows! Cece's class also took a photo on St. Patrick's Day. They are a goofy bunch!

Finally the weather was starting to change. We were out of the depths of winter and Easter was right around the corner. To prepare we had our annual Easter activities at Nana's house. First up...egg decorating. The girls have become very good at dying their eggs, with lots of artistic abilities showing through. 

We can't have an Easter celebration at Nana's without an egg hunt. I love that no matter how old they may be getting, they still get excited about hunting for eggs. I think the ultimate motivation may be what's inside of the eggs. 

Last year our Easter activities at Nana's were all we were able to do because of COVID. This year we were able to attend Easter service once again, but this year it was outdoors at the TinCaps stadium. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. It was the perfect day for an outdoor church service!

Before the service we were able to walk around the stadium and enjoy some activities. It was such a fun and unique way to celebrate the holiday. I know they decided to do church outdoors because of COVID, but I must admit I wouldn't mind doing it this way every year!

It was obvious that things were slowly starting to return to normal. More events were starting to take place and people were beginning to travel again. This was most evident when my Mom decided to take the girls on a trip to Club Med in Florida during their Spring Break! I can't begin to explain how excited they were about this! After doing so little and going hardly anywhere for the past year, they could not wait for this trip! Spring Break couldn't come soon enough!

a different sort of Christmas

I never would have thought we would be celebrating the holidays in the middle of a global pandemic. Everything in the world was still so uncertain which meant our normal Christmas traditions would look a little different this year. We managed to find a way to keep things as normal as possible. One of our favorite things to do is drive around and look at Christmas lights. We have our favorite neighborhoods we like to visit, and we always drive through the Festival of Lights. Christmas lights are the best way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Back in November Olivia turned 14. She and her best friend Sara had planned a fun birthday party with their school friends, but of course COVID stepped in. The girls tried to reschedule but it was just too difficult. Instead they found a weekend to get together with a few girls friends to celebrate. A few simple decorations, some balloons, a cake and some great friends is all you need to create a fun birthday celebration! I love that they managed to still celebrate their 14th birthdays, even if it was in a very scaled back way.

With the birthday celebration officially behind us we were able to get back to enjoying all things Christmas. Luckily this year the reindeer still made an appearance at Jefferson Pointe. Many outdoor activities were still taking place, which was nice. During our evening at Jefferson Pointe Cece got the chance to pet two reindeer, take a photo with The Grinch and enjoy the beautiful Christmas tree light show. 

One thing that did prove difficult this year was making our annual Santa visit. Many of the normal "Santas" were not making an appearance. Yes, my girls may be getting a little old to still visit Santa, but it's a tradition, and one I am not quite ready to give up yet. Olivia may no longer "believe" in the magic of Santa, but Cece was still holding on this year. I am fully aware that may not be the case neat year. In the meantime I will soak up what I can, even if that means that this year's Santa picture had to be taken from a distance. Thanks, COVID! They were still able to share their Christmas wishes with the big guy!

The holidays aren't complete without Christmas cookies, and girls love decorating them! Their decorating skills get better each year and I continued to be impressed. This year's cookies were the best yet! Small special moments like this helped to make an otherwise challenging time feel a little more normal. 

After weeks of Christmas movies, hiding the Elf on the Shelf, looking at Christmas lights and just spending time together Christmas Eve was upon us. This day looks different than years past, but the meaning behind stays the same. Cece wanted to put on her fancy Christmas dress even though we were only going over to my mom's for the evening. This girl is always looking for a reason to be fancy!

Once we arrived at my Mom's we had to take the obligatory annual Christmas family photos. But the girls were most excited about food and presents! Our Christmas Eve tradition at Nana's is to open stockings. Cece could hardly contain her excitement as she tore through her little gifts, and once she was done she promptly helped us open our stocking gifts. This girls loves opening presents! In addition to their stockings the girls each get to open one gift on Christmas Eve. Clearly the excitement of the evening caught up with Cece. Christmas Eve is the one night of the year that I dont have to beg the girls to get to bed. They know that the sooner they go to sleep the sooner Christmas morning arrives. 

My girls have never been ones to wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning and I am super grateful for that. Now that doesn't mean they are not super excited to run downstairs to see what Santa has brought once they do wake up. And like every year, Santa did not disappoint! Cecilia got her wish of a skateboard and Olivia played along and asked Santa for LED lights for her room. I know I am on borrowed time when it comes to Cece believing, so I made sure to really soak up her delight and that sparkle in her eye knowing that Santa granted her Christmas wishes.

Santa had his turn, so now it was ours. We were so excited to watch the girls open their gifts from us. We try not to over do it and just get them a handful of special things we know they would like. I think the smiles on their faces told us that we did good!

After some relaxing we made our way to my Mom's for round two of Christmas. There they were blessed with even more wonderful gifts. I think Cece could open presents for days! They were beyond happy with the gifts and super grateful to their Nana for spoiling them once again this year.

Christmas night was a quiet one for us. We ordered some Chinese food and just relaxed at home. Before wrapping up the holiday we finished things off with opening our family stockings. I was pretty burnt out from present opening by that point, but there was no way Cece was going to let us forget about the last gifts of the day.

Overall, despite all of the changes Christmas turned out to be pretty normal for us this year. We always use this time of year to create special memories. We were not going to let a little pandemic ruin our holidays, so we did what ever we needed to do to still make it memorable. We kept the holidays going a tad bit longer so Olivia and her best friend Sara could celebrate together. They had a fun evening exchanging presents and just catching up. These two have a special relationship and it has been so nice to watch them continue to grow closer. 

We wrapped up this crazy year with a quiet New Year's celebration at home. Just like with everything else this year, it was pretty uneventful, but it sure felt good to say goodbye to 2020. Here's to hoping we are on a fast track to normalcy in 2021!