Hilton Head! 2021

 Jeff was exceptionally restless to get somewhere.  

I however, have truly made my peace with my home.  I am extremely grateful for what I have and I love being here.  If nothing else, Covid has helped me develop an appreciation for my home.  

That's not to say that I don't like to travel.....I love to travel.  Just not always the way my family does.

On that note, for the drive, Jeff has rented a minivan.

People, I am against large vehicles because of the emissions and I drive a small car.  But I am also a reasonable person, and I realize if I am about to drive 14 - 16 hours I want to be comfortable.  And that has always been my argument.  If we need a bigger car, we will rent one.

Well in this time of Covid, when everyone is getting out of town, imagine our panic when the place tells Jeff they have no vehicle for him.  Dyleva is with him at the rental place.  Cheering for their new car so we can go!  No car.

Its almost like someone stuck our balloon with a needle.  Jeff reserved in OCTOBER.  This was not a spontaneous getaway.  In October we thought it would be appropriate to travel. 

Breathe.

Luckily, Jeff has more tolerance for these situations.  His smoozing eventually got us a massive, terrible, Infinity SUV.  I wouldn't touch the thing, but was ok to ride in it.

Dyleva had a field day!  They were exploring secret compartments, private temperature control, etc.

We weathered the long drive in style.  Puppy in tow.  It is SO much easier than with two year olds.  I almost found myself blissfully bored.  (Shhhh....)

All changed however, upon arrival.  I photographed Eva near a palm tree for her tree book that she is researching (so proud!)

We found our place, bikes delivered.  Everything was smashing!  Let the games begin!  We were all in high spirits, tired, but happy.

Not five minutes later, I hear arguing.  Dyleva is fighting over the closet and how to unpack.  AYFKM??? 

Sorry for the anacronym but I'm sure you can figure it out.  At this point, I pulled a chair in the sun.  Fixed a drink, and texted my Bff Lisa.  I ignored the screaming ungrateful ninos.  

Well, I am happy to say that was the low point.  Other than a near suicide attempt on behalf of the dog.  The rest of the vaca I would classify as moderate.

We spent time with family; we loved our time with our cousins!  Playing tennis and poker!

We explored the island.  It was slightly lackluster due to Covid, but we made the best of it.

My favorite part, was the sunrise.  I happened to have a bedroom that faced east.  Each morning I was blessed with the most beautiful sunrise over the docks.  

The last morning, Jeff yanked Dylan up a 5:00 to go fish.  So beautiful.  

Sorry.  Blogger has changed something.  I cannot drag the photos without them being erased.  

Enjoy.

Sunrise from my bedroom

Shrek!!

 For the past few months, Eva has been working so hard on preparing for her Shrek performance.  Although she has performed numberless times before, it has always been snipits of productions hodge-podged together.  This will be her first full performance.

She is on stage for most of the production.  She had about 5 different parts, and many more songs and dances to memorize.

I was able to see the show twice!  Once with Tia Lisa and at night with Jeff.   It was wonderful!  The students worked so hard, and their work paid off.

Zipidedoodah! The end of ski season!!!

 Hooray!  Hooray!  Its finally over!  And we all emerged unscathed.

Well, mostly.  

We did have a slight incident today.  It was a brisk, brilliant, sunny day.  The temp was around 30 degrees, not to shabby for skiing.  We picked up a buddy of Dylan's, got an early start, and were skiing by 11am.  

We skied for about an hour, and we were looking for hidden coconuts along the trails.  They were having fun activities because it was one of the last ski days.  Eva stopped to pose in front of some trees, to support her new project initiative.  

On one of the runs, Eva got clipped by a snowboarder.  She rolled a bit, and didn't get up.  She ended up hurting her thumb.  It kind of put a damper on the rest of the day.  Only because we weren't sure if it was broken.  It turned black and blue, and was very swollen.  

Thinking back to the arm that was really broken in July that we didn't figure out for 3 days, we went in.  

We ended the night in the emergency room; I was taking NO chances.  After all, I am the mother that waited two days to take her to the hospital with a broken arm and made her ride a 3 mile bike ride.  The emergency room took X-rays that showed it was only a bad sprain.  Poor baby.

So that's it.  No hitting trees.  Broken bones.  Torn ligaments.  Death.  Wrapping up a successful ski year!

Eva waiting in the emergency room under a different kind of tree.

My Little Gretsky II

 In the past two years, even admist Covid, Dylan has become an excellent hockey player, and a pretty good hockey player.  Hockey has become like a giant ball of slime, oozing even more into our lives day by day.

Its good for Dylan, because he loves it.  He's good at it, and he skates with really nice kids.  Jeff has become a coach and semi-obsessive ice rink creator that has taken over all of his free time.  He literally stands around watching water freeze.

I digress.

Eva and I are mainly spectators.  We might block a few shots with Dylan, but honestly, he doesn't want to play with us, and we don't want to get hit with pucks.  

When Dyl plays home games, he is number 88.  It is fun going to watch him.  It is nice to have this outlet this year.  It will be interesting to see how it fits in next year if  "things go back to normal."

https://youtu.be/_7ETazF6S8U

Hitting the Slopes

 My title is "Hitting the Slopes."  That is both literal and figurative for some of us.  We spent 5 days in Ellicottville.  We rented a house with family, and met up with more family later.  

It would be an incredible underestimation if I described the children's skiing as "good."  They are amazing.  They have become so skilled in such little time.

They ski circles around me, and five times faster.  We skiied Saturday night and all day Sunday.  There were 16 of us in all.  Skiing together, down the hill.  

On Monday, we took a day off and hiked the Black Snake trail in Alleghany.  It was one of our hikes for the Winter Challenge.  Jeff's cousin and husband joined us.  It was a beautiful day!

When we came back, we rode the sky mountain coaster.  We all met up again later and Justine and family even paid us a surprise visit!

We finished the week with a goodbye party to some of the family.  The next day we skiied the whole day.  Then today we headed home.  

No broken bones.  Sore muscles soaking in the hot tub.  Warming up in the sauna.  It was a nice weekend.  

February Blues

 We all knew this day would come.

I had nightmares...

Woke up with cold sweats...

Yelled out randomly at students in the middle of the night....

Yep.  Time to go back to work.  

It sounds easy, not even the whole "teaching part," but the family part has become complicated.  

Dyleva is virtual every other day.  So...that means my nanny is about to receive a big pay increase.

And the dog.  The stinking dog I wasn't ready for, I now have to arrange for neighbors to come let him out.  

It is still, not bad.  I mean, technology is and will always be (with me) a challenge.  But I have 4 students.  The minute they get silly, I give them the evil eye.  Then they are like, aw cocos.  She means business!

My babies are growing up.

It's so sad.

Eva wears contacts.

Dylan wags his toe.  Don't ask.

Neither of them really need me anymore.  

Hmmmph.

A New Tradition?

 With the desire to be outside, and the lack of family gathering this holiday, we may have begun a new tradition with our family.  Our cousins, have a local fire company that picks Santa up and then drives around the neighborhood.

On Christmas Eve morning.

So.

Bright and early, we got up and went to their house.  Got a drink and listened for sirens.  

The ninos chased that firetruck for blocks.  Up and down the street.  We had a great time.

After, we returned to the house and exchanged gifts.  

It was a lovely morning.  A wonderful way to begin the day!