Skiing is such a pillar for our family and this winter has been the absolute best for family skiing. Both of the kids are obsessed with downhill skiing and they are both loving cross country. It has been a blast!
We have been making the rounds at our local resorts to get the kids as much downhill skiing as possible. They are *loving* it!
Friday nights at Ski Hill have been a huge motivator. A handful of Ben’s friends from school come hang out and ski. Ben has become completely independent on the rope tow and skiing down the hill {in control!} as a result.
Ben and his three buddies have named themselves “The Rads” and it is the cutest thing. They wait for each other at the top, then all ski down together, hooting and hollering, having the time of their lives.
Hannah has taken a lot of inspiration from this and has been gaining a lot of confidence and tremendous skills. She’s still on the ski ropes {she’s skiing but we’re holding onto her via a rope}, but that’s more for her own comfort. I literally don’t do anything. She’s got it figured out!
Ben joined the local Nordic ski team and has twice weekly practices. He absolutely loves it. The program is a really big deal in our small town. The coaches do an exceptional job of making it fun for the kids!
Recently he competed in his first race. This was a “lollipop race” – the course is short and you get a lollipop at the finish line. He loved it, but said he wished it was longer! The ambiance of the big race was really exciting for Ben, so we will be traveling to the final race of the season in a couple weeks so he can have another go at it – this time will be a 1 km.
When the kids are in school consistently I am able to sneak out on the trails, myself! I have been absolutely loving Nordic skiing – specifically skate skiing. Alex and I learned last winter and it has been a significant source of joy and exercise for us both.
The best days are when Alex and I can ski together or when I can meet up and ski with a friend.
I’ve been taking Hannah out cross country skiing at least two or three times a week. At this point we’re just out there to have fun and I am happy to utilize snowflake fruit snacks and my “special water bottle” as a motivator!
We’re inching toward the halfway point of ski season {maybe we’ve already passed it?} and are trying to get as many days in as we can while the snow is still flying. Let it snow!!!
What a week it’s been! It started snowing late in the afternoon Wednesday last week and started to let up, 50 inches later, on Friday morning. 50 inches of snow in 36 hours!! It’s still unbelievable that happened.
We knew a big snowstorm was coming Wednesday afternoon. All of a sudden the forecast changed and the estimates went through the roof. Our area was forecast to get between 28-42 inches.
Thursday morning we woke up and there were 23 inches covering the ground. It was crazy!!
We briefly lost power Thursday morning but it was restored within an hour. Once we saw the forecast had changed we prepared our house for a power outage. Our water comes from a well and when the power goes out, we lose our water, too. We pulled out our emergency water supply from the storage room, filled up some 5-gallon buckets to use to flush toilets and made candles, flashlights and lanterns more accessible.
The snow kept coming and coming and coming. It was just dumping snow all day long.
We took the kids out to play on the deck for a bit during the day. The snow was very light and fluffy, which made it easier to shovel, but because of the sheer volume of it, it was a little scary with the kids. Walking on the top of the snowpack was impossible – you just sink!
All the snow!!
It took Brooks a little while to adjust to all the snow, but once he did he loved bounding through it and rolling his face in it.
We woke up to another foot or more of snow on Friday morning. The power went out in the middle of the night. Our driveway hadn’t been plowed. We lost cell service that morning, too. There was just *s0* much snow and no sign of it ending. Friday was a lottt less fun – especially since our kids were up for the day at 3:30 when the power went out.
Finally, mid-morning, Kelly, our neighbor, showed up in his tractor to plow us out {we’ve hired him to regularly plow for us}! We whooped and cheered upon seeing the lights of his tractor and hearing the jangle of the chains on his wheels. He blasted through the deep snowpack like it was nothing!
Our driveway was so deeply covered in snow we couldn’t walk down it until it had gotten plowed. We didn’t have enough gas for the snowblower to keep up with it to clear our driveway. Alex strapped on his fat backcountry skis and was able to get around to go check on neighbors. It was exhausting and took him forever!
Once the driveway was clear, we took the kids out to survey the aftermath. And dig out the mailbox!
We’ve been very careful to avoid the areas where our roof will slide, shedding about 6 feet of snow. It’s almost all off now, thankfully!
The power was out on Friday for about 16 hours. We managed fine, but are hopeful a generator will be in our future!
We’re five days {and three school snow days!} into this and we’re still digging out. Alex managed to dig out the hot tub on Saturday and spent five hours clearing out the ice rink on Sunday. Oofta!
{this is our hot tub, buried under the snow}
{this is after the roof shed its snowpack – it’s like an avalanche!}
Normally I’m the one doing my snow dances all winter long, but I’m going to pause on them for a bit! We’re out of places to put the snow!!
As we’re closing the books on 2021, our second year living through a global pandemic, I’m looking on to 2022 with a really big handful of hope and a giant sprinkle of joy. Here’s a little look back on our year… it was a big one!
The winter was filled with so many family ski days. Alex and I were overwhelmed with delight watching our kiddos progress so much doing an activity that brings us so much joy.
Ben went to school, in-person all year; however, after every major school break the school switched to remote learning for a week. This meant that we had a whole bunch of extra time at The Lodge {we were still living in Seattle and going back and forth until May 2021}!
As winter turned into spring, life got a whole lot more challenging. Going back and forth between the two houses, yet knowing we were moving soon, was really difficult for all of us. It felt like limbo and we were royally unsettled. The kids felt it, Ben especially, and he really had a tough spring.
We planned a couple of regional day trips to break up the monotony during the weekends we spent in Seattle. One exceptionally rainy day we packed up the car, loaded it onto the ferry and headed over to Scenic Beach, which is on the Hood Canal in Puget Sound. Another spring-ish day we headed north for Skagit Valley and toured the daffodil festival and saw our dear friends on Camano Island.
Hannah and I made the most of our days together by going for runs, hanging out at the beach in the rain {hey! we had it to ourselves – no need to social distance or wear masks in the rain!} and taking nature walks through the neighborhood.
Afternoons in Seattle were often spent at the neighborhood park. It was quite a production getting all the things there. And the bathrooms were closed, due to Covid, so that made it interesting. It was a lot.
We got to be reunited with my dad in mid-April after over a year of not seeing him, due to the pandemic. He took a long road trip with several pit stops to ski along the way, then came to spend a while with us, enjoying spring in the mountains.
Late winter/early spring in Seattle seemed to last forever. Finally, we got to another long stint at The Lodge! Unexpectedly, most of April was spent in the mountains. Because our time there was so calm and so pleasant, we decided to bump up our move date by six weeks to early May. Hooray! {But also holy frantic!!}
Alex and I got our Covid vaccines and were fully vaccinated by early May! We felt like superheroes for a little while!
We slowly but surely got settled into our new life in the mountains.
Alex made an unbelievable amount of trips back to Seattle to finish packing everything up and get the house ready to sell. It was an unbelievable burden to essentially sell or donate the entire contents of a house we’d lived in for over a decade. On top of that, he had to get it spruced up and ready to sell after two little kids and a dog destroyed every surface. All while simultaneously working.
Mid-spring we broke ground on our garage & guesthouse!
Alex’s parents came out for the month of June, with Alina joining us for Ben’s birthday. We made so many memories with Grammy and Papa, after a long separation from the pandemic.
Ben turned five on Memorial Day. Since we had just moved and hadn’t really made friends here yet we had a quiet, family birthday.
Summer was hot, so wonderful and filled with days at the pool, oodles of memories, trips to the hidden beach, seeing family, making new friends and weekly visits to the farmers market. We ate all the ice cream, got to know every lifeguard by name and became accustom to the 100-degree days we enjoyed all season.
Early-July, our house in Seattle closed.
Shortly thereafter, we lost our beloved 8-year old dog, Jackson. He had been battling an aggressive cancer and we made the extremely difficult decision to say goodbye before things got any worse. Jackson was an incredible dog, despite being pretty high needs {he had epilepsy and severe anxiety} and we miss him dearly.
As a little nod to our late dog, we decided to take an extremely spontaneous road trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It turned out to be a fantastic decision. We stopped through Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Bozeman, Montana; Yellowstone and then ended up in Teton Village, Wyoming for a few nights. The trip was a major highlight of the year for all of us.
Just after we returned from our road trip, we brought home our new puppy, Brooks! He has been the absolute best pup. He is extremely sweet and very mellow. And, he reminds us so very much of our last dog, Jackson. They have an uncannily similar personality.
Hannah turned 3 in the midst of summer.
Also after a year of being apart, my mom came for a visit, and to celebrate Hannah’s birthday. We enjoyed trips to the beach, bookmobile and pool.
We had such a lovely late summer and early fall. The weather couldn’t have been better. We were up to our eyeballs dealing with a little puppy and two rambunctious children. It sure was filled with challenges, but gosh it was the best.
The school year began with Ben starting Kindergarten and Hannah entering preschool. Ben attends school in a literal two-room schoolhouse and Hannah goes to an outdoor forest preschool. Both of their schools have a high focus on nature and being outside – they’re both learning so much about life in the mountains.
Fall is absolutely spectacular out here in the mountains. The weather holds until about mid-October or so. The fall colors seemed to last forever this year.
My brother, John, and his girlfriend, Becky, spent a weekend in September with us. It had been over two years since I had seen him – sweet Hannah was still a baby then.
Alex had so much fun mountain biking this summer and fall. He has a good mountain biking buddy and they checked everything off their list to explore this year.
Ben joined a local soccer team, made a lot of new friends and got to try something new. He loved playing and dancing on the sidelines and occasionally got really into the game.
I’ve been rehabbing my hips most of the year due to lack of strength and stability. Despite not being able to run at all this summer or fall, I got plenty of hiking in. All of the fall hikes were highlights for me this year.
I took a girls trip this fall to Alpine Lakes High Camp with a friend and her book club. We roughed it and had an incredible 10-mile hike to Larch Lake.
Shoulder season {the time between nice fall weather and winter weather} also seemed to last forever this year. We had to be a little creative to get out and have fun in between the seasons.
Once winter arrived it was here to stay! We received about 40 inches of snow in just over a week. Our trees have the most spectacular coating of snow that has seemed to last forever. It is magnificent.
Brooks is loving the snow! He is currently seven months old and has become quite a handful lately. We’ve got some big-time training to do and are counting down the days until he gets neutered.
So far this winter we’ve been doing all the snowy things! Alex built an ice skating rink, we started cross country skiing with the kids and we’ve been downhill skiing too. It’s one of my absolute favorite times of the year!
We’re ending the year with a fully-vaccinated 5-year old!
The holidays were filled with joy and warmth for us this year. We were fortunate to spend Christmas with Alex’s parents.
And that’s a wrap! We are sending our love and warm wishes for a happy start to 2022. My hope for the year is peace and joy, and that we can get out of this godforsaken pandemic.
This is one of my favorite times of the whole year. I look forward to snow and winter and Christmas all year long. This year felt extra special. The snow has felt extra magical and spectacular. And Ben and Hannah are at such a fun age, especially to celebrate Christmas. We’re really focusing on family, gratitude and joy. All the things that matter most.
The last two Christmases have just been our little family, so it was also extra special to have Alex’s parents here to celebrate with us this year.
We’ve been ice skating most days. What a special way to enjoy the cold snap we’ve had this last week.
Just before Christmas we went out on a sleigh ride.
The kids had so much fun making sausage rolls and cookie dough with Grammy.
They just adore playtime with their grandparents.
One afternoon most of us ventured out to go cross country skiing. The moment we got our skis on it started snowing *so* hard. It was quite unexpected! We were not prepared for the wind or the snow. Needless to say it was a short ski!
Alex and I were able to get out and go skate skiing, just the two of us. We learned how to skate ski last winter but never had childcare. Finally, we got a chance to get out together!
And! We went downhill skiing together, too! Hurrah! Thanks, Grammy and Papa!
Christmas itself was so wonderful. Alex and I even got to enjoy a cup of coffee in front of the fire before Ben woke up around 5:30.
The kids made each other, and everyone else, pictures.
Santa and family members were abundantly generous this year.
Ben and Hannah had so much fun exploring and playing with their gifts all day long.
What a joy this season has been. I’m looking forward to a snowy, skiing-filled winter, finding joy and enjoying the things that matter most.
It’s undeniably one of my favorite times of the year right now – this sweet spot between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’re doing all the things and getting *so* excited for Santa.
Our Thanksgiving was lovely. It was very quiet – just the four of us – but we had a really great day. The kids were very excited to help prepare everything.
Living in the mountains in a winter wonderland, especially with a downtown that is so magical, still feels like such a dream. We’ve driven into town a few nights to enjoy the all of the spectacular Christmas lights.
It’s always a special day when we put up the Christmas tree. This year’s came from our property. We knew it would be a tricky year to have a Christmas tree with a puppy, so we chose a small one and set it up in our loft.
The kids, especially Ben, get so into decorating the tree and the house.
This year I decided to make a gingerbread house totally from scratch. Probably won’t happen again, but it was worth the experience. Ben and Hannah loved decorating it.
We’re loving all of the holiday greeting cards that have been arriving this season. Thank you *so* much to everyone who has taken the time to send us one. We display them all and take so much joy in receiving them.
It feels like the seasons changed all at once a couple weeks ago. The ground and the trees are covered in white pillows, cross country skiing opened, downhill skiing opened and the kids all of a sudden are playing in the snow every day. Shoulder season is over!
It’s so hard to pick a favorite season. I just love them all. There is something so magical about winter, though. It’s definitely a top contender for my number one.
We have been absolutely *loving* pulling Ben {and sometimes Hannah!} on the sled to and from school. Mountain living right there!
Ben, and all the other students at his little school, are allowed to borrow a pair of XC ski boots and skis for the winter to use during recess and their exercise time.
Last week I took Ben and Hannah cross country skiing on the trails near our house for the first time ever! We got to take Ben’s school skis and boots home for winter break and we rented some gear for Hannah.
Ben loved Nordic skiing so much that we ended up signing him up for the local Nordic ski team. It is such a pillar of our little mountain community. He is so excited.
The kiddos had their first downhill ski day of the season, and Alex just had his, as well. We had such a fun time at Leavenworth Ski Hill. It’s the perfect place for little kids.
Our skating rink has been getting a ton of action the last few days. What a dream it is to be able to go ice skating in our yard! We can’t wait to continue to host our friends and neighbors for skating parties.
It has been hilarious watching all of the gear accumulate in our mud room. We have so many hooks and cubbies and hangers and they’re just perpetually full. As is the floor. I try to keep it organized, and I really do love looking at the pile of stuff with a really full heart and a smile. It’s such a privilege and a joy to be able to enjoy all of these activities.
So far this winter is shaping up to be a great one! Keep the snow coming, Mother Nature!
In early November we took the kids to Wenatchee, an hour away, to go ice skating in their indoor rink. We all had such a fun time! The next day we learned that the ice rink that often operates near our home won’t be happening again this year. So, we took matters into our own hands and decided to build our own ice skating rink.
Our friend Ross came over with his tractor one day and helped us level out the area and remove rocks and pokey bits from the ground.
The people at the hardware store thought Alex was crazy when he went in to purchase 2 x 12s for an ice rink. But, he did it anyway, and built the frame for the rink.
We had some unseasonably warm weather in late November and early December, followed by a cold snap and a ton of snow. Before we could proceed, we had to clear the snow out of the inside of the frame.
Earlier on in the fall Alex purchased a snow blower. After a whole giant and frustrating mess of rebuilding and fixing the snow blower, it worked like a dream and got the job done.
Next step: add the liner! Alex was able to order essentially a gigantic sheet of white plastic to drape over the frame and use as a base to hold the water.
Now we fill and wait. There was one corner that was a lot higher than the others and of course we didn’t realize this until we started filling. It ended up taking a full 48 hours to fill the rink with water.
Literally within the first minutes after Alex pulled the hoses out, our pup decided to go for a swim. Cute, right? Not so much when he tore the liner and Alex had to get in the icy bath and patch it up.
We spent the better part of the next five days watching it freeze. We got around 30 inches of snow during the week we filled the rink up and were letting it freeze. This made it take a little longer to freeze. But alas! It froze!
Now Alex’s new hobby is walking around the ice rink shoveling or with his cool resurfacing tool that our neighbor happened to have because he, too, had previously built a backyard ice rink {he stopped after 3 years because it is so much work!}.
And now, we skate.
This ice rink has brought us so much joy. I grew up ice skating on my backyard pond in Minnesota and have so, so many fond memories of this pastime. It is such a privilege to be able to recreate this for our kids and our little mountain town.
This post almost slipped by me, but my friend just reminded me, so here it is! I actually have quite a few new favorites this year. Our lifestyle has changed quite a bit with the pandemic and mountain living, so a lot of things are updated. Be sure to check the bottom of the post for my favorite things from years’ past – especially 2020.
Personal Items
Apple Watch – Alex gave me an Apple Watch for Mother’s Day this year and I just love it. It has truly been life-changing for me. It allows me to disconnect SO much from my phone, but be connected to texts/phone calls in case something urgent comes up.
Apple Fitness Plus – this is essentially the Peloton App, but brought to you by Apple. The integration with the watch is impressive – my activity rings are up on the TV screen, along with the time and my output. I have been enjoying yoga, core and strength classes to unwind in the evenings. You do need an Apple Watch for Fitness+.
Insulated Tumbler – I’m admittedly a little late to the Yeti game, and I do regret that. Gosh they make a great tumbler! This is perfect for keeping coffee hot at home or on-the-go, or you can do iced coffee with a lid and straw, too.
Weekly Planner Page – I started using this last year and it is tremendously helpful for me to organize my weeks. I just love how it’s laid out.
Household Items
Norwex Cloths – have you heard of these!? You don’t need anything but water + one of these cloths to clean your house. Easy peasy!
Kitchen
Lodge Dutch Oven – I have been using my dutch oven a lot this fall. I love cooking soups and chili. This is such an affordable dutch oven, compared to some competitors. I’ve had mine for 10 years now!
Kitchen Scale – why do Americans not weigh their ingredients!? I am a recent convert and my goodness, it is so, so, so much easier and more accurate to weigh everything out.
Clothing
Free Fly Leggings – these lightweight leggings are my absolute favorite legging ever. I lived in these in the late summer/early fall days.
Athleta Fleece Lined Leggings – I featured these last year, too, and couldn’t leave them off the list. These are perfect for chilly winter days outside.
Free Fly tops – these were my favorite thing in the late summer and fall {they also make a tank}, especially paired with my Free Fly leggings. The easiest outfit!
Gear
Patagonia Backpack – this is my new “mom bag” – I had to update my fancy leather backpack to a much more mountain mom appropriate backpack and this one is absolute perfection. You surely don’t need to be a mountain mama to love it either.
Hiking Socks – Darn Tough makes amazing hiking and ski socks. They have a lovely mix of synthetics and merino wool, and a low enough percentage of wool in some of their socks that I can wear them without itching!
Hiking Backpack – I am *loving* my new Osprey Sirrus 36 hiking backpack. It’s perfect for day hikes.
Footwear
Everyday shoes – gosh these are great! I love Forsake – they’re perfect for mountain or city living. What I love, though, is that they’re slip-on everyday shoes you can walk around town in, chase your kids in or wear for a hike. All in one pair of shoes.
Ugg Slippers – I’ve got to add these again this year. My absolute favorite slipper ever.
Cozy
REI Brand Down Coat/Vest– these rival Patagonia and come at a fraction of the price. I have an extra down parka in my car for emergencies.
Reading
Magnolia Journal – wow, just wow. This publication is so thoughtful and poignant. The themes always seem to hit me at just the right time.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – oh my gosh. Absolutely one of my top 5 favorite books ever. I *plowed* through this hefty book and could not put it down. This is a historical fiction set during the Dust Bowl. It was so captivating and eye opening and changed my perspective on a lot.
Brave Enough by Jessie Diggins – I adored this book. Alex got it for me for Christmas last year. Jessie tells the story of how she became a world champion cross country skier. I loved learning about her childhood, especially since she grew up not far from me in Minnesota.
Our last family photo shoot was literally days before the pandemic began here and shook everything up. I think about that so often – we had Alex’s family here at The Lodge with us and our photographer, Kim, was here to capture that magical time for us.
Finally, hurrah! We had Kim out to our home to get some up-to-date photos of the four of us, and our new furry addition. She is incredible – she shoots on film, yes film! And she just does her thing and her photos are a perfect representation of us. Here are some of our favorites:
Now that we’re nearly to Halloween, I’ll backtrack to our first summer in the mountains. What a big summer we had. It was filled with change, family visitors, building a community and making new friends and exploring. There were oodles of highlights from our first summer as permanent mountain dwellers.
We started the summer with Alex’s parents being here for about a month as we celebrated Ben’s fifth birthday and got ourselves settled into our new life.
Once the summer solstice hit, the temps skyrocketed. The highest I saw was 113. The kids and I became so accustomed to days spent outside in 100+ degree heat that it became too chilly for us to swim outside if it was below 90-degrees. Ben’s lips literally turned blue one day in the pool when it was 88-degrees. Hah!
The kiddos both took swimming lessons all summer – Ben in group lessons, while Hannah preferred the 1:1 private lesson dynamic. By the end of the summer Ben could make it across the pool unassisted. It wasn’t pretty, but he could do it!
Just before the Fourth of July we made the difficult choice to say goodbye to our dog, Jackson. He had been suffering from a fast-growing carcinoma (cancer). It was a devastating loss for all of us.
The loss of Jackson rocked us, and our summer plans, so we decided to take a very spontaneous road trip to Jackson Hole, Jackson’s namesake. That was one of the biggest highlights of our summer. We spent a day in Yellowstone and loved the time we were in Jackson and Teton National Park. I hope to visit again!
{Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone}
Just after arriving back from our road trip, Alex drove down to Salem, Oregon and picked up our new puppy, Brooks. The turnaround time from losing Jackson to welcoming Brooks was quite quick – only two weeks. It’s actually been really great having that short gap. We didn’t go so long that we got out of the routine of having a dog.
Mid-summer days were largely spent in town at the pool. Here, we met *so* many other local families with kiddos.
We loved our once-a-week trip to the local ice cream shop, Whistlepunk.
Riding bikes this summer was SO fun for us all. Ben is a total pro on his little bike and Hannah really started charging it on her scoot bike. She’ll be ready for a two-wheeler in the spring, for sure!
After Alex’s parents monthlong trip and our return from Jackson, we had grandparent visitors sprinkled in every other week. The kids have been overjoyed to finally be able to see their grandparents more often.
As summer marched ahead we had to navigate a whole lot of wildfire smoke. It began in late-July and carried through until Labor Day or so. It felt like for a solid six weeks I was checking the air quality on a daily basis, then limiting our outside time very regularly. Most of our smoke was caused from the Nason Fire, a 100+ acre fire 15 minutes from our house.
I spent the summer in physical therapy for my hips. Long story short, I had an “injury” from lack of strength and stability. So, friends, keep up on your core strengthening exercises and don’t just do cardio like I did!
We celebrated Hannah’s third birthday mid-July. So far three has been SO fun with her.
My mom came for a visit over Hannah’s birthday. We had a beach day, pool day, cupcake day and bookmobile day.
Shortly after, my dad came to visit, too. We explored a couple new beaches and the kids even got him out on the trampoline!
We wrapped up August with one final grandparent visit. Alex’s mom came to help me with the kids for a few days while I pulled together an event for the Leavenworth Farmers Market.
Just before Labor Day I made a final trek out to Wenatchee for some apple and nectarine picking with the kids. It was one of those extra special days I will remember for a very long time.
That particular day ended with the loveliest dinner outside at a restaurant in a screened-in igloo, then a trip to the beach to watch the sun set. It was perfect.
This summer was so, so lovely. It was filled with a lot of unexpected happenings and a whole lot of fun and exploration. We’re absolutely loving our mountain life and feel extremely connected to the community here.
