December, Christmas, Pandemic, Arizona, Colorado, Kids and Grandkids ~ 2020!!!

Wow!  Where do I start with this post?  I haven't written since July.  If you read my prior post, you know we mainly stayed close to home this Summer and Fall and canceled quite a few trips.  We are so very blessed and lucky that we live in such a beautiful place and can hike from our backdoor.  We definitely hiked ALOT this Summer.  Steve rode his mountain bike all around Buena Vista.  There are SO many trails near our house.  

Our biggest news since July:  Rebecca and Antonio married in Perth, Australia on October 13th.  We were able to have a ZOOM wedding!  That was a first!  We are very happy for them and have a new awesome son-in-law.  They are very happy in Australia, and we think they will be there for a while.  We hope that we can go and visit them again sometime in the near future. 

Steve & I bought a park model in Canyon Vistas RV Resort in Gold Canyon, AZ in September.  We were some of "those" people that thought we would never settle in an RV Park in the Winter.  I guess we should never say, "Never"!  We had so many wonderful years of traveling in the Lazy Daze and recently in our Arctic Fox trailer.  Last Winter we decided that moving every two weeks and having to make reservations a year in advance was getting a little old.  ( Especially for Steve, who did all of that).  We have neighbors here in Buena Vista who introduced us to Canyon Vistas.  It is a very active "resort".  There is something to do ALL the time.  We spent three weeks there in October and have already decided it is a great place to be.  We really enjoyed all the classes in the pool, exercise classes in huge rooms where we all wear masks.  The weather was nice enough that we could be outside all day and into the evenings.  We plan to spend time there in the Fall and we will be there from January through March.  

Our sad news for us, but happy news for Stefan, Rachael, and Louisa is that they moved to Sandpoint, ID this weekend.  Stefan got a job working for Litehouse Foods.  They were really ready to get out of the busy Front Range of Colorado.  We were hoping they would move closer to us, but they have landed in Sandpoint.  They will be much farther away.  We already see trips to Idaho in our future.  

Kari, Eric, Eva, Coranelle, and Sheldon are all doing well in Westminster.  Kari is dealing with the struggles of owning a gym in these "trying" times.  All three kids are doing school remotely, which isn't fun.  I pray they can get back to school soon.  

Amanda, Josh, and Linden are still in Frederick, CO.  Linden goes to a Montessori school in Frederick.  Amanda is a teacher and is teaching remotely.  We are ALL looking forward to life getting back to some kind of normal.  

On that note, I will end this post.  We hope you are all healthy and safe.  We are looking forward to 2021.  I will post pictures. The hardest thing for me is scanning through all my hundreds of photos and figuring out which ones to post! 😊   

A Different Kind of Summer~ 2020

I will be brief and will mainly post pictures.  We came home from Arizona on April 12th.  Little did we know that all the plans we had for the Summer would be canceled or postponed.  We had already planned to build a greenhouse this year.  The project took many days but is finished.  I now have my little cold frame, a big raised bed garden, and a greenhouse. We are looking more and more like a homestead. 

We have been staying home and really not seeing many people.  If we have anyone over, we usually just sit outside on the deck.  I go to the grocery store and Steve goes to the hardware store.  We have been able to see our kids and grandkids.  They either come over to our house or we go over and see them in Westminster and Frederick.  I can't believe how old the grandkids are.  They are growing up so fast.  We have an 18-month-old, a 3-year-old, and an 8, 11, and 14 year old.  Crazy!  We love spending time with all of them. 

We have been able to hike a lot, Steve has been riding his mountain bike.  I walk every day.  I love that I can walk out the door and walk next to the Arkansas River.  I never tire of the views.  We had different trips planned this Summer and Fall with all the adult kids and grandkids.  We have canceled all of them and hopefully will be able to reschedule all of them for next year. 

In spite of it being such an interesting Summer, we have enjoyed staying home.  I know I will be ready to socialize more in the future.  I miss having friends coming to visit, festivals, going to Zumba, etc.  Next year!!!

Steve, Bryce, and I are heading to Pitkin, CO tomorrow to camp, backpack and fish.  We were there the last two Summers.  It is "off the grid", so we are hoping to be pretty isolated.  We are hoping to catch as many fish as last year.  I am looking forward to seeing lots of wildflowers.