This & That: Dec~Feb

DECEMBER

Walked some of the nature trails in the area.

Aggie Day!!

Cute student notes left in my box:)

Snowball fight with the window?? 

Winter is perfect for puzzles.

Virtual holiday party Quick Draw game .... "Draw your teacher as an Elf" 

Did I mention we like puzzles?

Family Zoom call

Attempting to un-dent Sue ... the result of a deer running into the side of her in Laramie.

A little snowshoe action in Happy Jack with Bailee

Walks out in the country

Mi Padre had a special birthday. He also had gallstones removed the day before so he wasn't feeling much like a party (and ... COVID), so my sisters went by to leave some goodies.

His sisters also stopped by to help bring some cheer.

JANUARY

It occurred to me that we haven't had Ms. Alise in the house for a while.

Emmrey and Mark started the project of making her a personalized fishing rod. 

Heard this news ... never got to meet him, but pretty neat to have "The Phantom" as part of our family history. I believe he was a second cousin to my dad.

Took a snowy drive to Laramie to get Bailee settled in for Spring semester

Got a tour of the Community Center where she spends a good amount of her time as an RA

Interesting lunch choices were made

Karsyn was gifted with flowers and a card from all her peeps at the club before heading back to school.

I was gifted with a yummy bundt cake for #27

Took Kars on our anniversary dinner to Spoons;)

And then finished a puzzle with me later that night.

I finally completed the book of a whole box of pictures that my parents had at their house.

Lots of memories in these 100 pages

It was definitely a labor of love.

We stopped in to see Bay on our way to take Kars to Logan.

We celebrated the New Year after finally returning as a whole class for the first time all year. 

I made use of my foil numbers one more time..

 A week later my class was quarantined due to an exposure:( So I packed up my teaching materials for home again.

FEBRUARY

Just too cute a picture of this little Poke to not share. 

Once a year (usually) sugar cookie making for V-Day

The rod is coming along

First in our household to get the first dose.

Practiced some clay pen making before doing it with my class.

Another accidental Aggie pride day!

And finally .... a return to Bachelor nation after 20+ seasons of not watching.  I blame Kars and Ashlee/ey ;)

Making good use of the chocolate rose I received from a student.

Love Day 2021

Valentine's was on a Sunday this year so we celebrated on Friday at school.  I was overwhelmed with so many sweet gifts from my students. 

 I was especially smitten with these handmade bouquets from my adorable Kamila. 

We celebrated the real Love Day with our numero 3. We had a candlelight dinner in a little more intimate setting (aka the coffee table cause we are getting real cazh).

I also made our traditional heart shaped sugar cookies. 

The girls received their 2020 photo books and we sent care packages to our college ladies. 

Desert Love

 In early February, Mark and I celebrated a belated anniversary on a long weekend in the Sonoran desert of AZ.  With Emm still in hybrid learning and Bay willing to keep her for the weekend, it worked out pretty seamlessly. We dropped Emmrey off Thursday night in Laramie. Getting a bite for dinner at Corona Village Andale Rapido before leaving them.

We had a fairly early flight out of Denver Friday morning. Then waited in a horrendous line for our rental car once we landed in Phoenix.

We easily settled into our hotel in Happy Valley.

We spent our first full day hiking around the Spur Cross Preserve near Cave Creek. 

I was completely shocked to discover Mark had found my wedding ring and presented it to me in a similar fashion to our engagement. I was suspicious when the can of Pringles were offered as a snack (we haven't eaten original Pringles for some time). I lost my ring about three years ago when I took it off at the kitchen sink to clean dishes. I heard a clink when I wiped off the counter, but could not find it anywhere even after taking apart disposal and pulling out appliances. I was convinced that it had bounced just right and had fallen through a thin gap between the floor cabinets. Mark thought I was nuts to suggest taking the bottom trim off the cabinets to check. I kind of just let it go and got used to not having it. 

Apparently, Mark decided to follow my gut instinct several months ago and found it exactly where I suspected it was. He saved it specifically for this getaway. It was such a sweet surprise ... unfortunately it has shrunk a little;) and will need resized in order to wear it. 

Here's to 27 years!

We spent the rest of the day exploring the quaint little town of Cave Creek. We had the most delicious Navajo Taco for lunch. 

Such a fun place!

We exceeded our daily caloric intake with a stop at the Creamery before we left. 

We were so intrigued by this old elementary school property known as Mercado Escuela (School Market)

Our trips together typically include finding new places to eat. We tried Shane's Rib Shack near our hotel. One of us was more impressed than the other. 

Our second day we explored the White Tank Mountains. We followed a large figure eight trail up and around the Waterfall Canyon. 

The trail is sprinkled with native rock art. 

It was warm but comfortable in February. Hard to imagine doing it in the summer months.

Our evenings were spent catching the beautiful sunset at the Sonoran Desert Preserve just outside of town.

We hiked, soaked up the warm temperatures and ate more than necessary.

I was feeling so uneasy about going, but it was so worth it. It is such a recharge to just get away with each other every now and then. 

We left the sun and warm temperatures of the desert....

... and returned to the cold in the Rockies. 

I would melt here in the summer, but I could definitely get used to this beauty for 7-8 months of the year.