Mud, a Replacement Hamster, and Hiking

 I am adding this picture without any commentary

Last Sunday afternoon I went on a walk with Nixon and Mason along the river bank. That buoy is the edge of the swim area for our beach. That shows how low the river is right now. 

The kids loved stomping around in all of the squishy soft mud

I like how each of these supports says Canada

The cracked earth was really cool

The boys loved trying to turn over big rocks

Meanwhile, Kim and Lyza were playing Guess Who

It was strange seeing tree stumps so far into the river. There must have been trees there before the dam was put in

The boys also loved throwing rocks into the water

It was cool seeing the root systems of trees near the river bank

We had a huge gingersnap to share for dessert

Kim colored some rice for the kids to play with

Lyza's hamster Donut never got friendly and would not let anyone hold him. It was a very difficult decision but Lyza decided we should return Donut and get a hamster that wanted to be loved.

Meet Cupcake. So far she is much more gentle and open to contact than Donut ever was.

Mason loves pulling all the cushions off the couch and making forts

Lyza hit half a million words on the books that she is able to take reading quizzes for (not every book has a quiz so she has read more than the half million)

We had a huge windstorm on Wednesday that left around 70,000 people without power and destroyed a lot of trees. Luckily we never lost power for more than a few minutes and nothing was damaged at our house. Many were not as lucky. This tree fell down between two houses without hitting either.

He sure looks happy here

Mason has also been giving away free dance lessons

On Saturday we went hiking together to Tubbs Hill. I put together a little video of the hike

I know some of these pictures were in the video but I wanted to put the pictures on here as well

We saw lots of trees on the hike that had fallen over and were broken. Luckily those that blocked the path were already removed

Henry doesn't like to hold hands very long when we are hiking but when he does it is super cute to watch

Lyza was at one with nature

There are pretty views of the resort from the trail

This breakwater (I think that is what it is called) looked cool on an overcast day

Another view of the resort

I am glad we didn't have to climb over those trees

My hiking buddies

We saw so many trees that were broken because of the wind

Another view of the resort

I thought this couple and their dogs sitting on the beach looked too picturesque not to document

The three big kids in front of Lake Coeur d'Alene

This spot had so much green moss it really stood out from the other brown areas

Last picture of the resort

I am pretty sure Lyza is the most faithful follower of this blog and she has shown an interest in starting her own blog some day. She and I discussed her using this blog to write when she would like to. Here is the first ever installment of "Lyza's Library" written by Lyza Deanne Keyes:

Lyza's Library

Last week I read a book called Animorphs: The Visitor by K.A. Applegate. I like it because there is lots of magic in it. The main idea is five kids that are destined to save the world from the Yeerks. The kids met a dying alien that gave them the power to morph into any animal they touch. So far it is my favorite book. I think everyone should read it.

Take care

Chick-fil-A is So Good!

 Mason has been helpful not only getting his own breakfast, but also getting breakfast for Henry

Mason wanted to make a new advent chain for next Christmas and he made this all by himself

Here it is hanging in his room

We have been playing some games together (this is Azul)

The little boys have been coloring

And going for walks together

They saw a couple moose while on a walk

The boys enjoyed playing on this ice until one of them fell (you will have to wait until the next Video 365 to see that ;)

I think it is so cute that Henry joins in on the preschool activities

God job Mason

Henry is getting good at his puzzles

Mason is putting Kim's new exercise bands to good use

Kim made this colored salt to help Mason learn his letters. Looks like it was hijacked by his older siblings

On Saturday we decided to drive out to North Spokane to get some Chick-fil-A. It was a 45 minute drive and a 50 minute wait for food. We read about people waiting for up to three hours when it first opened a month ago so our wait time wasn't too bad. They had a good system and kept things moving quickly.

50 minutes later and we could barely wait to find a place to park and eat

Was it worth the wait? Yes!

Henry drank most of our frozen lemonade because every time he got it in his hands he had a death grip on it and wouldn't give it back

Here is a little video of our trip

I am not sure what was happening here but Kim was getting some love from the boys

Then Lyza joined in on the action

Take care!

Happy New Year and So Long 2020

 This huge coloring activity from Grandma was a big hit

We've been playing a lot of games since Christmas

Including Mouse Trap

Chess

Don't Drop Chase

Azul

Nixon has also been working hard at all of his new puzzles

Henry (and all the kids) have been enjoying the new cars and tracks

Lyza (and Nixon) has been reading up a storm with all of her new books

We have played in the snow making huge snow balls

One of the joyful parts of the new year is boxing up all of the Christmas decorations

And putting them all back in the crawl space

I got Nixon's drone stuck in a silly spot, which meant having to get the big ladder out

And the kids got turns climbing as high as they felt comfortable

Here is a little video of Henry having fun spinning

What can I say about 2020? It was unique. It was full of firsts. It was full of disappointment. It was almost completely devoid of extended family. It was full of illness (who gets pertussis and shingles in the same year?). It gave us a lot of time together in our home. We did activities in our home that we have never done before like church and school. It put another hat on Kim: homeschooler. I learned to work from home. We took part in the fulfillment of prophecy: In 1987 Wesley from The Princess Bride was asked "Why are you wearing a mask? Were you burned by acid or something like that?" He answered that not only are masks "terribly comfortable," which they clearly aren't, and he also said "I think everyone will be wearing [masks] in the future." He was right.

As I look back on 2020 and forward with hope to 2021 I am very thankful for the practice that Kim and I started six years ago of capturing at least one little video each day to later stitch together and help us remember the year. I remember it was such a chore to take a video every day when we first started. I remember it was technically difficult to shorten the videos that were long and compile them all together at the end. But as I recall the countless hours we have watched that first video and the videos that have followed I am thankful for the memories we have preserved. Our 2020 video is no different. It doesn't showcase the disappointment. It doesn't showcase the fear, illness, or isolation. It highlights the time we spent together, the smiles, the birthdays, the laughs, the spills, the growth, and the good. While it does capture certain unique aspects of 2020, it, like the five videos before it, helps us remember how blessed we are to have each other and the many blessings we enjoy.

2020 was a good year, at least that is the way we choose to remember it.

Enjoy

Happy New Year!