Here we are, still online learning and teaching. We are all healthy and trying our hardest to stay positive. While Scott and I have only left the house to go to the store or post office, we just realized that aside from outdoor activity, our children have not left home. They are grieving the loss of end of year activities and events like the musical, prom and awards nights. Sam learned yesterday that graduation has been canceled. The school is hoping for a virtual version but losing this rite of passage was a tough pill to swallow. Now he is looking forward to college! Here are a few pictures in the daily life with four quaranteens and an antsy husband 🙂

One more fun family activity that got 6 thumbs up over here…

Pictionary

I brought home white boards from school and we downloaded the game on my phone. Lots of laughs and yelling!

Just so you don’t think we are always sitting around hugging and singing songs, sometimes our day end like this….

Margaritas for mom and dad.

Happy Friday!

It is not super easy keeping a 15, 16 and 18 year old in the house all day every day. They get bored and want to see their friends. I get it…I want to see my friends too;) Today we slept in, had Chimayo for lunch (supporting those small businesses) and then went for a walk around the hood. This evening the kids had a video call with their youth group and then we made a fire and roasted s’mores. It was a gorgeous evening to hang out around the fire. I am missing those warmish summer nights. Anyway, we made it another day.

Good night 💤

I think it’s day 6 of social distancing and we are still all in good spirits over here. Just trying to do our part, stay positive and enjoy our time together. We ordered books a couple days ago and they arrived today. Everybody was excited about their book and found a quiet place in the house. I love seeing my teenagers put down their phones and read. Last night we baked and decorated sugar cookies. Today, Scott, Mason, Paige and I went out for a long XC ski on the peninsula. We did see a couple people but kept our distance. It was a gorgeous snowy day. Getting outside is keeping us sane right now!

We are definitely thinking and praying about the families and people in our community who may be struggling without a job or steady income. We are also thinking about those in our county who are affected by this virus. Just doing our part so that we can go back to life as we know it…

Jennifer

Well, we are already 3 months into 2020 and it’s taken an interesting turn to say the least. A pandemic has spread throughout the world and our country. Our little mountain community is shut down and we are socially distancing ourselves from others. We have been dismissed from school which means the kids are learning online and I am teaching online. We are a pretty tight knit family but after only a few days into this “quarantine” we are already a bit stir crazy. I am trying to find some fun activities that keep teenagers busy and entertained. Here are a few ideas.

Game night

Thank goodness we received a couple fun games for Christmas! This was the time to break them out.

Movie night

We have had a couple of movie nights. Scott and I are having fun showing the kids some classics from the 80’s and 90’s.

Get outside

We’ve taken time to run, ride bikes and hike. Alice even dug our the trampoline! Fresh air can do wonders for a bad case of “stir crazy”. Thank goodness for nice weather!

Painting party

Tonight we broke out the paints and made some beautiful pieces of art. Everybody grumbled at this idea but once we got started it was a hit. We took turns picking music and talked about what we might want to paint next time.

Stay tuned for more updates on this crazy time. If you are reading this you are probably social distancing as well. Good luck!

Jen

While it’s always fun to look ahead to the new year, I always really enjoy reflecting on the past year and all the fun it held. Man, 2019 did not disappoint. Of course, there are always ups and downs, but we sure did have a ton of fun.

One big bummer was that my good camera broke right around the first of the year so all my pics will be from my phone. I made due but I missed taking “real” pictures:)

Here are a few favorites from each month of 2019.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Here’s to another exciting year for the Wescotts. We are looking forward to graduation, college, more running, musicals and so much more!

Happy New Year!

Jennifer

Every (well, almost every) year we hike out into the woods and find our Christmas tree.  I think that we counted 4 or 5 holidays that we did buy a tree on a farm or elsewhere.  Mostly we love to go out and run around the woods, arguing about which tree might be the one.  While our Whole Foods tree was probably the prettiest, the trees that we pick out of the woods always have the most character and hold the best memories.  This morning, we braved the cold and extreme wind and snow to find our 2019 Christmas tree.

I don’t often post about myself but I have to give a little shout out to my running girls. These woman and I have been running together on and off for 5+ years. I have taken some time off from the early mornings but we do occasionally brave the early morning cold and snow. We mostly run at 5:30 am and pretend to keep each other safe from wild animals that we imagine hiding in the trees. Over the years we have become great friends. One of our girls is moving to Hawaii so we had a going away run for her last week. It was exactly what I needed! We wore leis and laughed the whole three miles.

Sam’s pictures were taken by the amazing Andrea at www.andreastarkphoto.com.  She was so good to get these shots in a nasty rain drizzle.  It’s hard to believe that my little guy is a senior in high school.  We are now working on college applications.  When will this life slow down a bit?

The summer trail series ended tonight with the last race. Alice and Sam both ran and raced really well. This series overlaps with their high school XC season so they are doing double right now. It was so fun to see them run. I am always unbelievably proud of them no matter what.

***Paige usually runs but was sore from practice this morning. Proud of her too:) And mason too but he hates running;)

Having teenagers is so much fun!

As we approach the end of summer I start to think about all the fun we had and the great memories made. Tomorrow I go back to school and the kids go back next week. It’s time. They get antsy and bored and I get tired of extra dishes in the sink and dirty socks stuffed everywhere.

This is Sam’s last summer as a high schooler and that is giving me all the feels. He’s officially a senior! It’s been so fast but so amazing. Looking forward to all the “lasts” with him and tying to slow every day down and just savor it.

Happy end of summer vacation peeps. It’s been real fun. Here are a few shots that had to be posted;)

Just be clear….the summer weather is not ending…just the vacation!

Senior pictures, camping, backyard silliness, riding, running, racing, friends, family, vacations and just being together adds up to a whole lot of fun 😀