Despite forgetting to leave out carrots, the Easter Bunny was gracious enough to pay us a visit anyway, and left behind chocolates, toys, movies, and baskets full of happiness.

That’s what you call classy, thoughtful, and selfless… spreading goodness to others without needing to chase a dangled carrot.

The world needs more Easter Bunnies.

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” – Jamie Anderson

We miss you, Papa Murphy….

On March 19, 2021, almost one year after Papa died, Mom walked away from her 17-year career at UW-La Crosse to bet on herself.

We’re excited to watch mom be her own boss and work from home on a regular basis, as she jumps into the world of self-employment and entrepreneurship! Mom says Papa (and Nana) would be cheering her on as she chose family and freedom, because as Brittney Packnett Buckingham says, it’s time to “build a dream life instead of a dream job. Ain’t no way [our] ancestors only wanted [us] to dream of labor. Ain’t no way.”

Winter 2020-2021: It was fun while it lasted.

Mom appreciates a good winter… while sipping melty hot chocolate, next to an indoor fireplace.

So, when she agrees to go sledding, you swiftly grab the toboggan in a race against the competition: 1) Mom’s shivers that attempt to lure her back inside our warm, cozy house, and 2) Mom’s safety-first mentality that paints a scary picture of every worst case scenario.

We won the race, and mom seemed to enjoy the ride, probably because, despite speeding down a hill, life is less of a blur when we’re holding each other tight.

On January 26th, Genesee turned 3^1/2. We celebrated this joyous occasion by completely forgetting about it and doing nothing. But even though my growing sister had no half birthday cake to show for it, we figured this milestone was still worthy of a blog post.

At three and a half, Genesee has bloomed into the mature fun sister I’ve been waiting for…. she farts every time she goes potty and she loves to let her butt drop into the toilet bowl for a quick bath.

When she’s not talking to you with her eyes, she insists on proclaiming, “I TOLD YOU SO,” even though it makes absolutely no sense, like when I’m simply minding my own business, enjoying my cheerios.

These days, my sister refuses to wear dresses, but has great appreciation for the mis-matched sock fad. So, if you don’t attempt to make her look cute and if you promise to take her to McDonald’s for “Chicken McNuggets, a strawberry shake, and a napkin,” she may consider you a candidate for best friend. But be warned, she sometimes thinks she’s a dog, so it would be helpful if you’re fluent in barks, like she is. And when she says, “uppy-uppy-uppy” with her arms pointing toward the sky, that’s her desperate plea to be picked up and consoled, but I find it more satisfying to just tickle her armpits.

Nobody quite does three and a half like my sister does, but that’s why we love her so much.

Cheers (and fears) to the countdown to four!

Here’s a brrrrrilliant idea to beat the winter blues: Let’s invite Wyatt over to play in the fresh snow with us!

Problem solved: I no longer feel the winter blues.

New problem discovered: I no longer feel my face either. Or my fingers and toes.

Let’s finish this snow party inside?

I don’t really understand what was going on, but mom said the January 6th insurrection at the capital was a scary and dark moment for our country, which will likely be chronicled in my future history books. And even though violence, racism, and white supremacy were on full display as Trump refused to allow for the peaceful transfer of power, mom says, depending on who writes the story, the attempted coup runs the risk of becoming whitewashed or downplayed.

I guess it’s true what they say: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” (Jimi Hendrix)

Since New Year’s Eve 2020 was our last happy and healthy memory with Papa Florence, we were determined to make big plans for the 2021 new year to avoid sulking in sadness. So…. road trip to Florida!

We packed up our camper and left Wisconsin the day after Christmas and cruised all the way to Kentucky to find a Jellystone campground to sleep at. Then, we woke up and toured Mammoth Cave National Park before driving through the Great Smoky Mountains until we reached our final destination: Ocean Grove RV Resort in St. Augustine, Florida.

Once we arrived at the resort, we met up with Colin’s family and Cha Cha & Ernest…. the perfect combination for a party! We ate, swam, biked, ate some more, toured the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S., watched movies, walked along the ocean, and toasted with mimosas to celebrate our super duper fun getaway vacation!

Before making the trip back to winter, we visited Chelsee & Ernest’s lovely home in Gainesville. As we neared the eve of the new year, nothing made us feel closer to Papa than being reunited with his golf cart and puppy dogs! Cha Cha & E even took us to a holiday light show and one of the featured songs was Hallelujah!! It was a special sign from Papa that he is still with us, and a cue for me to start ugly sobbing.

We loved every minute of watching the bat release, enjoying a Satchel’s pizza dinner, touring the boardwalk for alligators, fishing for bass, biking through the trails of the Sunshine State, and ringing in 2021 with great hopes for a better year ahead!

Thanks for the hospitality and reprieve from our winter doldrums, Cha Cha, Ernest and Florida. Maybe we should make this a tradition?!

It’s not officially Christmas until we’ve visited the Rotary Lights – the event that warms up even the coldest of nights!

I was bummed that COVID ruined my yearly tradition of visiting Santa there, but was pleasantly surprised to see him and Mrs. Clauss hanging out in the Duluth Trading Company storefront! Crisis averted.

Christmas in quarantine was much lonelier than we would have liked….

…but it still, somehow, felt magical.