I have been really trying to love winter this year, but it’s still January and I am already starting to fail. I have been dreaming of dinners in the back yard, play dates at the playground, dry trails to run on, etc. It didn’t help that today was gloomy and I definitely haven’t been outside enough lately.

We had some fun with letter bingo, Emmy is doing so well with her letters and sounds that she has been asking to start reading.

We started her out on some BoB books and she is loving it.

She also bashed into the doorway this morning and gave herself a nice line of a bruise on her cheek. After lunch we decided we needed some time outside even though it was really cold out.

Outside time always makes things better.

When Cory got home we played a game (ticket to ride for kids) which was fun but a little challenging for the kids. We had clam chowder and sourdough for dinner before bed time.

How are you handling winter? Naturally love it? Any tips for thriving?

Lately I have been reminded how important PT and recovery are, so I thought I would share some of my favorites here:

At first when I started PT I felt like rolling everyday really made the most difference. I love this lolë foam roller we also have the “The Stick” roller and Trigger Points Grid Roller and I use all of them.

I have been using this set of resistance bands for many exercises and a weight set from we got from Costco years ago THIS set is similar. Our Bosu ball is very old but still work great, I love this training tool.

And lastly an old throw pillow that I stand on for some exercises to create instability.

HERE are some of my recovery favorites for anyone out there running lots of miles training for those spring half and full marathons.

What are some of your favorite recovery tools?

Other than recovery we had a normal Tuesday including school, games and treadmill runs.

And Emmy had gymnastics in the evening.

Emmy has been loving gymnastics more than any other activity she has done.

After my “long run” yesterday starting the day off with yoga felt extra good.

It was twice as fun because it was My Little Pony themed and the kids joined me.

We spent our morning doing the normal school stuff so after lunch I wanted to get outside and do something fun.

We have not been to the sledding hill since our last big snow so it was overdue for a visit! The snow was really fast and fun! We love these sleds we got at Costco, they have lasted us years. I also want to get a snow-tube.

In the afternoon we went to our neighborhood lodge for ballet and basketball. This was Emmy’s fits time ever taking a dance class.

She listened and did well but I am not sure it’s going to be her true love for life. She says she wants to go back next week so that is a positive. While Emmy was dancing (all the little are SOOOOO cute doing ballet) Cannon practiced basketball and is doing so well.

We came home for fish tacos with mango, the kids approved. Although it had me wishing for summer, warm nights and eating outside. Trying so hard to love winter but summer will always win.

It is very hard to choose my top five places in the United States to visit, but I love reading these and thought I would share mine.

1. Cannon Beach – Oregon

Cannon Beach gets top marks for me because it’s been a favorite for my entire life. It’s mountains and rainforest and waterfalls, and rocky shore and sandy beaches.

The quaint little town will make you want to stay forever. The tide pools and puffin sightings put it over the top as my number one pick.

2. Moab – Utah

I have lost count how many times we have visited Moab now and it’s magic every time. I love the dramatic red rocks, canyons and desert splendor. We also love that Moab still feels small and authentic. Just minutes from town you can find Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park.

3. Lake Tahoe – California

Lake Tahoe is the most beautiful lake I have ever swam in. The water is so clear and cold, the blue of the lake is stunning next to the green pine trees and towering mountains. We have only ever been in the summer but I am dying to go back and ski in the winter.

4. Telluride – Colorado

I love our home state of Colorado and it is a hard choice but Telluride rises to the top for my favorite Colorado town. The hiking is insane, the town is a cute victorian mining town. The town is very dog friendly which gives it extra credit for me. Leadville, Aspen, Breckenridge and Vail also get top marks.

5. Yellowstone – Wyoming

Yellowstone is so iconic so I had high expectations when we visited for the first time in 2020. Even with high expectations and covid restrictions at the time the place blew my expectations out of the water. The colors and sights were amazing, I can’t wait to go back soon.

I acknowledge that my top 5 list is biased to the west coast, partly because that is where we live but also because of what we enjoy doing. Also these places are mostly nature/adventure based. We like visiting a city for a bit but nature has our hearts.

Please share your favorite US destinations!

Just a little snapshot from our Sunday:

I did my “long run” on the treadmill and ate some of my kids’ fruit snacks. It might be time to stock up on real sports nutrition. Cory wanted to get his run in before Sunday so he got on the treadmill at 1am, I just can’t understand how he can do that.

I watched this documentary on the Hardrock Endurance Run. I love this area of Colorado and now I feel like I need to plan a trip to volunteer at Hardrock this July.

We made the kids’ love baskets.

In the afternoon we went to a friends house for games and dinner. I think I forgot how much I love playing games and now I want to buy them all.

Some new favorites our friends introduced us to.

We made pitchers of this blackberry vodka Mojitos to share and I really liked it!

As you know we love to hike, we are trying to balance our time between hiking and skiing. Since we skied the last two weekends we decided we needed to get in some time hiking this weekend.

We choose the Hessie Trail near Nederland because we Cory and I have snowshoed here in the past and loved it, we like Nederland a lot and we get to avoid ski traffic.

Before we had kids Cory and I liked to snowshoe a lot but I think it’s too cumbersome for little kids. Also unless you are in powder snowshoes aren’t needed. We knew that Hessie is really popular so the trail would be packed down. We did put some spikes on for any icy segments. We really like THESE for the kids and THESE for Cory and I.

The trail was not too crowded, beautiful, and definitely didn’t need snow shoes.

It was pretty cold so I was loving this two hat situation.

I am already dreaming of coming back in the summer with kiddos.

On our way home we stopped off in Nederland at our favorite coffee shop.

Salto has the best coffee and a really nice vibe.

I got a rose latte, Cory got a Orange Cardamom cappuccino and the kids shared a lemon loaf.

Do you like to hike? Just a summer hiker or all year?

It was a pretty normal week but even so we are all pretty excited.

Cannon was excited to finally be back at school drop off.

Emerald was pretty excited to have her brother home and out in the snow playing.

I am really excited about Des and Kara’s new podcast. Also excited to Read Lauren’s book Good For a Girl and Kara’s book The Longest Race.

Cory’s is excited that it’s Friday and the weekend is almost here.

Please tell me something you are excited about.

We didn’t get the crazy amount of snow overnight like predicted but we did get somewhere between 6-8 inches. So it was a treadmill day for me.

We set up our Valentine’s sensory bin, Emmy really liked helping me set it up, usually I put it together while they are asleep.

We also put up some window clings in our classroom to keep things cheery.

After shoveling and playing in the snow for a bit it was time for school. When asked if they want to do school the kids always say yes, and I love that.

I love the spider Emmy drew on her tablet.

Then we had some friends over to play in the afternoon, our district had a snow day so it was fun to hang out on what is normally a school day.

We ended the night with some Wii snow boarding. Emmy really wants to learn to snow board so this was a fun alternative. I also can’t believe our Wii from 2006 still works.

We are excited to ease into love season. Not that we shouldn’t celebrate love everyday but Valentines makes it extra fun.

We dug out the kids’ mail boxes, I like to put little love notes inside for them.

We enjoyed some time playing at the indoor playground before school drop off. It was nice and quiet when we were there. When I went back at noon to pick up Emmy from school another parent described the playground as looking like an anthill because there were so many little children crawling everywhere.

We spent some time grocery shopping and preparing for our snow storm. I am not sure how much snow we will actually get but it’s good to be prepared.

One thing we do to prepare is spend some time outside on scooters since the sidewalks will be snowy/icy for at least a few days. We love the kids’ Nutcase helmets, on cold days we just have them wear their ski balaclava under their helmet. Their down jackets from LL Bean have also been amazing, very packable, warm, and flexible.

We grabbed some valentines for Cannon’s class because he loved them.

Then it was time for Emmy’s gymnastics. She is loving it so much and seems like something she might like to continue. Then home for a quick dinner and bed time.

It may not seem like much but these really are the good old days.

We hope you enjoyed your Martin Luther King Junior Day. We are trying to instill some of Martin Luther King Jr.’s teaching to our children.

We read a few books and talked about his teachings.

I really like this Sesame Street video about MLK day and why we celebrate. It’s easy for little ones to understand and not too long.

We spent our morning at a playground with some friends that we hadn’t seen in forever. It was nice to be out because we are expecting lots of snow and much colder temperatures this week.

In the afternoon we went for a walk to check out our ponds. We started doing a “pond walk” in the summer to make observations about how it changed through the seasons. While we are still loving winter the pond is much more interesting in the summer/fall.

We are looking forward to all the plants and animals waking up for the spring.

Can’t wait to see the frogs and fish come back!

Sour patch hearts fueled our adventure.

Summer pond walks are my favorite, but it’s so interesting to see close up how different things are during each season.

How did you celebrate MLK Jr. Day?

Do you love winter? I have come along way, but still working on loving it.