We are still trying to keep busy inside…not making much progress towards our goal of 1000 hours outside. I think we will get caught up in the spring and summer. I think I want to start keeping track of our time outside (very casually) to see if we actually make the goal of 1000 hours. But with a high of about 4 degrees today we just aren’t that brave.

Cannon has been really enjoying sitting in the heated front seat while waiting to go into school.

It’s crazy to think that one day he will get to ride up here and then I will be riding in the passenger seat while he drives (cue tears).

I bet you can’t guess Emmy’s favorite color….always swimming in pink.

While Cannon was at school Emmy and I played trains.

Later My mom dropped off home made coloring sheets for the kids. They love them so much and it’s so sweet of my mom to make them for each holiday. She is SO talented!

For dinner I made some skillet lasagna for the first time:

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/skillet-summer-vegetable-lasagna/

Recipe suggestion from Hungry Runner Girl.

After a 4:30 AM wake up I enjoyed a progression run on our treadmill before taking the Cannon to school. I am seriously missing walking the kids to school but it’s just been too cold to have them out that long.

Emmy and I have been passing our time, playing, reading and cuddling.

A friend gave Emmy some ballet hand-me-downs and I can’t wait for her to get to take lessons.

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It was a teaching night so we had clam chowder and Cory took over kid duty.

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Here are some Friday Favorites:

We are really loving these chairs from Create & Kids and These Lunch Bento Boxes

The kids have been loving this water mat.

These insulated mugs are great for our coffee and hot chocolate while camping.

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My brother got the kids THIS set of Lincoln Logs for Christmas. It has been so fun playing with them since we had them as kids and they love them too.

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Any favorites this week?

What is your temperature limit for being outside with your kids? Last year my limit was 15 degrees because the kids would stay closed in the stroller. This year they are always wanting to get out so we haven’t been walking unless it’s in the mid 20s.

It was another snowy cold day here in Colorado, treadmill and indoor activities for us.

Emmy was happy to enjoy time with Cannon since he didn’t have school today.

In the afternoon we had Cannon’s parent teacher conference over zoom. I miss last year when we got to go in, see his classroom and his work hanging up on the walls but I am thankful for technology and getting to talk to Cannon’s teacher.

I had a PT appointment to continue to work through my knee injury. The process feels slow but I think we are making progress.

This tweet is old but I am trying to take inspiration of Des Linden and focuss on the process.

Cory and the kids came with me to my appointment and played at a playground while I saw my PT. They had the best time even though it was very cold. We were trying to think of plans for the weekend and checked the weather.

On Sunday we are forecasted to have a low of negative 13 degrees!?! That is the lowest I have ever seen for our area. We have been trying to get out more in all weather but I think that is way too far for me.

We finished the day with the best dinner.

Cory made crab cakes and the were amazing! Emmy also loved them…Cannon was not a fan so he ate a hot dog instead.

Cannon has also been really into taking pictures lately so he asked to take a picture of story time.

I got him and Emmy cameras for Valentine’s Day, they are going to be so excited.

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Do you enjoy the process?

Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day?

I started my day with a 4:30 AM wake up and a good hour on the treadmill. It always feels good to get it done before the rest of the family wakes up!

We finished up Cannon’s valentines for his classmates, he can’t give out any food items and we had to send them in early so they can quarantine. I am just excited that he gets to have a party with his friends.

Right before it was time to leave for school snow started to come down.

There was a 1% chance of snow today.

1% chance…….

Also please note the -1 degrees on Friday….we have been trying to be outside a lot and adventuring but this blast of cold has us mostly inside and we are feeling it. Really looking forward to spring!

I drove Cannon to school since it was too cold to walk and while we were waiting in the parking lot he enjoyed the heated front seats.

While Cannon was at school Emmy and I put dinner in the crock pot.

Then we did some YouTube ballet. I think Emmy is going to really like dance.

The rest of the day was hanging out, cleaning up and teaching for me.

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What has your winter been like?

While we were camping in Colorado Springs we decided to spend the day at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

The kids were stoked to feed the Giraffes!

It was pretty great.

We had to reserve tickets ahead of time, they had limited admissions and wear masks while visiting. We felt safe and like we had lots of room to social distance.

I love this little zoo so much, it is nicely themed, and has great conservation messaging and funding.

The zoo is built into the side of the mountain which makes for very interesting exhibits.

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So many great animal encounters.

I loved the new African shores exhibit.

We rode the Sky Ride to the top of the mountain.

The ride is an old ski lift so that was exciting for the kids. You get amazing views both up and down the mountain and into the exhibits from above.

We had a wonderful time and it’s definitely worth a visit if you are in the Denver/Colorado Springs area!

We had the BEST weekend camping for the first time in our tiny camper (Kermit).

We bought Kermit back at the end of October and haven’t had a chance to take it out until now. For camper people Kermit is a 2018 R-pod 171, basically the smallest camper R-Pod makes. We love it because we wanted something light and small that would do well boondocking and traveling on dirt roads. Kermit has an ‘off road’ package so we can take it back to off grid sites.

For a winter trip we wanted to stay out of the mountains and somewhere not too far from home because it was our first trip and we weren’t sure how everything would work. We settled on Cheyenne Mountain State Park because it was just two hours from home and was just outside of Colorado Springs. The campground is beautiful with fantastic views of both the city and mountains.

The sites have full hook-ups but we decided to just dry camp, we didn’t want to have to winterize Kermit again so we just brought water with us and used the campground facilities. We did use the electricity for heating and other utilities.

We really love the layout and functionality of our tiny trailer, we had a different trailer that we took with us to Yellowstone in the fall that had a bunkhouse but it didn’t really work for us so we sold it and this one is a much better fit. We all think it’s very cozy!

Because it was cold out we ate inside but hopefully in the summer we will be spending most of our time outside. Emmy hasn’t been into sleeping outside (yet) but Cannon is looking forward to sleeping in a tent this summer.

The park has amazing trails that run throughout the park and campground. We went hiking everyday that we were there.

We didn’t know ahead of time but there was an ultra being held while we were there! Human Potential was holding the Stories Ultra there was a 6, 15 and 30 hour race going.

It was fun cheering for the runners all weekend. We could see them running with headlamps and going all day and night! One runner mentioned that he is training for the Barkley Marathons, these people are amazing.

Sunrise magic! The entrance to NORAD is right up the mountain from the campground, the area is very interesting!

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed winter camping. We specifically stayed away from snow and went on a very mild weekend so that helped a lot. I can’t wait for summer and all the camping we will do!

Don’t worry the kids were just hanging out while we got the trailer hooked up, they ride in the back in car seats 😉

We came home Sunday afternoon with plenty of time to watch the Super Bowl.

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Have you ever been camping in the winter?

Do you own a camper or would you like to?

Did you watch the big game?

• 3 hikes
• 1 trip to the zoo
• 1 local pizza
• 1 ultra marathon to cheer for
• 1 million stars viewed
• Lots of dirt played in
• endless cuddles

we didn’t want it to end, we loved our first trip in our trailer and first time winter camping. Details of the trip up tomorrow.

We are off for a weekend of “camping”, it’s still hard for me to call it camping if we are sleeping in our camper.

we are looking forward to lots of time outside and exploring Colorado Springs.

I hope you are enjoying some family time this weekend!

I started following Emily back when she had a blog and was training for Ironman Lake Placid and lived in DC. I was training for an Ironman myself at the time, that feels like 100 years ago.

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One of my favorite training days before Ironman Lake Tahoe.

Emily wrote a beautiful piece for Runners World about her grief and running.

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a35281919/memories-of-my-mom-keep-me-moving-through-grief/

Emily also set the FKT for the Oregon section of the PCT .

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Who inspires you? Any great follows lately?

We had a very typical day, Cannon didn’t have school so we met some friends at a playground.

It was in the 60s today and it felt like spring. Things could go two ways for us, it could continue to be very mild and we will have a lot of fires and a hot dry summer. Or we could be hit by a cold snowy spring, we will just have to wait and see.

The weather this weekend is looking pretty mild so we have decided to go winter camping. I have never camped in the winter before so this should be interesting.

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Something that has come up a lot recently is motivation with running. There is so much uncertainty with races and it can be hard without support, child care, gym access or normal routine.

I found this article interesting:

https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a32436112/how-to-handle-lack-of-motivation-coronavirus/

What are your best tips for staying motivated?