The Hazard Chronicles

This last week was not what we had planned. Originally, Rachel and the kids were going to be out all week, visiting family in Utah and maybe doing some skiing. I was planning a lot of skiing here, including a trip to Canada with a friend to check out a new place that neither of us had been to before. They were good plans.

Change of plans. First, most of the kids are still sick with this stupid cough that has lasted for like a month in our family. Addy, out of sheer boredom, wrote a sonnet:

There was once a family of seven

Who were active and did lots of fun things

But one day when the clock struck eleven

Disaster struck for all these human beings

Bad coughs, stuffed noses, and heavy fatigue

One by one, every kid suffered and cried

The parents saw this was out of their league

As the kids felt as if they slowly died

Worried, the parents tried to stay healthy

As the sickness dragged from one week to three

Medications don't work, sickness is stealthy

They know what was wrong, but the doctor's fee

In the end, pneumonia won the battle

As the doctor was called, children's lungs rattled

So, yes. We went to the doctor. That didn't help at all. They just told us to keep doing what we were doing: Manage symptoms to the best of our ability and it would eventually pass. So here we were- sick kids, sitting in the purgatory of winter with nothing to do. Maren even drew a few self portraits:

We all made a feeble attempt to ski:

Addy is the one who has been least affected on all this. Also this picture reminds me of the conversation that accompanies it:
Me: Addy, what are you eating
Addy: Microplastics!

The ski days, for many people, meant hanging out in Wallace, playing games, and watching movies. We did have a really fun time night-skiing on New Year's Eve with those who were healthy enough to go.

We also did things at home:

But overall, it hasn't been the vacation we had planned. As for me an Rach- we are still healthy and active. I skied five of the last eight days (though I never made it up to Canada), and Rach took on the huge task of interpreting the Broadway tour of Beetlejuice with no more than one week of prep time. That is a tall order, and one that she pulled off with poise and professionalism. Rach and I also went to a concert in Spokane where Josh (Evelyn's boyfriend) was in two of the opening bands and we discovered one of my new favorite music venues. 

The kids are all back in school now, and feeling a lot better, though not quite a hundred percent yet. It is nice to be back in a routine though.

The four of us went to a preview of the show. On the day that Rach interpreted, I went again and brought Lindsey with me. Rach did great, but I also had a fun time going out to lunch with Lindsey, and then going to the bookstore and reading with her. It was a fun little daddy-daughter date thing.

And that's us. Happy new year!