I had a lot of fun playing ping-pong with both Sebastian and Paige. They’re both quite formidable, and we were all pretty evenly matched.
Liz decided to get in on the phone, and played a few rounds with Paige in the garage.
Brandon set up a slack line (and is something to behold, watching him run and leap onto the thing).
A big event that many of us were looking forward to this weekend: Tricia, visiting with the kids. It’s been ages since Liz and I have seen Paige, Audrey, and Sebastian… and it was a mini-reunion of sorts when they all arrived.
It was a tough decision for us, but Liz and I decided to visit Valparaiso for a brief Christmas evening with Bob and Julie.
Despite it being all video and a little laggy… it still felt nice to once again hang out. Something we really haven’t done in a long while. We got to talking and joking towards the end, and it felt a bit more “normal.” Or as normal can feel, done entirely via video.
On arriving, Liz put up the note.
After talking with Julie a few minutes on the phone, I was given the signal to knock on the front door.
All of us began working and hanging out in the dining room together, with Bob focusing on the duct work and Liz and I continuing to drywall. Despite the cramped space, we managed to navigate around one another pretty well.
Towards sunset, there were a few spots in the pool that got lit up. Made me wonder how often people tried to get into the pool, when these things are lit. Despite all warnings and safeguards, I just assume people still do it (and still get burnt).
Despite a late night ringing in the new year watching fireworks on the beach, a group of us woke up early (6:00 AM) to drive about 2+ hours for a rainforest hike at Sensoria.
On the drive to dinner, we encountered a few cows wandering the road. This happened more than once, during the length of our stay. Brandon and Lauren had been warned about “vacas negras” as something to keep an eye out for, while driving at night.
Today and tomorrow are a bit weird, in that I’m staying out in Valparaiso, IN but commuting in to Chicago. I rode in with Bob early in the AM (he came in to work on our place while I was at work), but took the South Shore line back out to Valpo at the end of the day.
Bob got involved in the Facetime chat, asking Audrey some questions as she tried out the “lie detector machine” we got her as a gift. Apparently, it dings when you tell the truth but shocks you if you lie.
Post-dinner, we played a few rounds of Secret Hitler, which Katie had brought over. Last year, we played Ticket to Ride, and this year we brought over Azul.
For Julie’s birthday, Liz arranged for a day of various activities in Chicago. Starting around 2:00 PM, we hit up a few different locations in the area for Open House Chicago.
On our way back, we got a note that several other family members were going to check out the Balloons over Marine Festival. So we re-routed, found a decent parking spot, and gathered at the edge of the park.