winter break

winter break has come and gone, and was long awaited and well planned and big and exciting, but also had a little bit of that same gloomy winter doldrom thing i've been feeling recently. the gloom has been a result of adjusting to working more hours and feeling some stress and managing a wild little 5 year old boy who is going through a phase that includes screaming at us and saying mean things and, oh..... anyway. i was super looking forward to a week off of work, with david and the kids. and it was really great. by the end of it, i felt relieved of my stress and gloom, and felt much better and well rested. james even got a bit nicer, and we all had a good christmas and lots of good fun together.

the break started with christmas and christmas visitors. the cousins stayed for an extra day, and even though james woke up with some puking, he was able to pull it together and have a very cheery and wonderful time riding around madison on the city bus.

ramona did some posing outside the capitol building,

and then we had some beers with family.

after saying goodbye to our dear cousins, we headed off to the blackhawk ski hill and hit some sweet jumps. it was adorable.

and, as with all things (including viruses), everything happens in its own time. what i mean by that is ramona got sick the next day, and was big-kid-sick. she laid around all day, face in a bucket, sleeping and whimpering. it was a long sad day for her. we had plans to see our dear friends who recently moved from madison to milwaukee, and cancelling those plans made our sick girl feel sad, too.

here she is, cuddled up on the sofa while james takes full advantage of the all-day sick-day screen time.


but the next day, she and david and james started to feel better with some laying around, cuddling, sipping noodles, and doing a puzzle.


ramona felt better enough to go to the state historical museum to see all the aluminum trees (which are from wisconsin).

james tried his hand at the super casual farmer look.

that same evening, we went to the zoo to see the lights. the smiles in this group photo suggest we were all having a good time. we kinda weren't, but you can't have all the fun all the time.

when health had returned to the whole staple family for long enough to seem safe in the non-contagious way, we packed up and drove to wausau to downhill ski and ride real chair lifts. our toes didn't stay warm for very long, and fortunately the low price half day tickets gave us just the right amount of time before we needed warm pizza and warm baths and warm hotel beds.

after departing wausau, we continued to drive north, where we joined our neighbor friends at a family cabin in the northwoods on the border of wisconsin and the u.p. it's insanely beautiful there. there was fresh snow on the ground, dense stands of quiet tall trees everywhere you looked, and a cozy cabin full of joy and food and laughter.

the northwoods roads


the crew, which is both a terrible photo and the only photo of (most) the adults in our group


these two make me happy


david, the kids, and some card games.


we did some sledding and cross country skiing on the first day,


and then the whole group did some downhill skiing at the indianhead resort. i haven't been there in over 12 years, but it is every bit as wonderful as i remember it.
here are david, ramona, and james, all lined up and ready to head down the big hill.


there is a tiny little ramona behind me, flying down this hill with joy and grace and control.

in the chalet, the adults took turns holding the baby, hanging out with the kids too tired to keep skiing, and keeping company with the kids who just did not want to ski. homemade pb&j, pretzels, and a round of cafeteria hot chocolates were all they needed. these kids. they are good good kids.

we've got good people, and they make all the difference. it was a happy winter break after all.