Benziger babes

There was no doubt that Duluth would have a white Christmas 2019 as Duluth's first snowfall is often in October. With over 33 inches of white fluffy snow since then, a white Christmas was practically a guarantee. However, spending Christmas week in Chicago was quite different. We flew down on Dec. 20th to spend time with the Benziger family and immediately noticed the grass was green, lakes and rivers were not frozen, and the daily highs were in the 50s! This refreshing "heat wave" was a welcome change from the sub-freezing temps in Duluth. We went to see the sold-out Chicago Botanic Garden's new holiday light display, Lightscape . The one-mile trail wound through various parts of the park and had innovative displays that were beautifully choreographed to holiday music. The next day, we enjoyed a day in downtown where the kids saw Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman Theater for the first time. Theo was quite scared of the ghosts and Mar...

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! We LOVE the North Shore! I'm sure we aren't the only ones who had the COVID-19 pandemic change their plans. As of today, we are approaching 25 million cases worldwide with nearly 840,000 deaths in less than 1 year. The U.S. sadly takes home the gold medal for both the total case count and deaths with over 182,000 and counting. Masks are mandated in nearly every state due to continued spread of the virus yet most businesses have reopened, including bars and restaurants. Most schools are online this fall and chromebook laptops are this year's Tickle Me Elmo and are sold out and impossible to find. Most local colleges and the Duluth middle and high schools are online with elementary schools attempting a "hybrid" model.  Theo's school was canceled starting March 18 (Seth homeschooled him and Marit for over 70 days). All of Theo's summer camps that we meticulous planned and registered for were canceled (Great Lakes Aqu...