Okay, so maybe Dad took a little siesta in the middle of the day?… but he was a trooper putting up with all of our silly reindeer games!!!

This past weekend we did a little “celebrating” of my niece
Taylor’s “Sweet 16” birthday… her second Covid birthday!

While we stayed safe in our family bubble, we also tried the new “pandemic trend” of cutting & eating cake with wine glasses! Pretty fun, a little messy and a LOT of yummy chocolate frosting! We all liked it… except maybe my Dad who I think prefers the old-fashioned slice of cake on a plate!

It would have been my Mom’s 81st birthday…
and to “celebrate” my Dad moved from his home in Elgin to a new place in Schaumburg. He’s very excited to be moving onto the next chapter of his life… and looking forward to getting back to the art fair circuit whenever they let us! Oh yeah… and you may have noticed he grew a “shelter-in-place” beard. For the record… I’ve NEVER seen him with facial hair before this pandemic. So much has changed over the past year.

With all of the art fairs cancelling for this summer…
I know many of you will miss supporting the artists, seeing their artwork, shopping, chatting & catching up… but I know the majority of you will miss seeing my Dad!!! Yes, he’s apparently the “star of the show”… not me, not my pots!

Well, he’s doing fine with his “shelter-in-place”… staying safe & bored like the rest of us. Plus, he has actually started growing out a fantastic quarantine beard! I’ve NEVER seen him with a beard ever!!! And he’s vowing to keep it going until the “shelter-in-place” order is lifted!!! I keep telling him I want weekly beard updates!!!

Celebrated Thanksgiving with my Dad today… my very first Thanksgiving at a restaurant!
It wasn’t what I’m used to, but we had a great meal & good conversation…
maybe the start of a new tradition? But sadly, no leftovers!

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I couldn’t narrow down my photos to only ten in the “Family” category in my Instagram Photo Challenge… so here’s another batch featuring my adorable niece Taylor!

And Taylor working her new fancy camera for her Instagram Photo Challenge!!!

A great day downtown… where we even ran into our friend longtime Tracy
who had just finished climbing the stairs at Sears Tower!!

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So much fun playing downtown with my Dad & niece Taylor for their first ever 5K race yesterday!!! And a fun Instagram Photo Challenge along the way during the HOT CHOCOLATE RUN!

It was a personal best for my Dad… who logged over 20,000 steps on his FitBit.
Of course I made him walk off the last 50 steps in the parking garage just to make the goal!

Yesterday was the HOT CHOCOLATE RUN through downtown Chicago!
So much fun spending the day with my Dad & niece Taylor who both completed their first ever 5K Race… okay, so we walked… but still, a 5K!!! Gotta start somewhere!!!

Special thanks to my Dad & niece Taylor who helped out all weekend in my art fair booth. So much easier, and so much more fun, having people there to help with chatting, restocking, selling, wrapping… and for eating all of the chocolate chip cookies… and for taking cool pictures like this one by Taylor!

Special THANKS to everyone who came out to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend. Especially to my Dad who made his “triumphant return” to the art fair circuit after the passing of my Mom last month. Not only did he help put in my booth, but my artist-friends also helped celebrate his 80th Birthday!!!