Limited Options

Even though things have been cancelled, closed and limited in many ways over the past couple of weeks while we have tried to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unprepared for some recent changes.

While we have always been able to count on our two little neighborhood parks while stuck at home over spring break,

this week we went from this:

to this:

Luckily we still have our backyard swing....

And we have been finding other things to do:

playing doctor with the masks Grandma made,

baking cupcakes

and perfecting our Finnish pulla braid,

losing more teeth (and arranging for Eric's second visit from the Tooth Fairy last night),

going for walks around the neighborhood,

and building scenes of destruction.

(Ben's models--good thing we stocked up on spray paint before the craft stores closed!)

Today is the last day of what would have been spring break, and the schools have promised some form of virtual learning starting this week, so we will see what that involves over the next little while.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll find lots of ways to keep busy!

Spring Break Begins

Well, unfortunately we started spring break with a real break--a broken window from the kids playing outside. Eric thought it would be fun to throw a rock at glass and see what happens--and he found out.

He also has some better news--he lost his first tooth and had his first visit from the Tooth Fairy. Another one is wiggly now, too!

Yesterday? Our walk along a nice, peaceful trail was cut short by Eric taking a step into the shallow water in his boots and sinking down in mud up to his knee.

I wonder what the next few weeks will hold, especially with our extended spring break....

March Birthdays

A few days before Janae turned 13 we were looking through old pictures, trying to find a baby picture of Alaina for her Grade 5 graduation.

I saw this adorable one of Janae on her third birthday--look at that smile! She looks so happy to be having a birthday :)

Then a few days later, this came up on Facebook: Janae's 8th birthday, when she wanted chocolate mousse instead of a cake.

This year, she wanted to go to a scary Escape Room with her friends from school, so I didn't get any pictures. Here she is doing a puzzle with Eric, though, just two days later.... How things have changed! I think she had a happy day, though--and we celebrated with an ice cream cake the day after her birthday, with Grandma and Grandpa as well.

Grandma and Grandpa brought Janae a cute cat puzzle, which she put together and then Alaina and Eric carried all around the living room--living dangerously!

Next, comes Jason. With his birthday on a Tuesday, we wanted to do something fun on the Saturday before. Originally, we'd planned on skiing, but with social distancing being encouraged these days, we opted for a hike in the woods instead.

We've had some beautiful weather this March! 

Eric and Janae kept us entertained, first with their complaining and then with their singing--the entire Hamilton soundtrack, followed by Frozen 2. We especially enjoyed their rendition of "Lost in the Woods." At least we never have to worry about any bears!

Jason worked on his birthday but came home to our jungle-themed decorations (also not photographed) and a chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate ice cream (he definitely likes his chocolate!). Luckily we did get a picture of that!

So, things were a little different this year, but I'm sure we'll all remember March 2020.

February Celebrations

This February we celebrated

Eric's hundredth day of kindergarten by sticking 100 macaroni noodles on a giant piece of paper,

Valentine's Day with our traditional heart-shaped pizzas (Eric had the job of pricking the dough with a fork, and he hid a treasure map on every crust!),

and Family Day by spending the weekend with Anita and her family.

Pretty good for such a short month :)