Field Trip!

We decided that our homeschool crew needed a field trip. We snuck off to Backbone State Park for a nice outing. We took a picnic, hiked around the lake and then the kids swam in the cold water! State Parks are currently open but all facilities (bathrooms, campgrounds, etc.) are closed. I took some toilet paper along and we all survived just fine. After leaving the State Park I wanted to go to Strawberry Point and get a photo with the strawberry. Everyone thought I was lame. It was a great outing and the weather was perfect!

Sacks of Crap

I feel like the "sacks of crap" are going to be something we remember from this crazy pandemic. Our schools are handing out free lunches Monday - Friday from 11 to 1 each day. We occasionally drive through and pick up some lunches. Each lunch comes in a sack and the lunches are pretty gross so we have lovingly (maybe not lovingly?) named them "sacks of crap." Basically the lunches just really help me out when I can't think of another meal to make and don't have the desire to clean the kitchen up after another meal. 

The kids have made the best out of their "sacks of crap" and sometimes set up picnics throughout the house. 

The pizza crackers were not well received. Yum-o!

Daily Coronavirus Task Force Briefing

It seems that some people prefer to not watch the news these days. I can understand that it raises fear and anxiety. I like to watch the news as I feel more in control when I have the knowledge of what is going on. I prefer to get my information first hand from news conferences rather than have news channels report the news back to me through their bias. I pretty regularly tune into the Daily Coronavisus Task Force Briefing. The task force is being led by Vice President Mike Pence. We also frequently hear from Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci, and President Trump. I can barely tolerate listening to President Trump, especially when he pretends to take questions from and then berates the media. He also is constantly trying to get himself out of his most current gaff and lies at a staggering rate. During the news conferences, I usually start muttering choice words under my breath and have no positive words for our President's behavior. 

The kids have totally called me out on my hypocrisy. I don't really tolerate them saying mean things about other kids. I always encourage them to reframe their statements and view situations from the other person's point of view. Well, Evy called me out. She said, "Mom, Trump is the only person you allow us to trash talk." Busted. 

Getaway

After everyone had been safely quarantined for 14 days we went to Keo for a quick visit and much-needed change of scenery. 

Papa has clearly been bored. He handmade several games, mazes, and other craziness. 

It was pretty warm and the creek was full of water so it didn't take too long for the kids to get into the creek and then that quickly escalated to tubing down the creek. 

It's clear the rest of my crew didn't grow up going on crazy adventures led by Papa Jake. Because this was a typical adventure but my family was not prepared. It involved walking along creek beds, trekking through thorn bushes, not knowing exactly where you were going and there were some tears, maybe even some swearing. Also, there was some blood. But we made it! What an adventure. Pretty sure Scott and the kids will never go on a hike led by Papa Jake again. 

"Gotta have a good walking stick."

The kids cannot get enough of driving the golf cart and the mower. 

Easter

Early morning Easter egg hunt in the backyard. 

Evy's Easter artwork

Grammy delivered orange rolls!

Grammy and Papa stopped by for a socially distanced visit. 

Days 24, 25 & 26

I’ve put about 25 hours into a volunteer project over the last 4 days so we’ve had a lot of multitasking going on at our house. Will is participating in his music class on zoom while I’m listening to a presentation on my laptop. 

Evy monitored the traps and came up with a prize! 

Craft project for Will’s school: planets. 

Bo getting spoiled on his birthday.

Our school district is giving out free lunches for all kids age 1-18 so we are occasionally taking advantage of the opportunity not to cook and clean. 

Vanilla ice cream treat for the birthday boy. 

The kids have started spending more time exploring the woods behind our house. Today they took me on their favorite path. 

Bo Turns 1

Bo was spoiled with an ice cream cup and lots of new bones on his birthday. 

The day after his birthday he got a day at the spa. 

Days 22 & 23

So much food prep going on everyday. I am unloading the dishwasher twice a day. Occasionally this is a chore left for the girls. 

On our bike ride this afternoon a notice from the city about appropriate COVID-19 behavior on the trails. So weird to see these public notices. 

This has been our nicest day yet this spring with sun and temperatures around 75. I forced everyone out for a family bike ride. 

There was a controlled prairie grass burn across the street that provided some entertainment. 

75 degrees and the kids wanted to slip and slide. 

The only way we are surviving this quarantine is because neither Scott nor I are currently working full time. Today we both had long online meetings so Will entertained himself by watching Fortnight videos on a phone while simultaneously watching them on the TV. 

I am helping the Women’s Leadership Conference produce a written summary of their 2-day conference which means I am sitting through two full days of presentations. 

My gym is doing live workouts via Zoom so yesterday I talked Scott in to joining me for a workout. 

The kids took a cooking class via zoom and learned how to make bagels. I ended up completing the second portion of the work with Charlie while Evy and Will bailed on us.

I had no clue that you boil bagels before baking them! They tasted great! 

We needed groceries in a bad way so I donned my homemade face mask and hit Aldi, Costco, Hy-Vee and Target drive up. Took me 3 hours but we are well stocked for awhile. The entire experience was surreal. I chose not to take my purse because I wanted to chance getting the least number of things contaminated as possible. I just put my keys and credit card in my pockets. All of the stores have modified processes to keep 6’ between customers and to protect their employees. It’s hard to share friendly smiles or conversation while wearing a mask which was odd. After each store I used hand sanitizer and wiped my car interior down with sanitizing wipes. Toilet paper was back in stock at Costco but still no Clorox wipes, hand soap or children’s Tylenol available.