Yard Work Weekend

Jim put yard work weekends on the calendar lonnnnng ago. We were nervous because the weather didn’t look good at first, but things cleared up. Jim spread moss killer the weekend before, so we were ready to thatch, aerate, and spread 18 yards of top soil before sprinkling new grass seed and rolling out peat moss. We also wanted to put out 8 yards of new bark nuggets and fill Maverick’s dog run with 2 yards of pea gravel. So Jim rented a Bobcat and had a great time moving things around all weekend. It absolutely made the difference between spending all week on a project and just a weekend! 

Maverick had his first ride in the truck. He HATED it! 
Meanwhile, Haley loved riding around on the tractor with JT to pick up all the grass clippings. They were so cute together and worked really hard all weekend. 

Easter at Home

To be honest, it was maybe the most relaxing Easter ever! We started with a yummy breakfast: frittata, donuts, and berries. Then we enjoyed streaming our church service and worshipping together. The day was bright and cheery, and we got some nice outside time. I told the kids I wanted one photo, and of course they made it happen for me.

After church, we did an art project the kids got in their bunny baskets.

We did 3 hours of yard work together… and that made me happy. 🙂 We planted new flowering plants in some spots that needed brightening, and visited with my parents outside on their porch when my brother and sister in law and niece dropped by to sit in the sun and say hello from a safe distance.

I decided to avoid the traditional Easter dinner. I can’t remember every making one, and I don’t like ham anyway, so we switched to homemade burgers, fries, and shakes. Everyone was very supportive of this change! Jim loved grilling, and we had a great time enjoying food we wouldn’t normally have on a holiday. 

Hoverboards

JT and Haley save a lot of money, because they hardly ever want to buy anything. We could look at it that they aren’t greedy people, or that they have everything they need or want… either way, they save and save and save. Every once in awhile, one of them will decide they want to splurge on a purchase. Haley decided she wanted to buy a hoverboard! She had deposited a bunch of savings in the bank months ago, and started over saving cash, and didn’t have quite enough to get the color she wanted – so JT chipped in so she could get just the right thing. So sweet.

Haley’s hoverboard estimated delivery date was May 14-18. She was so sad but ready to wait. Then she decided she would start praying for the hoverboard to arrive by Easter – just three days away. We were skeptical. She was not. “God can do it, if he wants to,” she said. Then I got a shipment notification, with an estimated delivery on Sunday. I showed Jim privately, and we both raised our eyebrows. Easter morning, Haley decided to check on the order progress, just in case God had answered with Yes. The update showed “out for delivery by 8 PM.” I hope I never forget her face! Then she started praying it would arrive in time for our evening walk, with is normally around 7 PM. We walked out of the house for our midday walk at noon, and the FedEx delivery man arrived with her hoverboard. It was unbelievable! It was like God told Haley, “I got you – and I’ll surpass your hopes by not only arriving by Easter, but in time for your first walk!” What is most special about this story is that God blessed Haley’s childlike faith in a big way, and gave her encouragement to remember this moment when she has more difficult times or periods of waiting, when God says no or wait. She knows He has her best interest at heart, and that He loves to bless his children in fun ways.

She let JT try it out, and within the week he decided to order his own. 🙂 Now Jim wants one too!

The Fort

Because the kids are home all day every day now, with no sports or activities, they have a little more time on their hands than usual. We have school at home daily 8:30-12, and then we have a lunch break and dog walk together, then they do some chores. But around 1:30 or 2 they are available until dinner chores at 5.

This is how they’ve been spending their time…

Remotely Being

We’ve been doing a lot of adjusting lately to doing things remotely that we used to do in person. Haley’s gymnastics meets M/W/F for an hour over Zoom. I workout and walk with friends… from six feet away. Some of our friends can’t even come over, so we Teams call them into art activities with us. The kids are using FaceTime, MarcoPolo, and Flipgrid to keep in touch with friends from school and sports. It’s a whole new world!

School at Home

Schools in our area announced closures for six weeks starting on March 16, the day we brought Maverick home. So we decided to do some school-at-home similar to summer time, but a little more organized. Soon I had all three fifth grade boys and two third grade girls in the neighborhood enrolled in my remote learning group!

We kicked off on Monday, March 16th with “Pi Day” activities in person – even though Pi Day was March 14. We just needed a way to get started. Everyone met at our house to get logged into Teams, OneNote, and make pies!

Our new addition: Maverick

We had considered getting a new family pet sometime in June, when we knew the kids and I would be home all summer to train a puppy. Jim has wanted a pale yellow lab named Maverick (and another one named Goose) for as long as I can remember. When he heard school was cancelled, and basically everything else in our lives except our jobs, we decided now was a great time!

Jim made some phone calls to lots of breeders in the area (and some out of state too), and we found this beautiful boy a few hours’ drive away in Yacoult, Washington. We spontaneously kicked the kids out of the house with my parents and made the drive. We got to meet his parents, who were well behaved and beautiful as well, and his brother. Jim quietly suggested we bring home both dogs (!) but we’d only brought enough cash for one and we were over an hour from an establishment in the middle of farmland, and I was not mentally prepared for two puppies at home!

So we made the decision to take this sweet boy home with us. Meet Maverick Corona Keene, born November 6, 2019… at least, that’s what his AKC certificate says. Ha!

He suffered through his first car ride with his head on or near my lap in the backseat.

We stopped every hour to let him out. He was not interested in water, walking around, or moving.

We stopped at Mud Bay because we had exactly zero things necessary for a dog. He was not impressed and stayed put by the door the entire time. He wagged gently at everyone who walked by – he just did NOT want to move.

We came home and surprised JT and Haley (and my parents) by walking in the house with a puppy. The kids were SHOCKED. My parents had guessed we might be bringing home a dog, given the current situation of the world and our love of dogs. He sat next to the couch and waited for us to carry him outside to go potty. 🙂

In the morning, we all woke up to a dog in the house! He started playing and eating and doing all the normal dog things in his new home. He also learned about things like wearing a leash. When you spend the first four months of life in freedom, a collar and leash is rough.

He also figured out that he could be as close to me as possible, all day long. It was adorable.

By the end of the first week, things were going well around here. He likes to play hard and crash hard.

Maverick likes sticks, balls, and his stuffed fish that squeaks.

He likes to sleep in the corner of the couch behind the ottoman. It must feel very den-like.

He has learned to sit at the back door to ask permission to go out and come back in. He knows his name and comes running with floppy ears and puppy paws all askew when I call him. ❤

He can sit and is learning “down” as well. Next we will start on stay and come. He is growing like a weed and eating twice the recommended food per the bag’s serving size for weight and age… at his puppy checkup at the vet, she said she would guess he’ll get to around 80 pounds.

He loves to play (of course) and be close. But mostly, he is an absolute sweetheart who does NOT like to be in trouble. Usually all it takes is a “aaa!” sound from us, and he stops whatever he was doing. Unless he is chewing on the Rhododendron. 😉

We are so thrilled to have a dog again!

Field Trip to the Art Museum

I was able to chaperone Haley’s field trip to the Tacoma Art Museum today, and we had a great time.

The museum docents did an amazing job. Our first station was reading the book Blue is My Happy, which I now love. Then we talked about how color evokes emotion, and we analyzed this painting below for colors.

Our next station took us to learning about line. The kids drew on blank paper the path their eyes followed as they looked at this huge painting from the public works era.

Finally, we stopped in the Chihuly glass area and the children got to bend pipe cleaners to make shapes.

We also had free time to explore the museum, and these are some of our favorites.

I also just like spending time with Haley.

  
Our final station was hands-on art. The students had to complete a brainstorming page (on color, line, and shape) and then complete an art project. Haley took it seriously and really enjoyed her final product.

I loved walking around with this crew all day. They were very easy keepers! And I loved hearing them talk about the art: “What’s a lithograph?” “Can you believe this was done in watercolor?!” “Look at all the oil paint. I wonder how they made that texture?” Pretty fun stuff.

Finally, a weekend at Crystal!

Last year, we spent one weekend a month camping at Crystal Mountain, which we love to do. This year, we’ve been a little busy (ha) and haven’t made it up there until this weekend.

The kids love playing in the snow after the ski day is done.

We also went on a “snow walk” to the lodge and back, most of which the kids spent trying to find the largest snowballs possible to throw at their parents.

 

Haley and I wore our new “ski like a girl” sweatshirts together too. 💕 I am so proud of Haley. She doesn’t love love skiing like the rest of us, but she has a great attitude about it anyway. She challenges herself frequently, and puts forth huge effort to improve. (She is already a great skiier!) This trip was no exception. She had trouble coming down a black diamond mogul field thick with snow, and lost her ski twice. The next run, I suggested we try a different way, and she responded, “Or we could do that again and I can do better.” #thatsmygirl