extended spring break

After the school's email declaring a two week "extended Spring Break", I kept seeing people posting their daily family schedules.  I wasn't overly concerned about recreating "school" for the next two weeks, I simply planned to read a lot and focus on a few math books we had.  I was happy to just have more time with my kids while staying at home. I had explained to my kids that we wouldn't be having any play dates since we were asked to practice "social distancing" to flatter the curve of the virus, but I knew that was going to be a hard concept for my kids to understand.

BUT, I had already offered to watch my friend's kids while she went to the doctor, so you better believe they were excited about their last play date for a few weeks.  Within probably 30 minutes, Evie and Brooke were decked out head-to-toe in princess gear...

Colby loved having Logan over to play superhero and bad guy :)  And Jack Jack spent the majority of his time playing with our little train set.  He LOVES that train set, which makes him super easy to babysit, haha.

The kids played remarkably well together for a few hours, but they were super disappointed when they heard Mandy at the door. I assured them that they could continue playing since Mandy and I wanted time to hang out as well.  I think since we all knew this was our last hangout in a while, we decided to make the most of it and spent the next few hours together.  It was good for our souls and was the perfect day.

The next morning, the kids woke up asking for another playdate with the Funderburks, but I had to remind them that we actually weren't supposed to be having friends over.  The day before was just a lucky exception :)  They continued asking several times over the next few days, but eventually realized that I was serious about my response.

Our days were spent doing a little school work, and LOTS of outdoor time.

Brooke made some pretty amazing chalk pictures, including this one of Princess Elsa.

We worked on a few outdoor projects, like gardening and trying to get ride of the cat urine smell on our front porch.  Yuck!!  We don't have cats, but we have noticed a few cats hanging around our house.  Then we started noticing the smell and we were all pretty disgusted.  The vinegar trick didn't actually work, but we sure tried hard.

And my very favorite part of our first week of "extended spring break" was when my girl learned how to ride a bike!!  I had suggested that we work on it, but she wasn't thrilled with the idea at first.  After riding around the block a few times on her scooter, she informed me that she did actually want to practice on her bike.

I ran behind her a few times, but could tell that she was able to balance fairly well.  When I was certain that she was stable, I would let go here and there and made a BIG deal about her independence.  Her confidence was growing and pretty soon, she didn't want my help at all.  It was a fairly easy process, but I still had to help her get started each time. 

Flashback to February 8th when we started this learning process:

She did fairly well balancing and was pretty motivated, but after a while, Kevin and I were both exhausted running behind her and she was getting burnt out.  We hadn't really worked on it much in the following weeks, so really this was only her second attempt at riding without training wheels.  She totally rocked it!!  She was super excited to show Kevin when he got home from work that night :)

Over the next few days, we went on a LOT of bike and scooter rides.  Brooke was determined to learn how to start on her own, and I was so impressed with her persistence.  When she continued to struggle, I wanted to swoop in and help more so she wouldn't give up. but she really wanted to do it on her own.  And guess what, she did!  It took a full day of trying, but I was so proud of her resilience even when something was difficult.  These were some great life lessons!

I'm so proud of you, Buggy!! And you were proud of yourself :)

Colby was such a good sport about going at Brooke's pace, but eventually he sat down to take a break while he waited for her to start again.  Sweet boy :)

Last random memory from our first week of "extended spring break" was face masks, haha.  Brooke asked me several mornings in a row, so I finally gave in.  I guess she loved when we did them during our Girl's Night, but unfortunately, I didn't have any more of that same face mask. We ended up doing this dead sea mask, but first had a little learning moment about the dead sea and the minerals within in.  That's kind of educational, right?

Colby even joined in on the fun, and since they both thought they looked like zombies, we had to take this picture...

It was fun while it lasted, but Colby was SO impatient when it came to taking it off, haha. Lesson learned, buddy.

So far, so good, on this "social distancing" life!

daddy's boy

When it's bedtime, or if he's hurt, he wants his Mama.  But in general, he wants to be doing whatever his Daddy is doing. Seeing his adoration for Kevin is nothing short or adorable. Today, we headed to Flower Mound to tinker with the boat's sound system.  I felt like the sound system was perfectly fine, but according to Kevin, we needed a new amplifier and subwoofer. While Kevin worked in that compartment, his little sidekick climbed right on in, hahaha. I took a few pictures before Colby crawled out and handed Kevin whatever tools he was needing. 

We didn't head home until almost 9:30, which meant that we didn't get home and into bed till nearly 11.  Since church was done at home the next day, we were all able to sleep in and I finally understood what country songs refer to as "easy like Sunday morning." Normally, it's a busy morning getting last minute lessons ready, getting kids ready, and traveling to and from church. Having church at home means that we were able to fix breakfast together, hold our own family study, play together, watch a movie, and enjoy cooking together.

Brooke and I were upstairs finishing a sewing project, so the boys prepared the chicken for the smoker.  Again, I love seeing that Colby wants to help his Daddy with whatever he is doing.  Colby is an excellent kitchen helper, and I feel like he's learning great skills that will help him his whole life!

They prepared a parmesan rub, rolled the chicken in it, and got the smoker going :)

While the chicken cooked, I searched the pantry for some sides.  We normally have instant mashed potatoes on hand, but I stopped buying them since they don't contain the best ingredients. I pulled out our normal Jasmine rice, but then noticed the Arborio rice sitting next to it. Since certain grocery store shelves are basically empty (thanks, COVID-19),  I couldn't find more Jasmine rice and instead bought Arborio rice.  I recalled a Parmesan Risotto recipe I used to love, and since it called for arborio rice, I knew I would use it.

So, I searched through my recipe books until I found the one I was thinking of. I had all the ingredients, so that was a win!  My mouth was watering just thinking about the creamy risotto with parmesan and peas. But then I nearly ruined it!!  As I was adding the salt and pepper, I pulled out the tablespoon instead of the teaspoon, which meant that I added 1T of salt and 3 T of pepper, haha.  It was a bit pot of risotto so the  extra pepper didn't bother me at all, but it was pretty salty :/

But look at this face...

He was so proud of the chicken he cooked with his Daddy, and I loved watching the boys work together.  This whole Sunday cooking is quickly becoming my favorite tradition.  Honestly, Sunday used to be a day for quick and easy meals because we had a lot of church commitments, but now that we have more free time, this seems like the perfect way to use it.  Cooking together is such quality time and the kids are also learning great skills. Brooke is helpful as well, but she doesn't seem to love it quite as much as Colby does. She's more into baking :)

spring break

On Monday of Spring Break, I really needed to make a Costco run.  That definitely doesn't seem like a very exciting thing to do during a break, but I decided that if I present it as a lunch spot after visiting the pet store, everyone would be excited.  And guess what?  They were!! Brooke has told me numerous times how unfair it is that I take Colby to the pet store while she's at school, but she also doesn't love running errands after school, so she's out of luck. The pet store is just a bonus while we are out and about, but today, we made it a special outing.  We stayed for what felt like an eternity as they watched the 18 dogs in the doggy daycare. 

And perused the toy aisles...

When we finally left, we had pizza at Costco, then quickly shopped for the essentials.  I'm used to running errands with only one little critter, so I wondered if having them both in tow was gonna make things interesting.  But they were both wonderful and we were in and out in no time.

Tuesday we met up with friends at the Dream Park in Fort Worth.  We went last year when Jeffrey and his family were in town, but I feared that it would be crazy busy since it was Spring Break. Kevin suggested that I have them wear bright colors, and that was probably the best thing I could have done.  We arrived about 20 minutes before our friends, but it gave Brooke and Colby a good chance to just run around together.  I had talked to them about the importance of staying together to help keep each other safe, and they did such an amazing job of following that rule. It wasn't too busy when we arrived at 10, but by 11:30, the place was crowded!

Luckily, my kids had already taken a turn on this awesome swing and had the chance to ride the zip line at least 6 times with their friends, Lucy and Adelaide.  Once the area became more crowded, we took a break for lunch and then kept the kids all in one area so we could watch them more carefully.

Adelaide, Brooke, and Lucy...

After the park, we headed over to Crumbl Cookies, which people RAVE about.  I was honestly pretty excited to try them and see what all the hype was about. They looked amazing, but I was pretty disappointed!  We bought a box of four cookies: mud pie (with "dirt" and a gummy worm on top), salted caramel cheesecake, frosted sugar cookie, and chocolate chip.  The mud pie (Brooke's pick) was by far the best one, but Colby seemed to really enjoy the salted caramel one (his pick).  The sugar cookie was second best, and I didn't even like the chocolate chip.  That cookie had nothing on warm Market Street chocolate chunk cookies.

It was a great day with friends, but man, I was worn out by the time we made it home that afternoon!

On Wednesday, we met up with more friends (Kiley Lundeen and McKayla Parr) at Country Critters in Alvarado.  We went last year during Spring Break and absolutely loved it.  The weather was much nicer this year, so I imagined that it would be pretty crowded, but it was the exact opposite. I have no idea why exactly, but that made it super convenient for us!

We started our with pony rides because I was sure that the crowd would be showing up at any time!  Naturally, Brooke picked the pony with pink accents on her hair.

Colby picked this cute guy...

Once we finished the pony rides, the kids hopped aboard this adorable train and rode in circles around the property.

Poor Jack was crying by the end, but they all had fun at the beginning :)  I guess it was a little too bumpy, and he was in the final car.

We spent time in the petting zoo area, but they wouldn't let us pet or hold the baby goats this year. That was a definite highlight from last year, but I guess the babies were born only a few days prior, so they didn't want them in contact with people yet. But they were ADORABLE!

Colby bonded pretty quickly to this chubby bunny, and didn't want to leave his side for a solid 15 minutes.

Brooke, on the other hand, loved the donkey.

Oh, and this puppy.  I feel sort of guilty when I see her interacting with dogs because I have zero interest in a dog, but I also feel like I would literally hate it.  So, maybe I can just be the thoughtful mom that takes her to play with other's peoples's animals, right??

McKayla had to leave around 1, but Kiley and I stayed for another hour and chatted while our kids played in a somewhat dirty inflatable bounce house/slide combination. They were having the time of their lives, and since it was such a beautiful Spring day, we soaked it up as much as possible.

That afternoon, we had also planned to meet up with Jen and Brooks Taggart at the new PlayGrand park in Grand Prairie. I was feeling a little crispy from our morning adventure, so I sprayed sunscreen on all of our arms.  My back was also partially exposed, but I was worried about running my shirt by spraying sunscreen, but that was a big mistake. I was fried by the time we got home!

But the kids had fun playing together, especially Colby and Brooks.  They usually but heads a bit, so this pairing kind of surprised me. They played forever together, and Brooke would kind of pop in and out of their play.  She also ran into a boy from school, so she had fun playing with him as well.  But since they weren't always together, I was more paranoid about watching them separately.  The park was huge, so it didn't feel overly crowded, but the sheer number of people sort of worried me.  How easy would it be for someone to grab my child?  Just the thought of it makes me get a pit in my stomach.

I'll just try not to think about that, and instead leave you with a picture of these buddies...

On Thursday, we met up with Tracy and Danielle and their kiddos for a fun adventure at the Cedar Ridge Preserve.  We had never been before, despite it being only 20 minutes from our house, but we will definitely be going back.  We chose a trail about a mile long, and the kids all did really well.  Little Finley wanted to be carried a lot, so poor Tracy really got her workout.  I offered to help carry him, but he only wanted his mama or big brother, Cooper.

The whole crew...

Brooke, Nora, and Colby...

We made it to the top and the view was beautiful!!  Texas is so flat, so it's nice to gain a little altitude and see far into the distance.

I also snapped a quick picture of Tracy and her crew.  I guess Danielle had Brookie take their family picture :)

Then we started our descent. I liked being in the back of the pack and observing all those little ones just marching along.  Hearing their conversations was also pretty adorable.

And of course the minute I asked my kids to take a picture, this is what I get.  But jokes on them because I still really love the picture, haha.

The trail led us to a little lake, which of course intrigued the kids.  They played with sticks, threw rocks, and wandered around the perimeter of the small lake.

On our hike back, we stopped at a little stream and the kids waded around in the water.  It was pretty muddy at parts, but that didn't stop them from playing.  Brooke just found a spot to sit and eat grapes, and I didn't blame her.  I don't think she wanted to put shoes and socks back on wet feet, haha.

The hike back up was a little harder (naturally), and Colby asked me to carry him a few different times.  I told him that I really couldn't since I also had on a backpack, but he was able to power through, which made me proud of my little buddy.

Brooke hiked like a champ, complete with her little clutch.  She was SURE she needed to bring a few things on our hike, and since it matched her hat, it was "perfect."  (Those Tic-Tacs actually did come in handy to motivate the littlest hikers!) When she was sick of holding the clutch, she hung it off her stick, which was pretty ingenious if you ask me :)  But she did look like a little vagabond.

When we made it back to our starting point, we found some picnic tables, laid out a blanket, and enjoyed a beautiful picnic together. I love these girls so much, and it was nice to just sit and chat while the kids all played together.  I literally could have stayed for the rest of the day.  Perfect weather and even better company!

On Friday, we met up with the Funderburks at the library. I loved all our time outside during the week, but it was REALLY nice to have an indoor activity on a rainy day. We spent probably 4 hours there, which meant that the kids had plenty of time to play with each other, check out the games on the computer, and select gigantic stacks of books.  I had lots of time to chat with my friend Mandy, so it was a win for everyone! 

While we were at the library, I received an email stating that due to the novel corona virus (COVID-19), schools were going to be cancelled for the next two weeks in an effort to help "flatten the curve". The virus has already taken the lives of thousands of people in China, where the virus originated, and cases were starting to pop up in the US. We also received an email from the Church stating that church services would be cancelled for the next few weeks, so this whole virus thing was starting to get pretty real. 

I wasn't feeling scared about everything, but I was really curious about how long this would all last!

s'mores on the shores

After church, we ate a quick lunch and headed upstairs to watch a movie and relax.  I kept falling asleep, so eventually moved myself into Colby's bed to get a better rest. It was seriously divine.  I can't remember the last time I took a Sunday nap, but I decided that I should make this more of a regular occurrence. When I woke up, it was 3 and Kevin was supposed to be leaving for a High Council meeting. I rushed out to the loft, only to find out that his meeting was cancelled.  He made some comment that we should go roast marshmallows at the lake.  I assumed he was kidding, but when we started talking more seriously about what we should do, he again said his idea of "S'mores on the Shores."  

The kids were ecstatic about the idea, so we packed all the supplies for s'mores, along with our camp stove and the ingredients for some pasta with parmesan and olives. As Kevin loaded the car with hammocks and the like, Colby decided to bring his stick that "is the perfect fishing pole". I love his creativity and the fact that he talks about going fishing ALL THE TIME!  

Once we parked, we headed straight to the water. It was a super windy day, so his string kept going right back to the shore, but that didn't keep him from casting it into the water a hundred times :)  The smile on his face makes my Mama heart so happy. 

Brooke also found a huge stick, and used it to rescue Colby's string that inevitably fell off his "fishing pole".  She is such a good Sissy!  I was also loving her style :)  She normally stays in her church dress all day, but I told her she needed to change for this outing.  She put on her valentine pants and shirt, then accessorized with the scarf and headband. She definitely has a style of her own, and loves to pile on the matching accessories.  As a result, I lovingly called her Miss Valentine all night.

We took our time swinging, snuggling, and playing before making dinner. 

Colby quickly spoke up to light the match for the stove, and was determined to do it independently. I adore how much he wants to be involved in everything we are doing.  I think he likes feeling like a big kid :)

As our pasta cooked, Kevin and I took a turn in the hammock as we watched our littles run back and forth to the water.  At one point, Colby ran back to the table for something.  I asked what he was rifling through the bags for, and he said something to the effect of, "What? I'm looking for the marshmallows."  Hahaha. You need to ask first, little dude!  I did let them eat one or two, but didn't want them to completely spoil their dinner. 

Dinner was tasty, and it was pretty fun to sit near the lake while we ate!  We made s'mores, add WAY too much chocolate, and finally packed up and went home. This might become a new tradition for us!!  Next time, we will maybe invite friends to join us :)