Day 77

SMOKE OUT DAY! This is the only fundraising event that we are able to make happen this year and it is typically a big one. I think we are a little anxious to see the success. It is typically a community gathering at the firehouse, but this year that is just not possible. Instead we are serving meals drive-thru style.

We started with church. It is our senior pastor's last day. Brandon and I started gathering things to prepare for the event and the kids went with my parents to the pastor's retirement parade.

The Smoke Out was absolutely a success and the weather was beautiful! We had friends over after to decompress from the day.

Day 76

I volunteered in the morning to help set up for the Smoke Out. After I got home we went and played pickle ball. We played a couple of games with the kids and they were tired so then Brandon and I played. He let me get a nice lead and then beat me. He said he did it all in the name of exercise. Some day I want to beat him...for real.

In the afternoon I took Elizabeth to riding. We left the boys at home to install a new mother board on the pool heater and make a Texas sheet cake. I told them I was very proud of their diverse talents!

Elizabeth had an awesome lesson. She was able to cantor Jewels in a circle and even got to start jumping. She was on cloud nine!

We had dinner with friends and played a few games. It was a full, fun day. I can honestly say it is the first time our schedule has been busy like that in months.

Day 76

I did a few things in preparation for the Smoke Out in the morning. Elizabeth had an online piano recital at 11. She played "What Makes You Beautiful" and she played it really well!!

I procured a few new books. A summer beach read and Atlas Shrugged...a really big book with really tiny print!

We started our new adventure of eating fish once a week. So after Brandon's eye appointment he picked up halibut and sea bass. I should really say this is more my adventure. Brandon likes fish. My friend suggested a marinade that she really likes on fish. Cooking it outside was a bonus. We had the kids each try a bit, they weren't fans. I am not a fan of the way the garbage smells. We both liked the halibut better. Elizabeth went upstairs to read at 7:30 and Grant was ready for bed shortly after. Brandon and I did sit outside for awhile but it was a fairly early Friday night for all of us. We didn't hear the coyotes but there have been several sightings and evidence that they are pretty active in our backyard.

Day 75

The first day of swim team was organized by the kids to start this morning. This consisted of two neighbor kids walking down and everyone jumping in at 7 am to start their laps. Elizabeth had the drills written out on the white board and propped up beside the pool. Unlike usual swim team, they got 5 minutes in the hot tub to cool down (or maybe warm up!)

We had friends over to swim in the afternoon. Brandon had a friend over later too. I attempted to make popcorn on the outdoor stove. I got there eventually, but outdoor cooking out of necessity isn't as fun as it sounds. 

Day 74

A little hike before piano lessons !We tried a new place. We didn't get lost! Win, win!

New 73

On today's agenda was a little errand running for me. I started at the pool store to have the water tested and had a very unpleasant customer service experience that included  me saying "what have I done to offend you by walking into the store to purchase chemicals?" It was real special. I went to grab some meat and had a nice conversation with the men that run that store. I didn't quite make it to the grocery store before the stove repair people were calling. Luckily Brandon was able to help them find the serial number and the part that was broke! Good help is hard to find. A couple of hours later and a long time on hold the part was finally located, but it's back ordered. More outdoor cooking in our future! I had a meeting for the upcoming Smoke Out in the evening and Tuesday was in the books.

Day 72

I am going to be confused all week about what day it is. I have a hard enough time on normal weeks! Wait, there are no normal weeks anymore! Well today is Memorial Day. We decided to embrace the nice weather in the morning because we weren't sure what the afternoon would have in store. After a leisurely morning and breakfast burritos we decided to play pickle ball. We weren't sure if the tennis courts would even be open or if they had lines for pickle ball. We lucked out. Courts are open and there were faded pickle ball lines. It was a win. We got hot. Do these kids look hot? Acclimate children! You have to learn to be hot!

 Brandon's allergies are staring to act up and after 3 games we had enough. We also didn't have sunscreen on, but no burns so lucky there too.

We took another loop around the square to see all of the flags. The city lines the main drag through town with flags. It is really cool. There was even a couple dressed in fantastically patriotic red white and blue fancy clothes waving to people at the square! 

 Someone (me) thought we should drive downtown to see how high the river was. Do you notice in the pictures how the dark clouds have appeared? None of those were there during our pickle ball match!

 The river is pretty high and parts are flooded downtown. The sandbag brigade had been out. We stopped at the Ice Cream Shack for lunch on the way home. Sometimes it is just cloudy, other times those clouds have rain in them...actually quite a bit of rain. Fun fact: when driving 50 mph in the Jeep you don't get wet - it blows right over the top (or maybe into the backseat). Getting stopped for stoplights, is a guaranteed soaker! We were drenched by the time we got home, but laughed so hard the whole time!

I checked the rain gauge before the evening storm...we had .6. Later that night a pretty big storm rolled in, complete with lots of wind, thunder and lightening - right at bed time - as always. In total the day's rain total was almost 1.4 inches. Translation - too much! 

Day 71

Hail damage from yesterday's storm

"It will just take two hours, maybe three." I didn't honestly believe this, but I played along. We had just one more section of pavers to reset. Unfortunately that couple hour project required two trips to the hardware store and realizing that the new shortage is leveling sand, due to all of the pools being put in people's backyards! The weather looked more favorable today than on Memorial Day so we picked today as our official pool opening. He finished the pavers around 1:30, about the time the kids were jumping in to 65 degree pool water! Brrrrrrr! But there was no holding them back.

We spend the afternoon poolside. Watching the kids run between the pool and the hot tub. The heater needs a new motherboard so we are a few days out from a working heater. The pool gained 7 degrees in just one day with the sun. The forecast has some heat in it this coming week, but also a chance of rain EVERY day.

We ended the night with cheeseburgers and dining alfresco. A perfect pool opening!

Day 70

Happy Birthday to Pops and Sara! The kids played outside in the morning. Brandon worked on leveling pavers. It was a really nice day and then a storm blew in. We had so much rain, so fast and then the hail came. First pea sized and then grape sized and it hailed for a good 5 minutes, which is a long time for a hailstorm. The rain poured over the gutters, as they couldn't keep up. I think we had .6 of an inch of rain in 20 minutes. So much rain. As soon as we think we have a beautiful day the clouds blow in and bring more rain.

It cleared off as quickly as it came, just in time for the birthday celebration. Grant apparently tuckered himself and fell asleep before dinner! This usually only happens if he is sick, but luckily he was fine, just super tired.

Pops selected an excellent Costco birthday cake, white with cheesecake filling. We sampled a new wine and all was good! 

Day 69

It finally feels like spring...or maybe even summer! Look at the butterfly on the salvia!  The big questions today is "how long will it take to fill the pool?" We had 4 hoses running to it late yesterday. We turned them off overnight for fear that the vacuum might stop and we didn't want the liner to sag without the pressure of the vacuum. In the afternoon the deepens was starting to finally fill. The pool light is now functional, which is a HUGE win! Previously the liner had just been installed over the top of it. All was going well until the pool guy requested boiling water to fit the liner at the top. I went to boil water and the stove wouldn't fire. Click, click, click...no flame, no gas. What in the world. We had gas everywhere else in the house...just not on the stove. Do you know how long it takes to boil a gallon of water in the microwave?! A long time. We placed a service call. We were reminded it is a holiday weekend. (everyday feels like a holiday/weekend). They will be out on Tuesday. It is like loosing power, you still flip switches expecting something to happen. I must have put 3 things on the burner and then suddenly realized I was not voting to get too far.

 No stove aside, we become motivated to get the outdoor burners by the grill working. Which Brandon was able to fix. So between that an electric griddle we are making it all work.

7:30 Friday night we were finally able to turn the vacuums off and the pool was almost filled! We cooked scallops outside and celebrated!

Day 68

Toilet Bombs...bombed. The recipe seemed like a good idea. The life lesson here: you just have to clean a toile the old fashioned way. There are no shortcuts. No magic bomb to simply toss in that automatically cleans your toilet! But we tried. They just kept growing!

 The kids had a playdate swap. Girls at one place. Boys at another. This was such a breath of fresh air for everyone!

Not pretty...but a real sign of progress!

Day 67

Today is the last day of school. I am so lucky that Brandon is working from home and that we have awesome kids. I was able to take my mom to her eye surgery and everyone was still able to do what they needed to do. We left at 6:05 and we were back at 9:45. We are hopeful this is the last step in restoring her vision. Grant finished up with his class. I saw them all waving goodbye at each other on the hangout. Usually I would met the kids at the bus stop and have a special lunch and make our summer bucket list... we are all just like "well that is over". The lack of emotion is a little concerning. I think in some ways we have become numb to it all, or just overly accepting. We don't have all of the right answers and the truth is hard to find.

The kids were really blessed with fantastic teachers this year. Grant's teacher even stopped by the house today to say goodbye and get some closure to the school year. They both received letters in the mail throughout the last few months from their teachers too. They all made an effort to have a last "fun" session with the kids. I don't feel like a lot of new information was gained and our days was not filled with schoolwork, but maybe that is ok. We took time to focus on other things.

We declared this the start of summer and have loosened the reins on the kids being able to play with the other neighborhood kids. They play outside and they need to remember how to play with others! I

Elizabeth and three boys...and she is the one that catches the frog...that promptly peed on her while I took the picture!

We got the best news this afternoon - they are coming to drain the pool! This means the new liner will be put in right behind it and we will soon have a functioning pool! I was outside power washing the cover when Grant's teacher stopped by so we have no pictures from that special visit!

Pool draining

Fresh lilacs!

Day 66

We have begun talking about summer routines and what skills we need to keep sharp. Grant will be focusing on spelling and speech. Elizabeth will focus on math and both will be reading some each day. Elizabeth's teacher gave us a lot of good ideas for ways to read, that not necessarily require reading a book. Online articles, recipes, instructions to a new game... The kids also want to swim laps, but the pool isn't quite up and running yet. We have had over 4 inches of rain in the last 5 days.

Grant got to do a scavenger hunt with his class today and it was intense. So much running trying to find objects!

We had Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes for dinner. It is still rainy and cool and we are so ready for warmer temps! Each day I tell the kids "tomorrow is supposed to be nice!" They don't believe me anymore!

Day 65

Today marks the beginning of the end of the school year. Elizabeth had three different class chats with her teachers. Each had prepared a fun activity for the kids to do online. One had a scavenger hunt. One did guess the teacher from their baby and 5th grade pictures. Her homeroom teacher played Scattegories with the class. God bless these teachers for coming up with these ideas. Grant will have calls M,T and W with his homeroom teacher, who has also been wonderful.

In the afternoon I took Elizabeth to the horse barn to work for a few hours. She pretty much worked by herself cleaning tack. I think the space and different activity was a breath of fresh air for her...fresh farm horse air! She might just end up being our country girl yet!

I had a St. Jude call and Brandon put dinner together. I rarely walk into the kitchen with the meal ready to go...it was such a great treat. And let's be honest, it always tastes better when someone else has fixed it, right?!

Day 64

The drive home was much faster than the drive down. Hardly any traffic. A few food stops. We were home by 6:30. We did drive through a lot of rain. We didn't have to pull over, but did put the hazards on more than once. Great to get a way, great to be back in our own beds.

We proved the world outside of our home isn't so scary. We can do this. We can do it safely and we need to start living again. The mental toll this quarantine is having on people is becoming a reality. Faith over fear, faith wins every time.

Day 63

It is hot - the kind of hot we like when we can sit in the shade with a drink. Sara and I walked to the playground. The rest took the golf cart. The kids didn't last too long. It was hot. The promise of afternoon water balloons kept them hanging in there. We had a quiet afternoon. David and I went shopping for food for dinner. I made homemade pretzels for an afternoon snack. Andrew and Megan ate early. David and I took the big kids (so no Mr. Andrew) for a "deer hunt" at 8:00 around dusk. We saw no deer. A few squirrels. Dad tossed steaks on the grill and we ate at 9:00 and tried the boxed Cab from Black Box. We are really into experimenting with these boxed wines. Scholle doesn't make the bladder insert.

Day 62

Friday in an open state. Horsetown opened at 11:00. Precisely at 11:00 Elizabeth was all but driving us there! Just Dad and I took her. She hasn't been in a store in over 2 months and this was a horse store - she was in heaven! She procured her Easter present - a late shopping trip from the Easter Bunny and got all the grooming stuff she had wanted for riding. As a bonus I had her pick out a saddle pad. She earns badges for learning new topics and demonstrating understanding. Ima is going to sew them on :)

The afternoon was spent playing, resting, going for a golf cart ride and just being together. All was well in the kingdom until appetizer hour when Andrew as served a snack mix with cashews. 20 minutes and lots of vomiting later, we concluded tree nuts may not be for Andrew. It was quite the scene. Megan's reaction to her brother getting sick was the most expressive I have ever seen her. My kids were like deer in headlights until I told Elizabeth to gather the flock and take them elsewhere! I told my mom she had to remove herself as to not be exposed in case it wasn't allergies because she has an upcoming eye procedure. And my dad who has always had a weak stomach decides to play Mr. Clean it up man. I instructed David to go give Andrew a bath so Sara could clean up because she took the brunt of the vomit. I think they just wanted us all to leave! After he got it out of his system he seemed to be just fine, thank goodness. That could have played out a lot of ways.

We ordered Mexican for dinner and forgot to Sara's order. Wining lots of brownie points here :)

However, the boxed wine of Pinot Grigio from Costco played in Georgia.

Day 61

To be published at time of print...

Well we are really going rogue now. The kids and my parents and I departed at 6:08 this morning, headed southbound for Georgia. Is this what we are supposed to do? I don't know. We have chosen to adopt the mantra FAITH over FEAR. We are traveling by car will only stop as necessary and the only place other David's house we will see is Horsetown. Because when in GA one must visit Horsetown!

We had intended on arriving around 6pm. We hit traffic in KY (a trailer being pulled by a truck appeared to have caught fire) and horrible traffic in Chattanooga. My parents said it was the worst drive they had ever made to David's. The kids took it all in stride. Elizabeth made a travel video that is pretty priceless. Quotes include "he has to go poopy" and "we are all doomed".

The first stop was McDonalds for breakfast burritos and coffee. I say "kids if anyone needs to go to the bathroom, now is the time." Ima stops me...not quite the time. You can't go inside the restaurant. Oh yeah, I forgot. The server at the window was a wearing a mask...around his neck. His mouth and nose weren't covered. Next stop, a rest area. Everyone had masks on. We were still in Illinois. Kentucky fuel and potty stop - done separately because we weren't sure if gas station bathrooms would be open - turns out they were. Maybe half of the people in KY had masks on. Tennessee maybe 25%. Georgia, the only people we saw with masks were African Americans. It was very interesting to be in different states and see how different people were behaving. Anyway we finally made it by 9:00...a much longer trip then what it should have been. Andrew had of course gone to bed, but Megan waited up for us. We had lasagna at 9:30.

Day 60

So much laundry...if it isn't laundry, it is dishes! It is that time of year where we have to change clothes 3 times a day to keep up with the weather!

Pretty quiet day. Kids worked on wrapping up their work. We ran a few things to Ima and Pops'. Played a few games. Took Auggie for a walk.

That's a tree root

Fingers still crossed for some kind of baseball season

There is a cold front moving in but it is going to bring us warm weather on the backside so we will take it! Brandon is currently removing a large tree root that is causing pavers to heave. The kids just got out of the hot tub. And Luke Combs' new song "6 feet Away" just came on XM. I am so over this "new normal", I just want the old normal. I don't even bother watching the news anymore or looking at the curve/stats. I don't know what to believe anyway. I still wake up some mornings thinking this is the world's biggest psych experiment. As if someone is watching and saying "let's do this and see how they react....Ah...interesting...". We measured the pool tonight to see how close we are to mimicking a swim meet. Two lengths is just shy of a 25M. The kids need to make plans for Pauli Pool Events! WWJ you may have been canceled this year, but we will still be swimming!

Day 59

We have two very special birthdays today - a nephew and a niece! Ironically both of them live in "open" states. They got to go to restaurants for their birthday. (do I sound jealous? ... I am!) Happiest of birthdays to Briggs and Megan Jo!

Schoolwork and house chores in the am and in the afternoon we took a hike. It is fun to see the canopy of leaves filling in at one of our favorite hiking spots. This particular location is a favorite because we don't get lost there.

Elizabeth got to ride later this afternoon. After some barn work she saddled up. Brandon went to watch her lesson. Jelly Bean the barn cat did not cuddle up wit him. Elizabeth loves her time with the horses. It also gave Grant and I some one on one time. We played drive way pickle ball, Mario and had BLT's. It was really nice bonding time. We spend all of our time together that the one on one time is sparse. B didn't take any pictures of Elizabeth and Jewels, but she is in her zone with a horse. A horse barn and a pool is all this girl needs. Grant just needs to keep his hands busy....a baseball, a basketball, a pickle ball, a controller :)

#truth