How To Be ROARSy

Luke's Assignment: Create a book or poster about something you learned how to do this year.

What is ROARSy?

Respect
Ownership
Appreciation
Responsibility
Safety

Not A Stick

Luke's teacher read the book "Not a Stick" and assigned a project. Go outside, find a stick, and turn it into something.

Luke found many sticks. Each he wanted to turn into a gun/weapon of some sort. It was challenging to get him to think of anything else.

Then he found the perfect stick and had a non-weapon idea.

Its a Crocodile!

Run 2

Tried for a second run today. It was hot during the day and I was slow moving, so we waited until the end of the day to go. I asked Ryan to come and got a definite no. Brooke (surprisingly) said yes. When we went out it was pretty dark ... and buggy. Both of those were not ideal. To add to. That, we were really slow. The thing is, it didn’t FEEL that slow. My guess it was a combo of the humidity and end of the day tiredness. Not sure I’ll be able to get her out for a night run again, and I’m not sure I’ll want to try that again either.

Brooke tried to take a few pics out on the run - but it was pitch black and the pics looked like something from the Blair Witch Project. This one was snapped when we got into the house ... sweaty and almost eaten alive. 

First Run In Forever

The shelter in place situation has been tough on both the mind and the body. Every day is a bit like Groundhog Day, it just the same as the one before (and the one before that). Despite eating healthier (no fast food in MONTHS) I've continued to gain weight. This is a clear consequence of being so stagnant. Its not just the kids missing out on their normal activities, its ALL of us missing out on activity in general.

I've been thinking about how I need to go for a run for weeks. Despite the hot weather today, I decided today had to be the day. I made Brooke go out with me for a one mile run, just one mile. I figure it will take me a while to get it back on track, so starting slow is the best idea. I made the one mile, but Brooke kept coming up with excuses to stop. So, I think we BOTH need to get back on this running thing!

Bubble Baths For Life

All three kids still love a bubble bath. Such a simple pleasure that brings so much joy.

Shooting Hoops ... Memorial Weekend

Traditionally on Memorial Weekend we are hitting the pool and the beach, doing lots of outdoor activities, eating some BBQ and enjoying watching the community and our town as all the weekenders come in. A coronavirus Memorial Weekend is a bit different!

We knew a storm was coming in, so we decided to shoot some hoops. That was our only outside activity of the whole day today ;) We will grilled some chicken, ate lots of snacks and watched a movie. But the day feels pretty weird when we normally view this as a kickoff to summer. Is this what summer will look like for us? So far, it seems so...

Social Distance Board Games

Brooke and Haley played "Guess Who" ... the social distance edition.

Learning in a Zoom World

Brooke used my computer for class today and started squealing with laughter. Apparently, she tried to type in the google search bar for a search, and some previous searches came up. Ryan has been using my computer for his classes...

Three Amigos

Today Luke popped on a "buddy call" with his teacher and 2 friends. The other two coincidentally had the same shirt on ... and, even more coincidentally, Luke had the same shirt here!

So he ran up to grab his shirt and all three boys wore them while chatting and referring to themselves as the "Three Amigos".

Selfie Art

Luke has been obsessed with taking selfies (often skewed and modified with strange camera lenses) and then coloring on his own face. Here's an assortment of his work, which spans over several weeks.

Kid Baker Has A New Assistant

Last time she baked, Pixie was after her dough. Today she had a different audience ... Eri.

Fight, Cuddle, Fight, Cuddle

I'm not going to share images of them fighting, at least, not now. But I did catch them in a cuddle today :) The second one was more for show because Ryan caught me snapping pics ... however, the fact they're willing to cuddle is really all that matters.

Luke The Apple Eater

Baking With Cats

Brooke has been doing a lot of baking while we shelter-in-place, and the cats have become increasingly interested. Today she baked and had to step away for a minute and put me in charge of guarding her progress. Pixie was very determined to get some cookie dough. If I was not there ... we would have ended up cookieless for sure.

Online Workouts

While Brooke has had organized workouts through Trampoline, the boys have been less lucky. However, both schools do post occasional workout videos. They tend to be pretty short, but occasionally we can get them do do one ;)

Journaling (COVID-19 Version)

Zoom Baking

Brooke and a friend have been having baking meet-ups, where they each bake the same recipe together. They've agreed to every Saturday and also have done a couple of weekdays. One of the biggest challenges they're facing as they scroll through the cookbook is that there are often missing ingredients (for one or both of them). This is increasingly difficult in the middle of a pandemic where not only is grocery shopping a challenge, but when you do get there products are often not in stock.

Regardless, they've been having a lot of fun with it. Today was cupcakes. Brooke had 48 mini cupcakes and by the end of the night I don't think there are more than 10 left.

Ryan Teacher Appreciation

Luke's Class Teacher Appreciation

Catherine Cook Teacher Appreciation Ms Hill & Mr Shrader SK

Silly Selfies

Photos by Luke

Zoom Workouts

Trampoline zoom workouts now happen 3x a week. Each time she has a "practice" she whines and cries and tries to get out of it ... but after each one of these workouts she has a little smile and spring in her step. I think each one of these workouts has been crucial in helping her navigate through her week and organize her energy in valuable way.

New Crafting Ideas

Kids craft projects have morphed into mask making. Who would have ever believed we'd see that?

Smores

S'Mores!

                                       

Tonight we made s'mores on the back deck. It wasnt the same as a legit fire, but everyone felt like we were doing something special. Thats what we are all really needing now ... as we spend so much time just hanging out in the house and so little time doing new and fun things. Tonight was a welcome adventure.