Construction Time

We had a new deck put on the house last summer.  The old deck was old and not holding up well; in fact, when they took it down, there didn’t seem to be much holding up some of the stairs.  We envisioned the deck stairs landing on a patio to open up the outdoor space a little more.  Finally, it happened.  They came and dug up the area to level it.

  

Then, they put the forms in to prep for the cement.  Finally, the cement truck pulled in. 

Megan was here.  My dad was here; he can’t really stay away when construction is happening.  He enjoyed talking to the workers,

explaining things to the girls,

   

and photographing the event for us. 

   

We are happy with the final product, although we will be much more excited when it is actually all done – the lawn landscaped and the ruts gone.

Jeremy thought it would be nice to move the swing set away from the house a bit and open up the area.  So, he started prepping the ground to level out the space where it will set. 

  

The girls got into the action that night.  Sometimes they would pick it up and throw it.

   

Other times, they would utilize the wheelbarrow and haul it to the pile.

    

Either way, they did a job Jeremy was dreading and helped him get it done more quickly.

        

I had hurt my back trying to pull a few little weeds out of the mulch around our house.  So, I am (and was) out of commission to help with any of these outdoorsy projects.  While I would usually be elated at an excuse to not have to do yard work (particularly weeding) being hurt sucks.

As the summer progresses, we hope to finish up these projects.  Not sure what our next home renovation will be.  Some of the paint on our siding (yes, they painted the siding) peeled off during this process.  So, maybe new siding?  Our windows are not our favorite feature. So, maybe new windows?  We have a really retro meringue type living room ceiling… maybe that?  There’s always something.  But hopefully, we can just enjoy what we have and eat outside a bit more.

Mash Up of Miscellaneous

Time gets away from me.  I can hardly believe it is June 10 already.  How is that?  Before I know it summer will be over and then we will be back to school… or something.  (I usually start talking like this in July, and Jeremy says it’s ridiculous to think like this.  I just enjoy the freedom of no work so much!) 

So, here is a sampling of what’s been going on around our place:

We went to a procession for a Police K-9 named Inca that had served with the Massillon Police Department.  I heard about it through Carli, whose dad was Inca’s vet.  He was a unique breed of dog, Dogo Argentino.  This dog (according to the AKC website: “The Dogo Argentino is a pack-hunting dog, bred for the pursuit of big-game such as wild boar and puma, and possesses the strength, intelligence and quick responsiveness of a serious athlete.”  He was a beautiful dog.  Anyway, the girls were patient while we waited longer than we thought we would need to for the procession to pass us.  The number of police cars and K-9 units was pretty impressive.  They must have stopped traffic on 30 for all of them to proceed at once.  It was neat.  I also enjoyed just talking to people that were there with us.

    

The girls had visions of what their rooms could look like…again.  At the beginning of the quarantine, they decided they wanted to be in the same room with a playroom.  This time, they wanted separate rooms.  I told them, it was on them to move everything.  They did it, except for the furniture.  Our room is the holding pen for all their stuff.  So, it is good motivation to need to get the job done quickly.

This time, Madison went on a low bed in Ellie’s old room, and Ellie went with the loft bed in Madison’s old room.  It was a real switcharoo!  They did get a bit tired of moving things by the end, but they did a pretty good job sticking with it.  I think, for the most part, they are happy with their decision.  We’ll see how long this lasts.  (Pictures taken today in their natural state.)

    

Megan came overnight… finally!  We had been planning a sleepover since February which was put off because Meg wasn’t feeling well, and then well, you know, COVID-19.  So, we opened the door to the house and let her in for the day and night.  The girls had a blast.  Originally, they wanted to tent camp outside. They had been on a roll for nights at a time.  But the night temps were supposed to drop into the low 40s and I didn’t really feel like lugging enough blankets out there to keep them warm and then wait for them to traipse back in halfway through the night.  Instead, we set up a tent inside the living room.  We also had a movie night with Trolls: World Tour.  It was pretty good.  The girls thought they liked it better than the first one.  She went home the next day, which was too soon for all of them.  We will have to do it again. 

    

While Meg was here, we also had our deck poured.  I’ll post about that later.

Occasionally, the kids get bored.  Usually, Ellie asks to make something.  Often she wants to make something sweet or slime.  On this day, she asked to make slime.  We had just enough glue to try out a half batch of fluffy slime.  We usually make slime – with and without a kit – and it doesn’t turn out.  It is too sticky or runny or something.  And I think, What a waste! But this time, it worked!  So, here is the recipe that we used for fluffy slime.

Jeremy took a 1/2 day of vacation on Monday, and we went hiking at Wooster Memorial.  It is really one of my favorite places around here.  The terrain is varied – hills, ledges, stream crossings, meadows, trees.  It is great.  We had a good time hiking around and the weather was prefect.

    

The girls FINALLY made it to the pool.  A very generous friend has said we can come swim at their pool.  So, I carted the girls over for a short swim on Sunday.  I promised them a longer swim on Tuesday.  We returned Tuesday for 2-1/2 hours!  It was around 90 outside; the pool was about 86F.  My friend was in the pool, and we just visited while the girls played.  It was the best way to spend an afternoon.

    

Today (Wednesday), the girls went to work in the kitchen.  They made Strawberry Mousse, recommended by my friend Sarah.  It has to be in the freezer for 4 hours, so we have yet to try it.  Madison made Peach-Blueberry-Banana Smoothie from her cookbook, as well as small sandwiches on kabobs.  Ellie made Jam Thumbprint cookies from her cookbook.  Both of them worked with almost no help on their recipes.  I cleaned it all up for them.  They had a tea party to celebrate.

         

The Last Days of School

Usually this is one post – the last day of school … not plural.  But this year was a bit different in that because there seemed to be multiple last days.  So, here is one last glimpse of the last of school stuff…

Celery in colored water science experiment – how plants get water.  This was Ellie’s STEAM assignment.

    

Also, inspired by Pinterest, I tried a little lettuce regrowing.  You just use the bottom of the lettuce, place it in a shallow dish, and let it make itself again.  It is working.  It is also taking a long time to have enough to harvest. But it is a fun experiment.

Madison enjoyed two projects a lot at the end of the year.  She liked the weather game she played online.  She even got a certificate that she is a young meteorologist! (It is not framed in hanging in our dining room.)  She also really enjoyed the activities on icivic.

Another STEAM assignment for Ellie was learning about sunspots and then making sunspot cookies.  Well, we all know I LOVE to make cookies.  Now that I have my favorite cut out cookie recipe that doesn’t even need to chill first, I was all about this.  We shared a cookie with her friend that was having a birthday parade, and we gave one to Sandy to enjoy on a rather cloudy day. 

And last, but not least, we did art.  I loved the assignments for art because they were easy to do together, and they helped my kids think creatively.  Plus, their art teacher gave the best feedback – not kidding.  It was at least a paragraph specifically about their work and the elements of art that she noticed they used.  Incredible.  This day we took art outside to draw our llama surfing and Ellie with superpowers (night vision + shooting rainbows to stop gloom + sunshine to brighten people’s day). The theme was Silly Drawing Prompts.

Then, it was pretty officially the last day of school.  Ellie had her farewell parade last week on Thursday (21st).  Madison had hers this Thursday (28th).  They have turned in all their work.  So, here is the last day of school pictures.

Day 1 and Last Day.  So long to my elementary student and 4th grade…

    

Day 1 and Last Day.  So long 2nd grade; it’s been good.

    

Day 1 and Last Day.  Sisters.

    

And so the summer begins….

Memorial Day Get Together

I wonder if I should even give it this title.  Will someone out me that we had a gathering of over 10 people?  Who will judge me during this time like I have judged others?  Ugh, this COVID-19 is exhausting stuff. 

We decided as a family that we would try an outdoor gathering and lunch.  We made sure that everyone washed their hands before serving their food, and there was no wrestling on the trampoline.  Those were our main guidelines beyond that we were counting on the wind sweeping away any bad that might be floating around.  We also knew where we had all been and felt pretty good about it.  At some point, you let someone in.  I decided that my natural group of people is my family.  While I really appreciate my friendships (and the girls’ friends), I have to work to make playdates happen.  I just show up with fmaily and things happen naturally. So, that’s where I’m starting. 

It was good.  It is good to be together.  To see people in person. To hear their voice. To laugh together.  To play together.  It is good.

         

We ate and celebrated missed milestones.

    

We played… Flips on the trampoline

         

Resurrected the zipline – all run by kids this time!

              

and volleyball match. (No pictures… I was playing in it.)  Sam had a mock injury happen that he had to make a walking boot for. 

It was a good day and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.