4 hours ago
Showing posts with label Memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memories. Show all posts
I'm finally getting around to writing about the trip to Galveston that we took in May!
Needless to say, vacation this year was really weird. Because of Derek's work, we can't take vacations in June or July, so we usually end up going on our summer vacation in May or August. August vacations can be a little tough on me - it's really hard to get back into school mode when we just got home from summer vacation. So our preference has been to try to vacation in May.
This year that was obviously a little tricky. Flights were cheap but highly discouraged, and we wanted to be conscientious about going to a state with a similar case-load as our state, and about trying to keep social distance while still having some fun. We settled on a road trip to Galveston!
The drive was fun, and we really enjoyed the terrain in Texas. It's so much greener than I imagined it to be. We also drove through a couple towns that I had been reading about in The Worst Hard Time, and that was really fascinating to me - we went right through the land that was once a part of the XIT Ranch. We also stopped for candied pecans on the way as a treat.
We reached Galveston late at night, and the first couple days down there were a little rough, with a dirty AirBnB debacle (full story here). We made a quick trip to the beach the day we left the AirBnB, but we had to drive back to the Houston area to stay the night since there wouldn't be a hotel room available until Monday.
That ended up being a good thing, because I ended up getting a full-blown ear infection, and I had to go to Urgent Care to get antibiotics! Within 12 hours of taking them, I felt 95% better, which is crazy to me. I haven't had to take antibiotics in years, and I was impressed - those things really work!
All that to say, our vacation didn't feel like it truly started until four days into it. I was bummed that we missed a couple days that we could have been spending at the beach, but hey, it is what it is. Has any vacation truly gone perfectly? We haven't ever had a vacation that was without bumps.
We did get to see a movie while we were in Houston, something we still haven't been able to do at home, so it was a treat. We had the theater nearly to ourselves, and we saw "Playing With Fire". The kids thought it was completely hilarious and begged me to buy it - aside from a little "potty humor", it was cute. I think the excitement of going to see a movie after so long is what made it memorable though!
Once we were back on Galveston we toured an old mansion to kick things off right, a place called Bishop's Palace. It was a beautiful old place. It was a self-guided tour, and we were literally the only people in the whole building except for two clerks in the basement. It was really interesting to be in there all alone! I do wish we had been able to take a guided tour, because the pamphlet they gave us was light on the history. Obviously a Bishop must have once lived there, and I was under the impression that some services must have been held in there too because of all the gorgeous stained glass windows and other paraphernalia. But that is all speculation, because the pamphlet told us things like "This was Mrs. Gresham's room," which I have to be honest, I found really amusing! I wish I knew who Mrs. Gresham was. That's what we get for trying to do a self-guided tour. The exhibit on the hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900 was really interesting though!
After checking into our hotel we drove down the seawall and we were able to walk onto Pleasure Pier, which is basically an amusement park on a pier. All the rides were still closed, but it was fun to walk along it as the sun was going down! Everything was so pretty.
Then the next day we went right on back to the beach!
(Ready to go!)
(We stopped at a few historical sites along the way. This was the site of a massacre, so we stopped to look at the memorial.)
(Driving through New Mexico - looks like there was a brush fire behind that hill.)
(The beach!)
(Our first day at the beach before we hung out for a couple days in Houston.)
(The Bishop's Palace.)
(Wyatt was really interested in the exhibit on the 1900 hurricane.)
(Walking on the pier.)
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(Back to the beach!)
Part Two coming next week!
A Quote
"Isn't there something in living dangerously?"
-Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
A Book
I started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - I've never read it, and it's referenced so often in American Culture, I figured I should read it to know what everyone is talking about. It's so much more interesting than I originally thought it would be, kind of like East Of Eden was! Don't be afraid of those big books, folks. In my experience thus far, even big books typically have to be somewhat interesting to get published.
A Bit Of Nature
I'm trying to figure out what this bush is...it looks like a chokecherry bush to me. We used to pick chokecherries growing up and make syrup out of them - I hope that's what it is! I'm breaking out my plant guides later to confirm.
A Recommendation
If you have never heard of the Serial app, you should definitely check it out! It breaks up classic books into 15-minute serials that are delivered to you each morning. I think it makes those doorstops feel more manageable. It's how I'm reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. And the books are all free!
A Moment Of Happiness
We were at the Christian bookstore yesterday, and Wyatt spotted some devotional books that he wanted. After I looked through them to make sure they were good, I offered to buy one of them for him. He insisted on paying me back when we got home, but I honestly wasn't going to remind him.
Later that night, after bedtime, I was sitting in my chair, and Wyatt snuck out of his room and handed me a bill and a handful of coins to pay for his devotional, and then he asked me what time I usually get up to read the Bible.
I wrote about this last week, but I was about his age when I paid for my own first devotional book and started reading it along with my Bible daily. I don't know if he heard me telling that story or not, but either way, I love that it was so important to him to buy the book himself and get on track with reading his Bible daily. I love seeing him take initiative in his own godly habits and spiritual growth.
He gave me his squinty-eyed grin when I told him he could come read with me in the mornings, and it just warmed my heart so much. I'm so proud of my boy.
I've said it already, but I'll say it again, I feel like this year it's more important than ever to make good use of the summer. I don't know about you, but the last three months have really worn me down. it feels like the world is alternately going insane or falling apart. For every disappointment and stress that I've felt, I'm sure my kids have had their own version of it, despite how hard I've tried to shield them from things.
So I want summer to be a break from all that. I want to try not to allow the things that we can't do to discourage me from doing the things we can do. I want all the summer memories, and maybe the fact that some of the memories will be different will just make it stand out more for my kids.
So these are a few of the things I'm working into my summer planner.
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Teaching Games
As homeschool students, maybe it's even more important for me to put some effort into teaching them childhood games that remember - where else are they going to get them? These are a few on my list:
Trampoline Games - You know "crack the egg", "pop the popcorn", "fly high". Basically torturing an unsuspecting child in the middle by seeing how high you can launch them. Any others I'm missing?
H.O.R.S.E. - We have a basketball hoop, and it needs more use. Is there a more fun way to practice spelling? I remember as a kid sometimes playing E.N.C.Y.C.L.O.P.E.D.I.A. instead of H.O.R.S.E. to make the game last longer!
Catch - Like serious catch, with baseball glove and ball. I want my kids to be comfortable with the basics of sports, even though I'm about the least sporty person you'll ever meet. I'm sure it won't take much for my kids to surpass me, but I want them to learn.
Hand Clapping Games - If you are a girl, I'm sure you remember doing hand-clapping games as a kid, right? I need to brush off that knowledge and teach my kids some (especially my girls - seems like that was mostly a girl thing in my memory anyway?).
I found this article with a bunch more old-school game ideas, so I might add a few more as we go!
Crafts And Activities
I am not the most crafty mom either (ie. not crafty at all), but these activities looked doable, and like they would keep my kids busy for quite a while.
Spray Bottle Sidewalk Paint - I found this recipe here. There is also a similar squirt-chalk recipe, and I already got cheap squirt bottles to use at Dollar General!
Tic Tac Toe Rocks - On Pinterest I saw smooth rocks painted colorfully with tic-tac-toe symbols on it, along with a little wooden tic-tac-toe board. Sure you could play tic-tac-toe on paper, but I thought it might be fun to break out the paint and make a board like that with the kids.
Homemade Bouncy Balls - This recipe looked really interesting - they are not like true bouncy balls, but this would be an interesting science experiment to try this summer.
Ice Cream Playdough - This ice cream/frosting play dough recipe looks exciting. It looks like really ice cream! And it's edible, so if Georgie tries to eat it I won't have to worry.
Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cones - My kids would have so much fun with this puffy paint picture project.
Homemade Bubbles - I saw this fun idea for homemade bubbles in a drink dispenser - this would honestly keep my kids busy all day!
Glow Sticks In The Kiddie Pool - Every summer I get a kiddie pool, which is always a winner for any hot days we have at home - but I really like the idea of putting some glow stick in the water once it starts to get dark!
Make Bird Feeders - I'm thinking the toilet-paper-roll variety. You know, you roll them in peanut butter and bird seed and tie a string through it. Keeping it simple.
Treasure Hunt - I found these cute treasure hunt printables, and I think it would be fun to buy some candy and make the kids search for it one day. It would be super simple and cheap, but I know my kids, they'll probably talk about it for the rest of the summer.
Origami "Fortune Teller" With Boredom Busters - There are directions to make one here, and this boredom buster list gave me some ideas. This would be our go-to for the inevitable "I'm bored". The rule might be that my kids have to do whatever they get, even if it's a chore!
Reading Challenge - We are doing our library's reading challenge, but I also challenged my big kids that they would get a little prize for each set of five books that they read. They've been working hard to get their prizes!
Bible Memory Verse Challenge - This one is still in the works, but I'm thinking of coming up with a chart, and for each set of five verses that they memorize, they'll earn some special treat or prize. I have memory verse cards they can work off of, and some fun Bible memory verse apps I found.
Out Of The House
I still am trying to plan a few days to get out of the house, even though we are kind of limited on where we can go. These were a few ideas.
Nature Hikes - We are lucky enough to live down the road from a state park, so we are going to work in regular nature hikes. my kids love hiking in the summer especially and looking at all the mountain plants and flowers! Gwen requested we bring notebooks next time for recording our observations, so that's what we will do.
Play In A Creek - I know a little picnic spot with a creek, but we haven't been there in ages. I'm putting a day for wading in the creek on our calendar.
Drive In Movie - This is a "maybe", but even though our theaters are all still closed, I heard that some drive-in theaters are open. Maybe this is the year to give it a try?
Swimming - I really want to try to go swimming at least once this summer (aside from the fact that pools are requiring masks only while walking to the pool, but not at any other time...honestly, what is even the point? These mask rules are so often nonsensical.)
Park Days - I had grand plans for a million park days this summer, but I think we're going to trim down and only go every couple weeks. Maybe I'm just turning into a home body with all the weirdness out there? But the kids are park-deprived, so we will definitely make an effort to visit a few of our favorites!
Historical Sites - There are a couple historical sites in our state that I really wanted to visit in the spring, then everything shut down. We are going to try to make a day trip or weekend trip out of them this summer instead! Possibly in August, so we can count them as days for next school year.
Fishing - I should also mention that we plan to squeeze a few more fishing days in this summer! We just don't know where yet. Maybe someday we'll actually catch a fish.
Stargazing - We finally got our big telescope set up, and we are ready to schedule a summer star-gazing night! We go somewhere away from all houses, usually with candy or Sonic slushes in tow, and see what we can see.
At Home
Porch Camping - We do this every year, and it's always a highlight. Derek will set up our tent on the porch, complete with air mattresses and sleeping bags, and we all sleep out there at least one night. We usually leave it up a couple extra days too, and the kids play or read out there.
Trampoline Sleepover - Derek suggested that he might string some battery-operated lights on the net around our trampoline, and I was thinking we could let the kids have a sleepover out there (one of us will sleep out there with them). Will we sleep well? Probably not, but it will be a fun memory!
Campfire - If our fire ban ever gets lifted, a campfire is the first thing on our to-do-list! With marshmallows and smores and Rolos, of course.
Regular Game Nights - I want to schedule a weekly or bi-weekly game night, where we play a board game together as a family (with possible the little ones being on our "teams", since they get distracted).
Regular Movie Nights - We want to start introducing the kids to some of our childhood favorites! We watched Pollyanna the other night, and a John Wayne movie is next one the list. For movie night we pile in the living room with pillows and blankets, and have cheap pizza and candy while we watch together.
Food Treats
Firework Fruit Kabobs - I was going to make some variety of a red/white/blue fruit Kabob for the 4th of July.
Special Kid Drinks - My first variation is koolaid ice cubes in Sprite, and it made the kids' day! But I think even lemonade or infused water in the drink dispenser would be a refreshing summer touch.
Popsicles - We might possibly make some homemade popsicles, or I might make my life easy and just give them an otter-pop on every hot afternoon.
Spaghetti Salad and Broccoli Salad - Every summer I try to make one or both of these salads a few times - they are our traditional summer foods in my family.
Mocktails - This is more for me and Derek, but in the summer I like to try new fruity non-alcoholic drink recipes after the kids go to bed!
That is my full summer list! I rarely get to every single thing I have planned for the summer, but just having it written out on our calendar motivates me to at least try to make some of these ideas happen. (You can read more about the mechanics of my summer planning here.) It's taken me some time to get organized since we've been back from vacation, so this morning I'm working on mapping out when I want to do all this. We still have two months of summer fun ahead of us!
Do you plan any activities to make summer feel special?
Crafts And Activities
I am not the most crafty mom either (ie. not crafty at all), but these activities looked doable, and like they would keep my kids busy for quite a while.
Spray Bottle Sidewalk Paint - I found this recipe here. There is also a similar squirt-chalk recipe, and I already got cheap squirt bottles to use at Dollar General!
Tic Tac Toe Rocks - On Pinterest I saw smooth rocks painted colorfully with tic-tac-toe symbols on it, along with a little wooden tic-tac-toe board. Sure you could play tic-tac-toe on paper, but I thought it might be fun to break out the paint and make a board like that with the kids.
Homemade Bouncy Balls - This recipe looked really interesting - they are not like true bouncy balls, but this would be an interesting science experiment to try this summer.
Ice Cream Playdough - This ice cream/frosting play dough recipe looks exciting. It looks like really ice cream! And it's edible, so if Georgie tries to eat it I won't have to worry.
Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cones - My kids would have so much fun with this puffy paint picture project.
Homemade Bubbles - I saw this fun idea for homemade bubbles in a drink dispenser - this would honestly keep my kids busy all day!
Glow Sticks In The Kiddie Pool - Every summer I get a kiddie pool, which is always a winner for any hot days we have at home - but I really like the idea of putting some glow stick in the water once it starts to get dark!
Make Bird Feeders - I'm thinking the toilet-paper-roll variety. You know, you roll them in peanut butter and bird seed and tie a string through it. Keeping it simple.
Treasure Hunt - I found these cute treasure hunt printables, and I think it would be fun to buy some candy and make the kids search for it one day. It would be super simple and cheap, but I know my kids, they'll probably talk about it for the rest of the summer.
Origami "Fortune Teller" With Boredom Busters - There are directions to make one here, and this boredom buster list gave me some ideas. This would be our go-to for the inevitable "I'm bored". The rule might be that my kids have to do whatever they get, even if it's a chore!
Reading Challenge - We are doing our library's reading challenge, but I also challenged my big kids that they would get a little prize for each set of five books that they read. They've been working hard to get their prizes!
Bible Memory Verse Challenge - This one is still in the works, but I'm thinking of coming up with a chart, and for each set of five verses that they memorize, they'll earn some special treat or prize. I have memory verse cards they can work off of, and some fun Bible memory verse apps I found.
Out Of The House
I still am trying to plan a few days to get out of the house, even though we are kind of limited on where we can go. These were a few ideas.
Nature Hikes - We are lucky enough to live down the road from a state park, so we are going to work in regular nature hikes. my kids love hiking in the summer especially and looking at all the mountain plants and flowers! Gwen requested we bring notebooks next time for recording our observations, so that's what we will do.
Play In A Creek - I know a little picnic spot with a creek, but we haven't been there in ages. I'm putting a day for wading in the creek on our calendar.
Drive In Movie - This is a "maybe", but even though our theaters are all still closed, I heard that some drive-in theaters are open. Maybe this is the year to give it a try?
Swimming - I really want to try to go swimming at least once this summer (aside from the fact that pools are requiring masks only while walking to the pool, but not at any other time...honestly, what is even the point? These mask rules are so often nonsensical.)
Park Days - I had grand plans for a million park days this summer, but I think we're going to trim down and only go every couple weeks. Maybe I'm just turning into a home body with all the weirdness out there? But the kids are park-deprived, so we will definitely make an effort to visit a few of our favorites!
Historical Sites - There are a couple historical sites in our state that I really wanted to visit in the spring, then everything shut down. We are going to try to make a day trip or weekend trip out of them this summer instead! Possibly in August, so we can count them as days for next school year.
Fishing - I should also mention that we plan to squeeze a few more fishing days in this summer! We just don't know where yet. Maybe someday we'll actually catch a fish.
Stargazing - We finally got our big telescope set up, and we are ready to schedule a summer star-gazing night! We go somewhere away from all houses, usually with candy or Sonic slushes in tow, and see what we can see.
At Home
Porch Camping - We do this every year, and it's always a highlight. Derek will set up our tent on the porch, complete with air mattresses and sleeping bags, and we all sleep out there at least one night. We usually leave it up a couple extra days too, and the kids play or read out there.
Trampoline Sleepover - Derek suggested that he might string some battery-operated lights on the net around our trampoline, and I was thinking we could let the kids have a sleepover out there (one of us will sleep out there with them). Will we sleep well? Probably not, but it will be a fun memory!
Campfire - If our fire ban ever gets lifted, a campfire is the first thing on our to-do-list! With marshmallows and smores and Rolos, of course.
Regular Game Nights - I want to schedule a weekly or bi-weekly game night, where we play a board game together as a family (with possible the little ones being on our "teams", since they get distracted).
Regular Movie Nights - We want to start introducing the kids to some of our childhood favorites! We watched Pollyanna the other night, and a John Wayne movie is next one the list. For movie night we pile in the living room with pillows and blankets, and have cheap pizza and candy while we watch together.
Food Treats
Firework Fruit Kabobs - I was going to make some variety of a red/white/blue fruit Kabob for the 4th of July.
Special Kid Drinks - My first variation is koolaid ice cubes in Sprite, and it made the kids' day! But I think even lemonade or infused water in the drink dispenser would be a refreshing summer touch.
Popsicles - We might possibly make some homemade popsicles, or I might make my life easy and just give them an otter-pop on every hot afternoon.
Spaghetti Salad and Broccoli Salad - Every summer I try to make one or both of these salads a few times - they are our traditional summer foods in my family.
Mocktails - This is more for me and Derek, but in the summer I like to try new fruity non-alcoholic drink recipes after the kids go to bed!
---
That is my full summer list! I rarely get to every single thing I have planned for the summer, but just having it written out on our calendar motivates me to at least try to make some of these ideas happen. (You can read more about the mechanics of my summer planning here.) It's taken me some time to get organized since we've been back from vacation, so this morning I'm working on mapping out when I want to do all this. We still have two months of summer fun ahead of us!
Do you plan any activities to make summer feel special?
A Bad AirBnB Experience
Alright, you have to allow me to tell this story before I get to the fun stuff. The last week of May we took off for a road trip to the Gulf Coast! Coronavirus tensions were higher then, even though it was just a few weeks ago, so we packed up all our food and activities in the van, and planned to drive with as few stops at possible. I figured when we got there we'd check into our AirBnB and just keep to ourselves and enjoy the beach.
I decided to book an AirBnB since when we were planning our trip it was still questionable whether hotels were open or not. I figured it would be nice to have a whole house to ourselves anyway.
We arrived at the house at maybe !0:00 PM local time, and basically got the kids settled and went right to bed. When we woke up the next day, we started looking around...and realized the house was not really clean. I guess since you pay a cleaning fee on the AirBnB website, I always just assume they hire a cleaning lady, and I also assumed they'd be extra thorough in cleaning since they had just allowed rentals again after the virus shutdown. And the "recent reviews" said it was "sparkling clean".
Well. The host basically admitted to me that all they did was steam mop the floors and clean the bathroom. There was clutter on top of the cabinets and in all the closets, the closet door was hanging by a hinge and a light fixture was broken, there was dead flies and dust on all the windowsills, thick grime in the dishwasher, grease splattered in the microwave. Dust on all the shelves. At first we thought we could maybe do a quick dust job ourselves, but the more we looked around, the more grime we found. So I requested a refund (only got a partial one), and we decided to look for a hotel instead. The host was rude about it.
Here's the kicker guys. I was going to leave a review to let other people know that the place was not actually clean, but then I realized that your review is not published on AirBnB until or unless the host decides to review you as a guest. So basically I could write a negative review, and the host could just decide not to publish it. Which explains why all the available reviews claimed "sparkling clean" when it was clearly not sparkling clean.
Let's just say I don't trust AirBnb anymore.
Update: Did a little more research, and it looks like only the HOST will not be able to see your comments until after they review you? If so, that's much better. The wording in the AirBnB emails is confusing.
A Lovely Gulf Coast Vacation Anyway
Once we left the nasty AirBnB, (and once I got antibiotics for an ear/throat infection that developed while we were down there - another long story), we actually had a really wonderful trip! We enjoyed a really nice hotel in Houston for a great last-minute deal, saw a movie at one of the theaters that was open in Houston, went back to a hotel in Galveston as soon as one opened up, and spent a ton of time at the beach. I even finally figured out how to handle my curly hair in the humidity on this trip (the trick is to not try to straighten it, and just not care at all). It was so fun and refreshing to go somewhere that felt almost normal, and I was sorry to go home. I'll share more pictures and all the details in another post soon.
A Birthday Fishing Trip And Date
One thing that is not cancelled is birthdays! And mine is in June. We threw around a few ideas for things to do on my birthday, and we finally settled on going fishing. I love going fishing, and feel like I could really get into it if we had more time/resources. As it is now, we almost never catch anything because 1) the fishing is not that amazing in our state unless you have a boat, and 2) we have a bunch of noisy little kids with us every time. But I think the experience of getting outside and enjoying nature is what makes it fun.
We still really want to catch a fish sometime though. I think we are going to try another state park soon that has a smaller pond with fish in it. The fish in this lake were out the in the deeper water where our lines wouldn't reach. We saw them jumping a couple times. Or maybe we should just invest in a pair of waders so we can get out there further. We will catch a fish someday.
Derek also took me on a birthday date! We went mini-golfing, and then got take-out and ate it in a park while the sun was going down. It was lovely!
Back To Church And Playgrounds
Another great development is that our church was finally allowed to reopen. It's different than normal, but it's just so good to be with other believers and worship together in person again. Online church is fine in a pinch, but I strongly believe it's not a substitute for meeting with other Christians in person. There's a reason the Bible says not to forsake the gathering together with other believers. Anyway, that's been a nice bit of pseudo-normalcy lately.
Playgrounds also opened this month, so we've been taking advantage!
Nature Hikes
It's been interesting and kind of fun to me to see how everything being closed has allowed people to get back out into nature a little more. During the little kids' nap time the other day, I took the big three on a nature hike, and there was so many people on the trail! But I love how even when nature is a bit more crowded than usual, there is still so much space for peace and quiet and exploring. Seriously guys, try to get outside more. Also, state parks are hidden gems.
Summer Planning
Every year I pull out a calendar and a list of things we want to do during the summer, and I start plugging things in. I have a process, because I want to make sure all of the things we most want to do during the warm months actually happen! I wrote all about my planning process (including some ideas for stuff to do this year) on Rooted Family if you're interested.
Anyway, I have my list of ideas gathered (it took a little more research this year than normal), and sitting down to plug my ideas into the calendar is on the to-do list today. I really believe that simple little bits of fun can really make the summer memorable. I started freezing koolaid ice cubes this week so I could make the kids colorful summer drinks (just add Sprite), and it turned out really well.
The kids were so excited when I ave them the drinks. The girls adorably clinked their glasses together and said "Cheers!" And Wyatt actually wrote me a card to thank me for the summer treat. That whole "the way to a boy's heart is through his stomach" thing is a cliche for a reason. They made my day.
That's pretty much everything we've been up to lately! Keep an eye out for a vacation post, coming up soon!
And don't forget to read my post on planning an epic summer on Rooted, especially if you are discouraged about the summer not feeling normal. You can still make it memory-filled, even in this weird time.
My coffee is cold in the cup next to me as I sit down on my couch today, laptop perched on my knees. I haven't sat down just to write in a while! My fingers actually feel stiff and slow in typing. I'm asked often how I make time for my blog with the kids and everything, and the truth is that Derek usually gives me an evening or a whole afternoon at the library, and I knock out a few posts at a time. I obviously haven't been able to do that for a while. Even now, when our state has been slowly reopening for a couple weeks, our libraries are still closed.
But today, Derek and a friend are outside, building a treehouse for the kids. The weather has been just lovely for a few weeks now, which feels like another bit of God's grace to us amidst all this turmoil in the world. We may not be able to go to the park, but the mountains are unseasonably warm, and hot pine needles smell like summer. I can hear the kids shouting as they play on the driveway. And I'm sitting here, with my cold cup of coffee that I'll probably re-heat again in a minute, and a wilted little wildflower on the armrest of the couch, presented proudly to me by my golden-haired four year old a little while ago. The darn woodpecker is attacking the side of the house again, and the hummingbird feeder is swinging outside the window. It's a nice Saturday morning, and I decided today was the day to catch up the ole blog. I should make this happen more often.
(Hi!)
Speaking of the treehouse, the kids are so excited for it. It's really more of a playhouse than a treehouse, a little shed on a raised deck, with an even higher balcony-porch that wraps around a tree in our yard. Derek wanted to make something sturdy and enduring, something they can enjoy now and when they are teenagers. I think it's going to turn out great! We are also toying with the idea of making a teepee further down the hill, but we can't quite figure out where to get or how to make a full-size teepee covering.
Other house projects-in-progress involve a lot of plants. Derek decided to try to grow our own flowers for our outdoor pots this summer, and he's been baby-ing little flower sprouts for a few weeks now. The flowers we chose don't seem to be happy, and we aren't quite sure why. The vegetable plants he got from a coworker, on the other hand, are thriving. He ordered a greenhouse, and I consented to have it set up in corner of our back deck. Our deck is a little funny, with a long, semi-narrow strip right off the back of the house, which takes one step down to a wider area where we have our table set up. So the greenhouse will be on the upper section of the deck, next to the house. I was hesitant to let the greenhouse live there, because I want the deck to feel clean, but I think it'll be alright. I'm planning on hanging some flower baskets on either side to make it look...fancier? More lush? I'm also a little concerned about the draining, but Derek says all the plants will be in trays. The greenhouse may move to the side of the house if our plants outgrow it. It's a pretty small greenhouse. We are gardening newbies (though Derek has a greener thumb than me), so any tips are appreciated!
I've been trying to grow herbs in our kitchen windowsill as well, and the basil and chamomile is thriving, but the lavender and rosemary have yet to sprout. Did I get dead seeds? Do they just need longer to germinate? Or did I drown them? I don't know. I'm disappointed that the two herbs I wanted the most seem to be rebelling against me, but I'll give them a little more time.
Derek is still working from home, from the closet-office, and he probably will be for a while. Our governor is encouraging those who can work from home to do it, and I can't say we completely mind. Working from home cuts out two hours of commuting time for Derek, which means more time for movie nights and house projects.
Homeschooling exclusively at home, on the other hand, is getting wearisome. We are itching to go on a field trip, or a library trip, or a park trip, or something. Over the weeks when we were required to stay home, and there was nowhere to go anyway, I did lessons with the kids on the weekends to knock out a few extra days of our school year. So we are on track to finish our required number of days by the end of this week! I would love to do a field trip to celebrate the last day of school, but I'm pretty sure most of those type of places will still be closed. Maybe a "field trip" to Barnes and Noble for some books to read over the summer, perhaps? I just saw that our local Barnes And Noble is open, and I'm extra excited about it.
Speaking of books for the kids to read, Gwen is reading pretty solidly now, so I went ahead and ordered some of the original American Girl books on Ebay. I was aiming to gather the Felicity and Addy series, and just happened to also get the Josefina series in the process. Probably my three favorites of the original American Girls, so that worked out! Did any of you read American Girl books as a kid? Which were your favorites? I never did get one of the dolls.
As our state and county has started opening, we've enjoyed visits with my sister and parents last week. It is so good to see family, and especially to be around people who feel similarly about this whole crazy mess the world has gotten itself into. As I've been following the virus news and shutdowns the last few weeks, I've been reminded of the fact that an economic depression is going to have horrible ripple effects in so many less fortunate countries too. I read in an article that the number of people in the world who face starvation is expected to double this year as a result of the economic shutdowns around the world. Double. That just breaks my heart. What have we done to ourselves? Opinions run the gamut about this whole situation, and I am trying not to get into mine here, but it can't be denied that some of our actions in response to the virus have been much more devastating than many expected.
(On a related note, my friend Bethany - another childhood penpal! - is trying to sell bows to help with relief in the middle East during this coronavirus crisis. She's sold out for now, but it's a cool thing she's doing, and you might consider following if you are interested.)
Anyway, to try to get back to a happier topic before I close this out, I'm still working through East Of Eden by John Steinbeck. It's a long book, okay? I'm most of the way through it though, and I still have no idea where it's going. How's all this going to end? I'll probably go curl up with it on the porch as soon as I'm done typing this. When I finish that book, I'm going full-steam ahead on The Lake House by Kate Morton. I also started Unknown Valor by Martha MacCallum. The cover caught my eye, and I kept seeing it everywhere, so I grabbed it at Sam's Club last week. I'm already getting sucked into it, so that's my current nonfiction read! What have you all been reading? I have a full post on what I've read so far this year in the works for later this week!
I'm typing this on Saturday, you'll probably be reading this on Monday, which means Mother's Day was yesterday. Our plan is to drop by Derek's mom's house in the morning, and then I think Derek has a picnic lunch planned for me and the kids. They went Mother's Day shopping for me this week, and the kids are so cute, telling me not to look in their closets so I don't see the presents they got me. Then I'm hoping to see my mom for dinner. It should be a lovely day, and the first Mother's Day in a while when we'll get to see both our moms on the same day.
I'm feeling especially blessed by my mom this year, as I've seen her here and there during the shutdown, and she's dropped off little notes for the kids, and I've made more of an effort to talk to her on the phone regularly. I've never been good at making those phone calls, I've never been much of a phone-talker. But I'm starting to change my tune. It's undeniably better to hear someone's voice and have a real conversation than to poke out characters for a text bubble. And I've especially missed getting to see Derek's mom - we've sent letters to her, and Derek continues to talk to her regularly, but I hate that we had to miss seeing her on Easter. I have a really wonderful mother-in-law, and it's not lost on me what a blessing that really is. It'll be good to see her face.
The sunshine on the porch is calling my name, so I think I'll go grab that book now.
How have you all been? What have you been up to? Any restrictions lifting in your states yet? Or for international friends, how are things going in your country right now?
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