Robbe and I were living our best lives today. Apple picking. From our own trees. Technically they’re my parents’ trees, but close enough, right? They might not be the cutest specimens but they taste good and we had fun. It’s a win!
Chase did a crazy amount of work over the last three days. He missed in-person classes Monday and Tuesday so a friend of his grabbed the work he missed from those days in addition to the work assigned for his remote learning days (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday).
It. Was. Intense.
There were some rough moments along the way. But there were many many more amazing moments that made up for it. We’re learning how to work together when it’s just the two of us. We’re learning how to be challenged and frustrated and overwhelmed without giving up. Everyone can relate to that, am I right?
I’m incredibly proud of this small human.
This is what remote learning looked like at our house today. Eek! The hyper-organized, control-freak in me was losing my mind. But these assignments and resources are new to all of us and we’ve just got to dive in before we can figure out a system.
The boys rocked remote learning today, I have to say. Not only were we looking at today’s assignments for both boys, but the last two days for both boys because they were out sick. And…the next two days for Chase because he does remote learning tomorrow and Friday. It was a lot to keep straight but we buckled down, worked hard, and even had some fun.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have the flexibly in my job and our life to be able to be the at-home learning coach that the boys desperately need to navigate this crazy year. For parents doing this under different circumstances, I see you and hope you know that whatever you’re doing is enough.
Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. It’s been a crazy few days. We had a fun weekend away (see photo above) and then came home to sick kids. With the new protocol at school, Robbe had to be Covid-tested yesterday (hello, stressful!). We got the results back extremely fast and found out he was negative (whew!). Unfortunately, getting a negative test result doesn’t actually make any of us feel better health-wise so we spent the day continuing to rest and recover. It felt like a turning point, though, so I’m hopeful tomorrow will be a vast improvement.
Almost four years ago, I promised myself that I would do my part to make sure that President Trump would not be re-elected. Today I started fulfilling that promise. And I managed to score the best job ever: button making! I might have found my life’s true calling.
I’m also being trained on office work next week and might offer my graphic design skills, too. I’m not waking up the day after the election full of regrets this time around.
Here we go, Wisconsin. Let’s do this.
Mom school was back in session today. And, you know what? It was pretty lovely, actually. We slid right back into our old routine and even got some educating done. High five!
In the photo above, Robbe is working on a graphic novel entitled Best Summer Ever (it’s a personal narrative) and Chase is starting typing lessons. So cute, right?
The big one is officially a 3rd grader. Crazy, right? Doesn’t he look so grown up?!? It’s going to be an odd year with Robbe attending four days (M, T, Th, F) and Chase attending two days (M, T), but we’ll make it work and will keep hoping that school stays in session. Just like Robbe, Chase had a really great first day and was just so overwhelmingly happy to be back.
These teachers have their work cut out for them this year and I can’t thank them enough for all they’re doing to keep our kids happy and healthy and [hopefully] in school.
No matter what it looks like, this 3rd grader is going to rock it. :)
We’ve been watching this baby grow in our garden all summer. We finally picked our prized honeydew (aka “green melon”) today. It’s really amazing how strong the vines of these plants are. We decided to let it ripen on the counter for a few days. I’ll report back when we finally cut into it. I’m not sure the taste is ever going to live up to the hype and excitement surrounding this beaut.
It was a beautiful day for a new hike. Can you handle how pretty this is? Perrot State Park definitely didn’t disappoint. The hike was the perfect distance and the weather couldn’t have been better.
Chris was off work today so he was happy to join us for drop off and pick up at school. Robbe specifically requested a photo with dad by the school sign. They’re so cute, aren’t they?
Robbe had a great first day of 1st grade. He declared it his “best day ever”. He loved being around kids again and was so excited to report that no one even got Covid. Haha.
After weeks of deliberating what would be best for him, seeing him light up [and not stop beaming or talking] for an hour after school made me feel much better. Even as we were getting ready to leave, he had a HUGE smile under the mask.
Robbe goes back to school tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about it. But I will.
We had a lovely, low-key day just being together. It’s hard to believe after six months of this, our little trifecta will be separated. Chase starts on Tuesday. That’ll be the real shock for me. After keeping them in this little bubble for so long, I’m struggling with relinquishing control. Covid stinks, you know?
We struggled endlessly over the decision to go virtual vs. hybrid and I’m still feeling ok about the choice to send them but, man, I’m worried. My one job is to protect these tiny people. To keep them safe and happy and healthy. All of that feels out of my control right now. I don’t love that.
Deep down, I believe they’ll have a good year. They’ll learn a lot academically, of course, but they’ll also learn so much about themselves and the importance of being flexible in life. I just need to focus some effort on doing the same for myself.
Just so I don’t leave you on a sad note, let me tell you about these amazing murals that went up in EC over the weekend. Aren’t they fun? We all need some bright colors and inspiration in life right now. And I don’t know if you know this or not, but Robbe LOVES murals—it was the perfect last day activity to round out the longest summer vacation ever. *You can click on the photos above to enlarge.*
We managed to keep Water Week going through the weekend! The boys waded in a new lake yesterday (it counts, ok?) and we visited Big Falls for some river-swimming today. It’s just beautiful, isn’t it?
I’m not sure what happened but yesterday’s post didn’t go through. Just pretend it’s Friday, ok?
We managed to wrap up five days worth of water activities this week. For someone who doesn’t love frollicking in the water, that’s a big deal. Here’s the breakdown:
Monday: pool swimming
Tueday: river swimming
Wednesday: slip ‘n sliding
Thursday: pool swimming
Friday: hot tubbing
Quite an accomplishment, right?
The little one is officially a full-on swimmer. We’ve spent more of the summer in a pool than I would have ever expected and it’s been really lovely. Covid + super-generous neighbor = lots of swimming. I’ve never been a pool person but after a summer poolside, I kind of get the appeal. There were some days where that hour by the pool was the only time I sat down all day. When you’re home all day, every day it’s hard to turn off the need to be productive. All. The. Time. When we’re at the pool, though, I’m *required* to drop everything and stay focused on just keeping these nuggets safe. It’s going to be a tough summer to say goodbye to—for so many reasons.
I took a video of his swimming to serve as proof. If the video doesn’t show up for you below, you can access it here.
In case I haven’t been clear enough, we have the best neighbors. Seriously. The best. Especially during this Covid craziness, we’ve been incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such generous folks. One neighbor lets us use their trampoline. Another lets us use their pool. Yet another lets us use their shoreline for fishing.
That last neighbor (the fishing one) offered up their slip ‘n slide to us recently. The boys have never officially tried slippin’ on a thin sheet of plastic on their bellies. The idea was very bizarre to them. They did get the hang of it, though. Chase figured it out first and Robbe eventually followed suit—after much grit and determination. There’s nothing better on a 90° day in Wisconsin. And we’re beyond grateful and appreciative for all the kind people in our lives.
*They’re yelling “Take that, Covid!” at the beginning of this video. Covid can’t keep us down!
We’re running low on summer days around here. Our goal is to make the most of this low-key, no-schedule, bubbled life.
We’re checking in on a friend’s cat this week and we got to spend the weekend with this super sweet pup. Quality [but temporary] time with furry friends is kind of the best.
This summer looks quite a bit different than summers in the past. One thing that we’ve been able to keep constant? A dedication to consuming our share of ice cream. Someone has to keep the ice cream industry afloat, you know? At least we biked about ten miles today to meet our ice cream quota. That counts for something…I’m sure of it.
Two canoe trips in one summer! Things are getting crazy over here. Our journey down the Beef River had more obstacles than I was expecting but we had a great time. Chris and I are practically canoeing experts now.
small city | BIG DAYS
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