COVID-Week #11

Finn is getting ready for his Virtual Decathlon for school

Social distancing Croquet in the yard with a neighbor

Aiden getting ready for his Virtual Decathlon for school

Working on his school assignment

I thought we would give a brief recap of the previous nearly three months that we have been mostly at home and in quarantine together.

Most Frequently Requested Game of any type:  Family Basketball

Favorite Dinner:   Beef and Noodles (a new recipe we received from a recipe exchange during the quarantine)

Favorite Saying:  "Two Claps for...."fill in the name (when someone does something good) and everyone claps!

Favorite Workout:  Peloton workouts with Olivia for Luke, Liam, and Mom; Finn enjoyed hikes and Aiden enjoyed basketball.  Bike Rides outside for Mom and Dad were also fun.

Favorite Movie:  "Greater", a movie on the life of Brandon Burlsworth.  We also liked the Fred Rogers movie called "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Favorite Show to watch at Night:  Brain Games on Disney+

Favorite Weekly Show:  Michael Jordan Dream Team on ESPN

Favorite Breakfast:  Luke's blueberry coffee cake

Favorite Hike:  Taylor Falls glacial potholes and waterfall

Favorite Board Game:  Clue

Number of 1000 Piece Puzzles completed (mostly by Luke and John):  5

Activity we are most excited to do again:  Hockey!

Favorite take out meal:  Pizza

Favorite Book:  Front Desk (Mom and Finn read this together and loved it)

Things the boys did to stay in shape and active:  Hill Repeats on the side of the house, Basketball, Ladder work in basement, shooting hockey pucks, bike rides

New Sport the Boys tried:  Mountain Biking

Number of Bikes purchased or changed during quarantine:  FOUR!  Luke and Liam both got new bikes, Aiden got Liam's relatively new bike from last summer, Finn got Aiden's bike

House Projects Completed:  Too many to count but they include...taking down and storing the boards for the hockey rink, cleaning out the basement and making an exercise area with a t.v. for workouts, cleaning out the garage, one bag picked up for dumpster, refinishing swing set, window cleaning, mulching, closet and room organization and cleaning, office cleaning.

Most hours spent in the office working:  John!

Number of teeth Lost and Visits from the tooth fairy:  3 (for Finn)


While I planned to do a recap on the blog this week of the things we have done over the last three months in quarantine, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the unrest in Minneapolis over the last week.

On Monday, an African American, George Floyd, was killed by a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis when Floyd refused to get into a law enforcement vehicle after being apprehended for forging a $20 check.  This was the spark that lit the fire (literally and figuratively).  Since Monday, there have been both peaceful and not so peaceful protests downtown.

On Wednesday, the protests escalated to riots and portions of downtown Minneapolis were completely destroyed by fire and vandalism.  These are areas we have been to many times and have friends who live in these areas.  People had to be evacuated from homes, businesses were burned to the ground, windows were shattered on stores, all MN Target stores were closed for the entire weekend after looting and rioting inside, and so on.  It was beyond scary to see the destructive and violent behavior of many people.

A curfew was enforced by Friday evening as the rioting continued.  Interstates, restaurants, shops, etc... were shut down on Saturday evening by 7:00 pm.  We received a governor initiated phone call from our school district requesting that parents keep their children inside after 8:00 pm.  The National Guard, Red Cross, Minnesota Department of Safety, and others were organized by Saturday and the rioting and looting was thankfully stopped.  Law enforcement made several arrests, seized weapons, narcotics, handguns, and knives.

What have we learned from this?  I hope we have a greater appreciation and tolerance for others no matter what the color of their skin may be.  We have had many conversations over race and violence and the difference between a protest and a riot.  I hope we teach our kids to love and accept others despite our differences.  And I hope we can change the conditions in our society that continue to exist and allow an African American person to be treated differently than a Caucasian.  It's been quite a week here and one I will never forget.

“…I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”

MLK 1967

COVID-Week #10

Luke mowed the yard for the first time this week.  Flowers are blooming, we have had lots of rain, and we hope to plant the garden soon.

Finn's picture of himself for part of his distance learning

We finished Front Desk.  It was a great book that I would highly recommend for elementary age kids.  We just started "Auggie and Me" which is the backstory to Wonder.  We read Wonder and went to see the movie a few years ago.  

Luke got a new bike!  We have all gotten into biking over the quarantine.  

And less than an hour after they purchased the bike, this happened!  Muddy mountain biking on some trails nearby.  

Just a little muddy

But lots of fun

Every time I sit down to update the blog, I am amazed at how much things have changed for us in the last nearly three months due to the COVID pandemic.  It has definitely been a time of regrouping and refocusing.  A chance to find some clarity in what is really important and where we place our priorities.

The restrictions loosened a bit for us this week.  The stay at home order was lifted.  Restaurants opened for outdoor dining only or take out.  Churches, gyms, and hair salons, and pools are still closed.  We don't know about sports yet.  There is still some discussion about what to do.  At this point, we can have gatherings of less than 10 people and they have requested people wear masks and stand 6 feet apart.  We have 9 days of school left and we are all ready to be done!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

COVID-Week #9

A picture from my sister of myself (red life jacket), my Grandfather holding my sister, and my cousin Wesley on my grandfather's boat at his lake house.

My grandfather with Aiden in August 2010

My grandfather with Luke and Liam (July 2008)

Finn, Luke, and John playing hotbox in the backyard

Dance Party Friday for Finn's morning meeting "at school"

Goodbye Butterfly!

This one sat on Luke's hand for awhile

Fly Butterfly!

We finished Week #9 of quarantine this week.  It has been two months since we physically left the house for school.  63 days!?  Things are beginning to loosen a bit for Minnesota.  The boys were able to see a a few friends this week.  It was brief and they did outdoor socially distanced activities, but it was still awesome to see friends.  John is still working from home and the boys are still doing e-learning with school.  Aiden and Finn usually work from 9:00 am until 12:30-1:00 pm while Luke and Liam usually finish around 2:00 pm.

The butterflies were able to be released this week.  We had five monarch butterflies that the Easter bunny brought us in the form of teeny tiny caterpillars.  They grew and formed a chrysalis and we have been waiting for the weather to warm up enough to release them.  We finally hit 70 degrees on Thursday and let the butterflies go.  We are watching for them in the backyard!

My grandfather passed away on Mother's Day, May 10th.  He was 95 years old.  He was living in Texas near my Aunt Barbara and her family who were caring for him at the time of his death.  He was an entrepreneur, a well respected businessman, and a renowned dentist.    I spent a lot of time with he and my grandmother growing up and have many fond memories of time spent at their lake house learning to water ski and fish, and many Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at their house with my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Due to the pandemic issues, he had a very small graveside with only a few family members.  I am thankful for his impact on my life and the love and support he showed his family.  

COVID-Week #8

Another fun hiking day to a rock quarry nearby

Our goals look like this when we are bored...

Liam at the rock quarry.  Liam wants to take some rock climbing lessons!

Finn lost both of his top two teeth this week!

Family Hike

Liam and Luke

We received some street hockey goalie equipment from a friend and Finn enjoyed trying it out.

Aiden doing his e-learning

Luke and Liam doing their school work

Finn in net

In COVID Week #4, we received some teeny tiny caterpillars that grew big and fat and then developed into a chrysalis.  They all became butterflies recently and we have 5 monarchs!  Sadly, it is super cold this weekend with a chance of snow so we are holding off for warmer temps so we can release them.  Meanwhile, we are feeding them fresh flowers and sugar water. 

We just completed Week#8 of quarantine and distance learning from home.  It is hard to even remember what a previously "normal" week looked like with practices, school, and so many things outside of the house.  We enjoyed another hike today at a rock quarry.  It was quite unique and beautiful.  The boys enjoyed climbing the rocks and we all enjoyed the time outside before the colder weather comes in tomorrow (SNOW!).

Finn lost both of his top front teeth this week and was so excited.  The tooth fairy brought him some acrylic paint and we painted rocks and a canvas for three days.  It was quite entertaining for everyone and gave Finn something fun to do after school.  We have about three weeks of school left before summer break.  We are in a good routine and it certainly helps the days pass more smoothly when we all have something to focus on.

Happy Weekend!

COVID-Week #7

Luke and Liam each made a stop motion animation video this week for one of their classes.  We are all SO thankful we had this board that Aunt Sarah made for us when the boys were little.  The board has another scene on the back and each of the boys used it for their videos.  

Finn with blue and green hair on crazy hair day.  Finn is counting down the final 26 days of school with the alphabet and last week we had "Crazy Hair Day" for the letter "C"

Sorting animals by color

Finn is pretty excited to use his new iPad for school.

We just finished Week #7 in quarantine and we have at least another two weeks to go.  The governor extended the stay at home order until at least May 18.  I do agree this was the right thing to do, but it is hard especially on the boys who are missing their friends and sports a lot.  We don't finish school until June 5th so it isn't too bad because we are still in school anyway or at least that's how we tried to make it sound a little better for the boys.  Overall, we are healthy and still finding lots to keep us occupied.  We have completed many home projects including mulching, cleaning out closets and the basement, cleaning windows, cleaning up the yard and garage, and storage of the hockey rink boards from winter.  The boys have been very helpful with all the projects.  

I am lacking pictures of everyone so I will need to work on that.  Finn takes a picture each day of school that shows something he is doing for school and this serves as a record of his attendance for the day so we have lots of pictures of Finn.  

We are very thankful for the spring temperatures, blooming flowers, and warm sunshine!