More homeschooling, an Okoboji getaway, and finishing up the school year.

We wrapped up the last week of homeschooling and had high hopes of keeping up with the more relaxed version, but had an opportunity to sneak away to Okoboji, so took advantage of that instead. We started to like the more low key schedule as time went on because it gave us some extra time to explore with the bikes and spend some time working in the garden. I'm getting a tase of what summer is going to feel like as all three kids are pretty capable of themselves for short periods of time giving me the opportunity to dig in the dirt, something I have missed for the last 8 years.

Okoboji was a nice diversion, we drove down on Friday morning and the kids were brave enough to get in the ice cold water. We played on the dock and they got a little boat ride before heading inside for dinner and a fire pit. Maggie and I stayed up way too late making Tik Tok videos and then Saturday was a full day with a bike ride, Dave coming for the afternoon (he was on call so could only join for a few hours) and then more food and beverages. We hit the road on Sunday with tired and worn out kids. All in all it was a success.

We officially wrapped up the school year the following week with a virtual kinder graduation for Greta and a reverse parade at school which was a really fun way to cap it off. Next up- summer! We are optimistic that we can return to school in the fall, but will adjust to whatever the plan is when we know one.

Pip and I.  

Porch photos.  

Teacher's week. 

Zoom call fun. 

Family swim at Safe Splash, a great way to get out of the house. 

Dream girl. 

Swimming sisters.

Okoboji.

Swimming with all three.

Group photo. 

Picking up school supplies. 

Homeschool hair. 

Visting Aunt Julie's grave.

Official last day of school photo. 

Kinder grad.

Working in the garden with grandma.

Oakwood Lakes State Park

Dave had the week off and we didn't have plans and because of COVID, we had to stay close to home in case any sort of surge hit and Dave was needed, and also because I was scheduled to work an orientation shift in the ICU. We had originally planned to stay put for the week, but noticed some incredible days in the forecast so decided to get out of town to camp at a nearby state park. We ended up at Oakwood Lakes sort of as a back up plan as our usual spots were all booked on such short notice (we wanted a sleeper cabin). We we packed up the car, the topper, the bikes, the whole shebang and hit the road.

We were so pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The lakes, bike trails, playgrounds, everything was pristine, and we were one of maybe 6 groups total. We felt absolutely spoiled. And, it was our first time since having kids that our kids could run free. The park was across the field and they literally hopped on their bikes and would be gone for long periods of time. We did our weather report from the park and talked US history on our hike, so we even got some homeschool in while we were having fun. It was great to get out of town and let them stretch out and enjoy nature and be device free for 24+ hours.

We returned on Friday and I mentally prepped for my 12 orientation shift. It was informative, interesting, and a great opportunity to learn another aspect of nursing. Although I was really anxious about it from the very first thought of it, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned something new.

We're back home, hopefully the little break was just what we needed to get through the last few weeks of homeschooling.

We biked to the most gorgeous lookout.  

All 5 in biking motion (Pip is in the burley).

Greta taking notes by the campfire. 

Sully gets a lesson from the chef. 

The biking crew. 

Sleeping bag snuggles.

Late night parent time.

The morning hike before we returned home. 

We returned to the Magnolia tree in full bloom.

COVID-19 proofed. 

Social distancing part 2.

More photos of life on lockdown. 

Mastering bike riding. 

Science experiments - dry ice. 

Greta colored a photo for Sr. Naranjo.
Naranjo means 'orange tree' in Spanish, so it says
'Naranjo de Sr. Naranjo' or 'Mr. Orange Tree's Orange Tree. 

Easter! 

6 inches of snow out the window behind us. 

We baked - again! 

Sleeping bag slide down the stairs.
All fun and games for 5 minutes before it all fell apart. 

More forts- this one at the top of the stairs. 

Grandma Banana had a spot on SDPB.
The kids said- "What?! Grandma is on youtube?!" 

Surprised with 'essential' signs from the Olivers. 

Family selfie.

Greta girl- masters the bike!
Safety first.
We are so proud of how far she has come. 

Mouse traps.

First bike outing on my own with all three.
Success! 

Dave crunches Greta's bike, so she gets a new one.

Sully's opinion paragraph. 

Work training. 

Maggie helps with the kids.

Family face masks. 

Family bike ride.
Five miles in two hours. 

Piper packed all of the necessities. 

Family picnic at the Aroboretum.

Social Distancing part 1

We are one month in to social distancing, staying home, eating at home, schooling at home, and it feels like we are getting into a rhythm, but so many things are out of sort. The most obvious one to me is having the kids home all of the time, leaving no personal time and minimum time to clean. The mess that comes with food prep, clean up, toys, school room (dining room), is enough to make your head spin, oh and then a dust bunny catches my eye, so then there's that. What else, oh, my diet and exercise is nonexistent and my alcohol intake is up. Happy hour is a daily deal, a celebration of making it through another day of homeschooling and life during COVID.

And then there is work. Dave works about every 3rd day, they are so slow. we have adjusted. I, personally, appreciate his help with school during the day. There will be a switch that gets flipped and then life as we know it will be rearranged. Im working through some online education in order to be a resource when our surge comes (May/June). My roll would be a bedside nurse in the ICU in order to stretch the ICU nurses further. It feels good to know I can do something to help, I was feeling like I was spinning, knowing I once had the skills to do bedside nursing in my sleep, to feeling so out of the loop. I loved bedside nursing, it is the one thing my current job lacks. The high energy, multitasking, balancing, accomplishing so much in one shift while connecting with people. When my boss called me to ask if I would be willing to deploy and help when the need comes gave me this giddy, anxious, nervous, overwhelmed feeling. After Dave and I discussed it, we both agreed that having the training is critical as we don't know what lies ahead. I feel good to know I can respond to the call. I've completed a 5 hour online training, a skills lab, and will work two 12-hour shifts in the coming weeks.

Baby Audrey Graese is here! Lauren, Elliot, and Stella welcomed Audrey on March 21st. She was born at 7:39pm and was 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches long. We long for the day we can meet her in person, our time will come.

Some things that have occupied our time over the past month... Greta's newfound love for Golden Bowl's Sweet and Sour Chicken and Fried Rice. No other rice or s&s sauce will do, she eats it with every meal. we have been order it in multiples and freezing the extras to have on hand at all times. Whenever we stop in to pick it up, the owners ask us to extend their appreciation to Greta :).

Forts (see the messy house note above) everywhere. Greta and Piper have slept all over the house, from a fort in the living room to one at the top of the stairs, but per usual business, they always end up in our bed. Oh, and room rearranging. We took the bunk beds down and pushed Sully and Greta's beds together. Piper wants us to put her bed in there, too (fortunately ;)) they won't all fit. Redecorating was a great Easter activity :).

The most excitement has come from the mouse in our house. And by mouse, I mean mice. Soooo many mice. We had noticed some evidence awhile ago but our trap had caught nothing. After some investigating we realized he had cleaned the trap of the peanut butter bait, it did that for a few nights in a row. Dave did some research and tried a fruit loop and then we started catching them, like multiple mice. We are up to 10, and have not caught one in over a week. Fingers crossed!

Ive got so many photos to catch up on, I'm going to break them up into two entries. They help to tell the story of the last month or so around here.

Needlepointing- a great COVID activity. 

Greta's intern (Carmen) had to return to Spain early
 because of COVID, so we sent an
American/Spanish flag heart to her in Seville. 

Jenga- so many games! 

Trying to get our steps in. Everyday its a challenge.

Having a 'talk' in the driveway. 

Light up Sioux Falls. 

One of our thousand trips to the park basketball court for bike practice.
The hoops have been taken down, so its a perfect spot for us to practice. 

Isaac turns 12! Birthday parties are different these days,
lots of parade drive-bys, not the same, but still special and fun. 

Their 'new bedroom' in the living room. This lasted about 36 hours. 

Daves on Saturday call- lets make sugar cookies! 

Very professional.

And then cupcakes- they decorated these while on
FaceTime with Anna. It kept the occupied!

The products, with Anna for the photo.