Continuation of Covid-19 Quarantine

We continue to plug away at quarantine life. Online school is a challenge. The beautiful weather allows for much needed time outside. We continue our euchre tourney (now 13-7 for those keeping track). We have been having zoom/video checking with family and friends. We play online cards with Nana and Pop. We continue to fill the dining table with puzzles. We do more together and help each other make it through the day. We are fortunate. 

View from a walk

Online cards 

Certainly truer than ever at work 

Decorating the car for a drive by birthday celebration for a friend 🎉 

Science homework

Bandanas for masks 

Watching the full moon rise with the boys - very special 

Signs of Covid-19

The “clam” made me smile 

Big Plans

We had big plans tonight. We ordered pizza from Lucky Pie and also picked up Sweet Cow. We then ate the pizza down at Peavy Lanes and had a couple games of Wii bowling and pool. And then we watched Onward. It was fun to have an”event” planned and not have to cook either. 

And as we proceed into week four, we will take a cue from the movie and continue Onward. 

Picking up pizza - very surreal 

Food and bowling set up  

And now the lights and music!

Pool tourney 

The Gift of Audio Books

Dyslexic kids can get into books when using audio books. Love that he just curled up today to read. 

Adjustments made - shade open - enjoying Starbucks 

It’s also very clear when the ADHD kicks in - working for keep the focus during the home schooling. Will see how it goes.....

W(S)FH

Here is our work (study) from home set up. Definitely thankful for all the extra monitors, mice and keyboards. And know how fortunate we all are to have our own space during this crazy time. 

D-man (the table raises up) in the basement

Me in the guest room

T-man in the living room 

Marshall in our bedroom with the desk we never got around to donating 

PFTW

Sometimes you just don’t get around to things and it works out for the best. With this epidemic upon us, I’ve been thinking of where this procrastination has benefited us. PFTW - procrastination for the win! 

• The desk we didn’t get donated is now Marshall’s desk in our room
• I’m thankful we don’t have another car payment now and I’m pretty sure we will get a sweet deal when we do end up buying a car 
• We never got around to booking a trip for Marshall’s 50th. Pretty sure we can find a good deal here eventually. 
• And why not throw in our house projects - those are things we are forever procrastinating on.....

Trying to find the silver linings anywhere we can. 

The Weekend

Even though it may seem that there is nothing markedly different between days at this time, the weekend is still the weekend and it means we don’t have to work and the boys will have a break from their agile boards. School work starts on Monday so we will have a new reality to adjust to come next week. I hope the agile board will also help keep the school work in check. 

We ordered take out from a local Mexican place and D-man and I finally won a night of euchre! The Peavy lanes opened and we also had a game of Wii bowling. I see more of that coming.

We’re all still healthy and doing well given the current situation. We have much to be thankful for and I’m glad we have each other to get through this together. 

Bowling 

A snowy night. Looking forward to more spring weather so we can take advantage of it. 

10 - 0

Or 0-10 depending on who you are...... 

Our nightly Euchre tourney has turned out to be quite comical. D-man and I have yet to beat Marshall and T-man in the best out of three nightly euchre matches. Playing family cards has definitely been a highlight of the pandemic. 

Other highlights have included Nana and Pop calling D-man after receiving his letter, playing family feud via zoom with the Karlen Klan and overhearing T-man tell Pop today that he is happy to have his brother around during this time. Sleeping in has also been a gift and while the boys likely don’t think so, having them help with even more chores is an added benefit.

There is certainly a great deal of stress and angst during this time, but there are certainly silver linings -even when you are down 0-10.....

Nightly Euchre - D-man is not happy 

Week One

Today makes day seven of the Corona Virus Quarantine. It’s a little hard to believe it has already been a week and today was the first day I have been in a car (taking D-man to get checked for strep) since driving since Friday. 

We’ve gotten into a routine and while much about this situation stinks, there are some positives. 

• Family euchre tourney after dinner every night 
• Boys playing together 
• Staying up late and sleeping in 
• No commute
• Getting the boys more involved with chores 
• More time to cook 
• A less hectic pace 

Our first agile board 

Monopoly board (was a task on the agile board) 

Better stickiness for our agile board 

Playing our new board game  - Trekking the National Parks 

Corona Virus

It has certainly been a surreal few days and I anticipate that it will only get more so as the days go on. There is so much I could write and yet nothing to write at the same time. There is so much uncertainty and so many questions. And in the end, you try to do your part and help where you can. This includes everything from staying home, educating your children about why we are doing what we are doing and seeing the greater good to assuring people at work that they are valued and that we are still here to support each other even though we are all working virtually. 

It is a time when we can all learn to appreciate all that we have a bit more. If we have to be home bound, there are certainly worse places to be. And this time together means more cards (T-man and Marshall are up 2 -0 in euchre), games and pool/ping pong to be played. It means the boys realizing the benefits of school - more than just a place of learning - a place with their friends, their community and their activities. Without it, life is pretty dull. It means more time to cook (D-man even complemented me on the casseroles I have been serving). And yes, it means more electronics, but we will choose our battles.

Keeping busy 

Definitely true these days 

Spring has sprung. While much is different, much is the same. 

True for awhile.....

Making the “Paper”

While flipping through the local magazine, I spotted the fall honor roll that included our son. He always loves when his cousins are in the paper (The Pender Times) so hopefully he will be happy to see his name included here.

He also applied for and made the National Honor Society. Super proud of the hard work being put in by him at school - on and off the field/court/course. 

LAX Scrimmage

Lax tryouts were this week and D-man made the JV squad. As part of the tryout, he smoked the mile part of the tryout with a time of 5:13. (Yes, his physics teacher, who is also the cross country coach, is now recruiting him). 

The team had three games down south on a gorgeous day. We were not well prepared and came back pretty sunburned (and D-man did not have enough water and no food). But, it was a beautiful day to be out watching our son playing a game he loves. 

He’s out there (and this view didn’t stink) 

Ready and waiting 

Enjoying the sunshine 

Booster Bash

We started off the weekend attending the Monarch Booster Bash to support the clubs, activities and sports at Monarch High. The theme was 80’s and they had “That 80’s Band” playing. It was a fun evening and we were able to catch up with a variety of people in the community - from Pirate Football parents, college friends (for Marshall), neighbors, former co-workers (for me) and friends and neighbors.

One of my friends has a one son that goes to a high school in Boulder and I asked if that school had an event like this, and she quickly replied they did not have a community event like this. Another reason to love our village. 

A fun night with a bit of dancing and some sweet auction prizes we bid on. 

I sported a neon Pender Pendragon shirt for the evening


My hair was much bigger at the start of the night.

Marshall sported Monarch gear - which was also theme wear 

Grit and Compassion

Today was a tough day on the mat for T-man at the district wrestling meet. He won his first match, but was pinned in his final two matches. He wanted so badly to do well so it was difficult to watch the tears flow freely after each loss. And while it was hard to watch, I saw other acts of kindness on the mat. When the ref got confused, T-man’s opponent told the ref that he didn’t earn the reverse. When T-man’s good friend had his elbow fractured, the victor in the match was visibly shaken and T-man shed tears worried about his friend. While hard to watch T-man lose on the mat, these acts of kindness remind me what is most important in life. 

The cheering section 

The Peavy men ready to cheer T-man on 

Looking good 

Tough night, but love his kind heart and determination 

1:1 Time

After being in the mountains the last two weekends, it was nice to be home. We were all home on Friday night and enjoyed take out and watching the Cougs beat Washington. 

On Saturday morning, T-man has his final futsal game of the season and Uncle Matt arrived. D-man and I volunteered for There with Care and found ourselves in Denver again. Not only is it great to help others in need, the one-on-one time we are spending together is priceless. I enjoy the conversation and getting to just have time together. We grabbed lunch before heading back home and we all spent some time outside. 

On Sunday, I had to do a bit of work, but then T-man and I darted to the mall quickly to check out the LEGO store. It was a very successful trip - birthday money spent in Legos, returns made and a sweatshirt purchased. And while all that was great, it was the time spent talking about Legos and reminiscing about our summer road trip that we’re the highlight for me. 

It was definitely special having the 1:1 time with each boys this weekend. ❤️