Park City, UT

 Back in March Regan and I took a trip out to Utah. It was a fun girls trip to check off another state on our list. We took in Main Street, she got to ski, and I got to ride up the side of the mountain. We spent some time in Salt Lake, I learned a lot about the history of the city and the LDS religion. I ventured all the way over to smelly Salt Lake one afternoon, and the rumors are true, it smells terrible! We learned that it snows A LOT in Park City, and while we were out there, it snowed every. single. day. We would giggle each morning as I looked out the window and commented "guess what?, it's snowing again". In just over 4 days, it snowed over a foot. On the bright side, the snow is never dirty because it just keeps piling up with fresh stuff. 

Girls Night Out

 I have a deep appreciation for this group of gals who met long ago in the dorms of SCSU. For the friendships that have grown over the last 25 years, the laughs, the memories and being able to pick up right up where we left off. So when we decided on a whim to gather up on a Thursday night, someone booked hotels, someone else found the happy hour patio, another found the dinner reservation, and everyone found the bar to close down :) Afterall, some things never change! 

On the softball field

People often ask how (or why) we can spend all of our free time each summer running the kids from field to field, covered in dirt with sun-kissed skin and sweaty clothes.  

We usually chuckle at the question; we truly couldn’t imagine life any other way. This has been a part of the girls’ lives for as long as they can remember, and they love every second of it. (And Lincoln is just starting his adventures on the field) 

The sense of community, the friendships, this is their home away from home. And frankly, ours too. We look forward to the weekends just as much as they do. Gathering with the other families before, or in between games: Bloody Mary bars, “safety meetings”, Fitness Plus, we have created so many memories with each team. 

I recently read that if your family doesn’t look forward to the weekends, you haven’t found the right team. 

I’m thankful beyond words for both girls finding their right teams. 

It is behind those backstops that Ryan and I are making just as many memories as the girls in front of the backstop. And we are very aware that at some point, it will come to a screeching halt. So for now, we are going to soak in all it has to offer us. 
Giant Freeze pops included :) 

So while we laugh about horrible chalk lines (foul, fair, foul, fair), inquire about who has the best chair, or decide who packed the best cooler "dude, your mom hooked you up!", there is no where on earth we would rather spend each weekend. 

These girls and their coaches make some amazing teams and we are grateful for their dedication and drive to help them improve not only as a player, but as a human. 

Because we know it's not always about softball skill, it's about the life skills. Learning to be a great member of a team, learning how to work through difficulty and picking each other up when feeling down.

It's about greeting the umpire behind you during warm-ups, introducing yourself and not being shy to politely ask why a pitch was called a ball and not a strike. 

It's about taking control of your infield and hollering out plays, not being afraid to let the crowd hear you.   

Win or lose, at the end of the day, it's about feeling like you belong. 

Our home away from home. 

On those dirt fields, with sun-kissed cheeks and sweaty clothes. 

 

Birthday week

It was my turn this week for a birthday during the pandemic. A very strange birthday at that. I loved all of the messages, phone calls, surprises and treats! 

Since Sidney and Uncle Ben decided to bake an elaborate cake the day after my birthday (thanks to a lot of FaceTime), we decided to use that special cake for my birthday. 

Sadly, it looked a whole lot sweeter than it tasted! Something didn't go quite as planned with her cake and we all took one bite and then tossed it into the garbage. She was a fun surprise cake though! 

I was elbow deep in a pretty intense work case when our doorbell rang. I flagged to the girls to answer the door so I could wrap up with the doctor on the phone. To my complete surprise, it was a dearest softball mom friend with birthday treats!! She knows my love for chocolate, wine and candles, and is desperately trying to get this #rulefollower to have a little fun with the fireball! 

And that dearest mom friend, along with another mom, surprised me again at Regan's domeball games this weekend with "mom juice" in the parking lot while we watched the live stream games. 

Sure was a birthday like none-other, and one for the record books! 

 

Two months in: COVID19

Well, its been almost two months since we have sheltered in place and stayed home. The last time the kids were inside the walls of their school was Friday, March 13th. 

It's now May 9th.

We've cleaned and sorted, organized and discarded. 

We've played and discovered, walked and biked.

Oh, and watched a lot of screens: because, well, we're bored. 

Regan got so bored she asked if she could clean the grill. 

Here's some soap, water and rags-go for it. 

The girls have had their moments, but we're watching them bond a little more everyday. And sometimes, while on a walk, they purposely walk ahead or behind so we don't hear their top secret conversations. 

Lincoln still hates online learning. His teacher sent me a note to let me know that distant learning just isn't designed for kinders. And I whole-heartedly agree. He needs his friends. He's spent 6 years interacting with playmates/school buddies. And now we're asking him to learn from a tablet. 

The other day he laid upside down, half off the couch, kicking me with his flailing legs as he tried to get comfy. And did his homework in this position. 

Whatever. 

It got done before 8pm so I called it a win. 

We taught Regan how to ride Ryan's scooter in a nearby empty parking lot. She was hesitant at the start, and by the end was going "full-rottle" (as Lincoln would say) and giggling as she cruised past us. 

You can guess what she wants next year on her 15th birthday. 

Without our weekends filled with sports and tournaments, we have checked off the boxes on so many house projects. Last weekend, Ryan put on his brave pants for me and climbed on the roof to paint the shutters above the garage. 

Side note: he doesn't know how to paint. And really has never painted anything in our home.

 I was thankful not to climb on the roof and happy he made it down safely. 

Meanwhile, the kids and I got busy pulling back rock, adding dirt and pushing the rock back in place around the house. It was labor intensive and I was happy for their eager help. 

Sidney and I painted the entire main floor (thankful for curbside pick up at Sherwin Williams so I could easily order paint without going into the store). She painted her name on the wall; we made Ryan move his work station for the afternoon and he loved us for it (can you tell?!). For the record, this work from home is not easy for us!  

We ordered long boards for the girls which has proven to be super fun for them to learn and bring along on our walks. I managed to impress Ryan will my long board abilities as I zipped through the empty parking lot as well. I've had some good teachers. 

Ryan can barely stay on it while sitting, so when he races the kids, they have to all sit. HA! 

My mom bought Regan this bownet for her last birthday, and it might have been the best gift ever. Little did we know at the time just how much use we would be getting from it. We are constantly backing the cars out of the garage so she can hit into it doing tee-work. And after taking a hit directly to the face (I covered up but still took a hit), we now take it across the street regularly and hide behind it for hitting practice. 

This line drive whizzed directly past Ryan as he jumped behind the net. 

This isolation has not been easy on the kids. They miss their friends dearly, they see them on social media hanging out with other people, but ours know we need to take this seriously.

So when they ask us to do things like an impromptu fire in the back yard, we are quick to agree.

I continue to be so proud of them for holding strong and hanging in there. 

One of Lincoln's optional assignments this week was to head to the pond next to his school and explore. He needed a break one night after I finished work so I took him on a date night bike ride and we rode to the school. 

It was so peaceful and gorgeous. I had never been back there, and had no idea it was so big. 

We explored all sorts of things, but the best was seeing TEN turtles sunning themselves on a log. His teacher's video had told us we would see 'something' if we were very quite. I seriously thought those turtles were fake, they were so still! 

Lincoln decided to run up close and prove they were real, 8 of the 10 jumped right into the pond. He is such a boy :) 

Zoom in close and you can see some of the turtles on the logs behind him before he scared them away. 

Might as well take this opportunity and teach her how to drive a vehicle too! She (and the other two kiddos) have a bigger appreciation for how mom and dad drive now. 

The most memorable part was when she tried to park between the lines and was so eager to get out and see how she had done that she forgot to put it into park before getting out. YIKES! 

Needless to say, we need some more lessons :) 

We will get through this, I'm confident. We're holding onto hope that soon we will be able to loosen the reigns a little, see family and friends, and start to define a new normal. 

Until then, we will continue to explore and enjoy our time together. 

Winter-little things

As we sit in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to quick look back and remember the fun we had this winter season of 2019-2020. Before we all were isolated in our homes (except yours truly who must go into the hospital every day). I cried today for the first time since this all started, and I cried 4 times. Fear for the unknown. Sadness for what is lost. Hope that we will get through this untouched.

 

But I can't live in that space too often, life moves on. So up with the bootstraps!

 

 In no particular order, here's some random photos off my phone.

 

The elementary school collected 2 liter soda pop bottles for the ring toss game at the carnival. They collected loads of these bottles. And then Sidney proceeded to bring EIGHT back home. The girl is a master at ring toss!

 

 

We woke up on Regan's birthday to our house being TP'd.
Our security cameras actually caught the little buggers on video the night before and woke me up, but it was minutes too late and they were already headed down the street.

I laughed. Because really, who doesn't want some fun loving TP on their birthday!? And we cleaned up 7 rolls of it!!

Although she asked around, the little vandalizing fellas haven't come clean.

 

(side note: I wish I would've kept all that TP now that we can't find any on store shelves).

 

We had lots of fires, and cuddled up around them after a busy weekend or long day at the rink. There is something about the smell and heat of a fire that just brings us all together. We tend to congregate around the fire, often me and the girls huddled up on the hearth. But this time, I caught Ryan and Lincoln snuggled in together.

 

Grandma Jan came back from a quick Arizona trip, all tanned and filled up with Vitamin D. I'm thankful now that she's here this winter and can isolate herself and not be traveling.

 

As the snow began to melt, we busted out Lincoln's new bike from his birthday last year. He was hesitant at first, but is already cruising around on that thing like he did with his little one. And he's so proud to be riding this bigger one.

 



 

I thought I had seen it all. And then, while volunteering, someone showed up with this dog in a sling. I took a double take, and then a photo. Because, it's a dog in a sling!?

 

Lincoln picked up on reading, thanks to Dick and Jane. They really are the best. They're short and repetitive and easy enough to finish in one setting. He's already graduating onto bigger books now.

 

His teacher sent home some of his work from school.

Ahhhh, I giggled and giggled reading his "brave" spelling as I thought back to both girls in kindergarten with the same types of work.

Sound it out: 'uvn'

 

 

Regan and I volunteered with her summer club softball team sorting and sorting nearly 300 pizza orders from her team. The association sold pizzas for a fundraiser. Thank you to those who supported her!

 

And finally, sometimes I fail miserably at taking pictures with the girls. Here we were watching Lincoln play hockey. I had one girl with the giggles, eager to take a picture, and another one who was annoyed and cold and not in the mood. Can you guess which description fits each girl :)

 

And now, as the winter season slows down, we are met with the most unique situation of quarantine and isolation and social distancing.

The kids are doing online school for the foreseeable future,

 Ryan's working from home, and I'm being greeted at night with "were you safe today?"

meaning was I able to avoid close contact with anyone.
People are hoarding paper products, the store shelves are empty.

Softball is cancelled.

Volleyball is cancelled.

We're filling our time with games and bike rides, more fires, movies, arts and crafts, play dou and family time.

Trying to make the most of this and taking one day at a time.

 Each day, we are one day closer to this being over.