Smile!

What I thought having kids would be like:

So, technically they're not fighting ALL the time...

Growth

Simon loves tending to his garden.

The dirt pile from the fire pit continues to grow as well.

Simon and Ellie

Simon and Ellie are really so cute together. I keep documenting them because Ellie is moving away in June. It is the most tragic thing ever. I always think Ellie fits in better with our family than her own (who tend to be more indoorsy). I keep offering to adopt her.

Sera's 40th Birthday

I completed my 40th trip around the sun today. I have nothing profound to say about it, except that this is certainly a moment in time! In the morning, I struggled to get the kids through their schoolwork (they weren't more cooperative in honor of my birthday). After lunch, I went up to the office and did work for my own online classes. Before supper, I took walk. We had delicious stir-fry on the deck, with yummy chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Then we opened presents, and Simon got me lots of treasures, while Alice made a chart of all our ages.

Simon and Gills

Simon has given the cat many names, but mostly he calls her "Gills" which I think is great.  He loves her so much; the poor cat gets way too much attention from him!

Dirt Pile Play

The dirt pile from the fire pit hole is providing lots of entertainment for these kids on lock-down due to the virus.

The kids also had fun hiding eggs again in the back yard. Aren't these two the cutest bunnies you've ever seen?

Fire Pit Project Begins!

Since Zac can only really work half-days anyway (since he needs to keep an eye on the kids in the afternoon while I work), it seemed like a good time to undertake one of our backyard projects: building a proper fire pit.

He bought three pallets of stone to build the fire pit and walkways in the back yard.

Home schooling

We're well into the routine of homeschooling now. Some days are still pretty rough though.

Fruit Plates by Design

To entertain myself, I've been creative with the kids' fruit and snack plates lately.

Chalk and Bikes

Alice and Simon worked together on assembling a Lego set.

In the evenings, they love to rice bikes on the smooth part of the road, but because it has traffic, a grownup always has to be out there with them.

Easter Sunday 2020

Easter Sunday arrived in the midst of the pandemic. We couldn't go to Izzy's, but we still had our house egg hunt.

They're playing rock/paper/scissors for something (I forget.) Also, Zac got them corn plants for Easter.

Since we couldn't go to Izzy's, we also had an outdoor egg hunt in our back yard. These eggs were filled with precious gems.

Alice loves to be organized in the most illogical ways.

Pink Panther

One night, we introduced our kids to the Pink Panther cartoon. They loved the slapstick humor of it, and shared it with the neighbors.

Scarf Models

Our neighbor, Linda, weaves. She had Simon and Ellie model two of her scarves one bright day, and sent me the picture.

Fruit Art is a Fine Art

Alice got a sharpie and got creative this morning.

Scooters & Sparks

Ellie has a tricycle that has a handle where if you pull it down, it makes sparks. Simon loves it.

Mud Hills

Up beyond the creek at the bottom of the greenway are some hills created by a rogue BMX biker gang. The kids also love to play on them.

Alice's work

Because I wanted to keep the kids in the habit of doing school work while Wake County figured out what they were doing, I made up reading and writing assignments for Alice, using books we had. It was a struggle to get her to do it. As you can see, she really struggles with spelling, which makes her hate writing because it is so hard for her. Too bad!

She's a bit of a rebel too.