Me

It’s my 42nd birthday today so I get to talk about me and not feel bad about it. Ha!  Sometimes I actually get to do things that don’t involve my wife/mothering duties.  

I spent the past twelve weeks, all summer really, training for a half-marathon. A good friend of mine from college decided to plan an informal social distance run for anyone who wanted something to train for when all races were canceled due to COVID. Ironically, the week before our scheduled race, the smoke from wildfires was so bad she had to postpone the race    Good thing COVID has taught us to be flexible. 

I’m  so lucky to have good friends who make things happen so I can ride on their coat tails. It was a fun race, we talked the whole time, and I was glad I did it even though I was slower than I wanted to be. I decided I’m going to keep running ten miles each Saturday so I can keep my stamina up and hope the next half marathon I run will feel easy. 

Another memorable event happened last week when my friend posted a news segment on her Instagram account. I watched it, mostly out of curiosity because she rarely posts so I figured it must be important. The article was about two police officers in LA who were shot while they were sitting in their patrol car. It was disturbing to say the least.  But the worst part was what happened afterwards. Witnesses saw the officers struggling for their lives, calling for help, and NO ONE helped them. No one called 911. Instead people watched and said they got what was coming to them. People even blocked the entrance to the hospital to prevent the ambulance from getting them into the hospital. I couldn’t believe it. 

I don’t know what came over me but I knew immediately after reading about it that I had to do something. I talked to my boys about what happened and told them that if they ever see someone struggling/suffering/injured, they should always help no matter who the person is or the color of their skin. I picked up a couple boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts and as soon as the boys had a break from their zoom calls, we took the donuts to our local police station with a note thanking them for their service. 

The doors to the station were closed to the public because of COVID so I had to call the police hotline.  A deputy officer and a secretary came out to greet us and Ethan handed them the donuts.  I got a little emotional as I told them how appreciative we were and how upset we were by the things we were watching on the news and wanted them to know we support them.  I was relieved to hear that they said they’d been receiving a lot of support locally by way of emails, phone calls, and treats like ours.  

I hope my boys will never forget that day. We talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan and how Jesus taught is to love our neighbor and that everyone is our neighbor. Everyone!  

I usually avoid watching the news because it’s so depressing and often so one-sided, especially with the upcoming election. But I realize I need to be aware of what’s going on because I can’t allow the media to teach my kids how to think and feel. I’ve enjoyed having some recent discussions with Marcus and am proud of him for standing up for his beliefs both at school and online. 

Ok, that’s enough about me.  42 is going to be a great year! Despite everything happening in the world, I’m happy to be alive. 

This and That from Summer

Summer feels like forever ago. Despite the many unnecessary restrictions to help prevent the spread of COVID, we still managed to have some fun.  Like all summers in WA, we try to spend as much time at the lakes and outside in the sunshine as we possibly can. Not just because we are soaking up the sun but because it’s not crazy hot outside so summer is actually enjoyable. After two trips to UT this summer, I realized I’d forgotten just how miserable the desert heat is. Summers in WA just can’t be beat!  So here are a bunch of random photos from this summer....

Here is Ethan using his Go-pro and phone to teach his church friends how to make a giant chocolate chip cookie via Zoom. So thankful for his dedicated church leaders who got creative with activities for months on end when we were restricted from gathering.

Landon and Parker had great fun at the off-limits skate park. The police draped chains across it to keep the kids away. Still haven’t figured out how kids on scooters can get COVID but oh well.

This summer I learned how to surf. I’m terrible but it sure is fun!

Swimming at sunset on Pine Lake

 

Ethan doing a back flip into Lake Washington. We have so much fun at the lakes until the lifeguards start their shift and then fun is limited by all their rules, like making the kids pass a 100-yard swim test to prove they can swim 30 feet out to a floating dock. Lifeguards and COVID have a lot in common. They both cancel fun!!

This screenshot is of our city’s drastic attempt at making sure COVID continued to ruin all fun. $500 fines for any people standing on beaches or docks. You can swim and you can fish. So my friends and I found a loophole. We sat on the beach with fishing poles while our kids swam. Apparently if I hold a fishing pole I’m immune from COVID. 

Eating breakfast in the hot tub.  I had no idea my cookie sheet/trays would float!  We do crazy things to break up the monotony around here.

I arranged weekly play dates at beaches that were open.  We got tired of wondering if the police would slap us with a $500 ticket so we just found other places to play.  Apparently this open beach is immune to COVID.  We had a great time!

We discovered the Redmond Bike Park and it was a ton of fun for all the boys.

This giant frog lives in our hose box thingy. 

My friend invited us to play at her lake house for the afternoon.  I visited with my friends, the boys swam, and Henry played on my phone the entire time.

Are you sick of lake pictures yet?  This is Chism Beach, my very favorite.  We played there for hours!

 

Henry was grumpy and refused to put on his swimsuit so he spent the beach day in his pajamas and when it was time to go him, I cleaned him up and put on his swimsuit.  Makes perfect sense, right?

My summer marketing baskets were a huge hit!  I had no idea they would turn out so cute but I surprised myself.  I also have a friend in AZ who makes my marketing tags for me.  Its the best arrangement!

Meydenbauer Beach is a second-favorite beach.  The beach is super rocky but the views of the mansions and yachts make up for it.

 

More Redmond Bike Park fun

Did I mention most of my friends have most if not all boys?  When we get together there are only one or two girls.  There are two girls in this picture (that you can't really see) and that's pretty much what it's like every time we all get together.  Weird, right?

We spent a good chunk of hard=-earned money on landscaping in our backyard.  It is beautiful!  I wish I had a before picture but imagine stairs made of rotting wood that were mostly covered with dirt that had slid down the hill.

Empty parking lots are fun to ride our bikes around.  Henry looks dead but he was just fine.

Before the city enforced a $500 fine for using the dock, they put up this barricade which barely slowed us down.  I have a really hard time with arbitrary rules, just ask the people who know me from the YMCA.

This is a trail that Randy made in our backyard and this is the bridge that Randy built as one of his COVID projeccts.  I can't remember if I posted about it before so here it is.  And Henry fell right off into the mud (which is a small stream when it's not summertime).  Of course I took this picture before helping Henry.  He wasn't hurt and it was hilarious.

Seriously, the Redmond Bike Park is amazing!

The paddle boards saw a lot of use this summer

Henry LOVES blackberries and our trail in the backyard makes it easy to get them.  Randy makes the best blackberry pie!  No pictures of that because it's devoured in two seconds.

We haven't been to Snoqualmie Falls in forever so I had to get a picture with Ethan wearing his mask.

Vasa Park is also a fun place and yes, I saw out to the dock and jumped off the diving board.

Henry loves to dance to music.  This was one of our more epic dance parties that led to dancing on the table without shirts on.

We found a fun park surrounded by beautiful mansions.  We pick up food from Habit Burger, then eat at this fun park, (where people stare at my wild pack of boys) then drive around and covet the wealthy.  

Thanks for reading the summer re-cap.  It was a good summer but also an angry one.  I never thought I'd have to get so creative trying find ways to play outside without breaking rules.  Turns out breaking rules is not a problem for me. 

Back to School COVID-Style

 First day of school and no one was dressed in new clothes or had to leave the house. There was arguing, tears, and a couple brothers brawling until I pulled them off of each other. Then quiet descended as they logged onto their classes and their zoom calls began. Funny how back in the spring I thought we might return to school for the last few weeks and here we are in September and not much has changed. Washington is a pretty horrible place to live during a pandemic.

Ethan started his freshman year of high school and is pretty excited to not have to go in person. He’s hit a growth spurt and is hoping to catch up to some of his friends and is thankful for more time to grow. He built himself his own desk in his bedroom and hides out in his room all day during and after school where no one can bug him.  My only request is that he makes his bed before school each day because it's in his background (and in our family we make our beds every day as part of being functioning human beings, or at least that's the goal).

Parker started 2nd grade and has a great teacher who has handled the remote learning so well.  I wondered how these little kids would sit in front of their screens all day but they do a lot of activities on their own.  After only a couple weeks of school he has learned how to navigate Zoom like a champ, can lead a discussion in a breakout room, and knows exactly how much he can get away with by turning off his camera.  I have to watch this kid like a hawk!  I have no idea how working parents would navigate this.  

Marcus is a junior and definitely the most frustrated with remote learning. He set up a table in the den and enjoys laying on the couch behind him when things get boring.  Without early morning seminary he's not nearly as sleepy in school.  He keeps his camera on most of the time and tries to engage with his teachers and classmates but he says most students don't talk or show their faces.  He is hoping to go to school in UT next semester if he can't play lacrosse again here.  He is keeping busy working out, training people (they pay him!), and looking for a job.  He still manages to have a social life which makes everyone happy.

Landon started 5th grade.  He misses his friends, recess, and PE but is pretty happy to be using a computer all day and thinks the new gaming headphones he wears are the coolest. I bought them after a friend who homeschools her kids by choice, recommended them for their good microphones, sound quality, and comfort level. Sadly they’re meant to be worn for hours at a time and they definitely are. Landon has a group of neighborhood boys he hangs out with and they are constantly together any time they finish their work and have a break.  Sadly, none of their schedules have recesses that coincide  (they are a blend of public and private schools), but they usually manage a few minutes together during the day until they finish in the afternoon.

I am happy to report that after a few weeks of this new "normal" that things are going better than I expected.  I definitely don't think my kids will learn nearly as much as they would have but at least they are being held accountable for attendance and are required to do all their work.  Some days things go smoothly and sometimes I want to cry for myself.  Mostly because I have to keep the little boys on track while Henry is fighting for my attention.  Toddlers make almost everything so much harder!  

The other hard thing is keeping track of when the kids need to log back on.  For example, Parker's teacher will tell him to log off Zoom and silently read so he has to keep track of when to return to class by logging back on.  We use a lot of timers and alarms all day long to keep him on track.  Unfortunately they don't work so well if he's outside playing.  The second day of school I found myself riding my bike around the neighborhood yelling at the top of my lungs for him.  He finally appeared fifteen minutes later after playing in the woods and missed half of his math lesson.  I was so mad!  Marcus and Ethan have lunch at the same time, which starts earlier than the elementary boys so that makes it hard when there's lots of commotion in the kitchen and the little boys are still trying to endure thirty more minutes of school. But then they go back to class and the little boys are still eating lunch and having "recess."  I've heard Marcus say multiple times, "Sorry, I have four little brothers at home," as he apologizes for the noise in his background.  But we are getting by.  

Thankfully everyone has laptops from the school and we have a hot spot so the wi-fi is fairly reliable, but definitely not always.  On the rare occasion when Henry plays by himself, I want to cry tears of joy that I can clean up the kitchen before it's time for lunch.  The nice weather also helps since the boys can play outside with their friends.  I'm trying not to think about how the rainy months ahead will drastically affect the way we cope with this new life.  It's going to get ugly. 

Labor Day

 

It’s Labor Day and I’m almost all alone. Randy took the middle boys to Zions and I’m home with Marcus and Henry. Marcus is cramming for the ACT which he hopes to take on Saturday but he’s on standby so he has to show up and hope they have extra test booklets or that someone doesn’t show. He was all geared up to take it in July but it got canceled due to COVID so here we are scrambling to come up with plan B. If he doesn’t get to take it on Saturday, he’s flying to UT to take it in October because that was the soonest and closest location available out of the 5 States I tried to get him a seat in. Marcus and COVID don’t seem to be getting along very well. I can’t think of many people whose life has been disrupted as much as his has been. He’s handling it like a champ. 

And speaking of champ, I have now crowned myself potty training champ of the world! I have successfully potty trained FIVE boys. This is a big deal for all the obvious reasons but you should know that I dislike potty training so much that one of my first thoughts after finding out I was pregnant with Henry was that I’d have to potty train one more child. I just dread the whole thing.  

Here all the toys and snacks I set up right outside the bathroom door where we hung out all day. I didn’t want anything to happen to my carpet even though the cleaners were coming the next day. 

Henry had no idea what was coming for him this Labor Day weekend but I knew it was now or never.  I had to take advantage of the boys’ absence because there’s no way I could train Henry with four boys doing remote learning. 

But I’m happy to report that Henry has exceeded my expectations and learned quickly to “run to the potty!” He stayed dry through naps and bedtime and is motivated by M&M’s as a reward for taking care of his business.  He’s pretty cute running around in his Avenger and Blaze the Monster Machine underwear. 

I’m posting this from the backyard as I relax on our outdoor furniture with the peaceful sound of our stream muting out the rest of the world. Marcus is out doing service, Henry is sleeping, and the carpet cleaner guy just left so my house is immaculate and the carpets are spotless. Life doesn’t get better than this!