Life with the Ball's: The Best Christmas Break There Ever Was

We loved every minute of Christmas vacation this year because it meant another day not doing remote learning. I was worried we might get incredibly bored with our limited options for fun but that was not the case. Turns out any day not spent doing remote learning or trying to get my kids to do remote learning is an absolute win!

I took the boys sledding one day. Henry hates the snow and barely lasted ten minutes and Randy took the boys skiing any day he wasn’t working, and we spent several afternoons playing at the elementary school’s playground. It’s been closed and off limits until recently so this was the kids first time back since last spring. We invited all our friends and it felt like a real recess. Landon and Parker especially loved it.

Don’t be fooled. He hated it!

Ethan took this picture of the gorgeous mountains. Snoqualmie pass is beautiful in the snow. And treacherous.

Another sign of Covid...The blacktop isn’t black anymore! Turns out when the kids aren’t at school running around at recess, moss grows everywhere.

**COVID UPDATE** Remote learning has gotten so bad I’m actually working to get the kids back in schools by sending emails to school boards and legislators and standing in the pouring rain to rally. Turns out WA is one of the worst places to live during a pandemic as we continue to watch as the rest of the world opens up. Our teachers unions are powerful and refuse to send the teachers back to school until it’s “safe.” So our kids continue to suffer through something that was fine for the short term but never meant to be long term. I cried after parent-teacher conferences. Landon and Parker’s current grades and behaviors are nothing like what they were pre-Covid. I finally told their teachers to let me know when the boys aren’t on task so Parker’s teacher texts me every time Parker logs off too soon or has missing assignments and Landon’s teacher emails me frequently as well. Parker still has a hard time writing his name correctly because he never has to write it. It’s so sad. And Landon only turns on his camera so his video game time isn’t taken away. His participation is minimal. The frustration is constant and their tempers are short. Believe me, if I thought I could sit down with Parker and work on handwriting I would but he won’t stand for it. The second school is over he is done! And I’m sick of being the bad guy. Marcus and Ethan are doing their best but they hate school. High school is supposed to be fun! Before Thanksgiving, our Governor closed all restaurants for dining in. Take-out only. We aren’t supposed to have anyone inside our homes besides family and no socializing outside our homes. We still only know one family in our community who has had Covid so it’s hard to justify the strict rules. Okay rant/update over.

We canceled our plans for a big New Years Eve party and made modifications. (If Covid has taught us anything it’s to modify and adapt). We invited friends to join us at 11:30pm, we stayed outside, and everyone wore masks. It was fun and different. Please bless next year we get a normal holiday season!