Covid 19 Pandemic Week 12

Saturday May 30th:
Today we added to our sourdough repertoire by making homemade cinnamon rolls.  This was again a 2 day process as well as a learning process. The rolls were good, but will be much better the next time around.
We decided to spend the majority of the day at our rental house managing some of the yard/gardens. The highlight of the day was gathering around neighbor Lynn's pond for a visit.  One of her son's was home for a visit and his name is Charlie as well.  The kids immediately adopted Charlie to their pack and had him scooping up bugs, goldfish and tadpoles!

(Please take note that Charlie is only smelling the beer).  Spending some time around the pond.

Sunday May 31st:

Weekends (well let's be honest...a lot of days) bring the luxury of watching a family movie together.  Today Mom chose one of her favorites from childhood: Swiss Family Robinson.  Lucy was pretty riveted and Charlie enjoyed all the animals.

Now that actual warm weather has arrived, we set the pool up again AND added a second pool to create the Pischke Aquatic Center!  Another highlight of the day was eating the first corn on the cob of the season.  Lucy ate 2 1/2 cobs (she's a corn monster just like her Dad). 

The first corn of the season!

The first corn of the season!

Lucy working on her alley obstacle course.  She took 2 decent falls while doing this and now has the typical bruises and scrapes of a kiddo mastering biking.  

Monday June 1st:
Today was a "sweat equity" work day as the lower duplex is turning over.
The remainder of the day was spent enjoying the pools and making another quarantine birthday movie for our friend Brett.  Lucy had some pretty great dance moves in the pool!
In the evening we started one more classic favorite of Mom's: The Parent Trap.  Unfortunately, the internet gave out on our streaming, so that one is to be continued.

Tuesday June 2nd:
Yet another hot day.  Isaac spent the majority of the day at the duplex again with some touch up work from Kerry as well.  At the end of the day we all enjoyed the pool one last time before taking them down before our trip north.  Practically looks like a duplicate of the previous day!

Wednesday June 3rd:
We've been so busy with the rental that we had to take the kids to Paula's for 2 hours just to get everything packed this morning while Isaac did the final vacuum and touch ups at the duplex. We drove to Stevens Point to see Grandpa and Grandma Hyland briefly and dropped off their new bird bath.  Then Johnny followed us the rest of the way up north to join in the vacation.  He brought the Elliptigo with him (that'll be important later) in order to do some work outs.  It felt wonderful to drive down E. Crawlingstone Ln for the first time of the season.  As always, the air smelled better too.  We set up the pool and got some outside playing in before bed time. During dinner Johnny casually broke the news that they will be getting a puppy!  YAY. 

The pretty drive in.

Thursday June 4th:
The morning started with figuring out a route for Johnny to take on the Elliptigo.  We persuaded him to try the biking trail between Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters.  Unfortunately, Johnny called part way into his ride after crashing into a guardrail which made the bike inoperable.  He was taking in the views and watching a bald eagle when the guardrail sneaked up on him.  Luckily another biker on the trail was able to help with a repair good enough to get him to the car.  The rest of the afternoon involved some work on the new dock step and cleaning off patio furniture.  Lucas and his partner, Mike, came and put in the track system.  The were displeased about how many people had come north during the initial stages of the pandemic.   
We had a big chicken fajita dinner and then started up the campfire for the evening.  It sure was nice having Johnny around as Charlie chose him as the official bedtime story reader!  We stayed up late enjoying the campfire with Johnny.  The mosquitoes were terrible and then magically disappeared around 10:30pm or so.

A picture that Johnny texted of his ride..before the "incident".  

Digging out a new step.  Charlie and Lucy especially liked finding worms and loading rocks in/out of the wheelbarrow. 

Taking the first dip of the season (off of Cooper's dock). 

First campfire of the season at the cabin.

Charlie loves Johnny!

A lovely evening once the kids were down to sleep.

Friday June 5th:
Johnny texted Kerry in the morning that he wasn't feeling well and that his stomach hurt.  We got out of the cabin for him so he could rest while we did a long paddleboard.  Lucy wanted to find loons and Charlie wanted to go to the sandbar.  We successfully did both those things!  Kerry loaded up a pile of mud on the paddleboard for Charlie and he played with it the whole way home.  When we got back to the cabin, John, Abbey Maddie and Tyler had all arrived.  John got to work on the step some more and everyone else laid out in the yard.  We got the paddleboat cleaned up and Lucy convinced several people to take her out in the paddleboat for a bunch of rides.  She loved steering the boat and was even able to pedal this year! The kids also kept Abbey, Tyler and Maddie busy with lots of games of tag and spinning. 
Johnny's stomach kept feeling worse and the pain was more in his right side.  John left early and took Johnny to Aspirus.  He ended up being in the early stages of appendicitis and needed to stay overnight in the hospital. Luckily antibiotics did the trick and he didn't need surgery. 
Tyler and Abbey stayed for the grill out dinner and we convinced Maddie to stay overnight.  She did campfire part 2 with us.  There was a beautiful moonrise to cap off the a good day. 

Finally someone fast enough to keep up with Lucy!

Charlie also loves Maddie. 

Some fun spins from Tyler!

Paddle boat ride with Abbey and Tyler.

Paddle boat ride with Maddie  

The moon rise on our last night in the northwoods.

Week of June 8th Videos

With some prodding, Charlie decided to try training wheels.  At first he struggled with confidence, coordination (steering while pedaling) and strength (notice at the start of the video he'll just stop - either he couldn't get his right leg over to pedal, or sometimes he'd accidentally push it backwards and stop).  Once he got it all down, he loved it.  

While they were biking around the clock tower, Charlie took a turn to fast and one training wheel went way off the ground.  I told Charlie he was close to tipping over and falling and if it happened again to put his foot down to catch himself.  No more than a minute later, it happened but worse.  Charlie starting falling over but caught braced the fall with his leg.  Doing a slow motion tip over before putting his hands down to catch himself.  He was a bit upset and cried - I think out of fear at the fact that his bike can in fact tip over, but he was physically fine and got back on the bike.  

Miscellaneous from the week of June 8th

End of May, Start of June 2020 Videos

Up North for the start of June

End of May Randomness

New Pool!!

Woodchucks and Laughs

Covid 19 Pandemic Week 11

Saturday May 23rd:
The day started with a new breakfast experiment; sourdough pancakes!  (They don't actually taste like sourdough but they are the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made!) Lucy likes to call them "cloud" pancakes.  Next we headed to the mountain biking trails for a short loop before some dark clouds came in. The kids also had a brief tea party outside (again difficult to get pictures due to Charlie's outfit choice).
Today was a new first for us in terms of pandemic events!  We did our first drive through party; a graduation party for Paula's son Jaeden.  The kids were quite confused but did seem to grasp the idea of it being like a parade.  Lucy was excited to color Jaeden a special fishing inspired card.  Unfortunately the skies opened up right as we were driving over.  The party was so much fun we drove by twice.  Since the rain was limiting all options, we drove all the way to Chaseburg to try for some flower baskets at an Amish greenhouse.  We realized part-way that we didn't have any cash but figured a gas station would have an ATM.  We completely struck out as one place was out of order, a bank didn't have a drive through ATM and a third town's gas station was just plain closed.  It was a nice drive though and gave the kids time to do some art.
The day did clear up at the end of the day, so the kids got out for some more backyard play with their new favorite toy, the hose.  As with most play sessions lately, they also took all their clothes off. It's becoming harder to find pictures to post because they are naked most of the time lately.  In a fun surprise, Kerry's scoliosis teacher/mentor stopped over to introduce her son and grand-daughter.  Her son moved in just down the road from us and will be starting his residency at Gundersen.

Look how fluffy those pancakes are!

Tea Party (clothes optional)

Mountain bike ride.

Getting ready for the party.

Eating ice cream from the party.

The drive through party.

Sunday May 24th:
Isaac drove to the cities this morning in order to visit his brother. The kids and I opted for a new hike that we have nicknamed "the race car hike".  Charlie liked the car and Lucy liked the butterfly meadow.  Both kids came up with an elaborate story about how their friend Sophie (she's made up) drove the car up into the woods and crashed it there.  Mom was hopeful to find some more morel mushrooms, but no luck today.
We made it home just in time to stay dry before the rains came.
After a quick storm, lunch, and unsuccessful quiet time we did another walk. This time we went into the marsh and explored some new trails as well as a stop at the prairie maze.  The kids ran all over the maze while Mom took a break on the bench, phew.
Isaac made it back in time to help with bed and do a lovely post-bed time fire!

Beginning the "race car" hike.

We found it!

Much discussion about "Sophie's race car" here.

Snack time in the butterfly meadow on top of the bluff.  We are excited to come back when the flowers are blooming and some butterflies might be present.

Walk #2 in the Marsh.

Running around in the prairie maze.

Always a wonderful way to end the evening once the kids are down!

Monday May 25th:
Happy Memorial Day!
The kids and I started the day off with readying our dough for pretzels.  Kerry's only new pandemic hobby has been learning the art of sourdough.  Charlie just touched everything in sight but Lucy really caught onto twisting the pretzel.  Mom went on a 10 mile run and then boiled and baked the pretzels upon returning.  Lucy loved the pretzels and Charlie wasn't sold.
Lucy went on a puzzle building rampage while Charlie took a monster nap.  We ended the day by exploring a small nature preserve.  We hadn't been there since taking maternity photos there 6 years ago!

Yet another clothes optional tea party.

Pretzels made by Lucy!

Lucy out on a campus ride with Dad.

Puzzle completed; this one used to be very challenging for Lucy and now she can spot pieces before Mom and Dad!

Checking out a water feature at the Paul Stry Nature Preserve.

Finding frogs in one of the ponds at the preserve.

Tuesday May 26th:
Back to work for Mom...A whole walloping 2 day work week this time.  The furlough continues, but we are now busier than ever now with trying to fit patients into the small time-frame we are there.

A cute picture Mom received while at work.  The kids are allowed to pick one toy to take to Paula's each day.  Charlie chose Froggy. 

 Wednesday May 27th:
Kerry's "Friday" was today.  It was an even busier day yet and resulted in the need to continue the paperwork tomorrow.  Although it was a bit of a chilly day, the kids' persistence paid off and we finally set up the pool they have been asking about for months.

Thursday May 28th:
The kiddos went to Paula's while Kerry finished her paperwork.  Next it was on to pool party day 2!
Thanks to the Hyland family for some pool toys to liven up the pool :).

Another chilly pool day but they don't care!

Thank goodness these two mostly play well together and often without facilitation.  This is dinner time with their stuffies.

Friday May 29th:
Time for the official weekend!
Dad and Lucy did some more biking today while Charlie and Mom went to the marsh.  Lucy is now working on a bigger bike with a handbrake. There were a bunch of kids Lucy's age up at the mountain biking trails when we were there last weekend.  Isaac saw a bike option and we decided Lucy should have a trail specific bike in order to help her rides go easier and more fun.  We have her bike ordered and there will be plenty of posts once she's up and riding!
Mom didn't get any pictures from the marsh walk but we saw a lot of neat wildlife!  Several muskrats, turtles, geese with babies, and a (school?) of carp (yuck!).  The carp moved together in a pack and kept swirling around and coming to the surface. 

Practicing on a bigger bike.  We sure appreciate the bike hand me downs from the Hylands and Lings!

Covid 19 Pandemic Week 10

Saturday May 16th:
Today was an odd day for the kids.  They weather was beautiful, but they just wanted a low key day inside and we didn't have an adventure planned.  They spent several hours in the basement playroom doing legos.  We decided another try at skipping nap time with the goal of a very early bed time (this has never actually worked according to plan).  Isaac and Lucy went on a bike ride while Charlie and Kerry went on a marsh expedition.  Charlie later said this was the highlight of his day.  After the outside time, we put a movie on for the kids while eating dinner.  Charlie managed to fall asleep with his body mostly laying on the wood floor.  This did allow for us to do a little additional hair cutting around at least one of his ears.  So far his current hair cut has happened in four separate stages and it's not going well...but every stage is a little better.
We were almost on track for an early bed time but then Lucy managed to take 45 minutes to poop and Charlie was raring to go after his power nap.  We ended the night doing a virtual game night with friends while our children continued to make appearances (why break the streak now...).

This picture actually captures how vivid and beautiful the colors and trail actually were today!

Running up and down the trail looking for sticks to throw in the creek.

Sunday May 17th:
Today marks another lazy day as this time the drizzle is preventing any substantial outside plans.  The kids have flourished with lots of independent and creative play!  We did a brief interlude to watch some mountain adventures through the REI channel on YouTube and then their creative play shifted to going on mountain expeditions. Today also included more legos!  Happy Birthday to Mema today!  The kids made her pictures and then their favorite babysitter came over so that Isaac and Kerry could go visit Pat for a couple hours. (It may be the first actual uninterrupted conversation we've had since she moved to Onalaska!)

Climbing the mountains!

Stopping for the night to roast some marshmallows. 

Monday May 18th:
Lucy was absolutely thrilled that she was getting her cavity filled today (what a weird kiddo!).  She did so well, and I'm almost certain she must have no idea she's getting shots with this procedure or she'd never be ok with it.  In other big news; we can no longer handle the number of times Charlie is waking us up at night.  In a last ditch effort to salvage our sleep, we are trying out giving him a true big boy bed.  He's pretty darn excited!

Waiting for the appointment to start.

Relaxing with the laughing gas and weighted blanket.

Deconstructing the toddler bed and turning it into a real big boy bed!

Tuesday May 19th:
Charlie made it through the night in his big boy bed.  He seemed a bit concerned about the sides being open and we can't do a side rail without a box spring...so today we re-oriented the bed next to the wall and Dad re-enforced the bed to withstand some jumping monkies.   Lucy is having a hard time adjusting to Charlie's new bed.  She desperately wants to sleep in it too because apparently it's comfier than hers.

A nice big batch of slime to play with.

Lucy really enjoys color by numbers.

Jumping monkies.

Obligatory game of tag around the clock tower.

Wednesday May 20th:
We decided to go tadpole hunting this morning at the best pond in town for tadpoles (Chad Erickson Park).  We struck out on tadpoles but did find some big frogs and a family of geese.  It was a perfect morning at the pond!
Our Solo Stove bonfire arrived today and we were excited to break it in on one of the nicest evenings!  Isaac found a big bin of kindling wood that has gone unused and has now been drying for 5 years; the fire was started and roaring in no time.
The night ended with our children turning into puppies (named Arfia and Cannon).  They were excited to start the next day waking up as puppies as well.

Snack time before looking for wildlife.

Checking the usual tadpole spot without luck.

Dance party with the campfire.

 

Our first go at it!  So shiny and new!

The perfect fire!!!

Lucy has transformed into Arfia.

Thursday May 21st:
Uh oh... there are no pictures, videos, or anything marked off on the calendar for the day...  I do recall the kids immediately reverting back into puppies for the morning prior to going to Paula's for a bit.  We also worked on some art projects surrounding butterfly life cycle.  The kids painted a toilet paper roll for a cocoon and did some planning for making a caterpillar (Mom had to do some craft supplies order at Target).
Isaac and I decided to treat ourselves to a "date" at home over the lunch hour.  The kids went to Paula's and we got a couple games of Yahtzee in for the first time since 2009!

Friday May 22nd:
Another very low key day!  What a strange feeling to stay put for the night on Memorial Day Weekend.  We don't even have anything planned for the weekend in order to make sure we avoid any possible crowds.