Spring Break: Day 3, 4, and 5…

We went to Red River Gorge, Kentucky for the latter half of Spring Break. We stayed in a log cabin in the woods (loved the view and the hot tub on the deck), took a sky lift up to a natural bridge (I was scared out of my mind, but all of the boys…including Tom…loved it), hiked three miles (I’m hoping for more family hikes in the future…however, Roman lost his mind about a 1.5 miles in), and spent time just relaxing (we watched the first episode of the Mandalorian and Raya and the Last Dragon with the boys). It was really nice…I’m so grateful we were able to get away.

For more pictures, click on the “Spring Break 2021” page on the right.

Spring Break: Day 1 and 2…

The boys are on Spring Break this week…

On Monday, we ended up just hanging out at home…the boys ate (which they do a lot of…especially on breaks), jumped on our neighbor’s trampoline, raced on hover shoes over and over again across the living room floor, and relaxed/played video games. I picked up, did a ton of laundry, helped the boys pack their suitcases, and quite honestly when I wasn’t doing that I had a hard time fighting the magnetic pull of the couch with my favorite blanket and my bed (these rainy/gray days, man). I’ve been struggling with depression lately…I’m not sure what is going on with me…where it’s all coming from and how to get on top of it. But I was able to drag myself out for a run and through a workout, so I count that as a win.

Today, the boys and I drove out to Grand Ole Golf. The drive over started out a little rough with Roman and his attitude…let’s just say it was pretty quiet the whole way there after I had a talk with him about it. But things turned around after playing 18 holes of mini golf and racing around the go kart track. It was the first time we’ve all been able to go go karting together because Jonas and Xander were both tall enough to drive on their own! Afterwards, we went to Opry Mills…ate lunch in the food court, walked around and checked out some of the shops (it’s so different shopping with boys…we went to Game Stop, the Lego store…Jonas bought himself a new Lego set, and Electronic Express), and played a few arcade games at Dave and Buster’s (Xander and Roman each purchased an arcade card). All told…we had a good time, but we were all totally exhausted and ready to come home and relax afterwards.

Remote Learning…

Right when school started back after our snowcation, the 5th grade switched to remote learning!!! Xander has definitely had the most remote learning days of all of my boys…he’s such a pro with it, though…he doesn’t get distracted, he doesn’t pitch fits…he just gets his work done, peacefully and usually early, and is ready to get on with his day. He hung out with me at home for most of the week, but Tom took him to work one day for me. Here they are on a lunch break, visiting the train tracks. Love these faces.

Fort…

Tom disassembled the treehouse in our backyard that he and his dad built for our boys when Roman was a baby. It made my heart a little bit sad, but he repurposed a good bit of the materials and built the boys a fort in the woods. They’re loving it, so their childhood treehouse lives on…

Raddish: Gourmet Gobble…

We had our own little Thanksgiving today! The boys and I cooked up our Raddish kit for November…Gourmet Gobble.

The main dish was a Thanksgiving Vegetable Trio (Spinach Gratin, Orange-Glazed Carrots, and Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts), the side dish was Baked Mac and Cheese, and the dessert was Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. We decided to make only one vegetable from the trio and serve it with pork tenderloin as the main dish…more protein…it worked out really well. We’re looking forward (or at least I’m looking forward) to trying the other vegetables soon. Here are my little buddies…hard at work:

Halloween…

We had one of the best Halloweens we’ve ever had this year. I’m not sure why…maybe it was because the weather was perfect (just chilly enough to be festive), because the kids are getting older which made things a little bit easier, or because we were all so thankful just to be able to get out and have some normal kind of neighborhood community fun. It also went a lot quicker/took a lot less energy because most everyone laid their candy out on a table in the driveway for the kids to pick and choose from. Tom was an old man, I was a hippie, Jonas was a light up stickman, Xander was Pikachu, and Roman was Harry Potter.

Pumpkin Carving…

We got to carve pumpkins with our neighbors after we got home from the pumpkin farm late Sunday afternoon…which was a great way to end the day. Mrs. Amanda is a pro (and my hero for always being so laid back, even amidst a lot of chaos) and helped the boys put the finishing touches on their designs and carving.

Shuckle’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch…

The boys and I drove out to Greenbriar, TN this afternoon to try Shuckle’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. We spent three hours there, and the boys STILL weren’t ready to go home.

It started out a little rough, honestly, because Xander was in a negative head space about everything (“these go karts don’t work”…”this is boring”…”that slide is dumb”…”this is so easy to climb”), and I was seriously doubting my choice of packing up lunches, driving an hour, and paying the price of admission, all for a whining/complaining fest that we could have had at home.

BUT, once he saw the corn maze, he took off and was having a blast with his brothers, sprinting through the stalks from one side to the other and playing hide and seek. And that was the beginning of a very fun day.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with: racing through a rope maze, trying to lasso a (pretend) calf, playing on the seesaws (love that old fashioned fun), climbing on the spider web, decorating cookies (with choose your own cookie, icing color, and toppings), playing pumpkin skeeball and basketball, racing ducks (with water pumps and half PVC pipe slides), conquering a right turn only maze, and jumping on a gigantic “corn popper” pillow. We used lots of hand sanitizer, wore our masks, played a lot, and left tired and happy.

Belting Up…

All three of the boys belted up in TaeKwonDo tonight!!! Jonas is a 4th level yellow belt, Xander is a 1st level yellow belt, and Roman is a 3rd level green belt.

(They would all be on the same belt, if they had all started at the same time…but Roman started first, then Jonas, and then Xander. Either way, they are all rocking it out in their own way…I’m so proud of their hard work and perseverance.)

Raddish: Frightful Fiesta…

Our October cooking kit from Raddish was a “Frightful Fiesta”. The boys didn’t have school on Monday, so we made it a cooking day. Yay!

Each kit comes with laminated recipe cards (for an entree, a side, and a dessert), a shopping list, a cooking tool, table talk cards, and a game. This month included the following:

Recipes: Mummy Enchiladas, Creepy Corn Dip, and Haunted Tres Leche Cake
Cooking Tool: Silicone Liquid Measuring Cup
Game: Pinata

They made their pinatas first thing in the morning…

Then, Jonas and I worked on his Haunted Tres Leche Cake. We mixed and baked it early on because it needed to sit in the refrigerator for three hours before adding the whipped cream ghosts with chocolate chip eyes. Jonas was so creative and named each ghost. HaHa!

Next, Xander and I put together his Mummy Enchiladas. His favorite part was decorating them with string cheese wrappings and black olive eyes. He really enjoyed chopping the vegetables as well!

Finally, Roman and I made his Creepy Corn Dip. He loved cutting up the corn tortillas to make his own tortilla chips AND tasting the end result…it was sooooo good!

We are loving these Raddish cooking kits and can’t wait for November’s kit!!!

Xander: Quarantined…

Xander had to quarantine for two weeks due to being exposed to a child in his class who tested positive for COVID-19.

I really loved having him home with me…he’s such a homebody anyway and just loves being home and cozy and hanging out. He’s super on top of things when it comes to school and really just champed out…he stayed on task and got his work done well and early. We enjoyed his long breaks in the middle of the day and took advantage of them to play countless rounds of Carcassone and cup pong and even make strawberry ghosts.

We’re so grateful that he stayed healthy and will able to return to school on Monday…I’m sure going to miss having my little buddy at home with me, though.

First Day Again…

Xander and Roman had their first day of in-person schooling (for the first time since March 4, 2020) today!!!

Xander, who is a total homebody, was not at all excited about it. Bless his heart. Starting back to school after a break is always tough for him. But factoring in how long they’ve been out of the building this time around makes it that much more of a jump for him. Thus, the eye roll…

Roman was on the opposite end of the spectrum. He has BEEN ready to go back to school since the day they shut down in March. Bless his heart. He was so excited he was literally wanting to jump out of the car in the car rider line and run to school. Here he is smiling behind his mask…

This whole thing is so charactering. Our boys have totally different personalities and totally different learning styles/preferences. Xander would rather be at home, so remote learning is his jam and he has to drag himself to campus. Roman would rather be at school, so there’s much weeping and gnashing of teeth from him with remote learning and he can’t get to campus quickly enough. We are ALL being stretched beyond our comfort zones for longer periods of time than we would ever want to be during this time. The upside is that, hopefully, in the end…we’ll all be a lot more flexible and a lot more grateful in the here and now.

Belt Testing…

Xander started TaeKwonDo towards the end of July. He tested for and earned his second level white belt tonight!!! He is not a fan of being “on stage” or of having his picture taken…so, he did his fair share of shrugging, crossing his arms, and rolling his eyes at me. But, the good thing is that when Mr. and Mrs. Mast asked him to, he got out there and showed what he knew (and even seemed to be enjoying himself along the way). Go, Xander!!!

Jonas tested as well and earned his third level yellow belt! I’m so proud of my boys for being brave and for pushing past the discomfort of being new at something to continually learning and starting to become really great at something. Go, Jonas!!!

Most Creative Seating Award…

Xander wins the Most Creative Seating Award for remote learning. He changes up his seating the most of the three boys throughout the day, but he’s always engaged/on task, getting his work done, and doing what he’s supposed to be doing (and he loves to snack it up and stay well hydrated while he’s doing it). Congratulations, Xander!!!