School's Out for Summer

What a wild ride the last few months have been.

Covid starting in March, violent riots in Minneapolis (and around the country) over the past couple weeks, having to run a highrise project and project team remotely...and distance learning that lasted through the end of the school year....

Distance learning felt both long and short. Both hard and easy. Somewhat nice and somewhat sad.

At the beginning of quarantine, we established a quiet workspace for everyone. We set up desks in Ryder's room, Logan's room and the master bedroom (for me - Shawn works in the kitchen).

Ryder and Logan both had an iPad from school for their daily work. Ryder was 99% independent and focused on his work. Once his class found their rhythm, he would do work online from about 8am - 10 or 11am. He generally liked it. He really liked his daily Google Meet calls.

Logan's work was a little tougher and most of it could not be done independently. Some of it was pretty tricky to complete on the platform provided. He was generally ok with starting it each morning as long as he had solid time from Shawn or I to help.

I think if most kids could choose, they would rather go to school than learn online at home. They miss their friends, they miss their teachers, they probably miss hot lunch. They are not getting in as much activity as when they are running around at the before and after school programs and with sports.

To celebrate the end of the school year, they had a car parade for all the students with the teachers out waving goodbye to the students. The boys decorated the Jeep with balloons and streamers and got to see their teachers one last time. I wasn't at that parade but did see the teachers the day before at technology drop off. Shawn and I both agreed it was a bit emotional! So much for these kids, their classes, their teachers, and each family to all go through.

We continued to celebrate the end of school / beginning of summer with our first pool day at Grandma D's on Thursday, a neighborhood street party on Friday, and some swimming with neighbors today. No hugs, trying to stay 6' apart, lots of hand washing.

Nothing is normal, nothing is perfect, but we're hoping to still make some great memories this summer and soak up all this extra time with our kids that we are going to look back on someday and wish we could have back.

(Photos to come)

Unofficial Grand Du Nord

Shawn, Nick and Paul have been biking the Grand Du Nord race the past couple years. We rent a house, the guys ride, the kids play, and the moms hang out. 

This year, the race was cancelled. We had to decide on May 4th if we were sticking with our May 22nd reservation. We were still on the stay at home order - meaning you could technically be fined and go to jail if you were pulled over for non-essential trips. Not that they would actually enforce it, but that just goes to show how on the fence we were about making the trip. 

We also had not been within 6' of anyone for months (per CDC recommendations). Most people wear masks if they go into a store. Some also wear gloves. So the thought of blending three families in one house almost felt unlawful. Actually, the rules 'relaxed' by Memorial Weekend and allowed groups to socialize (6' apart) in groups up to 10 people. So technically we were over by 2 [small] people.

But we kept our reservation. We drove the Jeep up to the North Shore. We let our kids play with the other kids. We hung out with and shared food with the other adults. 

It was amazing. It was so nice to feel normal again. They biked, we hiked, we skipped rocks, we had picnics and played yard games. All that good north shore stuff.

So glad we made the trip. We had a great time. And the guys put in their 100 miles in the saddle to earn their unofficial finisher shirts ;)

Wrangler

If you know me at all, you know I have wanted a Jeep Wrangler since I was about 15. And I have been talking about it ever since then. In high school, it was going to be a yellow Jeep Wrangler. In college, it was forest green Jeep Wrangler. As an adult, it was just 'give me any color, any year'!

When Ryder and Logan were toddlers, we went to a Jeep dealer with the intent to buy a four door Wrangler for our second car (we were a single car family / couple from 2004 until about 2013). The boys slept the whole time and we left with nothing but a brochure and crushed spirits. They are so expensive compared to the sedans we have owned. When the kids woke up, they were wondering where their Jeep was. I think they have wanted one ever since then, too.

Fast forward about 5 years to our rental car in Florida this past December. We all had a ton of fun in that car and actually found it to hold all of our gear nicely.

Then, about a week ago, Shawn was ready. He said he found one he wanted to look at (out of the blue to me) and was ready to 'test drive with his checkbook in hand.' We test drove one and bought it that same day.

It has only been about a week, but with everything closed, Jeep rides have been a fun 'activity' for the family :)

Covid 19 - 2020 | Update 1.0

I am losing track of time, but I believe we are entering our 10th week of quarantine due to the Coronavirus. Some days it's crazy, some days we're crushing it. In general, here are a few highlights:

1. Brecken has been wearing PJ's every day since March 16th. With all this chaos, we need to choose our battles and this is not one of them. Instead, we just call him PJ.
2. Ryder and Logan live on their trick scooters.
3. Boys started a YouTube channel to have a big project to focus on and distract them from the fact that they cannot really play with friends.
4. Ryder and Logan have slept in the same lofted twin bed together since March 16th.
5. I love having breakfast and lunch break with the family.
6. Mikayla watches the boys around 3 days a week. Fun for the kids and fun for us to see her so much.
7. We haven't really seen family or friends. Just neighbors outside from 6' away.
8. Ryder and Logan have become BFF's. They rarely fight and spend every minute together.

While the world has been cancelled, we are trying to enjoy this extra family time together.

Covid 19 - 2020 | The Beginning

It's almost hard to believe we are entering our sixth week of quarantine due to the new Coronavirus.

At the same time, it feels like forever since the kids have been at school and we've been able to socialize with friends and family.

As our family journal, I thought it would be interesting to jot down a few notes about what this time has been like for our family, what we are appreciating, and what we miss so much.

On Monday, March 16th our local schools were closed. The governor ordered schools to close starting Wednesday the 18th and each district made the decision whether to be open that Monday and Tuesday.

At the same time, both my work and Shawn's work strongly recommended that all associates work remotely.

So that has been our routine for the past five weeks - multi tasking as parents, day care providers, teachers, and trying to be good employees all at the same time. Should go smooth, right?!

Montana | Day 5

Today was a full travel day. We fueled up at 6am with breakfast at the Hampton Inn. 

We had packed our car the night before, so we hit the road in the dark right after breakfast.

Matt generously let us use his suburban for this trip, so we have been spoiled with satellite radio, dvd screens, and the PlayStation Shawn hooked up to the last row of seats. 

The boys have also been loving having Wyatt ride with them much of the trip. We don’t have any extra seats in our sedan back home, so riding with a friend is a huge treat. 

We made a quick stop in Beach, ND and had dinner at Applebee’s in Fergus Falls, making it home around 10pm. The drive went pretty quick, but by the time we hit Minnesota, we were ready to get out for a bit!

Overall, it was such a fun trip - riding with friends, family, and getting the next generation stoked on the sport. My favorite moments on the mountain were not solo powder turns in the trees; they were watching the three big kids giggle, hit jumps, duck into trees, and help each other out. So great to see them having so much fun, getting better each day, and taking care of each other. 

All of that said, I’m pretty excited to sleep in my own bed tonight! :)

Montana | Day 4

Today we skied Bridger again. We got there before the resort opened, met Noah in the parking lot and geared up.

Brecken came down with a temp yesterday, so was unable to go to ski school / Playcare. 

Thankfully he was well enough to still ski all day with Shawn. He rocked it, crushing blues and greens all day without falling. We are so proud of him.

The rest of us rode together most of the day, with the majority of our time spent on the Sunnyside, Pierre’s Knob and Alpine lifts.

My kids loved the terrain park and all the kids loved the Hully Gullies.

We rode the last lift up at 4pm, making the most of the (possibly) last ski day of the season.

Shawn hung with Breck all day, including nap time in the chalet.

We left the resort and headed straight to MAP Brewing for dinner.

They had an amazing view of the mountains, great beer, awesome tacos and live music. The kids sat so nicely, playing at their own table. Such a nice perk of traveling with friends. 

After dinner, we had one more swim session before packing up and calling it a night. 

Big 14 hour drive tomorrow...