The Spiral

OH! Internet, I didn't see you sitting over there!  Welcome.  We had a pretty good week this past week.  Just the obvious struggles like "being bored," etc.  To be honest, I think the kids only say that because they hear Monica and I talk about worrying they'll get bored.  Once they get going on doing stuff they're usually totally happy and we still have great times, even if we're at home.  However, we did do something different this last week.  Last Sunday we went on a walk as a family, and ended up at this rock circle path thing.  Here we all are at the center.  Anyway, the girls really loved it, so they even went back for a picnic lunch later in the week.

During the walk we stopped at one of the bridges to play Pooh sticks (It's from a Winnie the Pooh book Brooke has).  It doesn't work very well at this bridge as nothing ever seems to come out the other side.  I looked over the edge and it turns out there's like a full tree fallen over under the bridge, so that just catches all of the sticks.

Once we threw all of our sticks we continued on down the path.  Eventually both the girls wanted out of the stroller and walked along with Monica.

Winry eventually started to lag behind and got to walk with the stroller crew.  Look at that walking form, no clue how she got left behind!

On our way back to the car we saw a duck floating down the stream!  The girls loved it, however now they ask if we can go see the ducks again...  Sadly, this is not a guaranteed duck location...

This past week I had to run into work to do a few things in the lab and stopped at Wendy's on my way home.  I got a kids meal so Brooke could have they toy since last time we went to Wendy's they were out of toys.  I also saved her some french fries.  She kept the fry container and asked me to put cheese and crackers in it when it was snack time!

Brooke and Winry have been tooth brushing champions lately.  Brooke does it all on her own now.  Winry still needs help brushing, but loves to rinse all by herself.

We ordered an inflatable pool for the girls this past week.  It wasn't supposed to come until next week, and came like 2 days later.  The girls were insistent on inflating the pool, but the weather was in the low 60's this past week with rain many days.  Not good pool weather, so we set it up inside.  The girls still loved to play in it though.  Next week it's supposed to get into the 80's, so the weather should be much more suitable.

Winry is starting to get to the age where she's working on getting herself dressed and undressed.  I came into her room one day and found her like this.  Nailed it.

Sometime during the week everyone headed to the spiral again while I was working.  They took a picnic lunch with them too.  The girls really love it there, and I think it's great they want to go play and run outside.  Since we're currently avoiding playgrounds it's nice to still have something interesting to go to.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Jelly was watching me work from the highest point she could find.

After much pleading every day we eventually took the pool outside.  We filled the little part by the slide with water from the hose, and then dumped a big boiling pot of water in with it.  The end results: still very cold water.  The girls stood in it for a while, but that's as wet as they dared to get in the chilly breeze.

On Saturday morning, Monica went to social distance some of her friends.  The girls and I played sleep over in the basement.  There was going to bed, eating fake breakfast, and going back to bed.  After a few loops we needed something else to add into the day and ended up in a dance party with the piano auto-playing songs.  We had a really great time, but eventually had to break for lunch!  Brooke and Winry have gone into the basement and played sleep over many times since.

In the wee hours of the morning Brooke woke Monica and me up crying.  She had a bad dream.  Monica asked her if she'd tell us what happened, and I'm very glad she did.  In the middle of the night Brooke told us "I was in a turtle costume and Winry was a penguin.  A toucan sprayed us with water and I fell on my face.  No one dried me off, dad and mom were just drying Winry off.  It didn't even hurt when I fell on my face." or something close to that.  She told us about it again today, and a few new details came to the surface.  I must admit that I did not think Brooke's harrowing dream would consist of a toucan getting her wet, and then us not drying her.  I was trying my best to not laugh because she was very upset.

This morning I decided to go on an egg hunt while I was making pancakes for everyone.  I dropped six Cadbury eggs into a pancake.  Good news, I was able to find them all!

That's all I've got for today.  Have a wonderful week.

Half Marathon PR 1:36:19

What a fine week for being stuck at home... This past week was pretty good, though my weekends are starting to get sucked into weekday, and this morning when I got up I almost went and got my work computer and started working.  I caught myself and ate breakfast instead.  This week the weather was kind of all over the place and we got to play in the snow, play in the water table, and hide from rain in a tent!  The girls have been doing pretty great playing together up in Brooke's room over the past week.  They'll just be upstairs for an hour or two and it's quiet and everyone's having a good time.  What are they doing?  Being happy, so who cares!  One day they came down decked out as unicorns!

Back at the start of the week it was snowing.  It snowed three times this past week, but only once were we able to get outside in it.  There wasn't much snow, and we couldn't sled in the back yard, but I pulled Brooke on the sled for a little until it was just grass left.  Anyway, while we were getting ready to go out, Winry was really excited and started pulling on her snow clothes by herself.  She got her scarf and hat on, though the hat is a little crooked.

Also, while we were out there, I found out that Brooke left her shoes outside the day before...

On some other day, Winry found Monica's slippers and wore them around the house!

We finally scheduled to get our solar panels installed this past week.  They have to pass inspection before they can install the meter for them and then turn them on, so they're not running yet, but they are on the roof.  Jelly really enjoyed watching the workers in the front yard.

And here are some panels on the roof!  As they were wrapping up Monica asked about our new thermostat.  We were supposed to get a "smart" thermostat to help save electricity as part of the switch.  They brought it in and attempted to install it for us, but couldn't get it figured out, so they "put everything back" and said they'd have the HVAC people they work with call us the next day to set up an appointment.  At 3 a.m. Winry woke up and when I went to get her I realized the house was freezing!  It wasn't hard to tell.  I checked and the furnace was supposed to be on, but wasn't running and it was 58 degrees in the house...  I tried calling the solar panel company to get someone sent out, but they were closed until 8 am... So I checked the thermostat and they hadn't re-wired it correctly.  I rewired the thermostat and got it all running and went back to bed.  The next morning I wired in the new thermostat, and it's been working without issue since.

On both weekday and weekend Brooke and I set up the pop-up shade tent in the back yard and played doctor inside.  The floor can button up and enclose a space, and Brooke loves to close it all up and play in there.  We took care of a lot of patients and even had to give each other checkups. 

On Saturday I had a virtual race.  I technically had two, one could be done anytime over a month, but one was this weekend, so I did them both together.  I signed up for the half marathon, and ran a new PR!  I ran a 1:36:19.  My previous best from a race was 1:44 something back in 2009, but I ran a 1:42 a few weeks ago on my long run.  Anyway, it was a good run, and pretty much perfect weather!

Later on Saturday, after my run, Brooke and I headed out to the tent for more doctor.  It was raining so Brooke needed her rain boots and umbrella to make it out to our yard!

I think that covers all of the major events from the past week.  I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there!

Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!  We're having a good day over here.  I'm starting to feel a little burnt out by everything going on right now, so it's a bit of a struggle to think of things to say...  Yesterday we did some egg dying, which the kids absolutely adored.  Gotta get ready for the Easter Bunny to come.

Rolling back to Monday, Brooke and I went for a walk.  She wanted to ride her bike, and she also brought along Rainbow Kitty for good measure in her baby carrier!

On some other day (don't worry, this is all chronological) we had Wendy's for lunch.  The girls (or at least Brooke) really wanted chicken nuggets.  Sadly, Wendy's was out of toys, but they did offer us free frosties!  Again, sadly, we had already ordered frosties for the girls... can't win them all!  In fact, since the onset of COVID and having to pick up everything from restaurants we have yet to get a complete and correct order, at least when I've been the one picking it up.  Anyway, the girls loved the frosties!

That afternoon I took Brooke to the church parking lot to practice riding her bike on a flatter surface.  Don't worry, no one else was there, so we were still plenty distanced.  We had a good time and she got going pretty well a few times.  Her current biggest struggle is that sometimes when she pushes on the pedals she just ends up pedaling in reverse, which is the brakes on her bike.  She had a great time though!

Winry, ever the purveyor of wearing things you find on the ground, put on her shades and came downstairs one day.  Now about the upside down-ness.  That's on purpose, it just has to be.  She puts on her sunglasses upside down 100% of the time.  Doesn't make it any less cute.

Jelly met a friend this past week.  The squirrel was staring right at her.  It was a little more cautious at first, and was hanging on the screen door.  Eventually I believe it realized that Jelly couldn't get at it because something was in the way, so it got more bold and came right up to the glass.  Jelly didn't ever do her crazy predator meows or anything, so she seemed possibly friendly.  Anyway, in the end the squirrel ended up curling up in that little nook between the screen door and the glass door and sleeping there all night.  Jelly laid there and watched the squirrel all night long too.  The squirrel was still there in the morning, but left shortly after I got up.  Then I ripped the screen door down (it was already broken) so there are no more squirrel nooks to keep Jelly up all night!

Some of the days have been pretty warm.  On Pizza-day we set up our shade tent in the back yard while the kids played.  We've put it up/taken it down every day since.  That first day it was so nice outside we decided to have dinner out there!  We also decided to order pizza.  Gotta support local business in these troubling times, right?  That's why, not because we didn't want to cook...

On Other-day Monica took the girls out to get lunch and then to the church parking lot where they met... the Cammacks!  However, everyone ate in their own car, but they rolled the windows down and still got to talk and see their friends, just from a parking spot away.  The girls loved it.  Brooke has really been missing her friends lately, so this was great for her especially.  Also, from the picture it looks like things went crazy in the back seat once the buckles came off.

On Shopping-day I went to get groceries.  We consolidated the list down to just getting things from King Soopers so I only had to go to one store.  That was nice.  King Soopers has started making a line and only letting in so many people at a time.  I only had to wait a few minutes to get in, and it is pretty nice how much less crowded it is.  Anyway, Monica made me a mask this past week in effort to try to keep up with the CDC, and so I wore that out too.  Here I am getting back from the store.  Success!

Later on Saturday we dyed Easter eggs.  I talked a little about this before, but the girls loved it.  They did all the eggs but one, that they saved for me to do.  I did my egg VERY blue with a Y and some cougar paw prints.  After the girls eggs dried they got to put stickers on them too.

Winry found her little chair in the basement (maybe I should just stop taking it back down).  That wouldn't do, so she carried it back upstairs, ON HER HEAD!

This morning was egg hunt fun!  Afterward,  Winry dumped out her eggs.  She actually started before the hunt was over, and as soon as she realized that there was candy in them.

We did Easter egg pancakes for breakfast, and decorated them with berries and marshmallows and chocolate chips.

We do a video call with Monica's family each week for church.  Today the girls did a special musical number for everyone!  They sang a song called "Gethsemane" that Brooke is learning in primary.  They both know it pretty well.  Afterward Winry got a little distracted for the second half of the lesson...  As you can see she was walking around trying to hold her lion between her legs, like a penguin waddle.  Great times!

We took an Easter picture after church together as a family.

And here's the girls in their Easter dresses, cuddling on the couch.  Hooray!

That's all I've got for this week.  Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.  I am grateful for Jesus Christ, and for his atonement.  I am grateful that he showed us the way to live so that we can return to live with God.  I am grateful for the resurrection, and that we can all be resurrected and see and live with our families again.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Blend

Well, I won't speak for everyone else, but everything is starting to blend together for me.  There are currently three days: weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday, with the distinguishing feature being that on weekdays I try to stay in the basement in front of a computer as much as possible.  The weekend still stays pretty distinct with church being a main focus on Sunday, however this week Saturday and Sunday are running a bit more into each other than usual.  That said we have been having a great time!  We're still able to find lots of things to do, and the weather has been good allowing us to get out in the backyard where fun seems limitless.  All in all I don't think there's much to complain about, though I will embrace normalcy, like a polar bear squinting into the sunlight after a long hibernation, when it does finally return.  For now, lap party story time!  It's not every day that Jelly joins in too.

Rewinding all the way back to last Sunday we were able to spend some time in the backyard.  Winry went in eventually, but does enjoy coming to watch Brooke and I still from time to time, or she enjoys being REALLY close to glass and just thinks she needs an excuse.

Sunday night after dinner we had dessert, which was a HUGE deal!  We made worms in dirt!

Both the girls loved it.  We didn't mention to Brooke not to put her worms all the way in her pudding, so her's ended up being a little more messy.

After a good nights sleep, we woke up to Weekday morning!  What a day weekday was this past week!  Brooke asked me if we had a board so that she could practice tap.  I think her dance class posted some tap videos on their Facebook page.

Winry LOVES watching Brooke dance, and longs for the day she can start dance too.  So once Brooke was done she let Winry borrow her tap shoes!  Also, make sure you watch Winry's mouth at the start of that video!

Later that day the girls got out all their shoes and had a shoe-ballew!  What's that you ask?  Well, it's when you get out all your shoes and try them on to figure out which ones still fit.  This has been needed for some time, and many a pair of shoes got moved out for storage.

This past week was spirit week for both dance AND preschool, so Brooke always had something fun she needed to do.  Weekday was dress like a super hero day, so Brooke needed a cape!

And she also needed crazy socks!  I believe these were for the same weekday as the cape, but maybe this is a different weekday...

Not all of the dance videos are just dance, sometimes there are crafts or other activities to do.  One of them this past week was a stick tapping video.  The girls loved it!  I know, because the office is right below where they're sitting. :)

Cosmic kids yoga took it's turn in the rotation of fun.  Brooke was laser focused on getting a good workout.  Winry was laser focused on... a nap?

The next morning (weekday), we watched the first vision video for family scripture study.  Winry's just at that age where TV is just mesmerizing at times.  Pretty cute.

Weekday was also crazy hair day for school.  Naturally that means donut hair!

Winry was also going to have donut hair, but it never quite got finished.  It was also backward/ mismatched clothes day, so I put my shirt on backward in the morning to surprise Brooke!  I did not stay like this all day however, as collared shirts don't do well in reverse.

That afternoon, we spent a good deal of time in the back yard.  Winry typically gravitates to the water table, and Brooke to the tramp.  Eventually Winry usually wants to get in the tramp because Brooke is having so much fun, however, Winry does not like being in with Brooke.  So then Brooke will come out and we'll play soccer or volleyball.  On this fine day Winry continued to follow Brooke and needed a turn kicking the ball too.  She did great for her first time playing soccer!

Sometime that night Monica got Winry dancing.  I don't have the whole story, but that hip shake was too cute not to share.

The next morning was waffle-day!  Waffle-day is memorable because it was the one day we had waffles this past week... oh yeah, and because I dropped the flour container...  Have no fear, we have a robot vacuum named Dobby!

Well dang... that didn't quite work how I had hoped.  And that was with 3 passes.  However, lest we think Dobby did a bad job, his dust bin was COMPLETELY full of flour.  So possibly I just needed to empty it and send him out again.

However, he was also trailing flour as he drove around the house upon completion...  Eventually that flour will be dispersed enough we won't even know it's there!  May that day come soon.

Waffle-day morning Brooke also came up with a new game, the floor is fire!  We've never played "the floor is lava" with her, or any variation thereupon.  She came up with this all on her own, which goes to show that the floor being too hot to be on is an innate part of childhood.

Waffle-day night we had a family movie night.  I had a wonderful idea to set up the tent and let the girls watch in there.  They loved it.  And now the tent is still up.

We keep having to refill the water table basically every day we go out to play because the squirrels keep coming and drinking from it.  I guess it's not that big a deal.  Also, it snowed one night this past week, probably the night before this, and the top of the water froze, so the squirrel is actually standing on the ice over the deepest part of the water table drinking out of a bucket.

Saturday morning (I don't know if I included enough day/night cycles to actually get us to Saturday, but close enough) Winry just had to do some intense dancing during breakfast.  I'm not sure where those body rolls onto the couch came from, but I thought it was really funny so I grabbed a video.

Also, when we turned on general conference Winry noticed something special about the prophet.  Yes, she is shouting "his ears are big!"  That was actually from the Sunday morning session, but that was her response every time she saw him. 

Afternoon session is starting now, so I gotta go.  Gotta keep filling my bingo board.  You never know when someone will finally say "pioneers" or "service."  Have a great week!