Because Two Fell In Love: March and A Bit of April

Things we've been up to the last month and a half--besides trying to stay sane, which admittedly is harder to do when reading all that Facebook has to say. If I'm being totally honest though, I'm much more of an introvert than I ever could've imagined and I am enjoying a lot of our life right now. We still miss things like co-op and hockey and choir (although, some of those were coming to an end anyway), and we did very much miss our Spring Break trip to Arkansas while the boys were going to be in Canada (which got cancelled too), but we've started replacing things with other things, like gardening, sewing, a lot more time outside, more Bible reading, and of course, we still have some school work to do.

Pre-Quarantine-

We had a great last day of co-op before the break between terms. It was crazy hair day and the girls had so much fun with their hairstyles. Nathaniel played hookie that day and he and Justin took a trip to Dallas to watch his favorite team, the Edmonton Oilers, play against the Stars. They had an amazing time cheering them on right behind the bench and even made it on TV. They had a post-game dinner at Denny's and drove back home the next morning Meanwhile, Gabrie, Lillie, Addie, Pennie, Julie and I rested up from co-op, then browsed Target and had dinner at Chick-Fil-A. We painted nails and watched the new Aladdin movie.

That weekend we surprised the girls with a birthday party for "Dr. Seusses" at the library. We went last year by accident and they loved it and since he is Lillie's favorite author, we had to go again. They ate cupcakes, listened to his stories, and had their faces painted.

Not long after that weekend, the craziness began and we started hanging out at home:

Several months ago we bought a tent with the intention of going camping in Carlsbad. Then we had a newborn and decided to put that on hold for a bit. Then a freakin pandemic happened and when we really wanted to get away for a while, some of the state parks decided to participate in "social distancing". (One of a few recent phrases that totally drives me insane.) We decided to make the best of it and camp in the backyard instead--we figured the kids would still love a fire and hot dog roast and sleeping in a tent for the first time for all of them in the "comfort" of their backyard would be enough like camping and still allow for anybody who got the heebie jeebies, to go inside. (Plus bathrooms!) We were right. Even Nathaniel, who can be hard to impress, was excited about camping out. This tent we bought is huge; it took up half our backyard. Or is our yard small? (I think it's both). Nathaniel wanted to try setting it up a few months ago and couldn't figure it out so when he stuffed it back in the box and into the garage, the instructions got lost. (Or else it didn't come with any?) Well anyway, Justin isn't an instruction reader so it doesn't really matter 😂 He didn't know how to put it together, so I figured it out for/with him. (Watching my dad on those camping trips as a kid came in handy. Thank you, Pa!)

The girls found rocks and made a perfect little fire spot and were terrified at first around the fire. They screeched every time Justin fed it a log and the sparks flew. That wore out by the time the hot dogs were needing roasted. I only had a few wire hangers to use, so Gabrie opted to really rough it and used a stick she pulled from our pecan tree. After hot dogs, we made s'mores and enjoyed each others' company around the fire. And then...I tucked everyone into their "bed" for the night and Juliette and I snuggled inside my warm, soft bed.

Nobody slept great that night. I didn't like how quiet the house was and the ground isn't great for sleeping on. Gabrie and Addie came in to use the bathroom once and Addie decided to stay inside with me after she was done. Nobody woke up scared though, so all in all it was a successful first camping trip.

That same day we should've been heading to Arkansas to visit family, but because the boys' flights were cancelled and the hockey season was suspended (they were going to Canada to watch a game), and with so many unknowns surrounding the virus and shutdowns, we decided it would be best to stay home.

I have always wanted to take up gardening and have tried a few times in the past--always unsuccessfully because I forget plants need water--and because we're usually traveling or gone for extended periods during planting season. I always said I had too many kids to keep up with gardening (which is only really half true because my Mama has always had a beautiful garden and seven kids, however, mine are much closer in age than hers). Well, as Nathaniel said, "it's funny it took a pandemic to get you to garden", it's true--the pandemic has allotted me plenty of time for gardening now. And we're all enjoying the new hobby. I had a conversation one day with my mom, about how impatient I was feeling with waiting on our seeds to sprout, and how I should've just bought plants instead of seeds--not long after that conversation, the girls checked on the seeds they'd planted and discovered our first sprouts. The shrieks of joy over those sprouts was an exciting thing to hear. The wait was worth it. It's been a lesson in patience and instant gratification for all of us. I can't wait to take pictures of our blooms and the harvest we will reap.

The other day the kids and I were feeling some cabin fever. I decided I'd do my best to get us out of the funk by telling them all to get ready to go and picking up Chick-fil-a to eat at home. Nathaniel didn't understand why we couldn't just go in our jammies--I thought getting dressed for a change might do them some good. The girls excitedly went to their rooms to get ready and I told them, "you can wear anything you want". (Except jammies). Penelope took advantage of that allowance.

Justin took Friday off and took us out to the nature preserve for a nice family walk. It was a little chilly out and I was sad the thistles hadn't bloomed yet, but it was full of fresh hues of green and precious family time. I'm extra thankful we went that day, because the owners announced Saturday it would be closed until further notice.