Staycation

This summer has been a little tricky as far as planning an actual vacation. We may still plan something, but for now we're sticking close to home. But that doesn't mean we have to be home. :)

On Memorial Day we hiked the Y. The kids have been wanting to do it for some time now. I was a little nervous how Ginger would do but she kept going!

It was the perfect weather, too. We're talking in the 60's. If we hadn't been hiking we would have been cold.

It was so green!

In June the Wendels invited us to the lake with them. We enjoyed a ride on their boat and had fun playing with cousins and flying Violet's kite.

In July Chad and Wendi were also able to visit with their kids. We met up at the sand dunes and enjoyed a couple hours in the sand and sun. I'm sure my kids had never seen so much sand in one place before! I'm so glad the Andersons gave us a year's worth of free car washes (and vacuuming! :))

The next month before school is still uncertain as far as vacation plans but we're having lots of fun despite the restrictions and being cautious. It's good to know we have lots of options close by, and it's no big deal if we have to wait till fall break to get away (crossing fingers!). ;)

Violet's First Haircut

After 6 years, Violet finally got her first haircut (real haircut, that time she cut her own bangs doesn't count). She donated about...somewhere over 12 inches of hair.

She was just fine getting it cut. A year ago she cried at the thought, but by spring she was ready. In fact she really didn't think it was a big deal and couldn't figure out why everyone kept asking about her hair.

Me, on the other hand- my heart cried a tiny bit when the scissors made their first cut.  I think it was just because her hair identified her so much. But I'm relieved I don't have to spend so much time braiding her hair everyday, and she likes being able to comb through her own hair and leave it down if she wants to. I felt her hair was being hidden for so long because we could never leave it down (holy tangles!). And it still has some length to it, so this feels just right. But I will always remember my hairy baby.

10 months

Violet Turns 6!

We had a birthday this past week! Violet's birthday is always so much fun because it's the first to come after a long break (6 month break between hers and the last birthday). I felt bad because this was supposed to be her first year for a friends birthday party (we do them at 6, 8, and 10), but because of the virus, we didn't feel ready to invite other kids over. So she might just have her party when she turns 7. But she was a good sport and was very understanding, and still had a fabulous birthday!

Her favorite present was probably a kite. She loves to fly kites, but up to this point "flying a kite" meant tying a string to a plastic bag and running around the yard.  She found joy in it anyway and kept her plastic bag in a safe spot so she could get it out if there was the slightest breeze.

"Kite flying" pre-birthday

We tried out her real kite for the first time this weekend, and was all smiles. :)

We just love Violet so much. She's the cuddle bug of the family. Very sweet and sensitive to other people's needs. She's constantly asking me "What do you need to do today?" and then she'll secretly go about trying to do one of the things I mentioned. Or she'll say, "Make a wish!" and I'll say, "I wish the cleaning fairy could come and unload the dishwasher!" and then a few minutes later, poof, unloaded. That's just how she is. But I have to make sure I don't "see" her doing it, or else she cries because the surprise is ruined. We can't imagine our lives without her.

Home Church

There is a strategy for Sundays in our home, and that is s-t-r-e-t-ching out time. This is how it goes on a typical Sunday.

Wake up whenever. Let kids play downstairs or do google video calls to each other from different rooms till they remember they haven't eaten breakfast yet.

Girls giving a puppet show to Jaxon a room away

Late breakfast. Girls play in bathtub for a good while. Is it bad that they've gone back to taking baths? They can entertain themselves so much better in a bath tub! Get out, dressed in Sunday clothes. Hair. Then Jaxon showers (he loooves a long hot shower).

My fingers hurt just by looking at this...

Almost time to cut it...

If we still have time to kill during Travis' or my zoom meetings, we'll usually take out a board game or two. After meetings, we have our sacrament and a little Sunday lesson.

I've just come to love church at home. The kids love gathering and getting reverent for the hymn and sacrament. They take it so seriously. I love them being able to see Travis bless it. And they love contributing to our mini Sunday lesson. Each Sunday Ginger always begs to have home church instead of going to real church- she was really struggling in sunbeams so I'm sure she'll be a mess whenever that starts up again...

After our lesson, I let the kids watch a Living Scripture movie, or two. Bonus if it has to do with the lesson we learned that day while I do some dinner prep. Then the older kids write in their journals. Then we all get ready for an early dinner, followed by a family walk.

Then pajamas, family scriptures, prayer, and dessert. And if the kids end up in bed 30 minutes early, oh darn. More time to read in bed.

Our stake has decided to start back up this month, but since three wards share our building they assigned one Sunday to each ward, and the ward decides how many sessions of sacrament meeting they want to hold that day. So we'll be going every 3 weeks for 45 minutes and will still enjoy home church on the other weeks. I hope we can stay safe during this transition!

Thank You Quarantine

Dear Quarantine,

Thank you for the morning cuddles on mom and dad's bed...

Time for little discoveries...

Sibling fun...

Forcing us to be creative...

And slowing life down so I can enjoy these times with my kids.

Learning New Things

With so much time at home, the kids have found that they've learned some new skills.

Both Jaxon and Violet have learned how to ride a two wheeler!

This was no small feat for Jaxon. Autistic children often have low muscle tone which limits range of motion and coordination. For example, sitting cross-legged is actually extremely difficult for him. He was even in physical therapy for several months last year.

Jaxon, tired of dribbling a basketball.
 *heavy sigh*

But after working on balancing on a bike for years, he finally nailed it down. We were sooo happy! I told Travis, "Oh, good. Now he can serve a mission!"

After he was done with his balance bike (I took off the pedals to his first, smaller bike), I handed it off to Violet. The next day she felt confident enough to try her big bike solo. No sweat!

She's also learned how to tie her shoes and how to sew with a needle and thread (after I thread the eye). Which is also a good time filler for her... ;)

Ginger's almost got all her letters and their sounds down (we'd been working on this for a few months now). Next step is putting the sounds together for some basic reading!

Here Travis is taking a break from work to carve a sling shot from some branches he cut down earlier.

And I decided to take another online class to add to my teacher re-certification credits. I'm kind of proud of myself for staying licensed after all these "kid years". Though one could easily argue if it's even worth it! But I do love learning! 

Family Time

This was great, and possibly a new tradition. For April Fools I made a special menu the kids could order off of. Except instead of it having different foods, it had different cookware and utensils. But it was coded, so they weren't quite sure what tool they were ordering. Whatever they ordered they had to eat with!

Travis ate with tongs. Really, the whole meal.

Ginger's glass was an empty Crystal Light container.

Jaxon twirling spaghetti with a spoon

We've been playing lots of games...

Having lots of backyard picnics...

Reading lots of books...

And having lots of fun together.