Staying at Home... and What We've Been Doing

We don't leave the house much, but when we do, everyone has a mask! Crazy times.

Even though this time has been challenging, overwhelming, extremely different and sometimes scary... thats not how I want our boys to remember it. I want them to remember the books we've read, the crafts we did, the food we made, the bike rides we went on and all the laughs we had in between. I want them to remember being together. 

One of the first things we did was make rainbows so when people were out walking they could spot them in the windows. It was fun to see everyone's rainbow creations. 

Our days follow the same routine... I work best that way and so do the boys. After reading and doing school work in the morning we would go for a walk, but soon Jack and Luke learned how to ride their bikes so now we ride our bikes to the local park (just a grassy area in our neighborhood) every morning. 

Making nature bracelets on one of our many walks.

Learning how to ride their bikes! 

Off we go!

Playing at our park 

So creative with the games/activities they play everyday. I think here they are playing monkeys. 

One morning, our sweet teenage neighbors surprised them with an obstacle course they drew for them on the sidewalk. The boys loved waking up and seeing this! 

Every afternoon, we try to do some sort of craft or activity... some work out better than others but they are fun none the less. A few things we have tried have been painting with colored ice cubes, watching water "walk," painting with chalk, jellybean structures, painting rocks, a rainbow scavenger hunt and painting ice. It makes our days more exciting when we try something new. 

Painting with colored ice cubes

Walking water

Painting with chalk

Jellybean structures

Painting rocks

Rainbow scavenger hunt

Painting Ice

Our favorite activity, however, was the chalk mosaic we did on our fence. Our whole family got involved and the boys did their absolute best! We thought it looked AMAZING when we took off the tape. The were so proud of themselves! 

Every afternoon for lunch we have a picnic outside and read from our book. I think it is the highlight of everyones day... it is so peaceful and relaxing. The boys love eating outside, I love reading to them and we all just enjoy each other's company.  Everyone has a job to do which makes it so much easier- Abram puts out the blanket, Luke brings the book, Jack gets the bag with utensils and napkins and I bring the food. Its just perfect!

As, every afternoon they have a cool treat outside. It might be a popsicle, push up pop, or frozen yogurt. Whatever the treat is- they love it!

We are so very blessed to live in a warm place where we can get outside every day. I'm so glad this quarantine didn't happen during the winter and when it was too cold to get our energy out.  We have enjoyed swimming in our pool, playing in the sprinklers, climbing trees, and drawing with chalk in our driveway.

Also, another fun thing we did while we were inside was watch caterpillars turn into butterflies. Chris' brother sent Jack and Luke caterpillars for their birthdays. It was such a fun thing to watch the process. Every day they would check on them. It was amazing!!

Caterpillars

The butterflies slowly coming out of their cocoons. 

Looking at the butterflies before we released them.

And we've also tried our hand at cooking different recipes. Some of our favorites have been homemade bagels and ice cream in a bag.

And finally, one fun field trip we went on was to pick strawberries and onions. It was so fun to get out and do something new. We came home and made strawberry milkshakes and they were delicious. 

One funny quarantine story that we had to include in our blog was Jack and Luke's haircuts. Their hair was getting awfully long and one afternoon I got brave and decided to give them a trim. Well, it turned out horribly. Since the barber shops are closed, the only thing we could do to fix it was shave their heads! They screamed and cried but once Chris finished they loved it. They look so grown up and they love to touch it!