First Day of School - 2020

 In the midst of the global pandemic that has been continuing for longer than any of us imagined when the country first shutdown in March, we all held our breaths ... waiting to see what the start of a new school year would hold.  Would the district open up the school for in-person learning?  Would all learning be done virtually?  Would the official offer a combination?  Who would decide?

And the answer is this: the governor of Michigan decided to leave it up to the individual school districts to decide if they were going to offer in-person learning and what their day-to-day schedules would entail.  Laingsburg chose to offer both in-person and virtual learning, but without enough teachers to do both styles, students would only attend school for half-days.  

Beginning on August 20th, the three older kids went back to school for the first time since the middle of March.  It means wearing masks every day, sitting in designated seats on the bus, sitting apart from their friends in the classroom, no lunch served on-site (they are home for lunch every day), excessive sanitizing and afternoons free from learning.  It's an adjustment, but one that we are happy to make so that they can return to the classroom for as long as they can.

This is 2020:

And a picture so that I can see their smiling faces; and they definitely were happy to go back to school after months and months of being home ... even if it wasn't back to normal yet.

Samantha = 7th grade; Sophia = 4th grade; Jack = 2nd grade

And Jimmy will also be attending school.  He will be starting his 2nd (and final) year of preschool.  His school will be open but will not start until Labor Day.  And believe me, he is not happy about having to wait!  He will be attending three mornings a week from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon.  Frankly, the other kids attend for less time than him on those days because they arrive home on the bus by 11:45 am every day!

Summertime Randoms

 

Nothing says, "summertime," like camping in a tent in the backyard.

Big enough to comfortably fit all four of the kids, we picked a great night for them to "camp" outside.

********************

Our strawberry plant wasn't very plentiful this year (only a few berries and the ones that got ripe enough were consumed by what I assume was racoons one night), but Spiderman loved to check the plant each day for growth progress.

********************

One of the most entertaining activities for the kids is to chisel out random "dinosaur bones" from a block of dirt.  

Their attention to detail and patience for this project never ceases to amaze me.

Slow and steady -- and worth the reward at the end.  Some of these projects yield just the bare bones and others result in bones that can actually be put together to construct a dinosaur for display.

Last year, I tucked away a cement kit that could be used to make a pair of mosaic flipflops for the front flower garden.  It was the perfect project for Jack and Sophia, as each one of them could design their own at the same time.

Complete concentration.

Lots of colors to choose from ...

********************

Jack spent some time supervising one of our summer projects from the back of his dad's truck.

One hot day, Steve and Jimmy used a post hole digger to dig a VERY deep hole on the side of the driveway.

Which turned into a basketball hoop!

This was something that we decided to do early in the Spring and after we ordered a backboard and hoop, Steve made arrangements with a company that he works with and they managed to custom-build a pole for us ... and deliver it to our house.  Samantha was one happy little girl.

********************

Strawberry season means ...

... lots of homemade strawberry jam for the freezer.

********************

Grandpa gave Jack a salt gun for his birthday and we tested it out with a foil target.  The trigger was a little stiff at first, but Jack soon mastered the task!

********************

One adorable and patriotic little boy!

********************

Sophia loves painting rocks and I love how creative she is with each and every one.  They are gorgeous in my flower beds and I smile every time she adds another one to the collection.

********************

And while Sophia was painting rocks, the boys were painting masterpieces of their own on paper.  

********************

Another overnight camp adventure in the tent; this time with the neighbor.  These three will probably be friends forever.

********************

Sophia lost a tooth this summer and I have never seen a cuter smile on anyone!

********************

Do you know what is just as much fun as camping outside in a tent?  Camping inside ... in the basement ... with your brother ... in your dad's hunting tent.  Especially if you are allowed to do it for more than one night in a row.

********************

Houghton Lake - Part 3

Not too far from where we were staying was another lake -- one that is just as common to us Michiganders and one that is known for visiting year-round; not just in the summer months.  My aunt and uncle lived in Roscommon and we would visit them and always make the small trek over to Higgins Lake.  I also have many childhood memories of vacationing in a cottage there with another one of my aunts and uncles.

We didn't plan to go swimming in the lake (although we certainly could have it the kids had their suits), but we made sure to stop and check out one of the beach sites.

There was a slight breeze and lots of sun ...

And each one of the kids collected a handful of shells to later add to a jar with the label, "Higgins Lake - 2020."

While they were walking along the beachfront, I made a few trips into the store to get each of the kids an ice cream cone.  Due to COVID, the store was limiting the number of guests at any one time and it was just easier for me to enter and exit with my mask on.

Steve helped Jimmy make a pretty decent dolphin in the sand and Jimmy was pleased as could be with it.

And then, this is how we knew that it was time to load back up into the truck.  Afternoon naps were still required and Jimmy was letting us know that he was long overdue for one!

********************

One of the places that we wanted to be sure to visit before we headed back to Laingsburg was Hartwick Pines.  It is one of the largest state parks in the Lower Peninsula with almost 10,000 acres of trees and forest.  We made sure to wear our tennis shoes and to choose a day where the weather was clear and not too hot.  

We were shaded most of the time and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mosquitos were not bad at all.

There were several fallen trees and we would stop periodically to read facts and statistics along the way.

James did great despite all of the walking that we did ...

Trying to see if she could wrap her arms around the entire girth of the tree.  Spoiler alert:  She could not.

It often took three kids' arm spans to go around some of the trees!

Every once in a while, we stopped for a rest and a water break.  Fallen logs made the perfect place for that.

One of my favorite pictures from the day:

Check out the size of that rock!

We also spent some time inside learning about the history of the state park and some of the animals that call the acreage their home.  Masks were required inside, of course.  Jimmy wasn't even the least bit intimidated by the wolf and asked me to take his picture in front of it.

Houghton Lake - Part 2

Not far from where we were staying, there was an outside entertainment park that we planned to take the kids to so that they could ride go-carts and go putt-putting.  We planned to take them on a day when it wasn't going to either rain or be too scorching hot.  And I wanted to be sure to go right when they opened in the morning so that we could avoid any potential crowds during COVID.  Luckily, we were able to meet all of those criteria.

We opted to purchase "bracelets," as this would give the kids a chance to choose from a few different modes of entertainment.  James was too short to ride in a go-cart by himself, but he waited patiently and watched the older kids.

All buckled in and ready to go:

There was no bumping allowed and really, the speed of these carts was not very fast.

Jimmy rode with me and smiled the whole time.

Later, he was able to go on a track all by himself!

Next, we ventured over to the bumper boats.  And ... the memories will be with me FOREVER.  You see, the attendant asked if we wanted to fountains turned on and I nonchalantly said, "sure."  I must have been thinking that it would simply provide a nice, scenic environment while we cruised around.  So, fully-clothed with our shoes on, the four kids and myself (Jimmy was in a boat with me) got into the boats and started out.  

This was my unassuming self before we got out into the water:

All ready to go!

It wasn't long until I got stuck -- UNDER A FOUNTAIN -- and I couldn't go anywhere because the other kids were ramming me from all sides.

Steve laughed (over and over again) from the DRY sidelines while my clothes and tennis shoes got stuck and my sunglasses steamed up from the buckets of water that were falling on me.

Soaking wet but not sad about it at all:

With our shoes squishy -- well, all of us except Steve -- we headed over to the opposite side of the park to try putt-putting.

The kids gave it an honest try (both on the blue and the green carpets, one was more challenging than the other):

Jimmy didn't really care for it much.  It was a bit too slow-paced for him and I think that he was a little grumpy because he was soaked.

Sophia and Jack were both pretty skilled at the game, especially considering that neither of them had ever played before (that I could recall).  

Both of my girls have legs that go on for miles.  They certainly did not inherit them from me!

Steve took the three older kids over to ride the (faster) go-carts one more time, so Jimmy and I ventured over to an area where I bought him a whole bowl of balls that he could use to shoot at a target.  This was everything to him!

He had the time of his life and insisted that the other kids come and try it out too.

They had many targets to try and shoot at and we ended up spending an undue amount of time here before I insisted that I was hungry and that we should probably try to find a place to eat lunch.

Look at that concentration!

On our way to lunch, we stopped to take some pictures outside with these memorable statures and wooden cut-outs.

This one of Jack makes me smile every time I look at it.

And this fishing one ... Jimmy was just the right size for it!

Oh!  And just for more laughs -- one of Steve and me.

Apparently this is quite the tourist spot and many people pause here for photos.  The camel drew the attention of the girls and then Jack jumped in at the last minute.

And this bear?  Steve remembers it from his childhood trips to Houghton Lake, so we made sure to take a picture with the kids too.  And we did it in proper COVID pandemic style -- with face masks!