2020 Weekly Photos - #35

 After months of doing next to nothing, we decided to shove a whole bunch into 7 days!  

Saturday - We gathered with family for the day.  There was lots of food, fellowship, fun, laughing, and swimming!  Not to mention a bonfire with hot dogs and smore's.

My brother Kel and I got a "sibling" photo . .. minus my other two brothers. 

A few brave souls got in the water. 

We love Lake Michigan.

The kids had lots of fun with sparklers too! 

Sunday - Today we recovered from our day trip and also started packing for our camping trip. 

Monday- Thursday - Camping! 

We arrived on Monday to wonderful weather.  We took advantage of it and cooked our favorite steak kabobs over the fire.  

Our campsite was near this huge dune.  Both boys took off and climb to the top to get a great view of Lake Michigan.  

After dinner we walked down to the beach and enjoyed a wonderful sunset.  Sunsets on Lake Michigan are the best. 

Nate loved using his phone to do some time lapse video of the sunset. 

Our family photo thanks to another photographer on the deck.  After this we enjoyed a great campfire and roasted marshmallows.  We headed in just about the time the rain started. 

Tuesday dawned rainy and wet.  It rained most of the day so we just took off for a drive.  These ducks are a good representation of how wet it was!  

We also enjoyed a treat from Panera Bread before heading back to our camper for the night. 

Wednesday was a little dryer so we could get in a nice hike.  We went to the channel and wanted to walk to the other campground where we normally stay.  Here Josh is searching for internet HA! 

Darryl, Josh and Nate - we really love the water and have dreams of living close enough some day to go to the beach every day. 

So, this side of the campground has been closed this year due to flooding.  I just couldn't figure it out in my mind so we walked through the campground - there are huge areas that are totally covered in swamp land now.  This area in this photo is where we normally camp - two of our favorite sites.  We asked if they thought it would be open next year and were told that it is doubtful at this point.  The high water levels have really impacted quite a few campgrounds and beaches. 

We also went and got ice cream at "Norm's" - it was our first time there and it was good.  We will go back next year! 

Darryl, Josh and Nate took off on a hike down the stairs.  They found some great things.  What did I do?  I stayed in the truck and read :-)  Yes, I prefer reading to hiking! 

Thursday we loaded up and headed to the beach for a picnic.  

These three fed the seagulls.  The seagulls love them, that's for sure!  

Josh said it was a little cold :-)  

Nate is a Michigan boy through and through - he goes in the water no matter what and did not disappoint.  Yes, he is in the lake - the air temp was only about 55 degrees.  He said it was cold but that he was getting used to it HA!  Shoot, it was even raining while he was going in the water! 

Friday - Today was a recovery day.  We had to open the camper up to dry it out, pull out rugs and chairs that needed to dry and, of course, do laundry.  We ended the evening with dinner at my mom's with my brother and sister-in-law, Kel and Deb.  We had to say good bye as they head back to Brazil in just a few weeks.  

So, yes, this was an amazingly fun week and we are so thankful for the family time that we were able to have.  Now, we gear up for school!  

Weekly Menu

Yes, I still love my fridge.  It's amazing.  And I'm thankful to be back to my fridge and out of the camping coolers once again :-)  I told Darryl that it took a little fun out of camping - the last thing I wanted was to live out of coolers again HA! 

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Thankfully my mom is cooking dinner HA!  My brother and sister-in-law are in town so we are having dinner together.

Saturday - Honestly, we have to take Nate into town for a Covid Test due to his upcoming surgery.  Maybe we will get some Adobe Taco's or we have a gift card form Consumers Energy for Domino's Pizza that we might use. 

Sunday - Depending on the weather we "might" get a fire going and roast hot dogs just because we can.  Otherwise, I'm going to pull some chili out of the freezer and we will have Chili "5 way" with spaghetti and garlic bread.  

Monday - Marinaded Chicken Legs, Mac and Cheese, and Mixed Veggies

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday! 

*Wednesday - Simple Chicken and Snow Pea Stir-Fry with Fried Rice

Thursday - Hawaiian Chicken Sliders and Fries (I also am planning to try making onion rings in my new-to-me air fryer - we'll see how that goes)

** Disclaimer - Nate has surgery on Wednesday so it is very possible that Darryl and I will grab fast food for dinner depending on timing. 

Our School Schedule

It's hard to believe that our school year is starting!  My original goal was to start on September 8th and stay right on schedule.  Well, we decided to do nature learning first and go camping.  When we started talking about camping, I had been looking at going the week before but then our local school district changed their start date so I needed to be around to still watch our little friends.  That only left one week for camping.  That's ok, the boys knew before hand that on Friday, the 11th, they would be doing school.  We were able to wipe out two days worth of lessons on that Friday putting us only 2 days off schedule.  We will be pushing through a few days lessons as Nate is scheduled for tonsil surgery on the 16th so we will miss some more school.  So much for starting strong!

With all of that said, I do actually have a plan :-)  We do not have our Friday Co-op this semester so I am trying to take advantage of that extra day.  It also appears that both boys have their Live Lessons in the afternoon.  One thing I took away from last year is that the Live Lessons are important not only for learning but for interaction with other kids.  With that in mind, I knew that I wanted the boys to attend this year.  So, we are going to work on getting the majority of their class work done in the morning (if not all of it) and leave seat work, as needed, for the afternoon along with their Live Lessons.  I'm hoping this will motivate them to use their time in the morning to get work done.

Nate wants to be as independent as he can be; Josh wants as much help as he can get.  With their different personalities, this makes sense and will hopefully free me up to help Josh at the same time Nate is working on his lessons.  As with every year, what I put on paper doesn't always work out and we have to shift things but this is the current plan

9:00-10:00 - Nate - Independent on Math and Reading - he is free to do as many lessons as he can get done (and done well) during this hour which means he may finish Math and Reading for the week in a day or two.  Josh  - I will work with him on his lessons - starting first with Math as he struggles with that the most; moving on to Science and Social Studies.  I have a goal of having him be independent in Reading!

10:00-11:00 - Nate - I will work with Nate on Science, Social Studies, Art and Ed. Tech as needed.  There is  A LOT of reading in all 4 of these subjects which is why Nate still wants help with these subjects.   Josh - as stated above, I'm hoping I can get Josh working on reading on his own since this year he has to read a few novels.  So, he will work on reading during this hour and also on his seat work.

11:00-12:00 - Nate - this will be Nate's seat work time as well as finishing up any lessons that we didn't get through. Josh - I will work with him more on lessons as needed and, if lessons are done, he can work on seat work as well.

12:00-1:00 - Lunch and break for all of us!

1:00-3:00 - If they have a live lesson in the afternoon they will need to attend.  Any seatwork not done, will need to be done and, if by chance we have a lesson not done, we will work on that as well.  Also, their piano teacher is taking this semester off so I plan on squeezing in a piano lesson for each of them at home.

This schedule stands true for Monday-Friday.  The goal is to have Friday free but if we need to do lessons we will.  Nate also has "private" Tae Kwon Do class on Friday afternoons.  (they aren't meeting with as a class but rather with individual black belts this semester due to Covid).

I know this post doesn't mean much to anyone else but it always helps me be able to write out my basic plan.  I do have my spreadsheet that I've attached a photo of that helps keep things straight.  I also try to throw in my things each day too.

Weekly Worship - J Heller - You Already Know (Official Audio Video)

A friend shared this song this past week.  First, I love JJ Heller's voice.  Second, this song is amazing.  

2020 Weekly Photos #34

Some weeks are pretty boring around here and some weeks are busy.  This was one of those more "busy" weeks.  It's funny, it's all relative because 6 months ago busy meant going non-stop sometimes but now "busy" means that we go get haircuts HA!

Here's our week in photos:

Saturday - The fridge arrived!!  We also enjoyed dinner at my mom's :-)  We enjoy that weekly "treat" and are glad she lives close enough that we can go there every week.

Sunday - We celebrated Darryl's dads 80th birthday party.

Monday - Haircuts and a picnic!

 We started at a park that we've always enjoyed but quickly discovered that both Josh and Nate are getting too big HA!  Josh was able to "walk" the monkey bars since his feet touched the ground!  

 So we switched to the wooden park that we love.  This park has lots of running space and the structure is better for bigger kids.  

 Josh's Connections Academy teacher called while we were at the park so he got to talk to her for the first time. 

Tuesday - Today we hung at home and I worked on doing some things around the house.

Wednesday - The boys got school photos done today.  I planned to take a photo of the photographer in action but I forgot my camara and then left my phone in the car.  Oh well, I'll leave you with these fun shots instead.

Yes, this is the cat.  Eating at the table.  No, it is not a normal occurrence.  Nate had left the table so the cat claimed his chair; Josh put some of the cat food on the table and the cat proceeded to eat it off the table because, well, that's what cat's do HA!  (Don't worry, I wiped the table down with Lysol Wipes after he was done!) 

Thursday - Today was my "running" day - First a leadership meeting followed by grocery shopping.  The bonus?  My mom had us over for dinner so I didn't have to cook!

Friday - Today I spent getting things ready.  Ready to go to a family get together on Saturday and the beginnings of "ready" for camping.  Cooking, packing, organizing - it takes a lot of lists :-) I thought it would be a boring day . . but it wasn't! 

This is the beginning of organizing for camping.  

This was excitement #1 - A large limb fell on the neighbors car port.  It was loud!  

Excitement # 2 - This little guy was in my truck - I think he tagged along on the corn stalks.  Apparently he's not a nice guy - he's one of those that will make you get a rash (at least that is what I saw when I read up on him!) 

Excitement # 3 - Ok, not really exciting BUT I'm so happy to have cornstalks to decorate with this year.  I still want to get a mum or two and, of course, pumpkins. 

Weekly Menu - the week we are actually doing stuff

This week brings a few things.  My brother and sister-in-law are home from Brazil for a few weeks so we are gathering with family.  We also made the decision to take a camping trip.  As with everything right now, all decisions take lots of thought and we decided that with so many going back to school, we could slip into the campground and enjoy some family time while staying safe.

Friday - Friday's have become our normal night out and even with some other things going on this week, I'm sure we will still do this tradition.  :-) AND if by chance I decide we should eat at home - I have spaghetti as a back up :-) 

Saturday - We will be with family today :-)

Sunday - Sloppy Joes and Fries.

Monday - Thursday - We are camping.  I'll share more of our camping menu when I share about our camping adventures but we will have our steak kabobs one night for dinner and we will also order our favorite pizza - Bernie O's - for one meal as well!

Birch Box - Something Fun to Try

If quarantine has been good for one thing it is that I've tried some new things!  I always see Facebook posts about various "boxes" you can order.  I read a post recently that compared a few of the different make-up/hair boxes and I liked what was said about Birch Box.  I had tried Ipsy quite awhile ago and didn't really like it.  Well, my first Birch Box came yesterday and it was fun!

 This is how it arrives - in this fun box.  It made me smile when I opened my mail box and saw this fun box.  

 Once the box is opened, you get this cute box too!  I'm sure super creative people would find ways to use this box but I'm not that creative. 

 Of course, these boxes are meant to make you feel good so a quote was included: 

"Dear self, Action also requires rest.  Give yourself the permission to do both"

 Here are the goodies waiting inside the box.  How fun! 

From left to right:

Mascara - I'm always up for trying a new mascara

Detangler - This is something that I will use - with curly hair I often end up using detangler to get the knots out. 

Pillow Spray - It says it will help you sleep better.  We will see!

Hand Sanitizer - For Real.  AND it smells good!  

Hand Lotion - It is really silky smooth and also smells great

And in the front - a sample of perfume. 

I love that they are all sample sizes so if you hate it, it isn't a waste BUT if you love it, you can find it on line (or in the store) and buy it.  Of course, you can also purchase it from Birch Box (That perfume is $80.00 for a bottle  . . wowzer!) 

This box only cost $10.60 because there was a credit for signing up and I also chose the "monthly" subscription so I can cancel at any time.  A normal box is $15.00.  I am going to go ahead and try it for another month and then I will see if I want to keep it going.