Aedan: 74 Months, Week 3
Owen: 31 Months, Week 4
Sunday, May 10th was the big day everyone was looking forward to. We had the van packed up and ready to go, so all we had to do was get ready, eat breakfast, and hit the road. We left by around 8:45, and we planned to drive there all in one day, since there really was no reason not to. The kids had bags of toys and books packed. We had snacks, water bottles, movies and LeapPads packed, so we were prepared. Our first leg of the trip I drove, and we made it until almost lunchtime before we had to stop. We ended up going through a Wendy's drive-thru for food, and then we drove a little farther until we stopped at a rest area so everyone could go to the bathroom, and we could take Izzy out on a little walk, too. (We decided to bring Izzy with us this time since we were only planning on visiting Upland on this trip.) It worked out well to stop like this, plus I figured that the restrooms in a rest area would be cleaned more frequently than the bathroom in a gas station or something like that. It worked out pretty well eating in the car, and it actually helped to pass the time a little more. Samantha and Aedan were fine with handling their food in the back seat, and I was able to pass the food back in little pieces for Owen to eat.
Owen wasn't too interested in taking a nap that afternoon, but after looking at books for awhile and us not really interacting with him much anymore, he finally gave in and fell asleep. In fact, Aedan actually fell asleep, too, even though we didn't tell him that he had to. It's just hard for him to not fall asleep in a quiet car in the middle of the afternoon, and I don't blame him. I feel the same way sometimes! Sadly, Owen only slept for about twenty minutes, whereas Aedan slept for almost an hour, but at least it was quiet in our car for awhile, and everyone got a little bit of rest.
The day really went well with the kids in the car. I was worried that they might have a harder time, simply because we haven't spent much time in the car lately since there has been nowhere to go. But they really did much better than I expected. We didn't even need to bust out any electronics that morning because the kids were doing so well playing and just enjoying looking at books.
We only made one more stop mid-afternoon for a bathroom break at a service plaza on the toll road, and then we were back on the road to Upland. We put a movie on during this last leg of the trip, and we arrived in Upland around 6:20. The kids were so excited to be there, to see Ema and Papa, and to run around and play. It was even better than they expected because when we got there, we discovered that Aunt Jeni and Alaina were there as well. We hadn't seen them since Christmas, and even then our time was limited, so we were excited to be around so much family.
Between just arriving and still needing to eat dinner, plus having to unpack and get all the beds set up for the kids, it was almost 9:00 by the time they all got to bed. We decided to let Samantha, Alaina, and Aedan share a bedroom, but I wasn't so sure it worked because on Monday morning Samantha and Aedan were both really tired and grumpy and weren't able to focus when we tried to work on their school work. We knew it would probably be a little challenge for them to work in Upland when they would rather play, but we tried to prepare them for that ahead of time. Aunt Jeni left to go back home on Sunday night, but Alaina planned to stay for the whole week as well, and she also had e-learning to do, so it worked out well for everyone to get to work in the morning.
Here is Samantha's Innovation project where she had to make something out of a cardboard box.
It was a little chilly on Monday, but we came prepared with pants and light jackets for the beginning of the week, and then shorts and t-shirts for the end of the week. Ben took Samantha and Alaina on a bike ride over on Taylor's campus that afternoon. They both love riding their bikes, so it's fun for them to have the time to ride around wherever and however they want in the safety of the sidewalks on campus. Samantha thinks the story of Samuel Morris is very interesting, and I think they enjoy hearing how Ben's dorm was named after him, so here they are posing with his statue on campus.
Tuesday was another day where we did school work in the morning so that way we could play the rest of the day. Samantha and Aedan had to make something out of food for art, so they used some lemons, marshmallows, and peanuts to create these people.
Tuesday afternoon, after getting Owen down for his nap, Ben and I took off for a little date. We drove down to Noblesville to get take out from Chuy's. We ordered it online so it would be ready when we got there, and we just sat in the car and enjoyed our food. It was a little weird eating in the car, especially Mexican food like that, but it worked, and it was worth it to be able to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. After getting totally stuffed, Ben and I drove over to a little park where we walked on a trail. It wasn't too long, but it was fun to just be able to walk and talk for awhile, uninterrupted. It was wonderful to be able to reconnect during this time when we have been with our kids all day every day, and unable to leave the house to go do anything together, but without the kids.
When we got back it was just about dinnertime, but I was so full from our late lunch that I really wasn't interested in any food. Then after dinner we decided to take another walk/bike ride over on campus. We put Owen in the stroller that they have at their house, and the girls rode their bikes. I think Aedan decided to stay at the house and spend time with Ema. We made it over to campus in time to hear the bell tower ring, and they thought that was really cool. It's funny to see how seriously Owen is taking it as he stands there under the tower and listens to and counts the number of times it rings.
Wednesday's weather was finally turning warmer, as the high was in the upper 60s. Samantha had a Zoom meeting every morning this week, with Mrs. Richards on Monday and Wednesday where they would go through a lesson together, so she could explain the work they were going to be doing on Tuesday and Thursday. Aedan also had Zoom meetings on Monday and Wednesday with Mrs. Weaver where he practiced subtraction flashcards on Monday and built words with his alphabet cards on Wednesday. Having the Zoom meetings is nice because it allows the kids to still feel connected to their teacher and class, but sometimes it's difficult to fit in the rest of their work in the morning and still try to be done by lunchtime. Plus, it is a little tricky finding three separate quiet places for the kids to talk and hear what is being said. But it worked out, and we are very thankful for the technology that makes things like this so easy to set up and manage.
Samantha continues to work on her city packet, and this week's assignment was learning about designing the architecture of her buildings. She then was supposed to use some kind of building material to make an example of what one of her buildings would look like, so she chose to make a building out of Lincoln Logs and it turned out really well.
Samantha continues to work on her city packet, and this week's assignment was learning about designing the architecture of her buildings. She then was supposed to use some kind of building material to make an example of what one of her buildings would look like, so she chose to make a building out of Lincoln Logs and it turned out really well.
Aedan was working on finding the main idea and supporting details in this article about soccer. He picked up on it pretty quickly, and it was good for him to practice writing a whole sentence, as he has not done that much writing since doing school at home.
Aedan loves spending as much time with Ema as he possibly can, and he really enjoyed the individual attention he got from her this afternoon. When he is around everyone, he really is a pretty quiet little boy, but when he is one-on-one with you, he can become very chatty. I was trying to read my textbook for my class, but I found myself becoming distracted with what Aedan was talking about and just how cute he was playing with the hose, filling up the watering can, and helping Ema in any way she asked in the garden. It warms my heart and makes me smile to see their special relationship continue. I hope it will go on for a long time, even as he gets older, and I pray he will always find wonderful ways to share in this special relationship with her, even if it changes over the years.
The kids had to do a relay race for P.E., so here is their video of that broken up into four videos because it was so long. Aedan had a little bit of trouble following directions and doing the skills correctly. Their sit ups and push ups especially make me laugh. Then, he gives up and starts pouting halfway through skipping around the garden. Ben was able to talk some sense back into him by telling him that he would have to do it all over again. The jumping jacks were also difficult for him, so maybe we expected too much of him in this, but hey, at least we got their P.E. out of the way for the week. Even though they get way more exercise just running around and having fun playing outside! Our kids aren't ones you have to be worried about in that regard. Other than doing their schoolwork, they hardly spend any time on screens.
I can't go into too many details right now in this post because it's not the right time, and I need to respect the private nature of what is going on. But Ben and I have been dealing with something personal this week that just hit the fan on Tuesday afternoon when we returned from our date. It's something that rocked us to our core and makes things in our life feel even more uncertain than just dealing with the virus shutting everything down. I found myself feeling rather heartbroken and fighting against bleak, negative thoughts regarding the future, wondering what God's plan was for us and how to even wrap my mind around the decisions that were being made. I found myself praying while I ran the loop around Taylor, literally talking out loud to God as I went, sometimes even with tears escaping as well, as I expressed how I felt to God: all my confusion, my anger, my sadness, my questions, my worry, and asking him for wisdom, peace, love, and comfort that only he can provide because he is the maker and sustainer of all things, the only one I can truly trust because he holds my life, and the life of my family, in his strong, capable, and loving hands.
It is kind of hard to remember very specific things about our time in Upland because it really seemed to go by quickly. Ben and I were both able to do school with the kids in the morning since the semester was officially over for him now, and Ema did a wonderful job of playing with Owen during that time so he wasn't bothering the kids as they worked. Here is Samantha's spiral review for the week that she sent in to Mrs. Richards.
Aedan was working on the letter Zz this week, and was very creative in how he designed his zebra using letter Zs as the legs. He started off cutting out the black stripes but then decided that took too long and drew them on instead.
We were able to spend some time outside that morning since we knew rain was coming that afternoon. Once Owen got up from his nap, we put Frozen 2 on for the kids to watch to help pass the time on this rainy evening, and also just to give them some down time after a full week with lots of playing outside and being active. They were so cute how they all laid on the floor together, lined up right next to each other. Owen of course had to copy them by putting his elbows down and his chin in his hands. These four kids have had such a great week together.
It was my turn to put Owen to bed that night, and I recorded a couple videos of the two of us being silly together. He certainly has personality! I love how he thinks it's fun to see his mouth up close on the camera. He likes to sit and talk about his day at night, and I thought it was cute how he said, "Please tell me about it." He likes to hear people tell stories of what happened and to process out loud the things that happened in his day. You can also see just how long his hair has grown since things have been shut down. He definitely has a lot of hair to twirl around in the back! I love this little boy and these special moments we get to share at night together.
On Friday morning I went with Ben and the boys to Marion so everyone could get their hair cut at Great Clips. Places were starting to open up in Indiana, and all the boys in our family desperately needed hair cuts, so we decided to take advantage of the fact that we were in a location where we could get everyone's hair cut. Ben and Aedan went in together first, since everyone had to have a mask, and as of right now we only have two masks. Then, Aedan came out and Owen went in with Daddy. Here are the boys with their fresh, short summer hair cuts. It was such a refreshing look, and they turned out really well.
Here are some close up shots of their handsome hair cuts. One boy is serious and doesn't like his picture taken, and one boy is silly and would make faces for the camera all day long!
Once we got back home, we had a little bit of work to finish up with Samantha, as she was working on some of it when we were gone. But everyone was glad that it was Friday, that work was done for the weekend, and that the weather was sunny and warm so we could spend the rest of our time in Upland enjoying playing outside.
We took the kids over to campus again on Friday before dinner to get the kids away from the house and doing something else for awhile, and to give Ema and Papa a little bit of peace for awhile. Izzy enjoyed barking at the Samuel Morris statue because she thought it was a real person.
Then we spent some time running around the bell tower, waiting for it to ring again. They loved hearing it not only ring, but also play a song afterwards. It's amazing how much energy these kids have! It was cute to see Alaina and Owen running around and playing together. Playing tag around the bell tower was great fun!
And even though it was raining on them a little, we went outside for a friendly game of kickball after dinner. Aedan and Owen really enjoyed kicking the ball, but not so much having to stand in the outfield while the other team took their turn to kick. I think our kids were just getting a little tired though because they had already been outside for so long playing that day, and it was getting close to bedtime, so they weren't exactly being the best sports and doing their part to help their team. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun to play a game altogether as a family.
To end the night, the kids wanted to perform a song from Mulan that they had been asking Alexa to play a lot throughout the week. (We recently watched Mulan at home, so now they enjoy acting that movie out.) Aedan took his part very seriously, and he actually knew the words really well. I love how everyone is just dancing around however they liked, and Owen is trying his hardest just to copy everyone around him before he starts doing super silly faces and motions with his hands and sticking his tongue out toward the end of the song. These kids crack me up!
These are the last pictures of Samantha as an 8 year old. I can't believe it! I don't know why, but 9 just sounds so much older than 8. We are gearing up for a big birthday day!
Samantha is so excited about turning 9 and celebrating her birthday in Upland!
And here's a recording of my conversation with Owen as I put him to bed that night. He was talking about hearing the bells at the bell tower and how it would be funny if the bells and tower would fall down. I love how he tells his story and and says in his super cute little voice, "That's funny!"
That night after getting the kids to bed, Ben and I took advantage of another chance to get away, just the two of us. We ordered ice cream from Ivanhoes, and then walked through campus and just talked and spent time together. It was really nice to have this time outdoors together, just enjoying each other's company and being able to have a conversation without wondering if one of our children might be eavesdropping. Ice cream from Ivanhoes is always delicious, and we were able to sit outside on a bench to eat it before walking back to the house. It was a lovely date night out.
Once we got back I took some time putting up some streamers, balloons, and the Happy Birthday sign while Ben put together monkey bread for breakfast in the morning. She will be excited when she comes out to see this in the morning!
Samantha was up early the morning of her birthday, and she peeked at her decorations when she got up to go to the bathroom. She has always been an early riser, especially when something exciting is going on. She couldn't wait for this day to come and had been waiting in eager anticipation since Aedan's birthday, counting down the days until her birthday finally arrived. Just like we did for Aedan's birthday, Samantha got to choose the meals for the day on her birthday. She wanted monkey bread for breakfast, cooked out burgers for lunch, and this lemon, chicken, and potato meal for dinner. Plus, she chose Daddy's special Oreo peanut better cheesecake for her birthday cake.
Since it was Saturday, we didn't have any school work to do, and Samantha was glad about that. It was a lovely day outside, so we did a lot of playing outside that morning. That's one of the reasons everyone loves Upland so much. Mid-morning we decided to let Samantha open her presents so that way we could have all the relatives watch her open the presents they sent her. Here she is ready to open her presents. Man girl, you are looking so grown up these days. Her hair is so long, she is getting so tall, and I can just see her more grown up features coming out. However, when I look at her, I still see a little girl, and my mind brings me right back to all the memories of her first nine years of life. I feel like turning nine is a big occasion because it's like a halfway point in our job of raising her until she will go off to college and become more independent away from our home. Sometimes my heart just can't handle it, and I wish I could just turn back time or at least freeze it for a little while. I'm not ready for Samantha to grow up so fast quite yet.
Alaina got Aunt Jeni on the phone to watch the kids open presents from her. She even got something for Aedan as well, so we let him open that first. He got a really awesome pod racer with Annakin and Padme. Both Samantha and Aedan were excited about that.
Then, Samantha opened her Rock, Mineral, and Geode Collection Kit from Aunt Jeni, where she could identify different rocks that she finds. This is right up her alley, as she already had a pretty cool collection of rocks on top of the shelf in her room.
The next present she opened was from Aedan. Since we couldn't take the kids to the store to pick something out, we kind of picked something out and ordered it. We knew she wanted Princess Leia to go along with all the Star Wars Legos that Aedan got for his birthday. I love the look on Aedan's face as he stood there and watched her open the present. He is so happy that she likes it, and they give each other the cutest hug at the end.
Here they all are checking out the new Lego set.
The next present she opened was from Ema and Papa, and she was kind enough to let Aedan and Owen help tear the wrapping paper off as well. She got a new softball mitt, elbow and knee pads to go with something she would get later, and a Harry Potter Rise of Voldemort Lego set.
The next present she opened was from Mommy and Daddy. We got her another Harry Potter Lego set called Hagrid's Hut because it came with all the main characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Hagrid. We thought she would really like this set, and by the way she was talking about it, I think she was really excited about it.
The other present from us was a set of "new" roller skates that I found on Facebook Marketplace. She figured she was going to get roller skates, too, since Aedan got a pair for his birthday as well. Plus, she already opened the elbow and knee pads.
After that we called Aunt Christy, Brielle, and Oliver so they could watch her open their presents. She got a new set of Hatchimals from Brielle, an insect book from Oliver, and a new softball bat and ball from Aunt Christy. She was really excited about all these new things to help her learn more and get better at playing softball.
Next, we called Grandpa and Grandma so they could watch her open the presents from them. They got her a Harry Potter Expecto Patronum Lego set, a book about rocks, and the DVD collection of all the Harry Potter movies.
Samantha got some pretty awesome stuff, and she was excited about all the gifts. They perfectly describe what she likes right now. She loves to study insects and rocks outside, collecting bugs in the bug collector and adding rocks to your collection. She will learn a lot about the books she received. She is also pretty obsessed with Harry Potter right now. We are reading the books out loud to her before bedtime at night, since they are still a little too difficult at this point, but she is loving them. We are on the fourth book right now, and she is definitely a Harry Potter fan. In fact, Samantha and Aedan often pretend to have magic wands and will walk around casting spells or acting out different parts of the stories.
We ended up having Samantha's birthday cake after lunch since we were planning on leaving Upland the following day and wanted her to have more than one chance to eat her birthday cake. You loved that Daddy made your favorite cake for you, and that you got to enjoy it with all the people you love the most.
Here is the birthday girl, so excited for everyone to sing to her! I love it when she does this excited smile. She is so beautiful, inside and out.
In honor of Samantha's love of Harry Potter, Ema made a couple of special treats for Samantha's birthday. She cut out little papers in the shape of a flying snitch and taped them on to these little chocolate candies.
She also made wands by dipping pretzel rods into chocolate and covering them with sprinkles. They were really cute ideas, and I appreciated the effort she put into finding and creating these special treats for her.
Then, we were able to spend the rest of the day playing with and enjoying some of your new presents. Daddy threw Samantha some softballs so she could practice hitting with her new bat, and she played catch with her new glove. She got out her roller skates and pads and did an excellent job skating around Ema and Papa's driveway. Mommy and Daddy were even lucky enough to go on a bike ride around Upland with her and Alaina. It was really fun to see how strong she is getting and how much she enjoys riding her bike on longer trips like that. Her day was filled with lots of fun, and I was really glad that we were able to celebrate it in Upland so that she could feel like things were a little more special during these weird times.
After dinner that night, Papa had to drive Alaina back home since she had been away from her mom all week, and it was time to get back home. When Samantha said good-bye to Alaina, she gave her a huge hug and did not want to let go. Ben took these pictures of them, and it was so sweet to see the look on Samantha's face. She just loves Alaina so much. I feel like she is her one forever best friend, and this week that they got to spend together was truly the best birthday present Samantha could have asked for. I'm so happy that they have times like these together, but it really makes me feel sad sometimes that we don't live closer, and that for the last four years we have lived too far away to see family as often as we would like. As Papa pulled down the lane with Alaina, Samantha went running down the lane after them, and later we learned that that sent Alaina into a bucket of tears as well. These girls love each other, and it was wonderful to see how well they got along and how much fun they had together this week.
(Blog about May 10-16, 2020)
