Frozen Fun

 I had said that I really wanted this winter to either be very warm or very snowy, in order for us to get through this Covid winter. Well, we got lots of snow! It has helped give us things to do outside, which has been nice. 

We had gotten a fair amount of snow, and we thoroughly enjoyed that, then we got dumped on with way more snow, so we knew we were covered for all of February, at least!

This was from the previous snowstorm.

This is from the next one. The snow was a lot deeper!

Erik and I went sledding on a day they canceled elementary schools last minute so teachers could get the vaccine. It was very cold that day!!

Austin and his friends made a snow fort. This was before the big snow came.

Victoria and I went skiing on one of my days off when my student had Covid. It was her easier school day and we just decided to go for it and try my new-to-me skis! 

You're supposed to see the "mountain" in this pic, but obviously, it didn't come out. It does look kinda mountain-like from the road, I swear!

She's taller than me now and has always had long arms, so we traded coats. She wore what I have been wearing for years and I wore her coat (which is a 14-16 from Costco). This little girl there had the same coat on and when I asked her mom to take a picture of Victoria and me, she thought I meant for her to take a picture with me. I had talked to her earlier about our matching coats, so I think she felt a bond between us:)

The skiing was great and not too crowded. There was a ski competition that we watched as we went up the lifts. We even did some backcountry skiing in between trees and over a couple of jumps. We were brave!

Karissa invited some friends to go sledding one day. They got to go with the youth one day for an activity as well. 

Before I knew how much snow there was going to be, I had booked a session for outdoor ice skating in Downtown Detroit over mid-winter break. Karissa brought Olivia and we went on a very cold morning, which was the best time for us to go so it wouldn't be in the way of Victoria's work schedule on the day off. Not many people were there, probably because it was around 10 degrees! But we had made the reservation, which is hard to do, so we were sticking to it!

 

The ice was hard to skate on because it was snowing off and on, which made the ice less smooth. 

Erik and I went to Downtown Plymouth to see the ice carvings. The girls had a YW activity there as well. There were some cool sculptures, literally! 

This weekend, Austin and Jason get to go winter camping with the YM. Since we had some warmer weather today and the sun was shining, the snow is melting and tomorrow it's going to be even warmer. They're afraid of camping in puddles!

Valentines

 I started back to work after a week of being off for Covid again, just in time for the Valentine festivities. Six of my students were still missing on Thursday, so we had a small group and could do a lot of fun Valentine crafts Thursday and Friday at school. Erik was able to go to the little specials group Valentine party on Wednesday. He brought 6 little Valentines for those friends and liked receiving a few fun things from them and being with them. The only other specials he has been to since early November was when I organized a group to go sledding two weeks ago. Of course, he had fun, but we go sledding a lot, so it wasn't too different from our norm. 

On Friday, Erik was able to bring a special snack to school, since they weren't exchanging valentines (same as at my preschool). Luckily our elderly neighbor Barb had given us a big pile of rice Krispie treats and chocolates, so he brought one of each and an ICE drink that I let him take from my stash that I had bought for the kids' Valentine's gifts on Sunday. 

It being Austin's 3rd week back at school and Karissa's 2nd, them being at school to see their friends was enough. They were happy! The YW had an activity night of going to see the ice carvings in Downtown Plymouth on Friday evening. Victoria brought a couple of other friends along and one of Karissa's best friends is in our YW group with her, so they both had a fun time. Plus, one of the leaders bought them hot chocolate, so that's always nice!

My Valentine and I got to go out to eat at a Thai restaurant. Our restaurants in Michigan opened at the beginning of February, at 25% capacity, so Jason and I were excited to go out and eat somewhere without our kids. The family dinners are nice to have, but I really am getting tired of eating with older children who still can't sit and eat a meal without constant reminding of what to do (cough, cough... Austin, and Erik...) Eating is the last thing on their minds, always. It doesn't even matter if it's a cupcake. That cupcake will sit there for a very long time until I threaten to throw it away (that happened on Valentine's Day). They're just home too much, with endless opportunities to eat, that when it's actually time to eat a meal, they can't do it. 

Ok, my rant is over, back on track. So, Jason and I really enjoyed our Thai food and relaxing while eating. We were planning on walking around Downtown Plymouth to see the ice sculptures afterward, but it had started to snow and I was already freezing when I stepped out of the restaurant. The thought of walking around outside at that moment didn't appeal to me, so we'll have to go next weekend. At home, we watched Leap for our Friday date night movie, after playing a game with the boys. 

On Sunday, exactly 22 years since our first Sunday Valentine's Day together, it was our family's turn to go to church. The messages of love and service were so sweet. Austin did a good job passing the sacrament and Erik was very reverent, even though he didn't bring the Friend magazine to keep him busy. We had drawn names the last Sunday for secret Valentines to serve or give a little gift to, so we revealed those later that day. 

Erik gave salted caramel dark chocolate to Victoria, Victoria took Karissa out on Saturday to Canton BubbleT for smoothie bowls, Jason gave Erik a bunch of jolly ranchers, I gave Austin Oreos and Carmax, Austin finished The Lord of the Rings so he can discuss it with Jason and watch the movie soon, and Karissa made sure to spend extra time with me talking, which I really loved!

We had a nice dinner of salmon and a tuna Italian salad. My new dinner tactic is that whoever gets out of their seat the most, helps me clean up the big dishes (they all do their own already). They've been sitting better through dinner since then. Karissa made cupcakes for dessert. We played Signs for our activity (and talked about love languages) and watched Enchanted, which we haven't seen in forever! So fun!

It was a nice day spent with those I love! 

Thai food!

I managed to throw together some heart pancakes before church, something I'm out of practice for.

Erik decided to just have his hand represented in the family valentine picture. 

The salad had cubed Italian bread, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, capers, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Very delicious!

My American Ninja Warriors!

 There weren't many options for indoor soccer this year, though personally, I think a break from soccer and a focus somewhere else is good during the off-seasons. For years I've wanted to get Austin involved in gymnastics. He has excellent balance, great core strength, and pretty good flexibility. When mentioning this to a friend over the summer, she suggested that Austin try the ninja warrior class nearby. It's all about balance, core strength, and climbing things, all things that Austin loves! When I asked him about it, Erik wanted to join too.

They get to go every Monday evening and are in different classes at the same time, which is very convenient! The studio has very strict Covid rules and it seems everything is under control with that. (BTW, I don't have Covid from my student!)

They really enjoy the challenge and the workout, plus interacting with other kids in an active way (there is no recess right now at school).

Balance

Stamina and strength

Strength

Balance and strength

Monkey climbing:)

Austin can make the third one now.

Erik is getting closer to making the third one.

Who doesn't love rock climbing?

We love this class!

Back to School- in Winter

The 6th graders in our district got to go back to school in person last week for the first time in almost a year. There are two cohorts: the blue and green one. Austin is assigned to the green one. The blue cohort attends Monday and Tuesday from 8-2:10. On those days, those in the green cohort do asynchronous learning at home. The teachers post assignments for them to complete on their own. Wednesdays are on Zoom for everyone, while they sanitize the schools. Thursday and Friday the green cohort attends. Austin says his classes have only 10-14 kids in them. They wear their masks all day, except during lunch. On the first day, they chose where they were going to eat lunch at and they have to stay at that place for the rest of the school year. 

Can't really see him here, but it was a very cold day!

Discovery Middle School

Let me say that I think in-person schooling is so wonderful!! Austin was so much happier and I could tell a lot of pressure had been lifted off his shoulders. He's able to at least see some friends, receive in-person instruction, and even write on actual paper and turn it in!

He got started on his homework right after school because he was so excited to do it on a piece of paper!

Meanwhile, Karissa has been greatly anticipating going back this week. She's been talking more than I have noticed in a long time, and very animatedly! The 7th and 8th graders went back this went, so Karissa started today. She was placed in the blue cohort, but I had her switched to the green one so that I can take her and Austin to school on the same days, even though she takes the bus from his school to hers, I still have to drive to the same place. And when some of the ice melts, until orchestra starts again, they can ride their bikes together to and from school. 

Still snowy, but not as cold today.

Discovery Middle School, going to East Middle School on a bus

I don't have a 9th grader this year, but they started back at the high school last week when the 6th graders went. The district wanted to let the youngest grades go back without having other kids around so they could get used to their new school. Unfortunately for Victoria, however, the 10-12 graders don't go back till March 1. The high school is huge, so I guess they want them to have more time without all the kids, though that seems a little extreme to me. I do know some other groups are going with special classes like mechanics and shop and of course those in special ed. I don't know how many that makes it, but maybe that was enough students at the high school for now. 

Victoria is doing a good job hanging in there. At least it's only two days a week where all her siblings are gone for school, and that's only for a little bit because Erik goes to school from 1:30-4, so Austin and Karissa are home pretty soon after he leaves.

This was just a little while before we left for school. A beautiful morning!

On a side note: I went home early today because I have another student who tested positive for Covid. She was in class on Tuesday. I don't know any new details yet, but I know I won't be going to work for a little while. That makes 2 out of my 15 students who have tested positive this school year. Not very good odds. It's ironic because I was just thinking how happy I am to have somewhere to go each day and keep my mind occupied. Oh well!