Dull Moments Do Not Exist Here

I think it has been almost exactly 2 weeks since my last update.  It has gone by incredibly quickly despite being at home all the time.  We have rarely left our property other than to get groceries or other necessary items.  I'm not sure if plants count as essential, but I did take Gracie out to Strawberry Hill Farms to pick out some more flowers and plants for our ongoing landscaping project.  Owen has occasionally ridden his dirt bike with a couple of the neighbor boys, and Gracie is continuing to meet online with her friends for school and dance class every Monday.  Life has slowed down, but we are definitely still finding things to do here at home.

Thor had a little injury happen to him.  We're not really sure how he did this, but he has a huge cut on his leg and we had to call the vet Monday night to come out to look at it.  Owen was very intrigued by this and watched her as she worked on Thor's leg.  He had to be sedated, but he was willing to allow Nick to clean it out a little before the vet arrived with some tranquilizers.  So, at least a few weeks in the stall for Thor.

Thor allowed Nick to clean it and wrap it up until the vet arrived.

Sleepy Thor...I have never seen him so calm.

Owen watching Dr. Amy sew him up.

She didn't get here until after 7pm, so had to work in the dark for a little bit.

Owen is still very interested in what she's doing.

This was a different day over the weekend with Indee.

Owen and Ruby.  They are so cute.

They sleep in Owen's bed together almost every night.

Just happened to fall asleep on the floor this particular night.

Hiking

I believe this was Easter Day.  It was very strange to not be with family or go to church on Easter morning.  We had been planning to visit Iowa this weekend and Deb was supposed to have come to the midwest.  However, the Corona Virus has changed a lot of things this spring.  I went for a morning run with one of our neighbors, and then Gracie joined me on her bike.  Nick and Owen went hiking at the same location that they had gone fishing a couple weeks prior to this.  I think they both had fun!

Owen found an old car off the trail.

Nick and Owen

More home schooling

They announced over a week ago that no elementary or secondary schools will be opened for the remainder of the school year in Missouri.  This is terribly disappointing, but I know that there are far worse situations than ours.  The kids miss their friends and doing their after school activities, but they are still keeping busy.  Gracie's teachers are still very active in providing assignments for them to complete and meeting/uploading videos online to continue their education.  She has told me that they are continuing to learn new material in math and social studies.  She is also still getting writing assignments and reading assignments to complete in google classroom.

Owen's education is not nearly as involved as Gracie's.  He is usually able to complete his work in under an hour. Except for reading.  He can sit on the couch reading Harry Potter for hours.  He is writing a page about what he has read each day.  He also has a "Specials" choice board and a Choice Board from his teacher so he can choose one activity each day from both boards to complete.  He has a rotation with his Specials classes (PE, Library, Art, Music).  He is also writing down what he needs to do each day and checking things off when he has shown us what he has done.

Nick facilitated PE class one of the days.

Gracie has continued with this and has run every day this week on her own.

She also has a coin flip activity provided by her PE teacher from school.

Owen has created an obstacle course in the barn as one of his PE assignments.  He has also been helping Nick haul wood from the dead trees that were cut down a few weeks ago.

Splitting and hauling wood.  Owen gets to carry and stack it, but driving the mower makes up for having to work. :)

Owen's jungle gym tree did not last very long before it was cut into fire wood.

Happy birthday to me.  Yep it happened and it was a perfect way to spend my birthday...in isolation.  I was not at all disappointed with the day coming and going with not bells and whistles.  We ordered take-out from Texas Roadhouse for the occasion and the kids made angel food cake with frosting.  I got to be with my family and I didn't have to cook or do dishes.  It was a good day.

I share my birthday with Holland, our neighbor's daughter.  She turned 4 this year and we made her a sign for her birthday, took a picture and sent it to her.

Look at this feast!

Pulled pork and rolls from Texas Roadhouse!

Thank you Nick, for going to get it!

Boredom has led Gracie to want to do her hair and take pictures.  She tried to convince the rest of us to look presentable and take pictures with her, but we were not interested.  I don't think I've worn anything except sweats and comfy clothes since before spring break, except for on my birthday.  I put jeans on to celebrate the occasion.  Honestly, I think I could get used to not having to dress up.  Anyhoo...I took a few pictures at Gracie's request.  I know we need to get family photos taken again soon.  We haven't had them done since 2014 and we have all changed a bit since then.

Owen agreed to insert himself in one picture.

More pictures of Gracie

She was excited to pass the time.

This was great.  Gracie read "The One and Only Ivan" to Owen one night.  

They have both read the book before, but I loved listening to her read to him.

Gracie cuddling with Tom

Gramma Deb sent a drone!

She also sent the kids some new books to read.

Nick hung a swing from a tree in our timber.

I'm so glad we have things to keep us busy out here!

Owen getting a push from Gracie.

We had a few beautiful days and nights last week and temperatures have been so comfortable for the most part.  A little below perfect, but I am not complaining.  We have planted flowers and laid down more mulch.  Nick is taking apart pallets so he can build more stuff and we are enjoying life on the acreage, making the most of staying at home.  We have gotten into a routine and I am very thankful to be working still.  I am not quite as busy as I was a few weeks ago, but there are always things to do for my job and I feel like it's never done.  

We were able to enjoy this last weekend after a full day of working outside.  The only thing that might have made it better is if we had marshmallows to roast.  However, the kids seemed content just playing with the fire.

Gracie and Owen burned the mound of grass that we still haven't flattened.

Just sitting by the fire on a very nice evening.

The frogs are out in full force right now and when the temperature outside is just right, they are deafening.  However, the past couple of days have been cooler, so they haven't been quite as loud.

This is how we know that spring is really here!

This was the same night that we had our little fire.

I wish every day could be like this.