Trampoline & A Surprise!

On the morning of October 25th, I slept in and then noticed the sun peaking around curtains. The weather has turned quite rainy now so to get a nice, chilly, sunny, fall day on a Saturday no less is a huge treat. I went downstairs, ate breakfast and then went upstairs to get ready. 

I recently started following a lady on Instagram that has been reading the book There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather. I need to request it from the library, but from what I've gleamed from her it's about getting outside no matter what. Just like most everything else it's all about the preparation. You put a little effort into it and you'll get a lot out of it. So in preparation for being out in the chilly weather I layered up! I put on leggings and then jeans, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt and then my coat, gloves and ear warmers and finally my Bog Boots. When I came downstairs I was all decked out in my cold weather wear. I walked right into the living room and the kids looked at me all strange. That's when I said, "I'm in my trampoline building clothes!" The kids were SO excited! They leaped up and ran around getting all their cold weather clothes on. It was so fun to see them so eager to get to work. 

Jackson had been the one hounding us to set up the trampoline for weeks so he felt it was only fitting that he be the one to help me. Of course the other kids wanted to chip in too. It was really nice to have all those extra hands even if it was a bit crazy trying to guide them all around. After Michael brought the giant box down from the garage we opened it up and started sorting all the different parts. 

Then we laid out the frame. 

It's a 14 foot trampoline which seems like a typical size and maybe it is, but it's HUGE in our backyard! 

Of course this is where things took a turn for the worse. I had read the instructions about making sure that the large holes on the legs were facing out, but they didn't say anything about making sure these tiny holes that were higher up were exactly lined up. I didn't know it needed to be so precise, but it did! I ended up needing Michael to come down and help me get them lined up so we could fully attached the poles that would hold the netting. After that we ran into a snafu when I put a couple of springs in the wrong place. They were stretched really tight and I could not for the life of me get them out to put them in the correct spot. Michael had to help me fix that as well. He also helped with basically sewing the security net to the trampoline. I would have been there all day and my hands were numb! 

They were so excited to jump on it for the first time. 

There will be hours and hours of fun spent on this thing. 

Right about this time I showed Ella a Marco Polo video of Miss Jen telling us that she was one her way to our house with LOGAN!!!! Ella was so ecstatic! It's funny because in the past we've kept it a secret that Logan was coming and Ella would answer the door and it's been very anti-climactic. She just stands there all confused and then it hits her and she's happy, but it can be a little disappointing to Logan to have her friend stand there and look at her strangely. This time around I decided I didn't want to tell her too early or I'd have to listen to her asking how much longer until Logan gets hear for hours and hours! I also didn't want to wait until she got here and just spring it on her. I ended up telling her about 2 - 3 hours prior to her arriving. It was so perfect! Ella was excited and she had a bit of time to anticipate Logan's arrival. When she walked up to the door Ella opened it and they hugged and squealed. It was the best!!! 

Side Note: While Ella was waiting she asked to go on her paint by number game on her tablet. She had already had her 3 hours of electronic time earlier in the day so I said no. She then explained that there was only an hour until Logan arrived and if she played her painting game that the hour would go by in a flash. I loved her reasoning and totally understood so she got to go on her painting game after all. 

Here's what the trampoline looks like from the deck. I've already told the kids that they are NOT allowed to jump from the deck to the trampoline and if they'd like to see a video of a Dad doing that I can show them. They've all declined to watch the video and said they promise they won't do it. 

So much bouncing fun! 

While I was building the trampoline with the kids Michael was doing some finishing work in the garage. Last year Lance cut a hole in the duct work of our furnace and then installed a panel that we could remove in order to heat the garage when we wanted to. Now that the garage is a full-time game room I wanted the panel to be easier to remove. Michael went to Lowe's and bought a vent and then jimmy rigged it so it would be easier to use. 

He reused the panel that Lance made. 

Installed the vent...which is one of those attic vents, put hinges on the panel and then used an old computer magnet to make sure it would stay closed. He's so clever and it works great!

The last thing to button up the garage was installing weatherstripping around the doors. Of course our house is old so nothing is square. After Michael installed the garage doors there were some gaps around the edges. It seemed a bit ridiculous to heat a garage when there were areas where the cold air could just come on in. 

The only thing I still would like to do is install those garage floor tiles. It's not necessary, but I really think it would help with the cold that seeps up from the concrete floor. I would really like to install it all over the garage floor, but that would require quite a lot of work like jacking up the pool table. We might just put it on the one side of the garage where there is a nice big open space. At least that would give the kids a nice cushiony place to play when they want to build with Legos, Hot Wheels, trains or Duplo blocks. 

Logan arrived in the late afternoon and she was able to spend the night. Jen and I got to visit which was so nice! The next morning Jen came and picked up Logan. They did end up having to come back later in the afternoon because Logan "accidentally" left her hearing aid on the dining room table. ;) It was such treat and really did fill Ella's love tank up! 

Something So Normal!

On October 20th we had such a nice normal day. The kids finished their schoolwork and then I needed to run to some errands. 

My first stop was at the library to drop off our ballots.

Then I headed to Kohl's to return a couple Amazon purchases. I must say I absolutely love being able to do that and the fact that I don't even have to box the return up....it's amazingly easy! 

I then went over to the candle section to buy another fall candle. These Sonoma Candles are my favorite and they are $10. When you return anything from Amazon to Kohl's you get a 25% off coupon for Kohl's so I usually only end up paying $8.75 total for these candles. 

On my way home from Kohl's I went on a back road that took me by a park. All of the parks near us have been closed, plus with school starting and the weather being all yucky it hasn't made it easy to go to a park. On this particular day the weather was gorgeous and the park was OPEN!!! I drove home and told the kids to get their shoes on we were going outside to play. 

It was so awesome to see other families out with their kids enjoying the nice weather. 

This park has this awesome zipline. Normally when we come it's so crowded the kids only get 3 trips. There were so few kids there they were able to go on it probably over a dozen times! 

Happy to be outside in the sunshine! 

My girl sweet girl just hanging out! 

Riding the zipline! 

Sweet boys! 

Ella kept putting off going on the zipline, but then she finally decided to go. 

I think she enjoyed it! 

Of course the older two had to make it a competition and tried to race. 

Zeke's turn! 

Eventually Owen got so warm he took his coat off....miracles do happen! :) 

One happy boy! 

And photographic proof that Owen beat Jack! 

It was such a blessing to be outside and be able to do something that just a few months ago we wouldn't have really thought twice about. It's amazing how your perspective can change. I'd like to say that we won't ever take these little normal things for granted ever again, but I also know that we're human and will most likely do just that once things go back to normal....if that ever happens!

A New Sink & Papa Pig's Castle!

We are planning on making some changes in the backyard, but due to the weather we probably won't get those projects finished until springtime. We did go to Lowe's and buy some of the materials that we'll need just in case we end up with a nice weekend that allows us to work. While we were at Lowe's I wandered over the kitchen sink section and found the sink I wanted. Michael told me to buy it, but I decided it was silly we didn't really need a new sink...I just wanted a new sink. 

A few weeks later, we were in Lowe's because our shower had started leaking and Michael needed to buy materials to fix it. I wandered back to the kitchen sink section and decided that yes...I'd like to buy the new sink. 

Michael had to finish up fixing the shower so he wasn't able to install the sink for a little over a week.

On Saturday, October 10th was install day! It was a bigger sink than our old one so Michael had to make the hole bigger so it could fit. 

At first I had been looking at the cheaper stainless steel sink that was one big hole. I've wanted a one hole sink for a long time. I have some bigger cookie sheets and it's awful trying to wash them with the two smaller separate holes. I always end up dumping water all over the floor. Plus I hated it when the kids would put their dishes in the left side of the sink with food on their plates. The right sides was where the garbage disposal was. I would tell the kids to put their food in the right side, but they are kids and they would forget and then I'd have to scoop out yucky soggy food from the left side to the right side. Now with one big sink I don't have to worry about those things. I changed my mind on going with stainless steel once I saw this beauty. I'm not sure what the material is, but it's like concrete. We've always had stainless steel sinks and I love how they can shine, but they can also dent and scratch. This sink is definitely not going to dent or scratch. Plus I love that it's more square inside. Most stainless steel sinks are rounded on the bottom so you lose out on space at the base of the sink. 

I don't think we could fit a bigger in our cabinets. 

Of course it gave Michael some troubles....he had to change the plumbing from two drains to one and then trying to re-install the garbage disposal was a pain. It is nice now that there's only 1 drain I actually had a bit more space under the sink for my cookie sheets fit. 

I also love the color. Our dishwasher is the brushed stainless steel color and we hope to change out all the appliances one day to be that same color. I love that the sink will just blend right in. 

It's 9 inches deep! I swear we bathe Zeke in this sink! It's huge!! I can completely lay down my biggest cookie sheets and wash them no problem! 

Side Note: We got our half of cow and now my freezer is full of meat! We love the meats!!!! 

And just for smiles....enjoy Owen's Papa Pig Castle he created the other day. 

The overview of the long hall leading to Papa. 

The inside view of the long hallway leading to Papa. 

Papa Pig on his throne! 

Then Owen decided there wasn't enough defensive measures.

The solders posted out front...confronting Red. 

The new view of the hallway. 

The ice wall protecting Papa Pig! 

Papa Pig protected by the indestructible ice wall. 

I love his imagination!  

Jack's 12 Year Old Pictures!

As I mentioned in Zeke's picture post, I wasn't even sure if Jack and him were going to get birthday pictures this year. Thankfully Starr decided to set up some Back to School mini sessions. They worked perfectly for me to get the few shots that I needed. I really really hope that she makes this a yearly thing since I'd much rather pay her than JCPenny's. 

Look at this handsome boy! 

Even though we weren't going back to school like normal I did order the boys some new shirts for school. I got them online at Kohl's. Jack loves those silky workout type shirts. I bought him three different ones...a red baseball one, a blue baseball one and then a gray and orange basketball one. He loves them all! 

Jack is still going through that awkward smiling phase. He has such a great natural smile though. We just found out the other day that in 6 months he'll be moving on to phase 2 for his braces. He is NOT happy about that at all! 

Can't believe that next year I'll have 2 teenage boys! Crazy cakes for sure! 

I absolutely love that Jackson isn't ashamed or embarrassed about his love for his No-No! No-No has seen better days and I did buy another one just in case we needed to replace the original, but that caused a bunch of tears from both of us. Jack thought I was going to take No-No away and possibly throw him away. I told him that I would never do that. I just though he might want to put No-No in one of those shadow boxes so he wouldn't totally disintegrate and then he could sleep with the new one. Jack told me that he was NOT going to do that. No-No and him have had too many memories and he would feel like he's betraying the original No-No. Such complex emotions all about a Classic Pooh lovey. He's such a sweet, sensitive soul. He did take the new No-No and he is in his bed somewhere, but he still drapes the originally one over his face to sleep at night. 

I love this sweet precious boy of mine!

Zeke's 8 Year Old Pictures!

I wasn't even sure if Zeke and Jack were going to get birthday pictures this year, but then my friend Starr decided to do mini back to school sessions. I didn't necessarily need them for back to school...I just wanted pictures. At first the date that Starr chose was the same weekend we were in Ephrata camping so it wasn't going to work out. Then we got all that smoke and she had to reschedule a few shoots. She was able to fit us in and I was so happy. 

On Saturday, September 19th drove down to the location she gave us, snapped a few pictures and were on our way. It was so fast and easy! I seriously hope that she does these every year! No having to wait for the JCPenny photographer to change the backgrounds around. No having to wait for the photographer to do a bunch of digital enhancements that I'm just going to say no to. No having to wait for the wallets to come into the store and then have to drive back in to pick them up. Plus I just love Starr and I'd much rather pay her than JCPenny's. 

She had this cute little school set up. 

My handsome boy! 

Starr had these blank boards that she was using to digitally add in the kids' names, age, grade and so on. Since these weren't Back To School pictures for us I just asked her to put Zeke's age on it instead. 

And just like we always do at JCPenny's Zeke brought along something that he loves to get his picture with. Tiggey is his Beanie Baby Tiger. 

 Still can't believe my baby boy is 8 years old. 

Great Wolf Lodge 2020!

In early August, Kim had mentioned wanting to celebrate Josiah's birthday in September at Great Wolf Lodge. There were some really good deals going on and they could get a kids cabin for cheap. Josiah decided he wanted Jack to come with them to celebrate his birthday. I was all for letting Jack go, but Kim also said if we wanted to we could book our own room and join them on this adventure. She said she'd still list Jack under their room though. I talked with Michael and for a little over $100 we were able to book a standard room for 2 days of fun. 

I ended up mentioning the deal to Rachael and she convinced Lance that they should come too. We've never actually gone on a vacation with either the Storer or Dial Families so this was so fun. We have gone on a couple trips with Micah and Kim prior to having kids, but none since then. 

On Sunday, September 20th we went back to church for the first time. The service was held outside on the field. They called it Live & Outside. It was so nice to get to meet our new Pastor and his wife and to see people that I haven't seen in months. I did talk to people about how going to church and seeing people was so hard for me since I'm a natural hugger. I equated it to someone who loves cake going into a cake store and being told they can't eat any cake. They had sections for each family to sit in....we all brought our own chairs...and we didn't have to wear masks which was so nice. Thankfully there were other people that felt the same as I did about hugging so I ended up getting my fill of hugs! It was glorious!!! 

Right after church we drove to Wendy's to grab lunch and then headed down to Great Wolf Lodge. We got there shortly after the Dial & Storer Families. The night before I had received an email that enabled me to pre-check in online. I took advantage of that and was so thankful I did. The Storers had showed up about 20 minutes before us and were still way back in the line. Kim said she was unable to pre-check in online which was a total bummer. I was getting ready to go stand in the normal line, but I mentioned checking in online to Micah and then he stepped out of the way and showed me the line for online checking. I ended up only being second in line. It was so nice!!! 

We got checked into our room and ready to go to the water park. We did have to wait for Micah and Kim to get ready because they had Jack's wristband since he was listed as staying in their room.  

As for staying at Great Wolf Lodge during a pandemic here are my thoughts. There are risks in everything you do. There is a risk of choking while eating, getting in a car accident while driving, getting hit by a car while walking, drowning while swimming and the list goes on and on. Our life will never be risk free! We have to weigh those risks and decide what's best for ourselves and our family. We are a healthy family...we don't have any sort of health conditions that concerns me. I'm not afraid to get Covid-19. In fact I'm pretty sure we will all get it at some point if we haven't had it already. It is a virus after all...it's not going anywhere. I'm not seeking it out, but I also refuse to live in fear. I do where a mask when it's required. Life has to go on and we are a family that is choosing to live life. We might only have a few days, weeks or we might have many many years left, but no matter what we are going to live the life we do have to the fullest and that includes spending time with each other at a waterpark! 

For dinner on Sunday we were thinking about going to Burger Claim...it's in the parking lot of GWL, but the kids didn't want to leave so we ended up eating in the waterpark at Buckets. The biggest bummer due to Covid was the change in regards to getting refills. We still have our fun GWL cups that in previous years you can get free refills of ICEE drinks. They have been lifesavers with getting the kids to drink. Unfortunately no refills anymore! :( 

After dinner I was able to find better seats than we originally found when we first walked in. I love being near the wave pool since that's basically the kids' home base. We ended up swimming until the waterpark closed at 8pm. It was fun to the be one of the last people in the wave pool for the day. 

After closing down the waterpark we went back to our room and everyone took showers. Kim had made cupcakes for Josiah's birthday, so once we were dressed we went over to their room that was conveniently across the hallway and down a couple rooms. We gave Josiah his card, sang Happy Birthday and ate cupcakes. I visited for a bit and then Ella and I went to Lance & Rachael's room. 

Ella just loves her friends! 

They had worked out the sleeping situation so everyone would be happy. If I remember right Kendra did end up moving to the couch since Jaymes was taking up the whole bed that she was sharing with him. 

I love being the first one in the waterpark in the morning. The kids and I went to stand in line about 15 minutes before it opened. Due to Covid the waterparks hours are shorter...they are open from 10am - 8pm instead of 9am - 9pm. I'm sure this has to do with the need to sanitize everything. 

I got my favorite seats...right in front of the wave pool. 

Another stipulation for GWL to open, was that they could only operate at 50% capacity. It was amazing! I think in the first 30 minutes, Michael and the boys were able to go down 5 slides if not more. It was funny because there were so few people you actual started recognizing people...oh those were the people I talked to in the line for the Tornado or those were the people I saw eating next to us. Or those were the boys that were playing in the activity pool with us. It was fun! 

 

For lunch Ella and Zeke wanted pizza. The pizza at GWL is disgusting IMO. 

They were so excited that they got their own piece. Or course right after this Jack and Owen came over and wanted pizza too. I went and bought 2 more pieces. 4 individual pieces of pizza cost about the same price as a whole pizza would have. Lesson learned! 

Michael and I got chicken strips for lunch and a couple orders of chips and salsa. There was this one chip that was all puffy! Zeke was so excited about it I gave it to him. I will say in years past Buckets has been my favorite place to eat, but they have definitely changed. They don't have their taco salad anymore which is a total bummer. Also their chicken strips used to be AMAZING and now they are just okay. 

I told the kids we were going to stay until at least 3, but no later than 5. Michael, the boys and I were ready to go right at 3, but Ella was terribly sad. I was able to find Lance and Rachael to ask them if they could bring Ella home with them since they were staying later. They said yes and all was right with the world again. 

I'm always amazed at how tired we all are when we get back home from GWL. The water really sucks the life right out of you. Ella got home around 6ish. Lance and Rachael let the kids spend some of their money at the gift shop and if I'd known  that I'd have given Ella some money, but Lily ended up spending some of her own money so Ella could buy something too. It was so sweet! They also got ice cream at DQ on the way home. Such a lucky girl! 

It was such a fun family trip and just more fun memories made during this crazy year that is 2020!