Trying to Keep Things Normal

As whispers of the Coronavirus quickly turned to heightened anxiety all around us, we tried to keep things normal for the kids. There was so much unknown about the virus at that point, and we tried not to panic. Brian found a new spot for a family bike ride- the Neuse River Trail- that was a long, flat ride across a suspension bridge. We rode/ran a long time and enjoyed the trail.

 

Back at home, the girls played with our neighbor Ballard, and wow did they get creative in the yard with a trash bag fashion show.

They had a great time, but turns out that would be the last playdate they would have for a long time. Things were about to change quickly so I'm glad they enjoyed a normal day of fun that second weekend of March.

The Coronanvirus

I'll always associate the start of the Coronavirus with the night that Al and I went to go see Les Miserables in Durham. I was thrilled with our sisters' night out because 1) we never get to go out by ourselves and 2) we LOVE Les Miserables (we practically grew up with this musical!). It was a sweet gift from Ryan to Alli (2 tickets to the show), and I was the lucky recipient of the other ticket.

I went to Durham early in the day because I had an urge to catch up with Kim Garcia- my old boss at Duke. How I enjoyed working with her, and I miss talking to her. She was able to meet us at Gonza's for a drink. But she texted last minute- there was an urgent meeting called last-minute, and she was going to be late.

It turned out that that meeting was Duke deciding to cancel their special events over concerns about the spreading Coronavirus. This was when I realized that this virus was not just something affecting people in China and other places in the world- but it was something that would find us here at home. We sat there in that empty Mexican restaurant drinking margaritas, wondering what this virus would mean for all of us. It was a little spooky to hear everything Duke was doing to be proactive with the virus, and it was even spookier to head to a performance afterwards where we were seated with 3,000 other people. That was the first of many times I would ask myself if it was "safe" to be in that situation.  

Turns out that we lost ourselves in the show- it was simply amazing. I had forgotten what an emotional reaction you could have to a musical performance- especially one where you knew every single word. I cried, I was elated, I was sad- all these emotions from a story about a French orphan. I'm so happy we got to go.

We saw the Wednesday, March 11, performance- the second and last performance that cast would make. The next day DPAC closed its' doors for fear of spreading the Coronavirus to theatre-goers. I watched in shock as other businesses followed suit. This virus was real, and it was now HERE. So how in the world were we going to deal with this?

These Two

Always having fun together!

Globalympics

More fun from the third grade...this time with geography. In the spring, all the kids have a chance to learn all about geography through a fun program called the Globalympics. Each week they study maps and learn all the oceans/continents/countries/states/cities and capitals. It's a lot to learn, but they do it in small increments and test each week on the bronze, silver, gold and Ace levels. Collins actually really got into this, and so did her Dad who helped her study a lot each night. I got to test the kids several mornings, and that was neat seeing how much they had learned. Here's our Ace award winner- quite an accomplisment! 

If We Only Knew

 Addie was so very excited about her first soccer game last Spring with NCFC. If only we had known what was coming, and that this would be the only game she would get to play with this team. 

I'm writing this post almost a year later, and of course the giant disruption of her soccer season and life in general would be the Coronavirus. Much more to come on how everything unfolded, but thankfully this game operated under normal circumstances. 

It was the first game she played with this new league, and we were really impressed. It is a huge organization, played by a TON of people in Raleigh, and situated far out in North Raleigh at a gigantic soccer complex. It was a bit intimidating to drive into for the first time- each field even has its own corporate sponsor! 

But Addie doesn't let much get to her, and she went right in that game and worked hard. 

She played on the Roosters kindergarten co-ed team, and she did great her first game! I was so impressed with her effort and confidence the first time out. It was sad that she never got to play another game with this team- especially after she liked her first game so much. 

But life was about to change pretty dramatically in the next week or so, and soccer was the least of our worries. 

Coming Soon

VBS! It's time to get started on Vacation Bible School for this summer, so these cuties were helping me promote it through social media. I'm really excited about this year's theme- "Knights of the North Castle". We will create a winter wonderland for these kids and teach them more about God. I'm ready to get to work!

New Addition

There's an exciting new addition to the backyard that's being installed in this first picture (not sure why Collins is dressed in this very dramatic way)...

a new basketball goal! 

It looks great, let's just hope it gets some good use!

Cookbook Obsession

I can't get enough cookbooks from the library. It's so fun to try out new recipes and see which book is worthy to be added to the collection. Sweet Luke is a good sport about being drug throughout the cookbook section of the library (sometimes)!

On this trip, we not only came away with a cookbook haul, but we also spotted Jamie from "Outlander". That's what I call a good day at the library!

Camp Flintock

If you're driving down Ridge Road and see men dressed up in colonial gear are shooting guns on the Lacy field, do not be alarmed! It's just colonial day for the Third Graders at Lacy- an on-site field trip called "Camp Flintock". And she loved it.

There are different stations located around the field, and you rotate through them trying your hand at candle making, colonial attire, ink writing, old-timey games, book making, etc. Here Collins is modeling what young girls would wear in colonial times- let's just say it's a bunch of layers and it was eye-opening for these girls who are used to throwing on a t-shirt and shorts!  

This guy ran the show and told about how girls back then would use their fan to signal a "sweetheart" and how to ask for a kiss. It was pretty funny watching the girls' faces being grossed out. :)

It was a cold morning, but they didn't care. I couldn't believe how much these third graders loved learning about Colonial Times. It was a fun field trip to chaperone!

Kindergarten is Fun

I'm thrilled anytime I get a picture from Ms. Spink on the class app because it shows how much fun Addie is having in kindergarten. Her class is really close, and they have so much fun together as they learn. Two recent pictures as proof!

A Good Night's Sleep

FINALLY! All my babies are good sleepers- even this one. After nine years, Brian and I can finally get a full night's sleep without interruption. Now of course, there are many exceptions to this blanket statement. But on average, everyone is sleeping through the night!

No, I don't normally take pictures of him when he sleeps and no, he doesn't normally have so many blankets or large stuffed animals with him, but for some reason I felt the need to snap a quick photo of this precious boy sleeping peacefully away. Zzzzz....

To Sugar Mountain!

Finally, it was time for our weekend at Sugar Mountain. Here we are road tripping and look what finally came into sight....the Blue Ridge Parkway and then some SNOW!

It was thrilling pulling into town and and seeing snow fall. It was especially cozy going to Bella's to get a pizza and having a flurry of snowflakes all around us. The perfect way to start our mountain weekend!

We checked into Aunt Kim's cozy cabin, devoured our delicious pizza and settled in for the night...

Night skiing is a cool thing at Sugar so we had to check it out...

We were up bright and early the next morning to start our day of skiing. Mom came to watch Luke, and off we went excited to ski again. After all, Addie was now officially a skier thanks to our time in Steamboat.

Look at the snow blowers blowing...this was not a good thing. See how they're aimed right at the chair lift? Every time you went by one it would shoot freezing snow into your face HARD. It was miserable, and we would cringe every time we rode by one. It actually hurt when it hit you, and of course it made you ten times colder! Not sure why they had to blow them all day when clearly there was a good base of snow.

See their helmets covered in ice? But yet, we still have some smiles...

Not so much with Collins. She was frozen.

Addie was a confident skier this time on Sugar Mountain. It was really cool to watch.

But between the lack of sun and the snow blowers, we had to take a break and warm up. See how icy she is? A giant hamburger helped!

Back at it, and the clouds were starting to disperse...

Here's Addie on one of our favorite trails that goes from the summit. It's twisty and long and fun. She nailed it!

Here is Collins at the base of Oma's Meadow- our other favorite run. It's a wide open trail that you can race down.

The view is so pretty from the top!

Back at home, our version of Apres-ski...and we said goodbye to Mom- so thankful for her coming to watch Luke. He loved having time alone with Mimi.

After we warmed up our toes, we decided to go out one more time so we could do something fun in the snow with Luke. We attempted to sled down this giant hill behind Kim's cabin, made snow angels and just played in the snow...

It was a super fun Saturday!

On Sunday, Brian and Collins wanted to ski again. Addie had had enough skiing for one weekend, so she, Luke and I decided to go the Valle Crucis Park to play. It was a fabulous decision because it was a gorgeous Spring day, and sometimes you just need a good wide open space to run...

We found these adorable playhouses, and they spent HOURS there playing. They kept trading houses, finding sticks and branches to act as food- they had a fabulous time and I got to just sit and watch. 

I eventually had to drag them away because the Watagua River was calling my name. It's right there in the middle of the park with rapids, beautiful stones and crystal clear water. I waded right in in my rain boots. That is my idea of a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

The afternoon could only be made better by a run to the Mast General store for a candy treat and a drink for our park picnic.

We had the best day in Valle Crucis, and Brian and Collins had a big time skiing on their own so everyone was happy.

On the way back to Sugar, we spotted the Grandfather...

The girls modeled new clothes from Mimi, and then it was time to pack up and go home! 

We have come to love Sugar Mountain so we didn't want to leave, but we made so many good memories that weekend! Can't wait until we can come back next year.