April Pictures

S got sick with fever, chills, bodyaches, headaches and just
generally not feeling well!  Because of all the COVID stuff
going on, this is our pediatrician appointment - outside and in
our car!  I actually prefer it this way!

While S has been home sick, M took C shooting one day!
Check out that arsenal!

I keep this so that I  know when I give medicine and can
give the next dose - but it also shows how sick she was and
more importantly how she started to slowly improve
over the last three days which we would show her and point
out to her to keep from getting too discouraged!

They managed to get ALL of the sticks on and were so proud!

I can't believe he let S do this to his hair! It's getting so very long!

One very clear night you could see the moon(left) and Venus(right) so
clearly - if only my camera took a clear picture!

Weekend - Macaroons, Tornadoes and Teepees

Saturday morning we after S finished her contemporary dance class, we joined a Plate 108 Zoom class to make macaroons.  It was a very long, tedious process and ours did not turn out looking like we had hoped!  Thank goodness they still tasted delicious! 

Tornadoes seem to be a very frequent occurrence this year!  We had THREE cells come by with rotation and had to duck and cover!  The first of the three was definitely the worst at our house - hail and crazy wind!  Near where I work, a confirmed EF2 touched down and traveled 5.5 miles and was 200 yards wide.  Its path was just one street over from my office!  So many houses messed up and trees down everywhere in the neighborhood!

Sunday, it was very windy and a bit chilly, but it was beautiful weather!  We went up to the lake and while M and I laid out our future house footprint on the lot, the kids built an amazing teepee and had such a ball playing in the woods:)

Hail!

Our immediate area was called out so so so many times throughout the night!

One of our neighbors at the lake took a picture
of this tornado across the lake from our lake lot!

This is the first tornado that came through that
brought so much wind and hail!

Tailgate lunch at the lake

This kiddo LOVES climbing trees!

Social Distancing - Week 6

Monday - Well, we got back into it with a bang today!  I had to work today, so M took C and I took S with me!  They took their schoolwork with them so that they could get that done while M and I both worked!  We also had our first house showing today so it worked out that we were at work during that time!  After I finished, I picked C up and got S home just in time to get in on her Zoom dance class!

M and C got the remote control plane out - and also managed
to fly it right into a tree!

The kids and I have had an egg sitting in vinegar since Friday
for an experiment and it was finally time to get it out today - it was
completely rubberized, but still had a liquid yolk inside!  They
were even able to bounce it a bit before it busted open!

Tuesday - This morning was more of a typical "school" day at the house and the kids were able to get

their work done in the morning!  We ventured out to get lunch and run a few little errands(I looked TWO places for rice and couldn't find any!  UGH!).  We cleaned the house some this afternoon - it's hard keeping it clean and show-worthy when we are in it all.the.time!  We then relaxed for a good bit, S had a Zoom dance class and then after dinner M and I went on a walk while the kids watched a movie!

Don't they look excited!?!?

I've been piddling around the yard, just weeding and clipping
away because I have nothing else to do!  But I have been
enjoying the azaleas coming into full bloom!

Wednesday - I had to get some work done in the office and had to bring both kids with me!  This was definitely not ideal, but school has officially been canceled as of today so I'm sure it won't be the last time I have to do it either - ugh!!  After I finished at the office, we swung by The Sock Basket to get S some new ballet flats since her toes had literally pushed a hole through her old ones and got a curbside delivery from the owner!  That was really nice and convenient;)  When we got home, C had a guitar lesson through FaceTime and the kids finished their school assignments.  Of course, there was the daily video games(Pac Man, bringing it back old school), movies(Rookie of Year for the win) and card games.

Thursday - C is always up right at 7am!!  This morning, I had not slept great last night(or the past several, really!) so I told him to close my door and let me sleep!  I finally emerged at 8:30am which felt so late but really I could have used some more and was quite irritable today!  When I came out, the kids were both already starting on their school work - our "school day" always starts at 8:30am so I guess they have that programmed in their heads now!  Michael came home at lunch and took C back with him because we needed a break!  S and I had a quieter, relaxing day that was way over due! She did work on a contemporary dance video that is due next week and I honestly didn't do anything!  The boys came back in time for dinner and watching some basketball show on TV and then we called it an early night!

Playing with the flight simulator.

Friday - Friday ended the week much better than things were going on Thursday!  I made a morning trip to the grocery while the kids were doing their school work.  I even found everything on my list!  That was a first since this whole mess started - but, granted, I wasn't looking for toilet paper, paper towels or dish detergent!  We made a trip to Skyland Farms where we purchased a fresh lasagna for dinner, bacon and some plants to plant into some containers we have just laying around outsidee(side note- we really didn't know what some of the plants were, and ended up with a watermelon plant - NOT a container plant! LOL!) and checked out the animals.  The kids finished their school work when we got home, played with the neighbors, folded their laundry and then we all played with the flight simulator and confirmed that S and I are both never to fly a real remote controlled airplane!

They were supposed to be doing laundry, but they instead were
playing inside the laundry basket!  This is S!  C did it too but
put his legs through the handles and ended up getting stuck
and we had to rescue him!

Flight simulator - a LOT of crashing going on!

Boating and Biking

On Saturady, M got the boat cleaned up and ready to go and we took it up to Keowee and put it in for the season!  The lake was PACKED!  Public boat ramps had been closed for the past few weeks due to COVID-19 and this was the first day they were back open again!  The kids jumped off the dock but sure didn't stay in the water for too long!  They also attempted some tubing but got about 200 yards and let us know they were done and freezing!  LOL!

Check out the hair:)

Sunbathing back on the dock to get warmed up!

On Sunday, we loaded up the bikes and went mountain biking.  Not too far into the ride, S flipped over her handlebars and busted up her wrist/hand and knee pretty good!  She didn't love mountain biking before, but I'm not sure we'll ever be able to get her to do it again now!  The rain was still holding off, so after we finished riding, we slipped up to Strawberry Hill USA and got our first two gallons of strawberries for the season!  We made it back before the rain set in for the rest of the afternoon/evening!

Social Distancing - Week 5 (and Spring Break)

It's hard to believe how different our Spring Break is this year than we'd planned!  Just goes to show you, we are not ultimately in control!  But I'll be honest, it sure does stink!!!!

Monday - Last night, a huge storm came through are area and tornadoes were a big possibility.  I kept my phone on and got alarms going off all night so I didn't get much sleep for sure.  At about 4am, a cell was set to go right over our house and had rotation in it, so we got the kids up and took cover!  It passed without touching down, but some areas in the Upstate saw EF3 tornadoes and a lot of damage!  We all went back to sleep, but were struggling all day from lack of sleep!  Since S was sick last week and missed four days of school, she is having to work this week to make it up.  C on the other hand does not have any work to do and is biting at the bit to play.  I found a project for him to do that he seemed to like so that kept him busy for a while.  I spent the day cleaning the house!  It gets so dirty with the three of us being here all day every day(and we fired the maids a couple of months ago!).

While I was cleaning, I found a stash of toilet paper
that C had hoarded! LOL!

Tuesday - S still was doing school work today,  C was working on his project and I was finishing up some last minute cleaning.  Our realtor and the photographer came this morning to take pictures of our house so that we could get it listed!  While they were here, we had to be out of the house so we went and picked up lunch at Panera and brought it home and ate outside while they finished up!  The afternoon was spent going on a walk/bike ride for me and C while S had her dance class and then some more board games.  This evening, we had a Zoom charades game with Grandpa and Gigi, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Jennifer!  It was great fun and we are hoping to do it again soon!

She made her own table and chairs to eat lunch outside!

Clue has become a favorite!

Wednesday - I had to get to the office today!  S came with me and C went with M!  S and I both got a lot of work done and I felt much better about things having done so!  When we came home, C had his guitar lesson, I got dinner together and we survived!  ZERO pictures from today!

Thursday - S finally finished her make up work!  Thank goodness!!  The kids played more crazy and creative games, we upped our Frisbee golf game by playing from starting points all over the street, we went on a walk/bike ride, Aunt Jennifer led them in an art class with Zoom, and the for sale sign went up in our front yard(which seems so super weird!).  Also, today, the president and governor announced that we were going to start to slowly "open up" the state and country!  Thank goodness!  First baby step was to open up all public boat ramps(lake and ocean) starting today!  It's a very small step, but a step nonetheless!  Just before bed, we found the Disney Family/Celebrity singalong on TV and watched it!

Friday - I told the kids NOT to wake me up before 8am this morning!  Of course, it's the one morning that I naturally wake up at 6:45am.  So annoying!  They then spent the morning getting their laundry done(so nice they can do it all by themselves without any assistance from me now) and then playing their new game of tying each other up outside! We went on a long walk/bike ride, made a cake(the kids iced it!) and did an acids and bases experiment!  We lounged around for the afternoon, did some more crafting and started the building phase on their city project before going to pick up Hungry Drover for dinner.  It's been a long week, but did not feel nearly as long as last week when S was sick and lock down mandates were becoming more stringent!  I feel like there is a small little speck of light at the end of a very long yet tunnel!

Glorious morning for a walk!

They had a sweet moment and made each other a canvas!

Bases...

and acids!