Payton's 8th Grade Graduation (Covid Style)

In true style, this small town is trying to keep things as normal as possible for our kids during the current pandemic.  Payton just graduated from 8th grade and will be moving on up to High School in the fall.  I try not to think about it too much because if I've said it more than once.... I am trying to hold on to this phase as long as I can.  They are all growing up so fast.  

One family decided to host the 8th grade dance/party.  The mom's crashed it for a little fun!  I'm excited to see what the future holds for Payton!

Playing a little Corn Hole.

Payton had hurt his wrist while biking this weekend if I remember correctly.

This class didn't get much of a graduation but they had fun getting together to hang out, dance, play games, and get to know their soon to be new classmates for High School.  It was fun for them to get together again after all this time isolating!

A Much Needed Weekend at the Cabin!

Well this school year, unlike any other we've ever experienced...finally came to a close.  We were ready to get out and have some fun as a family.

Mckay was sure eager to put his new bike to the test!

We went to a downhill bike park near the cabin and had such a fun day playing around with our new bikes on some new trails.

It was a fun day and we got to visit and felt like kids again.

Behind us in the other lifts are Kason and Payton, then Lindsey and Issac.

Payton had a lot of fun and is getting pretty good at biking.

Good times!

We had a lot of fun doing this as a group.

Here is a fun photo of a log feature.

I love this adorable picture of Brielle and Emry fishing in a canoe with Grandpa.  Perfect start to our SUMMER BREAK!!

Such a Unique Time as a Family...Cravin' Summer

This year more than any other, we are looking forward to SUMMER!  The kids never got back to school in person and trooped through at home learning like CHAMPS.  It was a busy yet wonderful time as we spent a lot of time at home and together as a family.  It was challenging trying to mute myself with all the Zoom calls, be there for each and every child's needs, balance the house work and regular mom life, all while trying to meet the needs and demands the kids had.  We will forever look back and remember this time at home as a family!

Taylor made a nice poem.

Gavin was the jackpot guesser for Grandma Swensen's change guess.  He was thrilled to get the money and plans to spend it well!

Someone left us a cute rock painted Minion family outside for us to find.  I have been touched to see others reaching out and trying to keep connections with friends and neighbors.

A fun batch of kittens to keep the kids busy.

Taylor's artwork for a project on mountain lions.

A family game of Nerf Wars.  This was one way to get out of the house and have some quality fun during the pandemic.

Fun times!

I love that everyone got into it.

The kids were quite competitive.

Brielle loves getting into the cookbooks and helping to make something delicious!

We got outside and enjoyed family bike rides.

It helps to get out and make fun memories in the great outdoors.

We are becoming a biking family.

Until a few little legs wore out and needed a little lift to finish out!

Love it!

A relaxing trip to the cabin was also just what we needed.

It felt like we had been a little cooped up and enjoyed the change of scenery.

Time to explore and have a nice break.

We treasure these moments together as a family.

Gavin and Brielle snuggling with Dad.

Fun movie nights.

Loving the fresh air.

Taylor is becoming such a nice helper around the house and mowing is one of his areas to help.  This summer he plans to make some extra spending money by mowing the office yards and helping with the yard work.

Payton received a reward for an article he wrote and even earned a little money.

This summer he will be starting his first summer job and will be working for Bill and Terrie Pearson on the farm during the summer months.  I can't believe he's on to High School and is starting his first official job.  We are pleased with the young man Payton is becoming and are excited to see what his future holds.

New Bike Day (Ibis)

Interesting enough, we have really enjoyed mountain biking and this is something that we love to do as a family.  We decided to buy Mckay and me new mountain bikes so the kids could then have our old bikes as we are slowly getting our entire family outfitted with gear.  Mountain biking is something we will always be able to do even when other things are currently shut down, we will be able to get outdoors and have some fun as a family.  When we purchased these bikes we barely beat the rush,  Now everyone else in the world seems to be thinking the same thing and it is definitely harder to get parts and bikes.  We got ours just in time to get going on some fun spring riding as a family!

The anticipation was killing Mckay!  He was pretty excited to see this large box had finally arrived!!

I was eager to see my new bike as well.  Let the fun begin!

His and her bikes, can't wait to make memories riding together.  It also makes for some pretty fun and beautiful dates with my sweetheart!

Mine is silver.

Mckay's is orange.

We can't wait to hit the trails and test them out!

School Projects and Hanging in There!

Things around here have been different as we are experiencing our first pandemic together as a family.  It has been a nice time to cut back on a few things and focus on the things that really matter most.

Drives in the car to get out for a bit.  Mckay and I have usually been the ones to run to stores for groceries things we need.

This was a cool art project Kenzie did while working on school at home, her profile picture turned out pretty good.

A new batch of kittens for the kids to enjoy.

They were so tiny.

Taylor working hard on his school work.

It will be fun to look back on some of the things we experienced during the Covid 19 pandemic.

These are sweet little self letters.

The school was offering lunches during the afternoon.  It gave us a nice opportunity to get out of the house and the kids looked forward to the chocolate milk!

For Mother's Day we made these delicious Strawberry Shortcakes.  We all loved them and will have to make them again soon.  We are such foodies and we have been enjoying baking and having lots of yummy meals as a family during this time frame.  It is a large part of some of the things we love...sitting around the table and enjoying a meal as well as each other's company has been something we have especially loved lately!