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!

Easter Break 2020

With all the extra time at home and cleared up schedules we are surely soaking in all the family time.

It is now Easter Break and the kids (myself included) needed a break from the school work so it came at the perfect moment for us all.

The kids got creative and built some forts they wanted to sleep in.  I feel like I am enjoying this time to bond more as a family.  We are pretty lucky to be more locked down with this fun crew.

They are such buddies!

Gavin loves it when someone takes the time to read him a story, it was pretty cute and melted my heart.

The girls playing games together.

A nice long soak in the tub with swimsuits is always a treat for the kids.

We made sure to die eggs together.

I enjoy watching the kids working on their designs and having fun with these traditions.

Cute!

    

Fun to have Dad in on the fun.

Ha Ha...this cute face as he eats his egg!

Brielle made a cute little Minion.

Gavin found his basket with a Disney Hotwheel in it, he was pretty excited.

Brielle also found her basket with some fun goodies like new socks.

Taylor got some new socks for mountain biking.

Payton enjoys getting in on the fun and seeing what is in his basket as well, surprise...new socks.

Kenzie got new socks as well.  We love new socks!

Gavin is a collector of Hotwheels so he was excited about this cute car.

Then the kids look for eggs Mckay and I stuff with money.  It is always one of the things they look forward to!

Easter Sunday at home with my family.  I love them to pieces!!

Brielle and Gavin were having a great time playing with Play Dough.  They sure are good little buddies!