Somehow we were in need of four (4!) nightstands in our house. Facebook Marketplace and my mom came to the rescue to check one off our list. It was pretty beat up when I collected it, but you wouldn’t know it now with a fresh coat (or four) of bright orange paint. I’m a big fan.
One down. Three to go.
Chris got an early Father’s Day gift tonight: this sweet ladder. He’s been longing for a taller ladder for some time and this one can transform into so many different configurations. Making dreams come true around here.
Day one of summer was pretty great. We went for a nice bike ride, started reading a new book, went swimming in a gorgeous pool, and even squeezed in some extra video game time. Not bad, right? I think we’ll do ok transitioning to this whole summer thing.
We did it! We completed the Virtual Adventure Challenge by wrapping up a 2.4 mile hike this morning up and around Mt. Simon. It was a beautiful morning for a hike…a beautiful weekend for the whole challenge, to be honest. I’m seriously so glad we motivated ourselves to do this. I think it really proved to the boys (and us, too!) that we can do longer bikes/hikes/canoe trips. Both boys declared that they could have even biked longer and are now considering a bike ride to see Grandma about 115 miles away. Haha.
Stage 1: Run/Hike. 1.5-hours on roads or trails You must visit the following during this stage:
One hilltop or other high point
A water feature (river, lake, marsh, pond, creek, fountain, puddle, etc)
Additionally, you must include at least one substantial bushwhack to get from one trail/road to another. Bonus kudos for planning a route to find your hilltop and/or water feature during the bushwhack!
Stage 2: Bike. 2-hours on roads or trails You must visit the following during this stage:
One bridge
One hilltop or other high point
One point of interest (historical marker, monument, interesting tombstone/tomb in a cemetery, ruin, other curiosities or oddities)
Stage 3: Non-Run/Bike Discipline. 1.5-hours of something that is not running/biking.
Could be paddling, roller blading, swimming, strength training, rock climbing, horseback riding, scootering, skateboarding, stair climbing, etc, or any combination of those activities!
Today was a first for our little family: our first adventure challenge! Chris’s friend from high school puts on an adventure race in Wausau every May, but it was cancelled this year because of Covid. They decided to put together a virtual event instead. See all the details here. We’re sad they couldn’t host the real event, but we’re a bit happy, too, because it means we could participate (we never would have been able to pull off the read deal!).
The basics of the challenge are that we have to bike 2 hours, hike 1.5 hours, and participate in another outdoor activity for 1.5 hours–all in a 48 hour window. We decided to take on the bike and canoe portions of the race today and we had such a lovely time. We ended up biking 11.4 miles all around Eau Claire trying to cross as many bridges as possible. Total bridge count? 16. No too shabby, right? We took a quick lunch break and then headed out for the 1.5 hour canoe trip down the Chippewa River (which ended up taking over 4 hours by the time you account for coordinating the logistics procuring a canoe, parking cars at both locations, and what not).
It was the perfect day for this outdoor adventure. The boys were such good sports…in fact, I don’t think they complained at all! We’ve got our hike left for tomorrow but that will feel like a walk in the park (literally) after today’s activity level.
Thanks for putting together a virtual adventure challenge like this, Tim and Anna! We appreciate the extra motivation to take advantage of this beautiful weekend.
The blog break is over. How could I skip the last day of school photo from the craziest year of school yet?
Yes. They are wearing pajamas. That’s what happens for homeschool last days of school, I guess. Who was I to say no, you know?
It’s been a challenging but rewarding few months for us. I can’t even imagine where we’ll be in another three months, but I’m fully confident our little family unit will be laughing and making memories. I guess that has to be enough for now.
We’ve been spending a ton of time outside over the past week. It’s a nice reminder of why we live here and deal with the never-ending winter months. We’re welcoming summer with open arms more than ever this year.
On a serious note, the state of our country is really messing with me right now. I feel confused and frustrated and sad and disheartened just about all the time. I’ve been dealing with these emotions surrounding Covid for the past three months. When you add the weight of what white privilege and silent racism means to me, it’s almost too much to bear. A friend posted the graphic below (I miss you, Melissa!) and it really spoke to me…
I like controlling my little life (I’m sure that’s not surprising to any of you that really know me). There’s no controlling what’s going on right now—on a bigger scale or even in our little world in Eau Claire. I’m sure there’s something to be learned here about letting go…about focusing on things I can control…about making a difference in whatever small way I can. To be honest, though, I feel so underwater with everything I’m doing to keep our little family unit functioning at full-power that I have little time or energy left to dedicate to anything else. Ugh.
Why am I getting into this right now? Two reasons:
I just had to get it off my chest, you know?
I’m going to take a break from the blog for a bit.
It’s been a LONG time since I took an official blog-break and it’s time. It’s the last official week of school and it’s going to be a hot one weather-wise, so I’m going to focus on being present instead of capturing moments. I’ll be back soon (don’t worry!).
Sending love to you and yours tonight. We could all use some extra love these days.
We’ve been talking about ways to classify animals this week. Today’s lesson was vertebrates vs. invertebrates. I found this fun lesson online which uses a pipe cleaner inside a play doh animal to act as a backbone. Then you make another version of the animal with no pipe cleaner backbone. The takeaway? The backbone makes the animal much stronger which allows vertebrates to support larger bodies. Pretty cool, huh?
After weeks of waiting, we finally got to pick up our library books today. It was a beautiful day for a productive bike ride. Have I mentioned how much I love living downtown? I do, for the record.
Side note: for some reason, my post from Tuesday didn’t work. I can’t believe you thought I missed two days in a row! Sorry about that. Here’s a link to the post in case you want to see what river-wading in our neighborhood looks like.
The rain held off long enough for a lovely afternoon bike ride and river-wading session. Robbe seemed surprised about how much he enjoyed walking the river. He declared it very “relaxing”. Ha!
We went out for another round of fishing today. This time, our neighbors let us use their river access. It was a perfect afternoon for fishing in a perfect setting. Chase managed to hook two bass and catch one! Robbe (who you’ll remember is the one who is actually really into fishing) didn’t catch any, but he was a good sport about it. We’ll be back, that’s for sure.
Chris spent a good chunk of the morning creating this critter-proof cage for my garden today. Fingers crossed this will help our harvest this year!
The girl who made me an aunt for the first time graduated from high school today. That’s right. Whoa.
It wasn’t the celebration any of us wanted for her. It wasn’t the celebration she deserved. But I guess disappointment and perseverance are pretty common these days. Our sweet girl took today in stride and smiled through it all. If you don’t know her, you can take my word for it…she’s an inspiration in grace, and charm, and kindness. I just love her so much and love the amazing person she’s grown into.
It sounds crazy, but it was a tough decision for us to attend this *intimate* family gathering today. We haven’t been to anyone’s house since the beginning of March. We haven’t been in a group of more than two people for just as long. Before Covid, I couldn’t have imagined a world where I would have to deliberate attending my niece’s graduation. Some people will think we’re crazy for going to a party where there were 15 people. Some people will think we’re crazy for even considering not going. Without clear guidance from anywhere, it’s judgement from all angles. And I’m tired of it.
At the end of the day, we’re doing our best to keep our little family safe. And I’d like to see my mother in-law again soon, so we’re going to take every precaution to try to make that happen. Am I glad we decided to attend the party today? Absolutely, I am. I hugged Zoe today. I haven’t hugged someone outside my little family unit in over two months (that’s strange for me…I’m a hugger!). I cried when I hugged her. The first person in two + months that I’ve hugged and I am beyond happy to have had an excuse to do it. I’m so very proud of her and I miss people. Thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate today, Zoe. We love you!
We’re living in a construction zone again. Not by choice this time. A leak in the dining room ceiling led to two new holes and one *simple* fix. Now we just need to wait for the ceiling to dry out and we’ll be to go.
Last night we were beyond annoyed and frustrated (we couldn’t use our new bathrooms after all and there’s always the fear of the unknown in terms of cost and what the fix will entail). Everything is fine today, though. Fingers crossed the problem is fixed. The plumber is covering the expense of the repairs. And we can use our bathroom again. All is well in the world.
Since we’re not dining with anyone else these days, it’s nice that Mr. and Mrs. Quackers have started to join us on a regular basis. They usually settle in for a nap just as we sit down to eat a few feet from them. I’m not going to lie, these ducks are sometimes the highlight of our day. The duck sightings have been going on for a couple of months now, but the excitement still remains. And the new dining pattern has only intensified our affection toward them.
Can you guess this week’s theme? Money money money!
Last week the boys and I reviewed the eight (8!) weeks of material we’ve covered during our homeschooling sessions. As a special treat, Chris was home from work on Friday so we had a true Jeopardy showdown on our hands: Chase + Robbe vs. Chris. When all was said and done, the gentlemen of the house were quizzed on 44 questions covering eight topics.
The final score was Chris: 2,600 points, Chase + Robbe: 64,000 points. You can just imagine how tickled the little boys were to clobber their super-smart dad so completely. I’m so proud of these two for the amount of content they managed to take in and digest under these crazy circumstances.
I’ve included the Jeopardy questions below. I debated about sharing them, to be honest, but I really wanted to record what we’ve covered during our first run at homeschooling. Only time will tell how many of these Jeopardy quizzes we’ll tackle before the boys head back to school, but if future rounds are as successful as this first one, I’ll be happy to keep creating them.
LANGUAGE
100 - Name three parts of a story.
200 - What are material nouns?
300 - Give an example of a contraction.
400 - Airplane is an example of this type of word. Snowman is another.
500 - Give an example of two proper nouns.
DINOSAURS/BIRDS
100 - A dinosaur that eats only meat is called what?
200 - Name three types of bird nests.
300 - What does an Omnivore eat?
400 - Would a human be classified as an omnivore, carnivore, or herbivore?
500 - What does migrate mean?
*Bonus: what about a bird’s anatomy helps it fly further?
WEATHER
100 - Which type of cloud is white, fluffy, and looks like a cotton ball?
200 - Snow, rain, and sleet are examples of what?
300 - What happens to the air in a thunderstorm?
400 - When I take a shower, why do the windows get wet?
500 - What are the four parts of the water cycle?
MAPS
100 - What country do we live in?
200 - Latitude or longitude: these are the lines that go from the North Pole to the South Pole.
300 - Label this compass rose.
400 - Name four states in the United States of America
500 - Name all seven continents.
*Bonus: what’s the name of the box found on maps that explains the symbols found on that map?
MOVEMENT
200 - Give an example of gravity.
400 - What word is defined as “a push or pull on an object”?
600 - If I let go of a hot wheels car on a gravel road, what force is making it move slowly?
800 - I like watching birds and airplanes fly. What type of movement do you think I should study?
1000 - Why does an airplane propelled by a rubber band fly farther?
THE EARTH
200 - Where do rivers usually form and where do they end up?
400 - List three ways you can help protect the Earth.
600 - If I’m a landmass surrounded by water on all sides, what am I?
800 - Describe the differences between a mountain, volcano, plateau, and hill
1000 - Explain four different land masses/bodies of water that we studied.
*Bonus: What’s the layer of the atmosphere called that has a hole in it?
PLANTS
200 - Explain two ways that plants grow.
400 - My plant is dying in my house. List two things I could try to do to help it.
600 - Name three of the five things plants need to be healthy.
800 - What’s the baby plant called inside a seed?
1000 - My plant is outside but still isn’t happy? What could be wrong?
MATH
200 - What are the two types of graphs we talked about?
400 - How many sides does a Hexagon have?
600 - What’s the different between a rectangle and a trapezoid?
800 - What is an equivalent fraction to 1/2?
1000 - Add 232 + 381 using a proof drawing.
FINAL JEOPARDY
List your three favorite things you’ve learned during homeschool.
Look what hatched in our backyard today! They’re tiny and a total miracle and also super ugly right now. It goes without say that we’re excited to watch these little baby robbins grow. More photos to come.
Our sweet neighbors offered us access to their trampoline. We don’t take advantage very often, but today it was about the best thing that could have happened to us. Not only did we get some serious jumping in, but we got to spend some time with the cutest puppy, too. It turns out this puppy loves the trampoline and enjoys being bounced around while she runs the perimeter. Isn’t that the cutest thing ever? So much laughter and joy wrapped up into 30 minutes.
We’re still hoping for actual warm temps around here. The boys are pretending that shorts and t-shirts are acceptable but, for the record, I was wearing a t-shirt, a sweater, and a sweatshirt for this bike ride.
small city | BIG DAYS
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