November 2020

Being home for work during COVID has its advantages.  One being I have an extra 40 minutes a day without the commute to campus.  Some days I use this time to prepare a hot breakfast for the girls, which Stella especially appreciates. 

Wake up wraps!

Our school has done so well staying open this fall, with only a few pivots to fully remote learning due to necessary contact tracing.  Stella generously shared her at home work space with Claire on a day our elementary was shut down but Stella was able to attend in-person learning at the Middle School.

For Grammie's birthday this year we asked papa to start a fire so we could make smore's outdoors.  While we did end up joining them inside, it was fun to have a fall fire.

Sleepover with Madilyn when Stella
stayed at Aiysha's

At-Home Science experiment, round #1

practicing math

pear muffins with school lunch fruit

Claire helped me prepare "a hug and a promise" over Thanksgiving break for our GS drive thru bridging ceremony,

Silly Faces

Game Night!

Thanksgiving looked different this year, with just the four of us sharing a meal together.  We had so many leftovers!  A zoom call with a scavenger hunt against cousins was a nice way to see family during a time when in-person visits are a challenge.  

Drive-Thru Bridging:

 

I've always wanted to cut down our own Christmas tree, and since we didn't get much snow in November, and the weather was warmer than usual, it seemed like a good year to have this adventure.  We traveled to Canton and visited the Bear Dance Tree Farm.  We wandered around until we found our perfect tree!

From field to floor!

October 2020: Jay Peak, Claire's 9th Birthday, Halloween, and more!

 We continue to mostly spend time with a small group of friends, but our calendar is starting to have some activities penciled in, which we are so very grateful for.  Here's some of our October fun!

A surprise with a fond memory:

Grandma Todd loved roses.  She grew roses every year.  We've tried to grow our own several times, in different areas of our property, with no luck.  This year was different though.  In early October, despite some of our cold evenings, this beautiful rose emerged.

Hiking @ the VIC with Girl Scouts:

A trip to Jay Peak with friends:

COVID mandated limited ticket sales, so wait lines
were practically non-existent.  The only down-side was
the lazy river was not operational.

Trying out the surf board attraction

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Waiting for lunch with Madilyn
and Bri!

Claire was so brave and tried the loop slide after Daddy, before Me.  But, she didn't make it!  We were super proud of her for trying something new though.

Sleepover Fun! The girls had the entire
basement floor of the condo all to themselves!

Adopting Cray Fish from Claire's classroom:

Mom said no to the crayfish at first, not wanting anything else to take care of.  Claire wanted one so badly, she made a presentation for me showing she knew how to take care of them, and could do it all by herself.  How do you say no to that?!

Cemetery Clean-Up with Girl Scouts:

Claire's Drive-by Birthday Celebration:

GS @ Home Movie Night

 Claire was allowed to   have two friends   sleepover for her   birthday after the drive-   by fun.  Makala and     Vanessa joined in the fun.  Our Troop movie night happened to be the same day, so the girls made their own pizza's and watched some of the zoom session movie showing.

Some more fun:

All that Jazz Halloween Costume Party

Madeleine's 8th Birthday Costume Party

Sunday errands, including a visit
to the Ives Park playground area

Freezing Pumpkin puree from Papa's plentiful harvest

Learning at home with Allison:

Since Stella is home Monday and Tuesday, she was able to join Allison's family on a home-school field trip to the Cranberry Bog.  

Carving Pumpkins:

This Pinterest idea turned
out pretty nice!

Stella's Tribute to Trey

Trick or Treating with Friends:

The pandemic is not over, so things continue to be a bit different than usual. This was the first year Grammie and Papa didn't join us for handing out candy, but generally speaking we felt this would be a low risk activity so we joined in the fun with a few friends.