Storm of the Decade

We were supposed to get the storm of the decade! We were supposed to get hail, tornadoes, crazy winds, rain, lightning and thunder. 

Unexpectedly, we woke up to huge amounts of thunder, rain and lightning at 5 am. It woke everyone up so we watched as that storm passed. Then, we tried to go back to sleep. The weather forecasters had not predicted a morning storm. 

They predicated a bigger storm for later that day. We waited around all day for the tornado and baseball sized hail that might hit! Look, we even put BOTH cars in our two car garage just to protect the car from the monstrous sized hail we might get! 

Well, when the storm did hit we got some thunder and lightning and a little wind and rain. But where we were, we didn't get anything like the storm of the decade. But it's nice to know we don't have so much junk we can't fit both cars in the garage if we need to. It was a tight squeeze though. 

Gram's clothes!

Gram likes to buy the kids some cute outfits a few times a year. She does an amazing job picking cute clothes! Elizabeth LOVES when Gram comes with cute new clothes! Nathan doesn't care as long as they fit. Here is one of the cute new outfits Gram got for Elizabeth this summer. 

Evening Splits

Yes, we have evening splits, and I don't mean ice cream splits! Elizabeth has been practicing! 

She practices her splits after her bath so that her legs don't touch the grass because grass really makes her legs itch. Notice there is a cat watching who also makes her itch! She does love that cat though! 

Roses and peonies are looking pretty this time of year! 

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, the kids and I drove up to Royal City for a day of being outside! Jeremy had to work. We hadn't been anywhere besides the grocery store and the schools to pick things up since March 13. 

We were very careful. We spent all day outside and did our best to stay away from Gram and Papa Norm. We can't risk our old people getting sick with this stupid coronavirus!  We used the bathroom inside wearing our masks and I made sure to clean all the fixtures when we left. 

Pippa has not been groomed in a LONG time. She is looking quite shaggy. 

Papa bought a new barbecue with his stimulus money. He grilled us hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and then steak for dinner! The morning was cloudy but not too cold with no wind so it was ok for being outside. 

Nathan did some shooting. Papa was the range safety officer. You can't see Nathan well but he is in the back of the old truck shooting at targets. 

Something fun happened this trip! Papa also bought kayaks for the kids!! He has a pond they were able to paddle around on. Nathan wanted to shoot but Elizabeth had a GREAT time paddling around. 

She really took to using a paddle. Pretty quickly, she was just flying around in that little kayak. She said she was "one with the kayak." 

Laura and I paddled around in Nathan's bigger size kayak. Here is Laura paddling. 

Nathan still shooting his targets. 

Papa called a neighbor that had a BIGGER pond so we went to paddle over there. 

Elizabeth got stuck in the weeds. 

Racing Auntie Laura! Elizabeth was able to smoke us old people in speed. 

Two doodles roadsiding. Boomer got a back door haircut. 

Nathan still shooting. 

Gram and Elizabeth were Range Safety Officers. 

Eventually, Nathan ran out of ammunition. Then, he learned how to use his kayak. 

We didn't have time to go back to the bigger pond so they paddled around on Papa's smaller pond. 

Sometimes, they had bumper boats going. 

After dinner, the kids and I packed up our few things we brought and drove home. We were tired. I'm not sure why being outside all day makes you so tired! It's not like we were working hard or something! Well, I certainly wasn't. The kids played and shot guns and Papa and Gram did all the cooking. 

Spring Cleaning

Due to not having much else to do besides homechool, we've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing. We completely cleaned out Elizabeth's "arts and supplies" cabinet, threw out a bunch of stuff and organized what we put back in. She thought it would be fun to play inside the cabinet when it was empty. 

Nathan worked hard at cleaning and organizing most of our other cabinets and closets. He did a great job! He doesn't like to have his picture taken often. 

Unicorns ride scooters!

A unicorn riding her scooter after dinner! 

Mother's Day Hike

Candy Mountain is just south of our house. The kids and Jeremy have hiked it many times. I wasn't quite sure I could hike it without having pain, but I've been feeling better lately so we all decided to try! 

They call this rock "Rest Rock." It's like a little chair you can sit on. 

Lake Lewis-this is how high the water rose during the Missoula Flood 15,000 years ago!! 

The top!! We can see our house down there! 

A storm started blowing in right as we reached the top. We got a few raindrops on the way down, but not bad. 

Evenings at the track

Here is another nightly bike/run with Elizabeth. 

Nathan isn't with us most of the time. However, for PE, he is running a mile (most) every night at 8:00. It takes him until 8:08. Then, he takes his shower and prepares for bed! 

She likes to practice running her 100 meters at the track. She can run it in 19 seconds. 

Zooming around on her bike! 

Cat!

Our neighbor's cat likes to come visit with us! We love having a kitty around. They are so cute! The only problem is that Elizabeth ends up itchy and Nathan's nose gets really stuffed up. Even though he's been doing allergy shots for a year, I'm not thinking they are helping with cat allergy. They are only outside with the cat so it's weird that they will get these allergic symptoms. 

Nathan made it to Oregon!

Nathan also made it to Oregon!! We've been playing a lot of Oregon Trail these days. 

COVID 19 Board Game

Elizabeth created a board game about the epidemic we are having. You have to make it to the end of the board game without dying of COVID-19. Here are some of her ideas since you can't see them up close very well. 

You lock yourself in quarantine. Go ahead 5 spaces. 

You hoard toilet paper. Go back to start. 

You manage to find cleaning supplies! Go ahead 6 spaces. 

You forget to use hand sanitizer. Move back. 

You are a doctor. Move ahead. 

You are robbed of cleaning stuff. Move back. 

You followed all the rules to not get coronavirus. Move ahead to near the end. 

You give yourself a haircut. Move ahead. 

You're bored. Roll again. 

You get covid. You die. 

You have to wait in line outside at Walmart. Roll again. 

You find masks to buy! Move ahead. 

You have to homeschool. Move back. 

You can't play with friends. Move back. 

Fishing is closed. Move back. 

You can't find your thermometer. Skip a turn. 

May bike rides

Elizabeth and I are so happy the weather has warmed up again so we can go on our after dinner evening bike rides!! 

First Trip out on the Boat

Here are photos of the first trip out on the boat this year!  

The highlight of the trip was when they were attacked by seagulls. They made the mistake of feeding a seagull right next to bird island. Bird island is covered in a thousand birds. When the birds saw feeding was going on, they were swamped by birds. 

Oodles and Oodles of Doodles.

The doodle epidemic continues in West Richland AKA West Doodleland. 

You can't take a walk, attend a zoom meeting, or go for a car ride without seeing a few doodles. We estimate 20% of the population of West Doodleand has a doodle. Here is a cute little doodle puppy that "attacked" Elizabeth and I the other day. His owner had to run out and get him. He was so cute!