As the quarantine continued into May, the novelty wore off and we just accepted that this was life now. The days when it was nice enough to get outside were good and the rainy days were sometimes barely bearable. Thankfully, we had lots of nice days and just a few rough ones.
Grandpa Rasmussen made marshmallow guns for all of the grand kids. They were great to increase the boys' lung capacity!
We spent an hour or so one morning doing a very scientific experiment to see which configuration of the marshmallow guns was the most effective. Not surprisingly, the way Grandpa's instructions said to build it was the best. ;)
Alan had time a for a few home improvement projects. He replaced this bathroom drain. I'm so glad I have him for things like this!
Mason really wanted to draw a lion for some reason one morning. He usually doesn't like drawing that much.
Spencer made nachos for us to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
Our new favorite after-dinner activity became bike/scooter rides while Alan and I walked around the neighborhood. The boys and I did this a lot on the nights Alan was working.
After Mason lost his first tooth, we decided it was time to get serious about helping him break the habit of sucking his fingers ALL the time. We started on May 1st by taping his fingers during the day. We quickly realized that masking tape was way to stiff and uncomfortable and that Mason just needed one finger to be taped. Athletic tape worked much better. We kept track of Mason's progress with a sticker chart and he could earn a dollar store prize after no sucking during the day for seven days. He chose this tank for his first prize! (Since Mason soothes himself to sleep with his fingers, we decided just to focus on no sucking during the day for the time being.)
He chose sticky ninjas another week and these three had so much fun waiting for them to fall from the ceiling. Haha!
On one hot day, we got out the wading pool for the first time. I filled it in the morning so the water could warm in the sun, but half of the water was gone by the time Mason went out to use it. We didn't realize there were several cracks in it. Mason didn't mind too much and still had a good time though.
After much encouragement and procrastinating, Spencer finished the optional Rube Goldberg project for his STEM class with about 45 minutes to spare. He only had about 3 weeks to complete the project. ;) It turned into a family project in the end and Spencer was very relieved when it worked and he could take the whole thing down. We have some good videos, but this is the only picture I took. I'm always a little surprised that Spencer doesn't like STEM projects. I think they are cool!
Mason ALWAYS wanted to go to Stella Olsen Park whenever we went on bike rides. He loves get off the bike and run/explore the stream and ponds in the park.
Picnic at Murdock Park one sunny day:
Mother's Day:
Alan and the boys usually get me a hanging basket for the front of our house, but since Alan's trailer is pretty much permanently parked in our driveway now, there was no good spot for a basket this year. :( Alan got me these pretty flowers instead. The boys were so nice to me and did all of the cooking on Mother's Day. We had a nice walk around Cook Park in the evening. I am such a lucky momma!
I have never canned applesauce in the spring before, but we were almost out and I could still buy boxes of 2019 apples for a good price, so I decided to get the whole, big mess out again. It's worth it for thick applesauce without additives!
If you have to do distance learning, why not do it from inside a blanket fort?!
Laundry lessons: Spencer is now in charge of washing his own sheets and making his bed all by himself.
Some days it was too wet to jump on the trampoline after lunch so we put on our jackets and walked/biked/scooted around the neighborhood. Just that few minutes outside made such a big difference in all of our attitudes!
Mason was thrilled that we got to go to his preschool one last time to say goodbye to his teachers and pick up some end of year materials. He is an official preschool graduate now! They sent home really cute memory and alphabet books that we got to finish together at home. Southwest Preschool really was so great for Mason and I'm so sad it had to end early.
The best big brothers play silly dress-up games even when they are cool middle schoolers!
Kiki lets Spencer hold her in ways she doesn't tolerate from anyone else. These two have a cute bond.
Saturday virtual track meet: Alan timed Spencer and kids from two other families in races on several Saturdays. Spencer really enjoyed it and I think the other kids did too. The other parents were very generous and actually paid Alan for the tiny bit of work he did. Alan was doing it just for fun so that was a very nice and unexpected surprise.
I finally took the boys to a store with me for the first time in over two months! I needed a few garden starts from Wilco. The store wasn't very busy and we were in and out pretty fast. I let them look at the chicks for a few minutes before sending them out to the car to wait while I paid. Crazy how something so mundane is an adventure now.
Spencer's favorite quarantine spot: He never wanted to make his bed because he was always getting under the covers to read during the day.
Lawn mowing 101:
Mason took this amazing shot of me while I was making dinner. Ha!
We finally got to have Grandma and Grandpa over for a bbq on Memorial Day weekend! We have all missed our weekly Sunday dinners with them during the past few months.
Rainy day entertainment:
Gorgeous Sunday evening walk at The Refuge: I had never seen so many different types of bird there and we wished we had remembered our binoculars.
Shockingly, I actually got out my sewing machine and made this stuffed bunny for Mason. I didn't love the face in the end, but the rest turned out cute!
All playgrounds are still closed, but we feel so lucky that our neighborhood park has a small forest that is still open. Mason loves to run around and climb the trees so we often end our walks with some playtime there.
Spencer received this surprise gift from his school librarian. She left a bag with a nice note, a book, a box of candy, and some stickers on our doorstep! It was a complete surprise and so generous! I don't know if she did that for every student in the school or just the ones who spent more time than most in the library, like Spencer.
Berry season is my favorite time of year in Oregon and strawberries started at the end of May! Mason and I have picked while Spencer was in school the past few years, but lucky Spencer got to come help this year. Spencer is a good helper. Mason is good at running around the field and eating strawberries. ;)
Sidewalk chalk and running through the sprinklers: two quintessential activities of summer! Finally! This was the longest spring ever!
