Strawberry Picking

Strawberry picking this year was a little different than usual. Sam didn't come and it was hot. Wearing masks was required, so after being in the sun, it was a little much. The kids had to stay within arms length, 6 six feet away from other groups, etc, etc.

They lasted about an hour though and we got a lot of strawberries, which got mushy very quickly. Now we have lots of frozen berries for smoothies and popsicles!

Masks

All the masks. Viv likes to make them.

Vivian's Book

Here is a book that Vivian made as I was starting to think about how the children were psychologically handling the lockdown. She had been begging to see her friends in person and wanted to go in her grandparents' house. At least she was able to write about it! And it helped me decide she should see her grandparents and stay over. 

The Days Have Passed

When the book begins.

This says "it has been a terrible year. It really has. But I wouldn't be sad but I couldn't help at all. People were sick but it was so hard to help. So I thought hard. Others are surviving. But how could I help? I wanted to be able to help."

I feel like everything is spinning so fast and the Earth is going around. But it makes me feel dizzy and like I can't do anything.

I can't help. It is so bad.

I have no idea how we can fix the people who are sick. It feels to me we can fix this.

When I go in my treehouse to think with my brother, I thought I can help. But I can't. I thought to myself, my brother is old he is 10 years.

I know, we can do this! 

It feels like the days have passed and feels like they will get better. The days I hope will be better.

The end

New Addition

We had a new addition to our family a few weeks ago, a little Snowshoe kitten who we named Mika. She is settling in well after 48 hours of more or less hiding, with the kids constantly trying to "help her." Now she is very assertive and let's Jack know her place if she doesn't want to play. She is also, so far, tolerant of the kids and particularly Lanie who likes to carry her around.
It seemed like a good time to get a cat as we are home all the time pretty much.

More and more is closed around us, so options are few and far between, quite literally, for getting out and about.

Her favorite place to sleep is the kitchen drawer, which I know,
but still makes me jump every time I open it.

Puddles

I can take them absolutely anywhere, but the best part is inevitably a large, muddy puddle. Yet, Vivian will fall in, no matter what, every time. Then she cries and says, "why is it always me?"

Yesterday we went to get in the car and they all had mud splashes up their backs to their necks.

A parking lot from going walking in Waltham. All they wanted to do was finish walking in the woods to return here.

At Fresh Pond Reservoir wading in puddles.

Boston Public Garden during CO-VID19

Taking a walk in the Public Garden. Parking is easy to find and there is little traffic. On chillier days not too many people are out. Masks are required.

The Make Way for Duckling statues have masks and daffodils.

Tribute to healthcare workers.

Such a pretty time of year. It was so nice it was still open, even though the Swan Boats aren't out.

School Assignments

Vivian had a fun one, to create her own super hero. She wanted to do it together, so she made a super hero family and I got carried away.

The Great Squirrel Rescue

I took Lanie for a scooter ride the other day, she was naturally dressed like Elsa, and I had Jack on his leash. Sam was supposed to be playing online Risk with a friend. That involves being on Google Hangout and Risk at the same time, preferably on two different devices. Chris wasn't home.

So Lanie and I got about 5 houses down when my the mom of Sam's friend starting texting that it wasn't working. I told Lanie we had to go back when she spotted a squirrel lying on it's side, smack in the middle of the sidewalk. She peered at it and had a very hard time leaving it, meanwhile Jack wanted to play with it or eat it, unclear.
I finally get Lanie turned around to go back to the house. We got the front and I asked her to wait for me. I went inside to get Sam up and running, and finally got the friend and his mom on Google Hangout, just as Lanie burst in to tell the kids that she found an injured squirrel. They were out the door in a flash, barefoot, and I was left holding the iPad trying to explain. So I chased them down the street, with the iPad and the dog. Of course the iPad cut out a few houses down so we had to repeat the whole exercise.
I got Sam back inside with and finally set up, the dog inside and went back outside to find Vivian with a snow shovel with the squirrel on it parading up the street with Lanie/Elsa. To make it even better, the whole time this had been happening, a neighbor was being socially distance surprised for her birthday by family with a cake and balloons. So my children ran around them to get to the squirrel, to return to the house, and then to "rescue" the squirrel.

Long story short, Vivian built the squirrel a nest, with a roof (because it was raining and windy during this whole experience). They cut it up apple and got it water and wanted me to go to our neighbor who is a vet to get advice. I didn't. Eventually the squirrel somehow propelled itself out of it's nest and lay on the ground next to it, still breathing. I was trying to put together a raised garden bed, but was getting updates on the squirrel (who they thought perhaps had Coronavirus or a head injury). 

 The squirrel did not make it through the night and when Chris finally reappeared, he got to bury it. The big kids understood but were really sad. Lanie thought his mommy squirrel "took him to her nest, because his brother and sister squirrel were very sad. Then she gave him medicine and a treat, that was one single cupcake."

 Just to completely make the whole experience as traumatic as possible, the children decided to make time capsules. This was a great project that took a few hours. (I did have to talk them out of putting $20 in it though, which apparently they had done in the past). So of course, the first place Vivian digs,  there is the squirrel tail. I heard her gasp and turned around to see the fluffy tail.

The buried the capsules in a new location, next to my raised bed that I somehow completed. The squirrel can rest in peace.