At Home: Week 4

Happy 2021!! It's New Year's Day. But in typical fashion (that is not entirely my fault), we are not even close to done with December stories. So it'll be 2020 here in blog world for a few more posts. Which is pretty on brand, since we were still opening Christmas presents today ... (also not entirely my fault. and totally worth it ... wait about five posts, and you'll agree)

Week four of the great self-isolation / distance learning / work from home experiment was decidedly better than week three (granted the bar was really low). We had spent the weekend outside on the lake and by Monday, Mike decreed the rink ready for children to boot skate (no blades yet). It's so interesting - and not at all surprising - that attitudes, spirits, and general outlook on life improved dramatically the more days in a row that we were able to get outside and get the energy out!

Because snow fell on Sunday, the rink needed to be shoveled. But the ice wasn't solid enough to support Mike (or so he said) ... so maintenance was outsourced.

On Tuesday, a "warming shack" was popped up in the yard. It seemed to be used more for snack consumption - and in the case of Quinn, one virtual math class. It was also a great conversation starter when Mike and I were out on our nightly walks around the neighborhood. Apparently not everyone has a fish house in their back yard.

It wasn't all ice and rinks around it (only 95% - give or take). We were also getting ready for Christmas and the kids made homemade cards for their awesome teachers. It's always so fun to see the unique and creative ways that they each show they care.

Quinn had a virtual Bingo night with her hockey team - and even though she didn't win, she was so happy to see the faces of her friends and teammates. Hockey starts up again January 4th and she is ready!

Wednesday night was the big night here. Mike decided the ice was ready for kids ... with skates. After dinner, they all put their blades on and Fiona did the inaugural puck drop. We did it in full MN Wild style and as the puck dropped, she said "let's play hockey." Then she shrieked because Q and D were all over that puck!

It was so much fun to see them out on the rink, skating, battling, tumbling over the boards (we might need higher boards), and enjoying the fresh air. The rink looks so big until you actually start skating on it. Coach Mike says that it will force people to work on their stick handling - and their hockey stops! [Also, please admire Mike's rink light. And yes, we can control it with our Alexa device.]

On Saturday, we were sick of our house and Mike wanted to test out his brand new BIG ice house. So he put it up in the yard and we had lunch in the fish house. Creative? Desperate for a change of scenery? We didn't think too hard about that question. Indeed, there were two different fish houses in our yard in one week. We really were the talk of the block!