Visitors!

After 72 days, we finally had visitors! Aunt Sarah, along with cousins Jack and Daniel, came from Truro for 2 nights of real social interaction! In Nova Scotia, we are now allowed to form 'family bubbles' where people can come together without social distancing, so seeing Sarah and the kids was great. We finally got to show people all of the new trails we've been discovering, and Caleb and Odin  got to interact with other kids! We can't wait to meet back up with them again soon.

Our other exciting news is that we are now the proud owners of 2 sea kayaks! The boys gave one to me for Mother's Day as a way for me to get some exercise and alone time! It is bright yellow and came with the name Chiquita! Of course, Caleb (and Alan) immediately fell in love with the boat, so the next day we found another deal on kijiji and kayak number 2 came home! My alone time dreams didn't last long, but t has been such a great activity for us and a way for us to feel free among all of the COVID-19 restrictions. There are tons of little islands and coastlines for us to explore, and we can take off right across the street from our house, so even a quick evening paddle is super easy. All we need now is a name the second kayak - what goes well with Chiquita?!?

Other than spending more time on the water, we've been keeping up with lots of gardening, painting, crafts, puzzles, games, lego, walks and even some self care (as seen below). Odin was very interested in my face mask, but only wanted a 'beard'. Suits him I think!

Hope you are all well out there. We miss you!

The novelty has worn off...

Wrestle/hug

This was a new phrase we taught Caleb last week during his first 'down' day in over 45 days of us  being isolated! At first,  we were loving this valuable time together. The boys loved their extensive break from school, and happily played together every day all day! We are still doing remarkably well, all hings considered, but this is challenging!! Some days are hard for us. I'm finding it tough to balance quality time with kids (despite spending 24/7 together), alone time, work time and homeschooling time. We also miss our friends, family, teachers and normal life! We remind each other it is completely ok to feel sad or frustrated at times, but overall, we are all very grateful for our health and the health of those we love. 

The boys were delighted this morning when all of their teachers held a parade to say hi to the students. At least 30 cars drove by our house, decorated with balloons and nice signs for the kids, honking as we stood in the driveway. It felt like a really nice way to reconnect from a distance. Good job, Atlantic Memorial!! 

We are keeping busy with lots of fun and creative projects at home. The boys both have lots of school work to complete, but we are trying not to put too much pressure on us. Our main goal is to stay calm happy and reduce the stress of trying to turn in all assignments on time! We know the kids are  learning everyday, plus getting exercise, building, exploring and crafting....so I think we're on the right  track.

Here are some photo highlights!

Music class with dad

Reading to his stuffies!

Biology class with mom - red-backed salamander discovery!

The pass-off

Odin's assignment drawing a picture and writing about his weekend. He wrote "This is bob he is a red Back" and the picture is the salamander in his hand!

The best news we received last week was that Nova Scotians are now allowed to use local trails and parks! It felt like sweet freedom to explore Polly's Cove with the boys over the weekend. 

Card board creations!

April Fool's update

I can't say that a lot has changed in our world over the past few days. We are still at home,  getting along well (for the most part) and keeping as busy as we can while also having lots of down time. Schools in New  Brunswick  are now closed for the rest of the year, so I'm expecting the same announcement for Nova Scotia soon. I recently realized that we are not allowed to drive to any hiking trails, even if the trails are still open. We need to stay home and only go for walks in our neighbourhoods, and we are not supposed to go for leisurely drives, so we are literally at home all the time.  I'm starting to accept that this  is going  to be our reality for the foreseeable future. Thankfully we have a network of ATV trails in the woods behind our house and Caleb said he wants to work on his 'cartography' skills, so we'll be spending  lots of time walking and mapping out the trails! We've already discovered some old foundations and a well, plus other cools ponds and structures, so the trails have really been a great escape for us.

Looking down an abandoned well! It was at least 15 feet deep!

Our mystery village!

Explorer, with lightsaber!

We will start getting homework assignments from the school later this week, so that will  help give us some structure and learning goals. We are going to try and arrange our day with school work/learning/reading/art in the mornings then  play time  (outdoors as much as possible!) in the afternoon, and we'll wrap things up with  family time in the evening (walks, movies, board games). Hopefully this will  keep us all sane for the next  while!

 We are trying to have fun and keep the mood light in the house. I was excited to spice things up a bit last week for April Fool's. Caleb and  I planned some of our classic tricks for Odin, including the bowl of frozen cereal and giving him fake 'juice' that was really jello! We captured a video to  share! Enjoy!

Hello from our world of self-isolation

Hello dear family and friends!

We've decided to resurrect the family blog to capture a glimpse of our life during the Covid-19 outbreak which has drastically changed our life and millions of lives around the world. With the spread of the novel virus, schools and businesses have been cancelled and people are being asked to stay at home and self-isolate. Alan's tours, along with all public events have also been cancelled, so the four of us have been home for the  past 13 days. But we are surviving and trying to make the best  of this very unusual time.

 Thankfully, we have lots of outdoor space at home with beautiful ocean hikes nearby, so we've been outside as much as we can. I'm still working full time from home, so my work day hasn't changed too much, besides a few extra cuddle breaks and family meals. Alan is helping the kids with different projects to keep them busy, along with lots of reading, writing, crafts and board games. Odin now knows over 100 words on his sight reading list and Caleb is self learning computer programming. The boys are getting along very well and can spend hours playing together. It's been wonderful to see.

They are both currently obsessed with Star Wars, Odin especially, so much of their time is spent in 'Jedi Training' where they battle on the front yard with  their light sabers, practicing moves and playing out different scenes to take on the dark side.

Overall, we are trying to stay positive. There is so much to be grateful for right now - we'll be able to pay our bills, we are healthy and so is our family, we have lots of food and things to keep us busy. I've noticed a big difference in my mindset about how to enjoy being in the moment, and how having literally no outside plans has allowed us to really take out time on hikes or while playing games. We have no schedule except our own, which feels like such a switch from how life usually is. So we are trying to enjoy it and make the best of it, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about what the future will bring and when life will return to some level of normalcy. I hope that the kids look back on this time as a really special period with their family.

So! I've been  taking lots of pictures and I wanted to share them with you! I'll try to update more regularly as it is a nice way to be 'social' and keep in touch with our loved ones who we may not see for awhile. Take care, stay safe and we miss you all!!

Caleb and I did a 6.5 km hike from Polly's Cove to Peggy's Cove. It was beautiful and we did lots of trailblazing to find our way. Caleb said it was in the top 10 best days of his life! We even saw an otter who slid his way down the rocks and into the ocean right in front of us!

Odin after learning how to climb a tree, then falling out! He's ok, don't worry!

Jedi Training in action

A boy and his lightsaber

Nothing like a game of backgammon in the sun to start your day!

I'll get Caleb to do a video about this Arduino project he did with Alan. They built a cardboard run way, then Caleb hooked up LED lights and coded them to fade from green to red in order down the runway. It's incredibly impressive and I truly don't understand it, but it Worked, and Caleb was incredibly impressed. Now we are working on a cardboard airport and Caleb said he'll look after all of the electronics! 

Inside look at the runway with wires and breadboard! I'm amazed that he can do this.