From Beginning to End

 Obviously my commitment to this blog has diminished. That does make me sad a little because I really enjoy documenting our life. But, I get very little time to myself to reflect and write meaningful words without getting interrupted these days. 

So, the last entry I wrote was all the way back in September - the Beginning of the school year. We started the year off at home with the at home learning program. I figured we would eventually go back in person at some point. The first chance came in November, but the school wanted an answer in early October and we just weren't ready to make that commitment. So, we decided to get through the holidays and then potentially go back in February. Evan did not want to return in person. I wanted to send Alex back part time for the social interaction however much that may be, but I got a lot of run around from the staff and more questions than answers so I opted to keep him home as well. I was sad and upset that the school was being so difficult. But this isn't the first time they had gotten under my skin this year. We are nearing the end of the school year now. We have 2 days left this week and 3.5 next week. Then, my boys will officially be Middle Schoolers. I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT.

The at home learning program turned out to be a great program for the boys. We have a great teacher who is super involved, does a great job of keeping the kids involved and has been great at communicating all year. They have 3 zoom meetings and work primarily out of Google Classroom. It has been interesting getting used to this method of teaching and learning. Alex goes in person twice a week to see his teacher, speech therapist, PT and OT. 

I do feel a bit excluded from the in person school life. The staff has made us feel like outsiders for our choice to stay home. I have no problem attending events for our kids but they choose not to invite us. The only ones they are hurting are our kids.

So to wrap up school, the boys will be graduating 5th grade next week and moving onto Middle School next year. I thought I would be sad, but with the way things are being handled at the Elementary, I am super excited for them to move on, meet new friends and start the next chapter in their school life.

Going back to the fall, we trick or treated for Halloween, carved pumpkins and went for a hayride. Eric turned 40 on November 25th and although Restaurants and all the fun stuff was shut down, we had fun as a family. We continued to only see our parents and Rachel/Geoff and the kids once a month for our trivia nights - which have become our new normal. 

Christmas activities were halted, no Santa visit, but we did do a drive-through light show up at Pine Knob and drove to Detroit on Christmas Eve to show the kids the giant tree in Campus Martius. It was super cold that night - but a fun memory! I popped popcorn to take with us along with candy and drinks. We zipped through Rochester on the way back to see the lights. Christmas with the family was small. We spent an evening with Eric's Brother and his family before having to quarantine over Christmas because Dennis tested positive for Covid. Come to find out (after Christmas was over) it was a false positive test. We ended up celebrating with Eric's parents and my parents after Christmas.

In January, we had to quarantine again because Alex's teacher tested positive for Covid and he had seen her the day before. Let me tell you - staying holed up in the house for 10 days is NOT fun. We didn't have much snow - so not a whole lot of sledding or snowman building.

Restaurants, Bowling alleys, movie threatres and gyms all opened back up for in person on February 1st - at 50% capacity. We were able to go out to dinner for my 42nd Birthday in March.

After a long year and a half with only 2 weekend get-a-ways we decided to rent a house in Florida for spring break. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Probably our best vacation to date. We rented a house with a pool and surprised the kids! They loved it. We stayed in Kissimmee but traveled to Siesta Key Beach and Clearwater Beach for some fun in the sun. We played putt putt twice - both course had handicap accessible options - which was amazing. Alex really enjoyed playing both times - and well Evan, he was in heaven! We had ice cream, loved the pool at the house and visited Kennedy Space Center on our last day. It was so much fun. The traffic was super heavy going down. Coming home seemed a bit smoother. We got home on Easter Sunday, so we didn't have a chance to celebrate Easter with the family.

The week after we got home from Florida, Eric and I scheduled our vaccination appointments. Michigan had just opened it up to anyone over 16 and we jumped at the chance. Everything was booked around here, so we found a Rite Aid in Mt Pleasant that was open. We dropped the kids off with his parents and made a date night out of getting our shots! We had to go on April 9th and April 30th. All of our parents were vaccinated while we were in Florida. 

Once the vaccines took off, the cases have steadily dropped. Two weeks after spring break cases got as high as 8,000 a day. They are now down to 500 or so. The governor has eased restrictions on mask wearing. Non required outdoors and indoors only if you haven't been vaccinated. The restaurants are still at 50% capacity, but everything is scheduled to be lifted on July 1st - if not sooner. That means we might get to see fireworks this year, the 4H fair is a go and concerts are coming back. If I am being honest, I thought this summer would be a lot like last - with nothing. No gatherings, no events, no sporting events or concerts. But it is looking up. 

Evan was able to play soccer this spring. He started the week we returned from Florida and just wrapped up his season on May 27th. He had a great coach, they were the #1 team overall and he scored a goal in the last game. The weather for his games wasn't the greatest but we loved seeing him play!

Alex returned to Horseback riding after 14 months of not riding on May 12th. He will ride through the end of June and hopefully until November. He also started back with The Miracle League Baseball League last weekend. He plays 10 weeks this summer. He tried the program out last fall for 5 games and loved it. We are back at it again. Evan loves it too because he gets to help out with Alex and he catches at the games which is amazing!

Eric has been working at home since March 13, 2020 and will be returning to the Office in July full time. For as much as we have all been together for the past 15 months, it is going to be weird not having him here. Then, I am really going to feel lost (not really) in September when the kids go back to school in person. I am going to enjoy a little time to myself then. I have been cooking, cleaning and teaching full time for 15 months. I deserve a break and dammit I am going to take it.

For as lonely as it has been this past year, we have enjoyed our once a month get together with our friends. We all get together for games, yummy food and delicious dessert. I am mentioning that because it has been one fun thing to look forward to each month. It has been my saving grace. 

As for the summer, I am ready. I am ready to be done teaching and guiding and I am ready for some fun! We have no pool this year which is a huge loss! But we have lots of things to look forward too and I am grateful for that. I am grateful that we have all gotten through this pandemic and if anything come out stronger. I am grateful for the time with my family - something I will never have again in this form and I am grateful to be sitting her writing about all of it. 

Yes these 15 months have been challenging. They have brought sadness and worry but they have also brought laughter and tears. We have accomplished things, we have struggled but in the end we persevered. 

Let this summer be full of fun times, laughter, smiles and good feelings. Enjoy each and every moment because tomorrow is not promised. 

Our Favorite Moments from our Florida Vacation

Evan at Soccer

Alex at Baseball

A New Way of Life

 It is funny to look at this blog and see how it has been 5 months since I have posted anything. It is clear that I no longer have the time on my hands like I used to. I know this, because I don't feel like I have much time for anything these days - let alone blogging. Here's what has gone on since April 17th.

We continued to work from home with school through the end of the school year which was June 12th. It was enough to get a passing grade and move the boys into 5th grade. Eric also worked from home every day until June when he started going back into the office 2-3 days a week. Businesses that were non-essential remained closed until mid-may. Memorial Day-weekend is when things began to slowly open - most at 50% capacity. We ventured out, masked up and enjoyed being out of the house even for a little bit. We set the pool up Memorial weekend and finally hung the big swing that we bought the boys for their birthday last year.

Once school ended, we spent a lot of time going bike riding at Independence Oaks and being outside as much as we could. The weather was pretty nice. Not too many rainy days which was nice since we were pretty much home bound.

Last minute in June we decided to head down to Georgia for a week. Eric was swamped with work and we didn't have anyone to help us with Brody, so Eric stayed behind and I asked my Mom to go. I was shocked when she said yes! It was such a nice trip. We all enjoyed ourselves. We did Goats on the Roof, Black Rock State Park, Dry Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Mud Creek Falls with mom as well as celebrated Percy's birthday at the beach. The boys and I along with Tappy and some of the kids did Stonewall falls and Minnehaha Falls. Mom hung back because she was tired from her day out with me - when we went through the Smoky Mountains, Cherokee, NC and the Tallulah Falls Gorge. We stayed busy and I tried showing her as much as I could without completely wearing her out. It was a great trip. We made it home just in time for 4th of July. Even though there were no public fireworks, we got some for the boys to light off and grilled out that weekend.

Next up - was Alex and Evan's 10th birthday. Another event I really wanted to celebrate, but with all the restrictions, it was challenging. So, we opted to have their grandparents and two cousins Laken and Sailor over. The boys all went swimming and we had a nice small celebration. Only a week before, I snagged a trampoline for them at Dunhams. I had been calling for months to try and get one for their birthday and when I called on July 8th they actually had one. It sat in Eric's van for 8 days and he told them it was a coffin! Evan was freaking out. In the end, they loved it and still do. It was a great gift!

That weekend we were supposed to go to Grand Haven for a small getaway but Eric was still busy with work and Covid-19 had kind of spiked in that area of the state so we decided to stay home and be safe. 

We also have been having problems finding someone to watch Brody, so our trip that was scheduled for Myrtle Beach in August we also had to cancel. I ended up finding a cabin up in Gaylord associated with Outdoor Adventures that accepted dogs so we decided to do that instead. It ended up being a great trip and we all had a good time. The cabin fit us just right. We grilled hot dogs on the fire, roasted marshmallows and made smores. They had a nice big swimming pool that the boys loved and we did a day trip to Petoskey State Park for a beach day and Mackinac Island to ride our bikes around the island. Petoskey was nice - but we didn't have time to explore the town. We grabbed ice cream at Kilwins - which was delicious!! Having Brody at the cabin cut our time out exploring down, but he was such a good boy! Our second day out we went to Mackinac Island. This was Eric's idea - and it was great! We had already brought our bikes up so we took them up, got on the ferry and rode around the island. To our surprise, we boarded the ferry that took us for a tour under the Mackinac Bridge then over to the island. We ate lunch at the Broken Spoke before riding the 8 miles around the island. Because we all had our bikes, we could take our time and not have to be back. It was a beautiful day out. We grabbed ice cream in Mackinaw City before heading back to our cabin. Our final day was rainy and cool. We spent time in the pool, went out to lunch in Gaylord and to some stores before coming back and the boys going in the pool a 2nd time. We ordered Pizza from B.C. Pizza and called it a night. It was a great trip and we are hoping to return in October for a long weekend to see some fall colors!

When we returned home, we did a day trip to the Toledo Zoo where we all fed a Giraffe for the first time! It was so much fun. The weather was perfect and we were able to see so many animals! When our mini vacation was over, we had about a week and a half before school started. We decided to start the school year with the Brandon At Home Learning Program. Even though it is challenging with Alex, it is the best choice for now. The kids who go in person have to wear a mask all day (with mask breaks). Evan went back and forth for a long time but ultimately chose at home. The boys have Mrs. Luchow for their teacher - which is who they were supposed to have anyway and we just lucked out that she is teaching 5th grade online. So far, it has been good. We are only wrapping up week 2.

Eric has been working from home since March. He started going back into the office a few times a week back in June and that quickly came to an end when a bunch of people at his work had tested positive for Covid-19. He has been back home since mid-July and hasn't gone back. I actually lost my job May 6th. I had been at home like everyone else since March, when my boss called to tell me they wouldn't be reopening the Clarkston Office. Seeing how everything panned out over the course of these past 5 months I would have had to quit eventually.

Brody has had a rough couple of weeks. He suffered 11 seizures in a span of 3 days. It was awful. We finally have him on an additional medicine that has stopped the seizures but there are still issues that we have been dealing with. We have just been taking it one day at a time.

Some days are more overwhelming than others - but almost every day is stressful. We have come to realize that we are in this alone. (Eric and I) Somehow we are managing to survive. We are always together and we have no help when it comes to the kids and the dog. It is frustrating but it is what it is and we just take it one day at a time and make the best of it. Being together all day everyday for six months has been tough, but it hasn't broken us. We are still going strong and adjusting to the new way of life.

Here is hoping these final months of 2020 go smooth and a fresh start for all of us is on the horizon.

Stonewall Falls, Georgia 6.30.20

The Virus that took over the World

When I ended my last post (which was nearly 3 months ago) on January 19th, I was optimistic that 2020 was going to be a good year. Full of new beginnings, improvement and always hope. We would plan and embark on some fun new adventures maybe even travel to a place we have never been.

The world had other plans. Back in November, a virus emerged in Wuhan China, called the Corona Virus. (Covid-19) It wasn't brought to the world's attention until the end of December 2019. At first it sounded like a bad case of Pneumonia. Then it began to spread like wildfire throughout China. Cities and then countries began shutting down. International travel to those areas were banned. Cruise ships were quarantined with thousands of people aboard and the madness began.

People began to panic. They started calling it a pandemic and said it would be here in the U.S. it was just a matter of time. Italy got hit next - hard. Thousands of lives lost. Hundreds per day. Spain was hit, and then at the end of January the U.S. saw it's first case in the state of Washington. 

It was explained by experts that it was an airborne disease that was spread through droplets of a person who coughed or sneezed. It became known that the symptoms were a dry cough, high fever and upper respiratory issues such as shortness of breath. It was soon discovered that it can be transmitted with human to human contact such as hugging, shaking hands or even touching something an infected person had touched. Washington's cases increased day by day and then cases started popping up in California and Oregon. Then it hit New York. New York eventually would have over 225,000 cases and just under 20,000 deaths. It was the hardest hit state. 

At one point, Michigan was #3 in the nation with cases and deaths. Here is a timeline of events.

March 10, 2020 - Michigan sees it's first 2 positive cases.

March 11, 2020 - Colleges announce they are shutting down for the forseable future and the Governor urges "Social Distancing" measures. Which means you are supposed to keep 6 feet between you and others while out in public.

March 13, 2020 - Governor Whitmer announces the closure of all K-12 schools in the state for 3 weeks. No gatherings of large groups and restaurant entertainment venues can only host 50% of customers.

March 13, 2020 President Trump declares this Pandemic a National Emergency 

March 16, 2020 - Bars, Restaurants, Gyms, Coffee Houses etc are closed to the public. Drive thru only.

March 17, 2020 - Michigan reports it's first death from Covid-19

March 21, 2020 - All non-essential businesses are asked to close. All that is left open are grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, harware, auto stores and gas stations. The Canada/US border closes to all non-essential traffic.

March 23, 2020 - Governor Whitmer issues a statewide stay at home order for all non-essential workers for 3 weeks - which now also closes the schools through April 13 instead of April 6.

From now until April 1 - Cases and deaths continue to increase. People are encouraged to stay home!

April 2, 2020 - School for the remainder of the school year has been suspended from in person and moved to online learning.

April 9, 2020 - The stay at home order is extended now until April 30, 2020 

April 17, 2020 - As of today, the Michigan cases are at 30,023 and Deaths are at 2,227gonna go away, we need a vaccine and there is a good chance it will return again in high numbers in the fall. 

Our economy as a state and as a nation has taken a hit. There are over 10 million unemployed in the country right now and over 1 million in the state of Michigan - including me. I don't see myself being able to go back to work now until the boys are out of School which isn't until June.

This week (April 13th) they began distance learning. They have daily Zoom meetings with their teacher and class where they meet online over the computer. They have a list of work to get done each week and turn in on Friday. Each day at 3:10pm, they have a different special where they meet with that teacher. Alex also is meeting with Mrs. Polasek, his PT and speech therapist. It is some craziness! We completed the first week today and I think we did pretty good. It will get easier as we go.

Before this week, I was trying to keep somewhat of a structured schedule for the boys. Reading, Writing and Math for Evan and working on ABC mouse App and Nova Chat for Alex. On the nice days we have been going to Independence Oaks (Yes we can go out and walk at parks - all playgrounds are closed) where we have been walking two miles or biking four miles. We have played basketball, bean bag toss and been on the swings. Believe it or not, it has been snowing and cold the past 3 days but we are hoping for a warm up soon! We miss the warm weather and sunshine!

Eric has been working from home since March 13th and my office closed on March 20th. We have been making individual runs to the stores for necessities. We have been able to stop by and see Eric's parents (from afar) and 2 weeks ago, the boys and I went and visited my Mom because it was nice outside and we were able to stay 6 feet apart and stay outside. I talk to Dad multiple times a week but we have not seen him since March 7th at Evan's basketball game. Alex loves to hug Shelly and he would be upset if he couldn't so we have stayed away.

Evan's last basketball game was cancelled as well as his soccer season. Alex's horseback riding is on hold (he only rode twice in March). All sporting events have been cancelled in the MLB, NHL AND NBA. No concerts or events can be held at this time and there is talk that they may not be at all this year. The Olympics that were supposed to be in Tokyo Japan this July have been postponed to next July - which is unheard of.

It was complete madness in the stores when this all started. People went crazy for Toilet Paper of all things. You couldn't find hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes anywhere. Some stores shelves were empty and meat was hard to come by. It is still hit or miss at some stores but for the most part I can usually find what I am looking for.

It has been over a month now since we have been home and sometimes I still can't believe all of this is happening. I will never again take for granted Family Gatherings, Play dates with our friends, Going to a Concert or Sporting Event, Museum or Zoo. More importantly, hugging my parents. Someday we will do these things, but for now the most important thing is the stay home and stay safe. It means going to the store alone, staying 6 feet from people, not seeing friends and family and only being able to get out for fresh air at the park or our back yard. It means that I am now my children's teacher for the next 8 weeks and the future is unknown. Take each day as it comes and enjoy every moment you have. I will end with this, we are living through a huge part of history that will be talked about years from now. Hopefully we can look back and talk about positive moments we shared with our families, goofy Zoom moments we shared with our friends and be thankful for the decisions that were made to save lives.

2019 Year in Review Part 2 of 2

The second half of the year is always busier with Summer activities, back to school, fall activities and the holidays. Here is what we did!

JULY

We kicked off the month with the Brandon Fireworks and 4th of July parade in Clarkston.

We spent a day at the Zoo and a day at the 4H fair with our friends Blake and Casey. Evan and Blake rode a camel - TOGETHER - hahaha and I got Evan on the Pirate ship for the first time. It was hot so we cooled off with 7-11 Slurpees since well, it was 7-11 that day and they were FREE!!

Evan and I are in the front row facing the camera!

Alex and Evan turned 9 on July 16th. We celebrated a few days early with our family. 

The boys enjoyed the pool with their cousins!

July 17th, I packed the kids up and we headed over to Grand Haven 

and Muskegon for a couple of days with Rachel, Lauren and Nathan. 

Our plans were somewhat altered by the weather but we made the best of it.

Probably my favorite day this summer was watching Alex waterski for the first time. His PT told me about a program called Michigan Adaptive Sports. For a small fee you can sign up to waterski or kayak in the summer or downhill ski in the winter. They have an adaptive seat for kids with disabilities to sit in. Watching him take off and go overwhelmed me with emotion. For him to experience something so great is just amazing! Of course he loved it! It wasn't until he was done that I realized he wasn't buckled in at all - but really he couldn't be. Glad I didn't know that until the end!

Evan along for the ride - supporting his brother

AUGUST

We decided to take the kids to Canada for the first time and visit Toronto for a long weekend. Rachel, Annette, Lauren and Nathan went as well. We had a full weekend of activities including The Toronto Zoo, Casa Loma, The Ontario Science Centre, The CN Tower and Ripley's Aquarium. As a surprise, the day we left Toronto, we drove to Niagara Falls to surprise the kids. We visited for a few hours and then came home. The weather was perfect for the trip! Evan got a little sick on the ride up to the CN Tower and vows to never go again - but I hope he will change his mind.

The Toronto Zoo

Casa Loma

Science Centre

CN Tower

Ripley's Aquarium

Niagara Falls

Oakland County International Airport Air Show -August 11th

 August 24th was the Banbury Cross Horse Show. It was a disney theme this year. Alex's horse Story was Tinkerbell and if you look closely, you can see he is wearing Mickey Mouse Ears!!

After the Horse Show we headed North for the weekend. We crossed over the Mackinac Bridge and stayed in a town in the upper peninsula called Newberry. We visited waterfalls along Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, went to Sand Point (Everyones Favorite), went to Oswalds Bear Ranch where we had our picture taken with a baby bear and we took the boys to Tahquamenon Falls. We ended our stay in Mackinac City. It was the perfect end to our summer!

Munising Falls

Tahquamenon Falls

Oswalds Bear Ranch

Sand Point, Lake Superior

Tahquamenon Falls

Oswald's Bear Ranch

Mackinac Bridge

Miner's Castle Rock

Sand Point Marsh

SEPTEMBER

First Day of 4th Grade

OCTOBER

October 13th Eric and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary by going to a cider mill 

for a hayride, cider and donuts!

October 15th, we saw one of our favorite bands The Head and the Heart in concert

October 20th we did a day the Zoo and Ice Cream at Cooks Farm!

October 26th, we took Alex and Evan on their first HAUNTED HAYRIDE! 

They did good and even got to meet one of the characters.

October 27th we went to the Flint Children's Museum with Cousins Laken and Sailor

 Halloween is one of our Favorite Times of Year! 

NOVEMBER

Big Snow on Nov 12th

 4th Grade Veteran's Concert

Our Annual Trip to Bronner's

I had to throw this one in of these two

We celebrated Eric turning 39 on November 25th

DECEMBER

We had a lot of Christmas Fun!

I won free tickets to see one of our favorite comedians on December 13th, Brian Regan at the Fillmore Detroit on December 13th. After the show we walked down to Campus Martius.

Campus Martius, Detroit

Campus Martius, Detroit

Santa House and Dow Gardens -  Midland, Michigan - December 14, 2019

Santa House, Midland

Santa House, Midland

Santa House, Midland

Dow Gardens, Midland

Dow Gardens, Midland

Dow Gardens Midland

Downtown Rochester - December 23, 2019

Christmas Morning, 2019

Another year full of fun adventures and lots of memories. We hope 2020 has even more good in store for us! Happy New Year to all of our family and friends! Love, Eric, Keri, Alex and Evan