April was filled with a lot of uncertainty and unknowns but we tried to take everything day by day and make the most of each day. Rich is continuing to go into work which has helped with the normalcy at home. The kids had their spring break during the week following Easter which at first I wasn't sure if really was needed since they weren't really in school, but as the week approached I realized how much it was needed and was such a nice break from the online learning, and just to really hang out. The kids have been truly amazing during all of this so far-they are not complaining and honestly I think are enjoying the break from the fast paced life of school and activities. They play so well together and although I'm sure miss their friends, they are thankful to have one another and really just have fun together. I am sad that they are missing out on the extracurricular activities and all of the fun things at school but honestly I am cherishing the time with them at home. We don't keep the news on at home so during the day I hardly have time to think about what is going on outside of our bubble which is a good thing. Trying to just focus on what we can control and making the most of it all.
Thankfully, April was filled with a lot of amazing things, too, which consisted of...So many bike rides! You can normally find us in either one of the cul de sacs at the ends of our street. We've made obstacle courses at the cul de sacs, done races, practiced jumping off sidewalks, and onto sidewalks, rode one handed and no handed and even rushed home for a bathroom emergency-ha!
The community park opened up again at the end of April so we started venturing down there once a week or so. The kids would ride down and I'd run with Charlotte in the stroller and her balance bike on top of the stroller. The parking lots were still closed so we basically had free reign over the park which was great. The kids spent a lot of time jumping off curbs and the stairs and it was great practice for them!
By far, my favorite Covid story is when we went on a bike ride to the school one afternoon and the kids were riding around the parking lot and I was running and all of a sudden I notice a police car pull into the parking lot. He drove around the lot and then came up to Charlotte and I and stopped and told me that he received a call about a gathering at the school. I laughed and said, "Well, these are all mine so although it looks like a gathering we are just out for a bike ride." He was super nice and said that he was all for exercise but just wanted to check. This was the first day that the girls had ridden with their babies in their bike seats so I'm pretty sure this is what put us over the edge and had someone call the cops on us. Too funny!!!
Girls opted to walk one morning up to the cul de sac instead of ride and Ella walked the entire time in my heels!!!
We discovered a new path/shortcut in between streets that is so pretty-right in the middle of a neighborhood! Who would have known and we sure wouldn't have discovered it if it weren't for covid!
Joseph really got into riding his skateboard this month and everytime he went down our big hill I'd hold my breath and say a little prayer but thankfully he hasn't taken a big fall yet and is getting sturdier on it every day. He really does have great balance and I've been amazed at how he just picked it up after really not riding it for a year. When he isn't skateboarding he is practicing jumping off the sidewalks on his bike which he also has gotten really good at. Such a daredevil, well more of a cautious daredevil, which is how I prefer it anyways!
April was also filled with so much creativity! I can't tell you the amount of tape, paper, glue, etc that we have gone through this month...but I love it! If they aren't creating something, then they are playing some creative type of game together or building something and just having so much fun together. They are so lucky to have one another and they really don't seem phased by what is going on in the world because in their little world everything is right. Rich and I feel strongly about not exposing them to the news and we really limit our adult conversations around them-they obviously know about corona virus and we pray for it every night but other than that we focus on the positives around us and enjoying the time with one another and all of the things we have been blessed with.
Ella made a pop socket for her fake phone!
April was also filled with a lot more of "yes". I'm not sure if this was due to really trying to find the positives out of all of this and wanting this to be a time that the kids remember and look back fondly on, or if it came from more because I am tired and it is just easier to say yes than think of a solid reason to say no ;).
Yes to blue milk in cereal.
Yes to playing Halloween every day, all day. I hope I always remember Charlotte's witch laugh "Bwah ha ha ha ha ha!"
Yes to picnics outside for dinner in our dirty construction filled backyard.
Yes to taste testing of veggie straws to see which color tastes best. (Sidenote-Charlotte is obsessed with a vlog called JHouse Out about a family who chronicles their daily routine and she gets all sorts of ideas from them, this being one of them, which she then wants to implement in our home).
Saying yes to extra movies. This is their new routine-they all get together after dinner and come up with some sort of show or saying asking for a movie or extra electronic time and then it always ends with them on their knees, looking pathetic saying "pleassssseeeee!"
Yes to SO many games of floor is lava and basically the house being in disarray all day, every day.
And, yes, to forts!
April was also filled with lots of at home learning (hopefully!). We did have our "spring break" from April 12-16th which at first I thought was kind of silly and was hoping the school would just work through it since they were already missing so much instruction from not being there, but then the break came and I soon realized how much we all needed it. Although we didn't do anything spectacular or go anywhere special, it was just a nice break not having to do any schoolwork and rejuvenated me for the upcoming weeks, especially since it was announced that we would not be going back to school anytime soon.
I have been so impressed with Julia's TK teacher and what she is providing over the distant learning. Julia has done so well in the TK program and she is well ahead of where Joseph and Ella were when they started kindergarten thanks to it.
So cute!
Even Charlotte is in on the distant learning fun. She has been doing really well considering she is no longer an only child every morning and has to share me with everyone else and put up with all of their schoolwork. She is loving having them home. She'll ask almost every morning, "Are we playing school today?" One morning she overheard us talking about not going back to school and she burst into tears thinking that we weren't doing school anymore at home and they were going to leave and go back to real school. She's really adapted to the change well and hopefully has picked up a few things academically from it all, too!
Playing a card math game with Joseph one afternoon.
Ella posing with her math shapes that I had to take a picture of and then upload to seesaw (that is the most challenging/time consuming part to all of this-Ella's teacher requires things to be uploaded to the website but then she never comments on them so it feels like I'm doing it for nothing!). 
Ella looking the teacher part! She bought the glasses after earning enough money and is obsessed with them wearing them every day all day!
Some days school looks like this...
April was also filled with late nights trying to get a grocery pick up slot or searching the internet for lysol wipes or hand sanitizer! The first few weeks were pretty frustrating with the grocery pickup since they were out of so many things or the substitutions were way off (such as getting cottage cheese instead of cream cheese!) but as the month went on they seem to be getting better at it, and I think there is more in stock now, so I've actually kind of liked and gotten used to doing my orders at home and online and then just driving to pick it up or better yet having Rich do the pick up on the way home from work!
One perk of this new life is that we get to sleep in later! The kids have all gotten into a routine of sleeping until 7:00 or even later (Julia, epscially, will go to 8:00 or even later most days!) Granted they are staying up later, too, but it is nice not to feel so rushed in the morning. Charlotte is still sleeping in our room/bed most days so the extra sleep for me has been nice since I never sleep well with her kicking me and wanting to basically be on top of me!!
But then she wakes up and gives me this big smile so I forget about how awful I slept the night before with her next to me!
The sleepovers in one another's rooms and later nights are an added bonus in April, too. These two are so great with one another and truly enjoy each other's company.
April has also been filled with lots of progress on the pool and taking advantage of the days when the workers aren't there. Why do kids always seem to love playing in a construction zone?!?
And a construction zone in the rain is even better!!!
April was also a month of firsts...we had our first drive by birthday parade which has become quite the popular birthday celebration during coronavirus. Zack Martin turned 10 so we drove by his house, blasted music, threw balloons at him and brought him a cupcake. It was so good to see the Martins from a distance and we hope that it made Zack's birthday extra special!
April was also filled with bonus time at Nani and Poppa's-we are continuing to spend 2-3 days a week in the afternoons at Nani and Poppa's which continue to be such a source of joy for everyone. We all look forward to our time there and it breaks up our days and has truly helped during this time. Since we weren't going to see them on Easter they set up an egg hunt for the kids the Friday before which was awesome! Then after Easter their pool was ready and the weather warmed up so we enjoyed our first swim of the season! Yay!
April was also filled with just some random things, of course, too.
Ella was so excited to receive a birth announcement from her kindergarten teacher, Miss Pinney! It is hanging on her wall!
Lots of shows and performances in April
and lots of family games, too!
We still managed to get out and about during April doing our best to social distance and to always stay outside. One morning we went to the trailhead by our house but instead of hiking to the waterfall like we normally do we went the other way and ended up at the lake. It was great to explore this other trail and was fun to try to find our house along the way.
I started seeing social media posts about the bioluminescent waves on the San Diego coast-which is a natural phenomenon that causes the waves to glow neon blue. It's caused by an algae blooms called the "Red Tide." I was hesitant to say anything to Rich about it though since it would mean a later night for the kids and just wasn't sure it was worth it... well he came home one day from work and a co-worker was talking about it and he suggested we go and that was all I needed to hear. After dinner that ngiht we made our way to Moonlight Beach and are so glad that we went. It was SO neat! Charlotte fell asleep in the car on the way there which gave her a little power nap and thankfully I had the carrier in the car so she hung in there for the walk down to the beach. The other kids were troopers and so excited about it. There were definitely popel there but everyone was keeping their distance so we felt safe. Fun night out!
We did a dessert challenge to sweeten up the month which was fun. Each kid found a dessert online and then helped bake it with me. We then voted on them and had lots of fun eating them all!
Ella made a peanut butter cup cheesecake
Joseph went with a peanut butter cup cake (notice a trend-they were all trying to impress Daddy!)
Charlotte went with a strawberry cake!
And, Julia stuck with a traditional banana split. All delicious!
April was filled with SO much work on the pool! We are getting closer!
Rich and the kids worked on planting some flowers one Sunday morning when the workers weren't there.
We had one minor setback in April with the pool...our contractor, Ben, brought over some tile samples earlier in the month and we decided on one that we thought would look good. However, when we picked it out I noticed that it did look different when the sun was on it versus when it was in the shade, but I tried to put it out of my mind and hope for the best. The tile then got delivered and sat on the side of our house for about a week and I'd walk by it and question it every time and brought it up to Rich a few times but we kept saying that once it was down we were sure it would be ok...well, fast forward to the end of the month when they started laying the tile. I took the following picture from our bedroom window and sent it to Rich. He immediately wrote back and said, "Do you like it?" and I wrote back, "It wasn't what I thought it was going to look like" which resulted in an immediate phone call from him. He told me that if I didn't like it I had to pull the trigger now before they started cementing it all down...so I did. By that afternoon Rich had found some gray tile which is what I was hoping for and we had Ben on the hunt for something similar from the company he used and then we had to wait. Thankfully it only delayed us about a week and honestly I felt so much better once I made the decision to change it...it cost us a little bit more and took a little longer but totally worth it!
Finally just some beautiful photos to finish out the month. April has been a rollercoaster of emotions and unknowns but I try to remember every night to say a prayer of thanks for all of the amazing things that we have been blessed with and hopeful that our world will be in a better place tomorrow.
