Moments in May

 This is such a strange time...even though there isn't anything going on, there really is a lot going on in our world.  We are continuing to fill our days with fun and making the most of everything.  We are in full swing of school and in a good routine but can also feel summer around the corner now, which is exciting, too.  We are finding new (and safe!) things to do, whether at our home or in the community and thankful for all of our experiences this month.  Here is a snapshot of the month of May:

Lots of walks and bike rides around the neighborhood still and Joseph mastering the curb jump!

Selfies, selfies and more selfies!

Poppa has taken Joseph fishing a few times this month and one time they came back with a dead crawfish...can't catch any fish but they were able to catch this!  Joseph was playing tricks on the girls that afternoon with it and it appeared as if it were moving and everyone freaked out.  It was hilarious and had everyone running away!

The weather is warming up so we have been enjoying a lot of pool time at Nani and Poppa's which has been awesome!

Nighttime walk with glow sticks!

One morning they took out the wooden train set and played for a very long time with it...rediscovering old toys that they don't normally play with!

We had a minute to win it challenge afternoon which was super fun!  

We did a little schoolwork this month, too...

Cuaght them one night playing school like this-they're so great together!

We celebrated Nani's birthday this month and Nani, being the most selfless person ever, came to pick Ella up and read with her on her birthday so we figured we had to surprise her with a warm welcome at least!  We then brought up cake for her so at least had a little celebration!  She's the best!

We went on a new hike to us at Lake Dixon one afternoon which was beautiful and a nice change of scenery!

Almost forgot to snap a picture on Mother's Day and I'm so glad I remembered at the last minute.  So thankful for these four for making me a momma-wouldn't want anything else in the world.  We had planned on hiking on Mother's Day but after a nice long run for myself we stopped by EverBowl to bring my mom lucnh and we ended up staying there for a few hours.  The kids swam and my mom and I relaxed watching them while Rich and my dad worked on the sprinklers so by the time we got out of there we were out of time for the hike but that was totally fine!  We ordered takeout and it was a perfect day!  

Caught in the act...

We did a virtual beer tasting with the Cawlfields, Chris and Justin so I took this picture to send to them all as it was getting started.  It wasn't as cool as it sounded but neat to try a few new drinks!

Ella made flowers for her teacher during teacher appreciation week.  

The Reppas girls dropped off a bag of clothes which the girls absolutely love and immediately had to try on their favorites.  

Put them to work one beautiful May day.

This.  This is how storytime often ends up when Daddy gets involved.  I'm trying to calm them down at this point not wind them up!  Ha ha!

The beaches opened up again for swimming (Yay!!  We'll take it!). You can't sit on it but we've been going weekly and I'll stand at the water's edge and the kids boogey board or swim so it has been great to be back.  We went one Saturday afternoon with Rich, too, and it wasn't crowded at all, although a bit cloudy, but didn't bother anyone.  We walked down to the jeti at dog beach and Charlotte enjoyed a ride back!

Random cooking treat that Ella found the recipe for in a book (anything to get her to read!)...strawberry mice. Fun afternoon treat since they were made with marshmallows, chocolate chips and licorice!

Charlotte is pretty demanding and very persistent-normally not giving up until she gets her way.  She has become obsessed with food coloring (thanks to Jhouse vlogs!) and one Friday morning she asked to make bowls of food coloring and I finally gave in!  This was the mess we had but it kept her occupied for a long time and she loved it!  

We tackled the garage one Saturday and sold/got ride of a bunch of random things and organized it better.  We made a workout space which will be really nice to have since working out in the bedroom was getting old and the kids were a good help playing around us while we organized!

The girls asked me to straighten their hair one morning so we did...

These kids-always putting on shows and sad faces to beg for more electronic time!  It's hard to say no to these sweet faces!

Continuing to venture over to the community park at least one afternoon every week to ride bikes, climb trees and just be out!  

We rode bikes at a park in Torrey Highlands one afternoon to change it up a bit and practiced pull ups, too.  

So many forts and so much destruction to our home!  ha!

I mentioned earlier how persistent and demanding Charlotte can be and here is another example-she asks/demands also daily to pretend that it is her birthday and that we sing to her.  I normally start by saying no to her but then she breaks me down and this is the end result.  She absolutely LOVES it though so at the end I always question why I even say no in the first place-it has almost become a little game we play!  Ha ha.  

She even got Daddy involved in this one-ha! 

It's a good thing she's so cute!

I had been wanting to hike to the Penasquitos waterfall for awhile so we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday in May and ventured out.  I didn't think it was a 4 mile roundtrip (thought more along the lines of a 2 mile round trip!) but these kids did amazing!!  We actually ended up not even getting in the waterfall itself because it was really crowded but on the way back we found a creek off a side trail that they absolutely loved and could have stayed all day at.  We'll definitely go back!  

We almost have a pool...but not quite yet...so this pool kept the kids busy for a few hours on a warm Saturday afternoon!

The kids were introduced to ramen noodles this month after Rich received some from work and they were hooked.  We have bought them as a "special treat" a few times for lunches-not on my normal grocery list but letting a few things slide every once in awhile during quarantine!

Finally a few random photos from the month...Charlotte is still coming into our room almost nightly; however we did put down a small mattress next to my side of the bed and at least she is staying on that most nights. 

Ella and a yummy ice cream cone!

Fancy homemade earrings one day!

Never know who is going to pop up where!

One day Charlotte decided to dress for Thanksgiving...

We made cupcakes in an ice cream cone one day (I remember bringing these to my kindergarten birthday celebration and loving them) but they weren't as big as a hit with the kids.  None of them love the cake cones so they would have been just as happy with just a cupcake but it was fun to try something new!

By far, the best part of May, was the arrival of Nora Jean on May 28th!  Yay!!  We created a calendar and everyone guessed the date that they thought she would come as well as a name for him/her (since at that time we didn't know that she would be a girl and the only clues on the names were that the boy and the girl name started with the same letter!). The calendar made it super fun to await her arrival and Ella and Poppa both had the correct date but not the correct names (Ella chose Krystal and Keough and Poppa had Russ and Reba!) We are so happy for the Zickler family and can't wait to meet our newest baby cousin, Nora Jean!  

We are so thankful for our time together and for our situation.  We know that so many people have it much harder than we do and we really are just trying to focus on the positive.  Thankfully our kids are at ages where this isn't really having that much of an affect on them-sure they miss seeing their friends and going to school but we think they are enjoying the time together and the change of routine.  They are getting along so well together and honestly just have fun with one another.  We are so grateful.