Social Distancing in Nature

Last weekend we decided to practice our social distancing in nature.  We had already planned to do a camping trip this weekend so we could use our new trailer for the first time. Then things started to crazy with Coronavirus and everything started to get shut down.  We were planning to go to a close campsite since we were newbies in the camper.  The campsites near our house got closed down so we had to get more creative.  The Virginia state parks were still open, so we found a nice place about an hour and a half away.  It turned out to be perfect for us.  The State Park campsites are way more spread out and there are not a ton of spots to start with with.  There were maybe only 20 other sites being used and we only talked to one person the whole time we were there.  It was really easy to keep our distance from others and just enjoy some family time out in Nature.  We loved using our new camper.  The girls are huge fans of the bunk beds and we feel that we picked a good camper for our needs and budget.  

We would love to go camping again, but it seems that all the campsites have since closed down.  That is a bummer, because we have less contact with people when we camp and the traffic is non existent right now, so we can get anywhere we would want to go.  Interesting times we live it.  I'm glad we were able to make this one camping trip work though.   

There was a fossil beach at Westmoreland State Park.  This is one of the top places to find shark teeth.  The girls had fun panning for them.  We didn't find any and it was chilly.  That didn't stop the girls from getting wet, but it did slow down their digging and searching.  They had fun trying, but were freezing by time they finished.  Estelle fell in face first, but she still had to hike out the mile back to the campsite.  They all took warm showers after that.  

We did lots of little hikes that meandered through the woods and then would drop down to beach.  There were some pretty cliffs and we hiked up over 200 stairs on one hike as we left the beach.  

The first beach we hiked to had zero people at it.

Coronavirus

It is amazing how much things have changed in two weeks time.  Today marks two weeks exactly since our schools here in Virginia shut down for Coronavirus.  At the time, we didn't think it was permanent though.  Thursday, March 12th they told us school was in session, then three hours later they told us so many parents had called to complain that they were closing schools on Friday the 13th so the district could decide what to do.  Monday was supposed to be a teacher work day, so we all kind of thought we would go back on Tuesday.  The first day of canceled school the girls slept in a little and then got up and "played school"...for two hours.  They were doing legitimate work, Natalia was giving them spelling tests and they we doing math problems (I had stayed in bed reading, so this was all them).  Apparently...Homeschooling was not going to be a problem for us.  

Monday we already had planned as a vacation day since we knew in advance there would be no school that day.  Sienna spent the day with grandma for her birthday!  She had a great time.  They had planned to go the movies, they were a little worried about it, but they were the only ones in the theater. 

 So then we found out school would be canceled until the end of spring break; mid April.  Tuesday, the 17th we officially started home-school in our house.  It went great; we made some adjustments during the week to find what works well for us, but it has not been a burden.  We went to the dollar movies on Tuesday and we were also the only people there.  Made it really easy to social distance.  Since this time, all activities have canceled and we are just at home.  The girls have been doing great with home school.  We have played outside a lot and built lots of Lego.  It has been nice to have time to do spiritual study every day and to have time to work on some of the skills we have been wanting to develop but never seem to have time in the schedule for.  Both Sienna and Natalia are working on their typing.  

These pictures are from the first day off of school when the girls did school without me.  We are much more organized now, but I love that they jumped right into it.  I love of learning is a powerful thing!

Happy Hunting Birthday, Sienna

Sienna is 9!  We had so much fun celebrating her birthday.  She wanted a hunting themed birthday and that ended up being such a fun and easy birthday to plan.  Multiple times during the party, Sienna said to me, "mom, this is the best birthday party I have ever been to!"  I love that girl.  

Sienna had so many kids that she wanted to invite, that I had to limit her to girls only so that we could fit everyone in the house.  Since she has a couple boys that she is good buddies with, we let her have a play date with them in the morning.  The Thursday evening before her party was when things all of the sudden started getting canceled for Covid-19.  Her party was scheduled for Saturday and all of the sudden people started panicking and canceling stuff but no one really had any idea yet the direction things were going to go with the whole economy.  So we went forward with her party on the 14th and told all the kids that we totally understood if they felt uncomfortable coming.  Only one kid stayed home so we still ended up with 8 3rd graders.  It was super fun and I'm grateful again that we were able to sneak in another fun activity before everything changed.  This was the last weekend before people started social distancing.  

We had all the girls take turns shooting the bow and arrow, paint-balls with the slingshots and laser tag.  Sienna was a pro and I think she liked sharing the things she likes with her friends.  We made targets, did a photo scavenger hunt, ate pizza and cake, opened gift and played.  It was super fun.  Sienna's friends really enjoyed trying new things.  I forgot to get a picture of all the kids together. 

The night before the party, Hector took our kids to play laser tag at a laser tag gym.   Sienna had done this before, but it was Estelle and Natalia's first time.  I think they all looked cute with their camouflage and pink underneath.  They had a great time and it was a fun start to celebrating sienna's birthday.  

Sienna is an awesome kid.  She is such and impressive 9 year old.  Sienna loves most everything and is so willing to try new things.  She loves to learn, play and work.  She loves basketball; it is her favorite sport right now.  She loves to play games and she is really good at strategy.  She loves to play pretend.  Right now she plays with her army guys and Lego guys a lots.  They are always fighting and battling.  

She likes math at school and music and STEAM class.  She really likes playing the ukulele and wants to learn how to play guitar.  She loves to ride her bike and be outside.  She loves going to activity days and she loves having friends.  She is kind to everyone and very thoughtful.  Sienna is amazing and we loved celebrating her birthday.  

The End of February

Funerary was a great month for us.  We had lots of fun watching Sienna play basketball.  She finished her season and we all went out to pizza lunch.  This was probably the best sports team any of my kids have participated in.  It was all friends from Sienna's school.  The kids and the parents were all so great and supportive.  It is too bad the season had to end.  Sienna learned so much and it is fun to see her basketball skills really developing.

We enjoyed our Mardi Gras party.  The girls had fun Mardi Gras headband to were to school this year and they had fun telling their friends about Mardi Gras.