Cabin Bridge

 We took a beautiful walk out the the new bridge for a wade in the creek this afternoon.  Steve and Patti came with us and Steve showed us all the projects he's been working on for the past few months.  It was gorgeous weather and gorgeous scenery.  We finished up with pizza in the cabin.  I look forward to many more afternoons like this as the weather starts to change to fall!

Sewing Project

I had my sewing machine out for some mending when Olivia asked me if we could sew something together.  We dug through my bin of fabric and found some Frozen material that was perfect for a tote bag.  We didn't really have a pattern, but we made it up as we went.  She was fascinated by the way the wheel turned, the needle moved up and down and how the foot pedal worked!  She helped with the levers on the machine, taking pins out, ironing, using the rotary cutter, and even did some of her own pinning!  She's so proud of the finished product and is excited to use it to fill with LOTS of Halloween candy!

Last Days of Summer

It's hard to believe, but summer is winding down and fall will be here before we know it!  Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to on these last days of summer.

Simon really idealizes his big brother and feels so proud when he gets to sit on Nolan's bed.

This beautiful heirloom tomato salad was from Steve and Patti's beautiful greenhouse garden.  We've been enjoying lots of tasty vegetables all summer.

A rare look at all three kids getting along while in close proximity!

We've had two fawns hang around our yard this summer.  They are not really afraid of people, so it's been a treat to watch them from the deck.  

The girls built a house out of boxes.  They have been playing together all summer.  It is such a blessing to live in our neighborhood.

Look at this sweetie in her blue light protection glasses! 

Cousin Ali put up a Little Free Library and we have been visiting to find some awesome new books!

Olivia is a toad and frog catcher extraordinaire! Here we were at Buck Lake with the Vadis girls for a socially distant beach afternoon.  

 

Drive in Church

With the start of covid in the Northwoods, churches have been closed.  Trinity has been doing online streaming for the worship services since March and I have been helping record some of the music for those.  Of course, online services miss the personal connection, so Pastor Tim and Pastor Kari decided to try to do some drive-in services as an additional option.  They asked me to help out with the music.  Then the live service was broadcasted on our own radio station. Our first service had about ten cars that attended.  It was an abbreviated service with no scripture readings or communion, but it was nice to see some familiar faces in their cars as they enjoyed the music and sermon.  As time went on, the crowd grew larger and Trinity was even featured in the newspaper for this unusual approach of "attending church." The pastors figured out a safe way to do communion with individually wrapped wafers and grape juice.  Overall, this was a very good option for our members to still feel connected to their physical church during this crazy time.  I'm so glad to belong to a church that prioritizes the safety of its members over gathering in the traditional sense.  I'm grateful for their innovative way of using technology to make people feel connected at a time when isolation is the norm.  And most of all, I'm grateful for a church that realizes that a church is NOT a building, but the people of God living out the Gospel in their daily lives.

Snake!!!

 After seeing WAY too many snakes this spring, I put snake repellent all around the house and hadn't seen one since.  I was lulled into a false sense of security.  Today my worst fear came through.  I was sorting some clothes there were on the floor of my basement and picked up a shirt to fold it over the bed.  I shook it out and out fell a snake.  I absolutely couldn't believe it.  I stayed irrationally calm, grabbed the baby, and headed upstairs to find my knight in shining armor, Isaac.  I called for him to come quick and gave it instructions that there was a snake on my bed in the basement and he needed to get it out as quickly as possible, not drop it somewhere else in the house, and not bring it too close to me.  He retrieved the little red-bellied snake and brought it outside.  I admit that it is teeny, but NO ONE wants to have a living creature (especially a snake) pop out of a hiding place in their house.  It was out of a nightmare.  We think they could be getting in through the fireplace vent, so we'll be looking into that to hope this never, EVER happens again!

Covid Update

This is what a well child exam looks like during a pandemic.  Children three and over are required to wear masks.  Livi did such a good job of not touching things, keeping her distance, and leaving her mask on.  

These guidelines from  the Spanish Flu pandemic a hundred years ago seem to still ring true!

For some reason, there are still many people who refuse to wear masks when they go into public places.  Their claim is that it is unconstitutional for the government to tell them what to wear.  Not sure how wearing a mask is any different than being required to wear seatbelts...if it saves lives, do it!

We have been on an upward trajectory in positive cases lately.  We were all hoping that the warmer weather of summer would make the caseload decrease.  Unfortunately, it hasn't.  We're hoping things get more under control before school starts this fall...

 

We are still doing ok.  We are thankful for each other, job stability, and a less busy life.  The kids are happy.  We have been healthy.  Let's hope it all stays this way!

Three G's Resort

 

A few weeks ago, my dad got the great idea to rent a cabin for a week right here in Rhinelander.  The thought was that we could have our own special waterfront place that would be fun, low stress, and safe to do during COVID.  He found an available cabin at Three G's resort on Lake George, only about 10 minutes from our house!  We settled into our cozy three bedroom cabin and spent 8 wonderful days enjoying the beautiful sandy beach, swimming, going out in Dad's fishing boat, eating yummy food, and playing lawn games.  The kids REALLY improved their swimming skills over the course of the week.  Nolan even did his first perfect back float with no help!  They both had so much fun swimming to the raft.  Nolan loved to be thrown in the water by Eric and perfected the art of the CANNONBALL!!  Simon loved the water, too, and when the mood struck him, he would take off for the water with reckless abandon and run right in!  He would flop all over the place, giggling and laughing the whole time.  It was quite a feat to keep him safe!  The kids built sandcastles on shore and we talked a lot about erosion and how water flows to the lowest point.  It was a fun science project!  The kids also really got into fishing!  Both kids caught a ton of tiny pan fish, but each managed to land a giant bass, and Livi even had a 40" Muskie on her line at one point!  

We went on some hikes at Nicolet and CAVOC and spent an afternoon/evening on the pontoon with Steve and Patti.  We also celebrated Olivia and my birthdays with SO MUCH CAKE and some thoughtful presents.  It was so fun to have the opportunity to do something so fun in the midst of the pandemic.  This was the highlight of our summer and we made memories that will last a lifetime!