February and March - Pre-Quarantine

Before coronavirus and COVID-19 were a regular part of our vocabulary, life was pretty much business as usual.  Read on to see what we were up to earlier this year...

In early February, the kids had a snow day, even though there wasn't much snow.  I had some bone spurs removed from my right foot a week prior, so I was home with the kids and recovering.  Colin got all geared up and was ready to play in the snow.

The kids had fun playing together outside while I got some work done.

Danny took Colin to a couple of stores to get his lacrosse gear.  He looks so cool with it all on!  Sadly, Colin was only able to attend a couple of practices.  The season is currently on hold...

I had to take a picture of my gnarly foot after I got my bandages off!  It looked worse than it felt.  I stayed home for 10 days and was back to a walking boot and was able to drive once I got cleared by the doctor.

A sweet co-worker got me these flowers for my return to work.

Colin lost one of his top teeth!!  It had been a little over a year since he had lost his 2 bottom teeth.

The kids did a great job on their Valentine boxes.  Colin made an Ohio State football field...

...and Cadence made a laptop (if you look closely, you can see the apps on the colorful background).

I didn't attend the kids' Valentine's parties since I had already been out of the office so much.  Luckily, Colin's teacher posted a lot of pictures - it was nice to see all of the fun activities.

Cadence has been busy with her sewing machine!  She's made many crafts - from pillows to tiny felt plush dolls to doll clothing.  She's so talented!

The kids had another "snow" day toward the end of February - the kids opted to go to work with me.  I had the cutest lunch dates around.

A co-worker even had the idea to put them to work labeling cups for taste tests!

Colin looooooves puzzles.  Here's a 500 piece puzzle that he put together with his buddy, Ethan, at school.

The kids celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday at school and dressed up as The Lorax and Horton (from Horton Hears a Who).

Here's Cadence when she was Horton in kindergarten

Colin's teacher shared some other costumes from the day.

Cadence was selected as one of 12 girls for the program, Girls on the Run.  It was a lottery registration, so Cadence was super pumped about being selected to participate.  Luckily, Cadence got a few weeks in before school was cancelled.

Colin lost his other front tooth!

Colin's buddy and his family took him on an impromptu trip to Sky Zone - he had so much fun with them.  They're a great family!

Right before all concerts were cancelled or postponed, we were able to see the Revivalists at Newport Music Hall.  The band, the atmosphere, and the company we had were great!  We met Danny's friends from high school - Danny, Bryon, and Emily grew up with the lead singer.  We met up for tacos at Condado and wrapped up the evening with some late night breakfast at Denny's after the concert!

The kids celebrated Read Across America week right before schools closed - we started with Western Day

Followed by Book Character Day (Colin was Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Cadence was the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)

More book characters from Colin's class

Rockstar Day

Rockstars from Colin's class

Before we knew if we'd be able to go to Florida for spring break, Cadence and I enjoyed some pedicures.

Goofball forgot her flip flops - it was also snowing!

Thought I'd share a pic of the pretty rainbow I saw on the way home from work one day.

Upward Basketball and Newport Aquarium

I've gotten behind on updating the blog because, well, life.  Things got busy at work and at home and I kind of forgot about this "journal" of our life.  It is odd writing this now in the midst of the corona virus outbreak.  It's sad to scroll through the pictures and realize we can't do any of these activities for the time being.  As of right now, we've been advised to stay home - luckily Danny's boss wants all office employees to work from home, so he's with the kids, who do not have school.  All sports have been cancelled.  The governor warns against any gathering of more than 50 people; the president suggested 10 or less.  Movie theaters are closed.  Restaurants and bars can only offer take out and drive through orders.  It's an eerie time.  So, while we're trying to get through this and remain healthy, I'll update this little blog of mine.  

The basketball season got cut short and we weren't able to hold the final weekend of games.  The kids were super bummed.  Cadence really wanted the group of girls to be able to perform the new dance they learned for all of us.  We reassured Colin we could get together with his buds for a b-ball game at home once life is back to normal.  Here's a pic from picture day - Cadence happened to lose her last tooth before we headed out the door.

Later that day, she convinced me to make fluffy slime with shaving cream.  It turned out really well!

That night, we cashed in the Northstar gift card I received for my birthday from the Marinellis.  The food was delicious - thanks, friends!!

The kids' first basketball games of the season were in mid-January.  Colin's team has come a LONG way and have been playing incredibly well together.  Toward the end of the season, they were passing the ball with ease and making sure everyone had a chance to score a basket.  It was a really fun season!  We're still working with Colin on not being so hard on himself.  He gets really down when he misses a shot.  We try to remind him that assists are an important part of the game as well!

Aren't the uniforms this season so cute?!  Cadence really excelled in b-ball cheer - I think the busy football season helped her a lot.  Her coach said she has been a joy and that she has definitely stood out to all of the coaches.  We were told that she catches on and remembers the cheers better than they do!  She is their go-to if they don't remember clearly - she always knows.  I love that she has found an activity that she really enjoys.

Later that day, we made a cake to bring to the Marinellis' house for dessert.  After watching Kids Baking Championship, we were inspired to bake and decorate a cake.  The process started out well...

...then the DIY Ziploc piping bag broke and we made the best of it...I present to you, 

Poop Emoji Cake

It tasted damn good, too.

The next day we made our way down to Newport, KY to visit the Newport Aquarium with Mamaw and Papaw.  It was the day before MLK Day, so the place was packed!  And it was freezing outside.  We had to wait a little while until we could go in, so we took in some of the sights first.

Even though the aquarium was unusually busy, we still got to see everything that we wanted to!

We pet sting rays...

...had creepy little critters clean our finger nails...

...checked out the jellyfish...

...saw the sharks...

...and even touched some!

Colin finally got the courage to cross the shark tank on the rope bridge.  It was pretty neat!

It's a very nice aquarium and we were glad to have made the trip!

Here are our little 100-year olds on the 100th day of school!  I always stress out about dress-up days at school, but in the end, I'm glad we partake.  They're so cute!

Cadence and I were the Mystery Readers for Colin's class that day - while waiting for Cadence to meet me in the front office, I noticed a piece of Colin's artwork was hanging on the wall.  What an honor!  Good job, kiddo!

I read, "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" and Cadence read, "Dragons Love Tacos."  The class loved the books - we brought cupcakes to share with the class and they were a little distracted while we read the third book.  I don't blame them!  I'm glad Colin's big sister wanted to be part of the fun!

Colin's teacher posted a picture that he created of himself as a 100-year old.  I love it!

The next week, Cadence and I were able to sneak over to STEM night at school after piano while the boys were at basketball practice.  I wasn't sure if we'd have time, but she really wanted to show off the coding game she and her friend, Anna, created.  You had to use the arrows on the floor to direct the character on the laptop through the maze.  It was impressive!  It was also cute to see how proud she was of their creation.  There were centers set up all around the gym so students could test out each other's creations.

Just a little side note while we're on the subject of school - the kids are constantly impressing us with what they have learned.  Lately, Colin has been creating his own math problems.  Around Christmas time, he started playing Cadence's Christmas recital song by ear - we were amazed!  He's also loving puzzles and puzzle books/word searches.  We are also in awe of Cadence's sewing skills - she's sewing like a whiz on the sewing machine.  She's made pillows for herself, her friends, her grandma, and her teacher!  She's even made clothes for her Barbie dolls.  Her creativity is awesome and I love to see what she whips up!

Lastly, the boys wrapped up their Buckeye basketball season.  Danny and Colin had a lot of fun (and a lot of Adriatico's pizza & Buckeye Bites) with Mark and Mason.  They've already decided they're buying the ticket bundle for next season.  After one of the games, the boys got to go onto the court and shoot a layup - Danny was able to sneak a picture of Colin before they hit the court!

Buckeye Bites (AKA Buckeye Balls) - the boys' favorite!