Mason, Rylan, and Elli,
I did it! I’ve finally caught up on these letters….by combining two months. Here are all of our pictures and a summary from January and February.
In these two months, we’ve played at parks, gone to the library (we actually really like the Waynesboro one- plus it’s actually open on Friday nights), read some more Laura Ingalls Wilder books, started Family Rest on Saturday nights (meal plan: macaroni and cheese + hamburgers/hotdogs/chicken nuggets/etc., chocolate milk, fun music), went to Bridgewater ice skating park for Valentines’ Day and ate at the restaurant connected to it. Elli, you hated the ice and we definitely wasted something like $9, because all you did was scream. Rylan, you liked it for a couple spins around, but then you were too cold. Mason, you really had fun, and the two of us went back to skate a couple more times around after we ate. Daddy has been working for the past two months on cleaning up the mess that was left from his job with Uncle Darrin (mounds of dirt and trees in our yard). He has created a cool mountain bike track in the yard behind the shop where you boys have spent some time riding up and down hills and berms and stuff like that. Mason and Rylan, you’re both going to do Sparks-A-Rama, although getting you to actually go to practice was a challenge at first. I realized you were happy to go as long as I came with you and stood close while you practiced. Mommy won a prize in the Cozy Community for how our living room turned out! The next room I’m starting to work on is the office, although I’m not going to do as much in there….at least that’s the plan.
We finally started chores last month on Saturday mornings. It was met with an almost unbelievable amount of tantrums the first week, but the next two weeks went much better. Today is Friday as I’m writing this, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes. I think this is also the month where “Pancake” and “Weird Guy” started— my crazy talking people that you all three LOVE. I mean, I’m pretty sure I could talk as Pancake and do a counseling session where you would answer any questions very honestly.
In rest-of-the-world news, presidential elections are gearing up. And the Coronavirus is making some people a little (lot) crazy.
It snowed in January enough to cancel school and have some snowball fights.
We went to Pennsylvania for a Sollenberger get together one weekend in January. It was bad weather there while we were gone, but the weather was fine at home.
One of our Family Rest nights ended with a game of laser tag in the dark.
I got to go to the Kindergarten tea party with Rylan. It was very fun. (Ry, you didn’t want to dress up at all, and the way you stretched yourself was putting on a t-shirt with no words. You were easily the least dressed up in your class, but you didn’t care and you were very cute.)
Another Sabbath night ended with me, Ry, and Elli laying on the patio looking at stars while Daddy and Mason went to the store to get some ice cream.
We realized we really like Montgomery Hall Park. We played in the natural play area there, and then found out there are actually offices in that big house, and we were able to use a nice bathroom down there (the gross outside ones were locked). Then we played on the regular play structure too. Yeah, even I went down the big slide!
Mommy and Daddy got to have a date night in Charlottesville to hear Greta Eskridge speak in February! Mrs. Tara and Mr. Anthony rode with us too and we ate at a little coffee place in Charlottesville before the talk started. The 3 of you spent the night with Nonni and Poppy, and according to you boys, you had “the best Sunday ever” that morning when a bird was trapped in the house. Elli, you were very scared though, and you talked about it for over a week.
To keep our seasonal tradition going of Nichole’s family, Kenzie’s family, and our family having a fun night together, we decided to all go bowling for winter. (We realized it had been 4 months since we had done our fall thing, and we were running out of time to celebrate Winter before Spring came!) Elli, you were very scared of the floor, apparently, so you didn’t bowl until close to the end. Every time we tried to help you onto the floor to roll the ball in the beginning, you started crying. Oh and Mommy won the highest score of the night with a strong 113. Haha.
Mason you started taking more “strong water” and we’ve tried several different remedies. We’re still working on finding the right one. You also completed your second book report, where you made a Davy Crockett poster board guy. You and I have been working on your Rubik’s cube. You definitely have more natural instinct in figuring out how to move pieces around. I completely rely on algorithms! On a separate note, one day when you were really mad, you ended up breaking one of our windows in front of the house. A couple weeks later we had some lessons on money (and then some of your money was moved to Mommy and Daddy to help pay for a new window), and we started 5 spots for you to put money in: save, spend, give, tax, and invest. You actually impressed someone at church the other day by describing to her what interest means. Now you’ll get $7 a month to split between the 5 spots.
Ry, you have enjoyed riding your bike some and playing outside when it’s nice. We got to go on a date on New Years Day to the Staunton Waffle House! You were feeling a little sick, still, plus it was MUCH busier and louder in Staunton compared to Waynesboro, so it was harder to talk. We went to Sheetz to get free hot chocolate afterwards, and then we were going to go play in the mall, but it was closed. Belk was open, though so we went in and found you a new soft jacket that you love. You really love soft and cuddly things! You went on a date with Daddy in February to the landfill, Tractor Supply, and Love INC, where you picked out some toys to buy. You had a lot of fun.
Elli, you have been enjoying dancing a lot recently. You ask for ballet music, and then you do some pretty impressive moves, considering you’ve never really seen ballerinas or real dancing. You say some funny things now, like “What? No way!!” You also have started saying “Stop it!!” whenever someone laughs or smiles and you think there’s even a chance that they’re laughing at you. We have started going to Martin’s on Mondays after you have speech to look for markdown meat and bread, and you love the pink buggy and the robot that are in there. The other crazy thing the two of us have been doing is eating a lot of Ramen (you also help me make it). I mean….you are obsessed. I eat it with a special delicious sauce I make, but you like the regular kind. You also still love yogurt. So we try to squeeze other healthy things in there too. At bedtime, you have been pacified when Mommy and Daddy leave earlier than you want us to by yelling “LOVE YOU!!! NIGHT NIGHT LOVE YOU!!!!” into the hallway while we yell it back. You like to hear the “wrapping” song (it took me a long time to figure out you didn’t mean “rapping”…I did not know what song you were talking about) that says, “I’m gonna wrap you up in a blanket, and put you back to bed.” You and the boys all love “The Underwear Song” which is actually called “A Bear in the Woods.”
I don’t have many quotes this month, because my Notes page got messed up on my phone and some of the quotes from last time really belong here. So there were too many in January’s letter. But that’s ok.
“Daddy, when I grow up, I’m going to live in a palace with a servant and be good at every single sport in the world except for curling.”
“Mommy, ah moi (more) white things. Why??”
That’s it! We’re up to date!! I love you three!!