"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys are made of!"
Surrounded by my sweet boys (hubby Eric, sons Connor and Ramsey, and our dog, Jango), I thought this a rather befitting name for my crew's blog. To our cherished friends and family, happy viewing! We love you!
It's hard to keep these kids apart! And, really, it's been months and we're all really getting fed up of not being able to hang with our friends more.
The other night, Connor invited his good buddy Brayden over for an evening of fishing. The boys had some luck and caught some nice walleye off the dock.
Connor cleaned them and Brayden kept him company. In the end, Brayden took the fish home to his family.
We feel very blessed that Connor has a great circle of buddies.
ITCHING to get outside on a sunny day (that finally wasn't too windy), this momma decided it was time to get out the bike.
Ramsey is six, but to date, he's never really "taken" to his bike. He loves his trike, but the bike... eh, not so much. I started him on the cement parking pad. Then, I took him down to the dead end where it's a little flatter so he could practice. Much of his issue with the bike is the hilly area - he fears he will "fall off the cliffs" (we have some steep ditches). And, we finally now have a paved road vs. gravel, so that helps subside his fears a little.
He was doing really well, but wanted Mom to hang on for a long time. He finally got going on his own and was trucking down the road.
I hope that one of these days he'll want to go ride and have some fun, not just spend 15 minutes and then be done.
Sidenote: This Tonka bike used to be Connor's. Then, it was passed down to Isaac. Now, it's Ramsey's!
Ramsey's weekly Zoom call with his class had a new spin on it. Each child brought some art work that they'd completed during their home-schooling time. Then, Mrs. K, his art teacher, taught the children, step by step, how to draw a butterfly.
Ramsey listened and watched attentively. Afterwards, everyone showed each other their butterflies and gave an update on what they've been doing.
Yup, we're catching 'em off the dock already (vs. just getting hits or losing them on the way in). Eric was getting bite after bite and we ended up with a nice assortment of walleye (some "good eaters"!). And, a saugeye (sauger/walleye cross) that Ramsey was very happy to get a picture with!
And, the other night, Eric had caught a large catfish and a white bass, but they're still in the fish cage in the lake. We're planning a walleye feast (only) this weekend!
Hanging out, just cuz it's Spring... and getting outside when the weather cooperates is very much needed, especially when we're cooped up in the house all day!
Ramsey's diggin' his new chin-up/fireman pole.
He's getting bolder.... and soon I'm sure he'll get even stronger and be able to pull himself up. At least, that is the goal!
He has some great sticks and branches that he keeps in his play set fort. This one is a "bazooka".
And, as usual, we have to take our walks on the trail. Unfortunately, the ticks are coming out now. Bleh!
Eager to GET OUTSIDE and enjoy the lake (and get the heck out of the house!!!), we installed the dock on Saturday. Though we were too pooped to start fishing on Saturday, we didn't waste much time getting outside on Sunday.
Eric went out first and got everything set up. Ramsey followed, while I did some things inside the house. When I came out, my heart melted... it was the sweetest picture of the boys sitting together fishing on the dock.
The fish weren't biting immediately, so Ramsey decided to then move on to his play set. I had installed a new chin-up bar/fireman's pole, so we played with that, did some swinging, and also tore out all of his toys (sand toys, his digger, shovels, pails, etc) from the shed.
Later that evening, after we'd taken an afternoon break to have a Zoom call with the fam for Uncle Cory's 40th birthday, we went back out for a bit. Eric stayed out longer than Ramsey and I did. He called us up at the house to let us know he'd caught a giganto catfish! Ramsey ran down to the lake to check it out. I saw it from the deck. ...guess we'll be having fried catfish supper in the near future! :-)
When Eric came in the house for the evening, he let us know that the walleye were biting. Ramsey's little R2 D2 fishing rod had about a 24" walleye on, that came off at the last minute. He also lost three other walleye from his jigging pole. Dang! But, at least they're biting. ...very promising. :-)
It's been a while since I've been able to post a "Ramsey's First", but today he had his very first solo video conference call.
With school cancelled for the remainder of the 2019-2020 year, Ramsey's Kindergarten teacher is now implementing weekly Zoom calls with her class.
Not everyone was able to attend, but I would estimate half showed their cute little faces.
It was not a learning session, but more of a call for all of the kids to see each other and get to say "hello"! They each shared details regarding what they've been up to during the school closing.
A lot of them, including Ramsey, called their pets into the room and let everyone see them.
Future calls will have themes to keep them fun (think funny hats, PJs, or lunch dates). And yes, at 1 PM in the afternoon in April, Ramsey was still wearing his Christmas pajamas. No judging! No shame! ;-)
Easter 2020.... soooooo unconventional this year due to the nasty COVID-19 virus that's left us self-isolating for the most part. We didn't travel North to see family and partake in the much-anticipated Easter Egg Hunt at Nana and Bumpa's. We didn't wake up early to dress up in fancy Easter outfits, complete with frills or bowties and suspenders. We didn't go out for a big Sunday brunch. We didn't attend a formal church service.
The core mean of Easter isn't about dressing up, overeating too much delicious food, nor is it even about attending church or traveling to see loved ones. It is about many things, to include those wonderful aforementioned. But, it's about Jesus, our Lord and Savior, rising from the tomb. "He has Risen!"
Though this Easter was atypical, we incorporated some of the fun and modern parts of Easter, plus the deep biblical ones as well.
The Easter Bunny came to visit. Ramsey woke Connor up for Easter egg hunting, but when Connor wasn't upstairs quickly (teenagers are sluggish to rise!), he started the party without him, finding eggs in all sorts of strange places.
Bunny ears were required, but they soon fell to the wayside.
The Easter bunny proved to have a sense of humor.
Ramsey had found the baskets for each of the boys, plus a letter for the boys from "Harry" the Easter Bunny.
He was so excited, he was bobbing up and down, nearly unable to control his emotions.
Until Connor got upstairs to participate in the scavenger hunt, Ramsey was only allowed to read the letter from Harry.
Connor then read the letter and the first clue for the hunt.
Clue #1: "I'm in your lower level, in a room that is blue. I flip up, I flip down. Better wash your hands after you touch me... or Mom will give you a frown."
The additional clues lead to the closet...
One of the Lazy Susan cupboards...
The washing machine....
The downstairs couch...
And they found the "bountiful" Easter Baskets in the lower level general closet.
Harry left them all kinds of candy, plus art supplies and markers.
After "the hunt", we all plopped down on the couch and watched our church's streaming video online.
After a while, we dyed Easter eggs in "tie dye" style. Both boys were dipping away and making their creations.
Some of the eggs turned out pretty cool for such a simple process (we certainly didn't do anything too fancy). These fancy bad boys will soon be transformed into deviled eggs.
Switching gears, I had to share a picture of our Roomba that got gussied-up for the holiday.
Unfortunately, two sets of bunny ears were sacrificed in this gag.
Eric owes us!!! lol
When Connor slipped away downstairs to game with his friends online, Ramsey and Daddy built The Empire State Building out of magna blocks and tiles.
We certainly missed our family! But, we made the time to call grandparents to wish them well.
Next year, I'm sure everything will be "back to normal" and more of us will be together.
To say it's been "breezy" this week is a bit of an understatement. However, Eric thought it'd be Prime Time to try fishing from the North Bridge, with a nice north wind pushing the current in the right direction to catch some walleye.
Eric came home from work, bundled up a bit, and was gone for a few hours.
He returned home with two large walleye and two big white bass.
We decided they would be perfect for an unconventional Easter feast!
The picture below has nothing to do with fishing, but it's stinkin' CUTE, so it's on here. ha!
After Ramsey put it on, he asked me, "Mom, HOW CUTE do I look??! Do I look more adorable than usual?!?!?" Yes.... yes you do!
