last Monday afternoon it started raining/snowing, continuing steadily through the night.
by Tuesday morning, we had several inches of snow and ice. around here ice means bad bus driving conditions, which means NO SCHOOL!
well, due to our school year starting late because of the pandemic, we technically can't have snow days off. so teachers made assignments online. the older kids worked for about 2-3 hours in the morning and then spent the rest of the day going outside and coming back in to warm up and eat, then going back out, then coming in, and back out... you get the idea!
first thing they did was build Bobby, the snowman.
it takes quite some time and a lot of effort to roll those big snowballs. I love watching the kids make them because not only do they get a great workout (and really sore the next day haha!), but they leave a trail all around the snow.
bobby was still standing on Saturday, despite the rest of our yard being snow free, and probably would've stayed standing for a long time. until Ellie decided to whack him with a baseball bat. she said "it felt great and his head really flew!"
I made some cinnamon star bread for an afternoon treat and decided to take one to our awesome neighbors. this King Arthur Flour recipe is so easy, and so good!! I always drizzle some icing on top after its cooled a bit and its the perfect treat on a cold, snowy day.
Mark and Leslie have 3 grandkids staying with them right now while their house is getting ready to move into back in Florida. this was their first time seeing snow and it was pretty fun to hear their excitement! so we shared a star with them and they invited our kids to go for toboggan rides. it was beyond fun for the kids!
after a very full day, the kids slept well :)
the next morning I was awoken by chris letting me know that the middle school principal sent an email informing us that Jack was being quarantined due to a classmate that tested positive for covid. we were incredibly surprised that we made it this long without one of the kids being quarantined and/or infected with the virus!
I kinda freaked out that morning and said that no kids would go to school that day until we had a few questions answered. I had no idea, and was not told, if the other kids could/should go to school in person if jack was quarantined. it makes logical sense to keep them all home, if we are truly trying to keep it from spreading. but after speaking to the principles and nurses from the three schools our kids attend, all said that the other kids are allowed to attend.
ultimately, we decided that because Ellie can do all of her classes via zoom as well, that she would stay home and quarantine with jack too. but Owen and Charlie went back to school on Thursday. Ellie, not having missed any school up to this point, was pretty anxious about doing classes on zoom. how would she hand in papers and take tests/ how would she be able to ask questions when they came up? lots and lots of questions. but luckily one of her best friends, Liv, has been doing online school since the start of the year and she was able to talk with Ellie and calm her nerves.
fast forward to Friday and the cdc changed the definition of a "close contact", therefore changing their rules on exposure quarantine. we got emails from the principle and the health department letting us know jack could go back to school today (Monday, only 5 days since our first communication). im not really sure how they did their math there, since that was less than a week that he was quarantined, but whatever. we've been watching for symptoms (as we had before) and so far so good.
