The Bunch Make the Most of the Weather in Between Rain Showers

Thanks to both the never ending days of rain and T's illness we did cancel our first camping trip of the year. However, he was starting to feel better so we still went to the nearby state park and went on a shortish hike. I have been diligently working on my hip exercises and my hip is doing a lot better so I was ready to try a hike. I can now sleep on either side for at least 30 minutes and rarely have severe pain, though some level of pain is always present. However, as long as my pain is at a level I can just push through things then I am happy. I was able to hike about 2 miles without any severe pain. Too bad our hike was almost 3 miles. As you can probably guess the last mile was pure torture, but I did it. We went back about two weeks later and walked almost 4 miles. That was too far also, but apparently the map mislabeled how long the trails were. A was the only person with me so we just stopped fairly frequently on the last mile and finally made it to the car. I was able to go farther on this trail because the entire trail is a sidewalk so it was easier to transverse. A was nice enough to point out my scooter will work on this trail. Duly noted.

We had fun on our hike.

L is such a ham.

L completely photo bombed A and my selfie, completely cutting her sister out.

Weird cactus we passed on our hike.

There has been a lot of rain recently so we had to jump over several streams.

At least they didn't have to knock spider webs down on this hike.

It was fun.

T is FINALLY OVER his bronchitis! It took forever for him to get all of his chest congestion cleared up. He decided to whittle his pine Derby car. He debated between a rocket or an alligator for several days before finally announcing it was a pencil. Sometimes I am really not quite sure how his thought process works. He made a great pencil though.

T can be so creative sometimes.

T made his first omelet-ham and cheese-I love his new found passion for cooking because I am going through a I hate to cook phase.

We did it! We finished ALL of A's night time driving BEFORE the time change! She was really excited about this. Now, we don't have to set specific time aside to go drive. She can finish her required hours just driving us to and from places we normally go. She has even (mostly) stopped crying after every drive. She drove us home from the zoo yesterday and even joked and chatted with us the whole way back. If T has the option, he never rides with her. He thinks it's just too scary. L on the other hand always rides with us. I asked her why she does since she says she is as scared as T is. Her answer was that since A will be driving her to volleyball practice 2-3 times a week, she wanted to not be as scared. 😂 Oh kids! I will say it amuses me that my kids have the ability to not speak at all for close to an hour. The utter silence they have when A is driving speaks volumes about their level of fear. It just makes me laugh. She is actually a pretty good driver.

L is super excited about her birthday, which is of course is Greatest Showman themed. She has branched out a little and also reveres High School Musical now so at least there has been a little variety. Her volleyball team lost (putting it nicely) their first game this season. They are just no match for the club teams. However, L played awesome! In fact, one whole set she tried to play for everyone. It was the L show as she pretty much pushed players out of her way to get to the ball. Yeah, we talked about that afterwards, but at least she played well.

D has so far succeeded in not becoming ill. I just know if we get the corona virus, it will be because he brings it home. He just has more contact with people than we do. In all seriousness, we aren't at all worried about corona virus. I think the media, as usual, has blown something way out of proportion. Yes, it spreads quickly. Most viruses do, but so far the flu numbers are way worse than the corona virus. The media breeds panic. People need to practice common sense and good hygiene. Enough said.What ever happens will happen. Fear and panic won't do any good.

All our chickens are finally back online. At least if some sort of pandemic arrives, we will have food! There have been A LOT of omelets lately. What can I say, we have to make up for lost time. Our horse has figured out how to open the gate to the food area. At least I am pretty sure she has. Twice now I have had to go get her out of the food area and once I know I definitely shut the gate correctly. The other time I was pretty tired so that might have been my fault. I swear she tests all the gates everyday. She ALWAYS knows when one is left open even if it looks closed.