It's Been A While

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I last posted. Aside from the chaos that comes with work (and trying to finish a PhD for David), we've been enjoying summer. We're still mostly living in our COVID bubble until the boys can get vaccinated, but we're working our way toward some normalcy.

For example, AJ attended art in the park through the rec department. Although he was one of only 3 students who wore masks because it was outdoors, he had a great time creating some masterpieces. He's looking forward to beginner archery in a few weeks. We recognize that he's been so socially isolated that he needs some interactions to remember how to conduct himself appropriately in public. (Truth be told, don't we all?) He has a play date tomorrow morning with both his best friends, and he's over the moon about that. 

Our boys have managed a visit or two to their sitter's lake house. They're eagerly awaiting later this week when they get to spend the day there, boating on the pontoon, swimming and perhaps even trying the jet ski. Can you picture Teddy on one of those? The best part is that both sitters will actually be there - one on the clock and the other simply because it's her family's lake house - so there's an extra set of hands. (Have we mentioned how lucky we are with our adopted daughters, as we call them? They even signed Dave's Father's Day card.)

We spent the past week at our land. Although it's not our typical vacation of traveling to different national parks, it allows us to safely enjoy nature and still get some rest at night. Let's just say our vacation 3 years ago was the catalyst for us looking for land to enjoy nature in a way that didn't make us all cry. Don't get me wrong ... I cannot wait to try that type of vacation again next year, but our land offers us outdoors, memories and reasonable nights' sleep. 

In addition to many projects while Teddy rode on the Ranger, hung out with Grandma or took tractor rides with Grandpa, we made some family memories as well. One of our family traditions each June is something called a dairy breakfast, where you literally go eat breakfast at a farm and enjoy all things Wisconsin dairy (milk, cheese and ice cream) plus pancakes and sausage. Last year, we missed that opportunity because of COVID, but this year we found a drive-through dairy breakfast that allowed us to safely enjoy our tradition. AJ thought we scored the jackpot because we got 12 ice creams for the 6 people in the vehicle! 

This was at the start of our hike, when he was extremely excited.

We also headed to Effigy Mounds National Monument. We visited there last summer, but the visitor center was closed due to COVID. It's weird how incredibly excited I was to see actual park rangers again and go inside the visitor center. AJ completed the Junior Ranger program to earn his badge, and I assisted Teddy with his. 

We attempted a family hike, where Teddy started out strong. But then he flopped to the ground and was unwilling to move. So we loaded him on my back, where he protested that mode of transportation. Eventually Dave took him back to the parking lot while AJ and I continued on. AJ and I had just finished the loop part of our hike when we discovered Dave pushing Teddy up the 450-foot switchback incline at the start of the trail. So we all got to enjoy the mounds together before tackling the accessible trail. Teddy walked much of the accessible trail, pushing his chair. That's his favorite mode to travel actually as it provides him just a bit of balance and allows him to maintain his sprint speed.  

This is the ideal way for Teddy to hike, as long as the trail has railings to keep him focused.

Hiking with Teddy has definitely become more challenging as he's rather opinionated and not easy to move against his will. We're getting something in the upcoming weeks that should assist for moderately accessible trails. More to come on that in the near future.

All in all, it was a good week at the land with quality family time, plenty of outdoors and a few really memorable experiences. There's one more that I'll share in a future post to spread out the fun and not overwhelm with pictures.