Only One Fork

We purchased take away on a Friday evening at two separate restaurants. Unfortunately, only Misha's meal from Panda gave her a fork.

I checked the car to see if we had any, but nope. Chris had to drive back to Teriyaki Madness for more forks and napkins.

It would have been a long meal if we all just took one bite and passed the fork along.

Shopping with Face Masks

I am not a big fan of wearing face masks. Maybe for that reason I don't go shopping all that much right now. My girls, however, are fairly stir crazy and went shopping together. They hit Target first and then the Arc Thrift Store. I had to do a double take with this picture of Amy. I'm still not used to seeing them wear the face masks.

The caption on this photo from Misha was, "She says she's Beverly..." (from the Goldbergs TV show). 

Memorial Day

What to do when you are under social distancing restrictions? Well, we weren't quite sure where we would end up, but we drove up to Ft Collins and surrounding area and drove up into the mountains. We stopped for a picnic lunch fixin's at Subway and enjoyed a day of meandering together. It wasn't all that stellar, and certainly not as fun as being in Italy where Chris and I were supposed to be, but it was different than our normal.

Some of us even slept through some of the ride.

We stopped at the Lory State Park close to the end of the day and hiked the Well Gulch Nature Trail. We hadn't been to the park before and were impressed by it. And since all of the restrooms along any of the roads we had traveled throughout the day were closed, we were glad to make use of the indoor facilities.

Eyelashes for Kristen

Kristen loves when Amy will do her eyelashes. Amy hasn't had hers done for a couple of months now and I think she is missing them a lot. But Kristen's lashes look beautiful.

Cleaning the Container

Our container at the beach needed a good clean out. We needed to get rid of old boxes and broken water toys, add another shelf, and sweep it out. It took most of a Saturday afternoon, but it looks so much tidier now (and we can find stuff).

Misha and Chris even hung a peg board. Surely, by the end of the season it will need another good clean out, but it is ready to go now.

Misha's Friend Beach Day

A bunch of Misha's friend group from high school came to hang out at the beach. The weather was perfect, they ordered pizza, they played on the water, and they stayed by the fire until it was dark. I'd say it was a good day for Misha.

Chris' Biking Crash

Chris went biking by himself. He texted me a picture of how wonderful the morning was and how much he was enjoying himself.

A couple of minutes later on a chat with Amy and me, he started texting all kinds of crazy stuff, and it just kept coming.

I finally called him and asked if everything was okay. Unfortunately, he had made it through all of the hard stuff and was just about done when his tire got caught in some gravel and pulled him down. He didn't land on his phone, thankfully, but obviously hit a button or two or ten as he recovered.

This was just his arm. He got his leg pretty good too.

The Orthodontist...Finally

Kristen had three visits to the orthodontist cancelled during the coronavirus shutdown. I was crossing my fingers that her two molars uncovered when she had her wisdom teeth pulled, would still be making progress. There was the possibility that Kristen would have to go back to the oral surgeon to have her gums re-opened. Uggh.

I took Kristen and Misha for appointments—Misha to get new retainers—and had to check the girls in and then wait for them in the car while they had their appointments. Once they were done, the girls came back to the car, and I went into the office to pay for the retainers and schedule Kristen's next visit.

And good news! Kristen's teeth have been making progress. Slow but sure. That is the theme of her dental work.

Sunburn

Kristen had fun in the sun with her friends while playing on the water...and she forgot to put on sunscreen. Fortunately, she didn't have too much pain.

First Fire Pit of the Season

While you have to put up with smelling like smoke, it is one of the first signs of summer for us to invite friends over for a "Fire Pit" on a Sunday evening. We invited one family from down the street in order to keep our group small and enjoyed an evening catching up.

Seed Potatoes

There are a lot of things in my schedule that have been changed due to the pandemic. I usually buy seed potatoes for my garden, but with social distancing, I have not been out shopping a lot. Apparently, other people have. As I went to find seed potatoes at a local nursery, they informed me that they were completely sold out and didn't expect to receive any more this season. I checked a farm and ranch store and was told the same story.

Hmmm. One of the workers at the nursery suggested finding some organic potatoes, letting them grow some eyes, and then plant them. "But you need to be quick. They should be in the ground already." As luck would have it, I was not able to find any organic red potatoes.

So, I went back to the garden center and purchased six potato plants. I wanted to grow some potatoes at least. Later that afternoon, I was down in our storage bunker and noticed white shoots growing out of an old ice cream bucket and remembered that I had left potatoes in cold storage last Fall. I even remember telling Chris to not let me forget that they were there so we could still eat them. We both forgot.

It was a tender mercy from God to find those seed potatoes. They were from organic seed. My dad said that is exactly what he does for his seed potatoes each year. So, I snipped off almost a foot of eyes from the potatoes and planted them in my garden.

This morning I noticed that one of the plants has poked through the earth with green leaves. And, I have volunteer potatoes growing in another garden box from potatoes planted last summer. I love how God knew and planned for seed potatoes long before I would need them. I love how He answers prayers. God is good.

Cardines

A friend invited our family to come play sardines with a group of friends. I used to play "sardines" with my friends in the summer. One person hides and then people start to look for them and when they find them, they join the person hiding in their hiding spot. "Car"dines was played with cars. One group found a spot within a predetermined boundary. When they arrived, they sent a clue. And continued sending clues until all the people in their cars found them. Chris and I went in one car while the girls went together in another. Social distancing at its best.

A Blue Door

I have wanted to paint our door a different color. When the stain and sealant started to peel, it seemed a perfect opportunity to go for something new. We got approval from the HOA last Fall and then the weather changed, and the door had to wait until Spring for its facelift.

Our painter guy, Tommy Antonopoulos, starting painting the primer and asked, "Is that the right color?" I replied that it seemed a little light. Tommy joked that it was just the primer. Whew. 

I love how it turned out. Now, I think we might want to paint the shutters the same color.

Chiro and Massage Finally

I scheduled appointments for the chiropractor and massage therapist for the 11th and 13th. Oh my goodness, my neck and shoulders were so sore after two months without the therapy. Sad to say, I still need both since my car accident.

Misha's Drawing

Misha borrowed my iPad and Apple pencil and handily created this piece from a photo.

Covid-19 Masks

Here's a fun shot of Misha and I as we finish up our grocery shopping. We are not fans of the masks, but we wear them anyways.

We have a friend who had some extras and dropped some off for us.

Mother's Day 2020

I came downstairs Sunday morning to find that Misha had bought me flowers (from all of the girls). I am grateful for three girls who made me a mother. I may not be perfect at be a mom. I fail a lot, but I am grateful for the reminders to keep on trying. My girls are those reminders. They also bought me a canvas of our family that now hangs in my office. (I needed something for that spot.)

Thank you to Chris and my girls for making me feel loved. I love you.

Chris also bought me an additional domain name and pointed it to my new website. So you can get to it by simplyjolayne.com or jolaynekline.com. I am so grateful for his technical expertise as I start this new venture. I hope to have my site fully functioning by the end of summer.

Misha's Hair

For the longest time, Misha has had straight hair. She has beautiful, thick hair and it seems to do whatever she wants it to do. Over the pasty year, she decided to try and get the curl to come back again.  Mostly she has beachy waves, but her hair looks great.

Can Kristen Come Over?

Our cute little neighbors, Micah and Jamie, came over to ask if Kristen could come and play with them. She babysits them every so often and they enjoy having her around. Apparently enough to have her come and play.

Foot Update

I finally got to see my foot doctor for a follow up visit. I had an appointment for the end of March, but with the pandemic and social distancing, I postponed the appointment until the beginning of May. Unfortunately, my foot is not 100% at this point. Dr. Mazzola said patients heal at different speeds. I am just a slow healer. The thickness in the tendon is still there, so I need to continue with physical therapy and stretching.

I go for a return visit in six weeks. At that point, he might do one of two other procedures. He said, "Bring your crutches just in case." Boo. 

The procedure on my right foot will have to wait a little longer.

Spring on the River

I have been watching the trees and bushes across the river and noticed tonight that the buds on the trees had suddenly popped.

First Day Shopping in Six Weeks

Kristen has spent much of this quarantine either at home, in our yard, or riding in a car. I took her shopping with me today and it was like a breath of fresh air for her to get out. She didn't much care for the mask-wearing requirements, but was happy for a change of scenery.

Amy's Resume

Amy took a business class at BYU-Idaho. One of the assignments was to submit a resume. I created a format for myself and offered to help the girls with their resumes using this same format.

Misha has an acquaintance at BYU-I now taking the same class. The instructor used Amy's resume as an example of a great resume. The friend sent Misha a screen shot.

Striking Gold...or Napkins

We have been out of napkins for the past six weeks, and with the pandemic, they were nowhere to be found in the stores. Chris took to cutting paper towels into smaller pieces. Any time we ordered take out, we felt fortunate when napkins were included.

Misha and Amy found a half of a package of napkins down in the storage container at the beach and it was as though we struck gold.

And as our luck would have it, I found some at Target. We struck gold twice in one week!

Just a Little Flame Throwing

When your neighbor offers to let you use his flame thrower to burn dead weeds, and your name is Chris, you jump at the chance. Misha was happy to be his assistant. Though her job was not nearly as fun as she followed along behind Chris with the propane tank on a dolly.