Christmas Tree Day

Christmas tree day looked a little (well, really a lot!) different this year.  Since we were staying home for Thanksgiving, and The Corner Bar was only doing take-out, we decided to get our tree locally.  Originally, we were going to go to a tree farm in Allegan that opened the day before Thanksgiving.  But, the weather did not cooperate.  So we ended up going to Wedel's and found a beautiful tree in the greenhouse.  We got it set up and put the lights on and then decorated it Thanksgiving evening.  It gave us a fun activity to look forward to since we stayed at home. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving looked different this year - it was our first time staying home for the holiday.  We still had all our favorites: mac and cheese, piragi, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts (for me), turkey and gravy (mostly for Alex), and pie.  The boys decorated some gingerbread turkeys.  We ate around 1pm and then took Winger for a walk around the neighborhood.  Once it got dark out, we decorated the Christmas tree and then watched Elf.  Hopefully, life is back to normal next year!

Fun with Winger

Winger is definitely more comfortable with us.  He has started to play fetch and loves chasing his toys around the house.  He has two favorite spots (other than his bed) where he likes to lounge:  on the chair in the living room and stretched out on the stairs.     He still gets nervous when I'm not around but he interacts with the boys a lot more more.  

Feeling Festive

 I love getting the house ready for the holidays!  Greens and lights make me happy!

Back to Virtual Learning

 As of Wednesday, November 18 Portage Public Schools went to all virtual learning until (at least December 9).  This did not impact Will at all, but Alex started learning from home.  The first few days were asynchronous and he was just completing assignments that were sent home as well as online.  Virtual Live instruction started on Monday with a day full of google meets.  I am also doing some virtual teaching and am posting more online assignments (in addition to what I've been doing all year) to my ELL google classrooms.  

Train Day 2020

We set up the trains today!  The boys look forward to decorating their little tree in the basement and taking turns adding cars to the trains.  They both started up without any problems this year.  

Virtual Band Practice

It has been fun to see how the teachers have found creative solutions to virtual band.  The kids are able to play along to a recording of an actual band playing the song so they get used to hearing all the other instruments.  

Winger

Winger is settling in to the family!  He enjoys walks and has started to play.  

Welcome Home, Winger!

 We picked up sweet Winger on Saturday.  He enjoyed the car ride home and is starting to settle in to his new surroundings.  He is eating and drinking well, enjoys walks (if mom is there), and is doing great with house training.  He has "his spot" in the yard where he likes to go.  He is definitely the most comfortable with mom, but is spending a lot of time with the boys.  Each day he seems a little more comfortable.

Hockey Weekend

We had a busy hockey weekend.  On Friday, Will's team played their first two tournament games.  They won their first game 3-0 against the Silver KWings team that is one year older.  They were pretty excited about that win.  They lost their second game to the Livonia Knights 3-5.  On Saturday, they beat Melling Performance 3-2.  Will's line played really well.  Will had several wrap-around chances and one lead to his teammate chipping in the rebound.  On Sunday, they had a rematch with the Livonia Knights for 3rd place.  The boys played hard and won 3-0.  Will scored the first goal!  Alex also had a busy weekend.  On Saturday, he had his first set of 8U Plus Games.  His team lost their first game 5-2 but his coach said the team was the best in the league.  They won their second two games.  Then on Sunday, he had KOHA 8U game day.  

Will's Line Celebrating His Goal

Will's Wrap-Around Lead to a Goal by His Teammate

So Close!

Always Smiling

The Team

Alex's KOHA Team

8U+ Game Day!