June 2020 "Fun"

Although we are still in stay-at-home (the best you can) mode, we tried to have a little fun in the month of June.  Things opened up *a bit* in June up here in Massachusetts so we were able to do a bit more.

While unpacking, I came across this picture and I don't know what they are doing, but it appears they're trying to show everyone how to (or how not to, Grant) wear a mask.  They were cool before their time! Look at these little babies in their footie pajamas! So cute!!!

Then I found this in one of the boxes.  Grant had to make a list of 10 heroes (and he apparently couldn't even do that) when I think he was in 3rd grade because he had Mrs. Nell (see #3) in 3rd grade. I like that old neighbor Steve (who once saved him from an in-ground wasp nest) gets a nod here but not his own mother!

One thing we did in June was we finally sold Harry Highlander.  We bought him in 2009 before this kid was born so it's the only car he's ever known his dad to drive.

But we got something that was also cool!  A new-to-us Rav4!

Certain things in my garden are also blooming.  I do NOT have a green thumb so I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do this!



But oh I have some beautiful peonies!

Meanwhile, the new house is slowly coming along. I like purple, much to Todd's chagrin. Yay purple and gray!

My friend Rick came over from Fort Drum to pick up some stuff we had for him. It was nice to see a familiar face from Vilseck again!  We concluded our short visit by sending him off with my grandmother's clock.  Another face palm.  Oh well, just another reason to see him again soon!

Our friend Michele did a delicious and terribly mean drop off of make-your-own cannolis, biscotti and Italian wedding cookies (with icing!)  We ate them all quickly, and never told the kids because we didn't want to share.

I'm not entirely sure why, but it turns out I have an entire large drawer dedicated to batteries.

So my friend Lisa posted this meme about mac and cheese in a wine glass with a Dino nugget and I laughed SUPER hard, because I always have these items in my house.  And naturally I made them for the kids, who thought I was crazy.

I have another peony that bloomed that was just SO pretty!



Some little critter (or larger critter) has been eating my plants.

And THEN.... one morning I spotted the culprit!  Stop eating my plants!

Meanwhile, my niece Greta lost both of her front teeth and it reminded me of the (not-so-long-ago) days when Natalie lost both of her front teeth!



This is my life.  So. Close.

I finally ordered some counter top stools and I love them.

We also ordered a new fridge because the other one sounded like a rocket was taking off in our kitchen.  Plus, it was our last non-stainless appliance so we had to get something that matched.

We don't really go anywhere, and neither do our neighbors, so all of the neighborhood kids had a big pizza party for the last day of  "school."

This is the kids real last day of school picture.  And our little neighbor Ava just wanted to be a part of it.  She's the cutest little thing.

First day of school in Auerbach vs. the last day of school in Ashland/Holliston.  Natalie grew more than Grant this year.

Then I found THIS picture.  Natalie's last day of kindergarten and her last day of 7th grade.   Still wearing a pink shirt.

I just want to thank my awesome orthodontist's Dr. Angermann and Dr. Rechl in Amberg for fixing my teeth!  They were really the best.  So patient with the Americans.  That really has nothing to do with the month of June, but I just wanted to throw this in there!



And THEN!  THEN we had a teenager in our house!!!!!  For her birthday, I bought her some Pop Tarts (which she doesn't get very often) and Todd decided to bake them into some large pancakes.

I tried one and it was pretty darn awesome.  Natalie loved them!

No way this is the same kid.  Look at that sweet little baby face. I remember thinking when she was born, "I wonder what she will look like when she's older?"  But the thing is - she looks the same.  Obviously different, but exactly the same.  It's hard to explain.  But I love this kid more than anything.

Uncle Coco, Auntie Brie, Greta, James and Hattie sent a little gift that Natalie almost cried over when she opened.  BTS's Map of the Soul 7 (one of the four versions!)

She also wanted a Nintendo Switch Lite, which she got!

Happy birthday Bugaboo.  Welcome to the teen years.

Wishes coming true for this sweet teenager.  She's probably wishing that BTS will still eventually have their concert in New Jersey so we can go with our friends Krissy and Lillianna!



Todd and I bought this funny little sign in Bayreuth the day we were there for his work Christmas party.  We stopped in the dollar store and went to town and this guy came home with us.

I'm going to try my VERY BEST to keep this garden the way it is now.  Don't get your hopes up.



I needed a big desk for my new job and we ordered one.  It was fun to watch Todd put it together. I only had to help minimally.

We renewed our BJ's membership now that we are in a home and finally have a big freezer in the garage (which we haven't seen since 2015!)  But ... BJ's, no!  That is disgusting! Orange Fanta pudding?????  Ahhhh, did any of us miss the weird indulgences of America?

Had to see my girlies of course.  Heather and I went to Sara and Michele's house one evening - and Dexter might be one of the silliest dogs ever.

But Dex decided he loved Heather and needed to be near her.  We also enjoyed a long walk and some cocktails!  Everyone brought their own dinner, too.

Also, I got Todd this ring game for his birthday, but since we have vinyl siding, I wasn't sure where we were going to put it.  Todd knew exactly how to rig it and now we have the ring game at our house, which we have loved ever since we played it incessantly at the Red Lion in Indian Rocks Beach!  Todd brought it to the front yard to show our neighbor Brendan how it works!

Oh right, there's still Covid-19 out there.  How's America doing? NOT WELL.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, is doing okay.  So we planned a big celebration at our house for JUST Todd's family.  Helen had a birthday in May, we had Mother's Day, we had Father's Day, we had Bean's birthday and Natalie's birthday, and Lauren graduated TOP OF HER CLASS from MMA with her master's degree.  We thought we would just have an outdoor party at our house, with everyone sitting far apart.  I made a guest bathroom that no one else could use.  We had paper plates and plastic silverware.  I made this AMAZING blueberry lemon zucchini cake.  And then... it rained most of the day.

Todd's brother Steve even sent us a huge cake and an assortment of incredible cookies from a great bakery in Framingham.

The kids played outside with GoGo and Anna, beating around balloons with pool noodles.  Great idea, KK!

At one point, I found my inlaws here.... which my mother-in-law declared was the old people's home, and Kathleen was the director!  Funny- they gave us those chairs!

Then everyone opened presents.  Everyone did their best to stay socially distant (Gordie is Lauren's dad, so they don't have to.)

SO cute. The summer before we moved to Germany, GoGo graduated from college, and Lauren graduated from high school, so we went to their house for a party.  Now we celebrate LuLu graduating with her master's - and these two cousins can't stop dancing together.



That night, we sat out on the back deck after the rain ended and played games, just the four of us.  And the kids and I took this cool picture from the back deck!

Natalie has been begging to have bangs, but she has a huge cowlick in her bang line so I just don't think it will ever be possible.  Instead, she pretended to have bangs!  She looks cute either way!

Lastly, we got a new pet!  Or, I should say... Natalie got a new pet.  This is Jinsoul, her new beta fish.  Welcome to the family, Jinsoul!

And we're on to July!

COVID Lockdown - May 2020

Since many parts of the country were peaking in May - the US pretty much shut down all sports.  No basketball, hockey, baseball, NCAA Tournament, and no Indy 500.  We came back to America and were all excited about being able to watch Boston sports teams when BAM.  No more sports.  Todd and I watch a lot of sports... so May was a tough month for us.

So we went on a LOT of walks.  One time we spotted a mama duck and her ducklings.  Make way for ducklings!

Nashoba Brook flows along the Acton rail trail.

I tried to go out once a day and some mornings, it was nice and quiet on the trail.

One place we discovered was the Ebenezer Wood Pencil Factory site! Back between 1832-1888 there was a water powered pencil factory here on Nashoba Brook.  Wood pencils were first made in America in Concord in the early 1800s, and in 1832, Ebenezer opened his factory here to continue the practice.

Ebenezer Wood's new technological advances in pencil making started a pencil boom in America.

I prefer it like this.

All by myself out here on the trail!

All by myself, except for these turtles, sunning themselves on a log.

One couple owns a house along the rail trail across the street from the pencil factory site and they have the most beautiful garden along the rail trail. I wish I could have seen it in peak spring.

Are you tired of trail walking solitude pictures yet?

I like FaceTimeing with my mom and my brother!

I don't know what they were watching but they were kind of cozy here and they're never like that, so I took a picture of them on the couch in Acton.

On a nice day, we decided to go for a hike - initially, we wanted to go to Walden Pond, but it was closed because there were too many visitors.  So we visited Farrar Pond, instead.  Not to be confused with Natalie's middle name (Farrer!)

It was really pretty, and quiet.  We had a nice hike!

Later in the month, Todd and I went on a walk (ALONE!) and spotted THIS guy!  What?  A muskrat!

Turkeys were also spotted on the trail.

In the beginning, masks were hard to find.  We had a couple, but we let the kids use them.  I was relegated to a scarf.  At least it was a nice one my mom gave me!

I love the sound of water here at the Ebenezer Wood pencil factory.

Well, we will give this weird apartment complex an A for effort here with these purple flowers.

Solitude on this big property off of Strawberry Hill Road.  Nothing says it's private, but I think a few families live back there.

Follow the Irish, this way!  Leprechauns like to run through the grass in Acton, apparently.

So this is a thing that was happening in Florida that absolutely crushed me. I haven't had a sobbing breakdown since my dad passed away. This is the house I grew up in, or what's left of it.

My dear friends Emma and Mike have been taking pictures of the house and it's progress.  I won't mention (ok, I will) that it does not seem like they're making the proper substantial improvements that are required for homes to undergo when they're making changes of more than 50% of the value of the home, which is a National Flood Insurance Program violation, but whatever.  I'm a nerd.

Later in the month, it began to look like this.  That's definitely a substantial improvement.  It looks like they kept the three bedrooms and that was IT.  Which I guess I am happy about since my dad passed away there.  When my mom sold the house, I kept having dreams that I would sneak into the house to see it again (with the new owners often coming home when I was there, busted!)  Guess I won't get to see it again.

On a much lighter note... no kidding... Natalie looked at this sign on the Acton rail trail and said out lout, "What does Sching Hweee mean?" (Face palm!)

One time, Grant and I went on a walk around the Acton neighborhood and found this little guy in the middle of the street!  Eeek!

Not far from where the snake was found, we saw these pretty horses.  Todd and I would walk by them and sing "Bye Bye Lil' Sebastian."  They didn't seem amused at our Parks and Recreation reference!

The fam didn't forget me on Mother's Day!  My dad was there too (he's in the bracelet!)

For Mother's Day, I just wanted to go on a walk around our new neighborhood.  So everyone came with me!  And it was a beautiful day!

The kiddos on our new street, with masks around their necks of course.

Todd got me these amazing gifts... Makers Mark because that's obvious.  But this Baby Yoda presenting me with a Makers Mark bottle is JUST INSANELY AWESOME. I LOVE Baby Yoda!!!  Like, so much.  I just squeal when I watch him on the Mandalorian! He's the cutest!

And of course, I love me a good thunderstorm.

Geez, slow down, kiddo.  The left is Natalie and me in December in Germany, and the right is us in May.  She grew a little!  And if you're wondering, then the answer is yes. Natalie and I are always in jammie pants!

We took one more hike on the rail trail to the pencil factory so Grant could throw tiny sticks into the brook.



And we enjoyed the garden across from the pencil factory one more time....



... Before we bought our house!  We had to socially distance and wear masks of course.  It was only two other guys, one of whom barely entered the room.  Todd is funny... he's such a big guy, masks don't fit him so he had to perform a little surgery on his.

And finally, we were HOME!  I don't know what kind of face Grant is making here ha ha, but he's cute.

Inside of the empty dining room!

The former owners left the swing in the backyard!  The kids were THRILLED!

Actually having fun together, for once.

SOLD! 

I only wanted to post this picture because it shows the house better. We were kind of blocking it in the last picture.  Natalie was trying to capture some bubbles for a more artistic picture.

We actually weren't scheduled to get our household goods until about 5 days after our closing date.  So we spent those days painting the kids bedrooms.  Grant's had been pink and he wanted orange (!!!) but we compromised with a tan.  Natalie's had been a light gray but she wanted white ("for the aesthetics.")

The kids had to help, though!  You're gonna WORK in this house!

Our first meal in the house was Bill's Pizzeria, as we stood around the island because we had no chairs!

But finally the movers arrived with our stuff!  Which we hadn't seen since mid December!  This was a weird process in the Covid era.  We just tried to stay away from everyone, but it was hard because you had to direct them and you had to check off which box numbers you had received.

Bikes and summer tires and golf clubs and kettlebells!

My brother Cory and his wife Brie were so sweet and ordered us a big meal that we were able to eat in our house!  This was the real first meal at our dining room table in our new house. It was a HUGE meal from a local Italian place, and we had plenty of leftovers.  Super good.

UGH I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN.

Day 2! More delicious leftovers - thanks CocoBrie!

SO. MANY. BOXES. 

Good thing the Pillsbury Dough Boy made it!  He creepily looks down from above the beer mugs! Just as he did in Germany.

Michele and Sara came over with some dinner and we socially distanced while still getting to see each other!  Welcome to my new house!

I don't even know why I'm sharing this because it's so super embarrassing, but when you move, you have to go through alllllll of the boxes and sometimes you find funny things.  For example, I found a picture of me from every year between the age of two (upper left) to my graduation night and prom picture.  There's even one of my Diamond Doll pictures at the bottom from Auburn!

We moved into our new house, but the kids still had to finish up the school year.  Here we have Grant wearing his pajamas and his captain's hat from Venice, having a Zoom meeting with his class.

Probably the worst thing about coronavirus for us was the fact that we had tickets to see BTS in New Jersey in late May with our friends Krissy and Lillianna.  But it was postponed, and we were all really sad.  Instead, Natalie and I watched one of their concerts in the basement.  Lots of dancing was done!

Look, we warned these kids that when we finally had a home, they would have to pitch in.  Get to mowing that lawn, Grant!

Girls aren't exempt from the outdoor work.  Each kid had to do a part of the lawn.



In May, we also had our first two visitors - Todd's sister and our nephew!  Seth pushed Natalie around on the swing for a bit. He does a little bit better job than her brother does. ;-)



Todd made steaks for all of us and got to use his new blow torch to give the sous vide steaks a nice crisp outside.  I won't show you pictures of KK and I running around with pantyhose on our heads.  We laughed SO hard!  But really we read that pantyhose are good filters if you don't have masks. Hence our insanity!

I've never taken so long to move into a house as I have this one.  We went from about a 3,000 square foot house in Germany to an 1,800 square foot house (that's WITH the basement - otherwise, it's just a bit more than 1,300.)  In some ways, we had WAY too much furniture.  In other ways, we didn't have enough.  And it was time for the kids to get rid of some of their old toys, which is really hard for me because I just want them to be little again sometimes. But look!  There's so much room for activities!

Funny story.  One of the first days we were here, Natalie was doing a little video out of the big front window to show her friend Giya in Germany what our front yard looked like. Outside, there were some kids at the neighbor's house who saw her (because we had no window treatments yet) and said, "What's that girl doing!?  Why is she filming us? Stop filming us!"  So of course, Natalie was mortified, because that absolutely wasn't her intent.

So a few days after this, we saw the kids outside again so Todd went outside with the kids and started a game of monkey in the middle.  Of course, the other kids were curious and came over - eventually it became a huge game in our front yard, and even other parents came over.  And there was an instant friendship between our kids and the neighborhood kids!

Now, they're just part of the "crew" which consists of kids from four houses in the neighborhood, who all go out and ride bikes and skateboards.  THIS.  THIS is why we chose this house.  The kids are finally in a neighborhood and have other kids to play with, which they have never had before.  They aren't allowed in anyone else's house, but you can be outside. 

Our neighbors are SERIOUSLY the best.  I always dreamed about being in a neighborhood where I got along with everyone and our kids all got along.  As a little welcome gift, we got THIS beauty.  Normally the regular bottle is one of my favorites, but this was a beautiful single barrel!  A side story - one of my besties, Heather is friends with my neighbor Jen since their daughters play lacrosse together.  So I saw Heather a couple of weeks later and I said, "Hey, how did Jen happen to know I liked bourbon?" And she responded with, "Gee, I wonder!" 

And we're on to June!