life during COVID-19

Quote of the Day

This quote seems especially appropriate as I realize it’s now been three full years since the pandemic changed our lives:

“I feel as old as I’m ever going to get, older than I ever intended to be.” Loretta Swit as Major Margaret Houlihan on M*A*S*H

Markels Making Magical Memories–Day Fifteen

Bowling Green, KY to Belleville, IL; 279.6 miles. KY, IN, IL

We got started early on our way home, and I’m not going to lie…after over 800 miles of driving the day before, under 300 didn’t seem too bad! We even had a rainbow pointing the way home:

We stopped to stretch our legs at Smothers Park in Owensboro, KY. Since we were out so early, we didn’t need to worry about running into anyone, which was good, because I was feeling kind of like Typhoid Mary. It was kind of nice to end our trip the way we began, with a war memorial:

And there were some really cool fountains:

We picked up some donuts from the Donut Bank on the way home:

After driving 3,134.20 miles through 12 states and one district, not to mention taking 197,076 steps (close to 90 miles, I think!), through the streets of Washington D.C., Mount Vernon, Myrtle Beach, Disney World, and Kennedy Space Center, we finally made it home with the souvenir no one wanted…COVID-19. In spite of that, it was a great trip, and we made a lifetime’s worth of memories!

If you’re still interested in our vacation, stay tuned for a more in-depth look at some of the places we visited!

Combo Breaker in the Time of COVID-19

We thought this day would never come!

After a long wait of three years, Combo Breaker is back! Like everything that has taken place since the beginning of the pandemic, it looked a little different, but one of the most obvious differences wasn’t even pandemic-related…Combo Breaker has a new home at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center! (In related news, the now-defunct Pheasant Run Resort burned down the week before the event began, and there’s so much irony in there I can’t even start.)

So how was Combo Breaker different in the of COVID-19? It really wasn’t…vaccinations were required (you received a wristband to wear all weekend after you showed your proof of vaccination) and masks were mandatory at all times (except for when you were eating or drinking, of course…and I have to say, in general, compliance was excellent). Everything else felt familiar, though…the crowds, the games, the commentators, the artists, the fantastic energy on the floor. It was just all much bigger, because the space was enormous…even though the main stage screen was the same size as it has always been, it looked tiny compared to my memory of the event because the room was so huge!

For the first time, all seven of us Markels were able to volunteer at the event. Of course, Ryan always works, but Turkey drove up with him on Wednesday, and pitched in from Thursday-Saturday. The rest of us drove up a day later, and on Thursday and Saturday we helped fill thousands of registrant bags, and Ladybug even got to help run a bracket Friday night! There was something special about all of us being able to help out during the first event back after the pandemic, and even though most of us had to leave to come home before the Sunday night finals, I think this Combo Breaker will always have a special place in our hearts, because it just meant so much!

2021 in Review

We started the year off cautiously optimistic that things would be better than 2020…I guess it’s up to the individual to decide how much truth there is to that! I do know that over the course of the last 12 months, our entire family has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and some of us have also been able to get booster shots, and for that I am extremely grateful. There were, of course, ups and downs to 2021…here’s a look back at some of our moments.

In January, we rang in the new year in our traditional way. Ryan celebrated his birthday on a day when it felt like the world was falling apart. We enjoyed a nice Burns Night Supper. We finally had enough snow to play in. Bunny gave me a haircut in our kitchen salon. I began a second attempt at photographing the Ottoman Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden every month.

February is never my favorite month of the year, and this year was no exception, but I was very excited about the ColourPop Animal Crossing collaboration. I finally made pączki from scratch, after threatening to do so for I don’t even know how many years. Ryan was the first member of the family to get a COVID-19 vaccine…he went to a mass vaccination site that was held not too far from our home. We had a nice celebration in honor of George Washington’s Birthday.

March is always a fun, busy month, and that was true this year more than most. We did start of the year on a serious note, as we reflected on a full year of COVID-19’s influence on our lives. We had a fun time celebrating MAR10 Day and then Pi Day. Ryan received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and we all breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that one member of the family was fully vaccinated. We were all excited to hear from Lucky the Leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day. Turkey turned 18, and I still can’t believe it! I celebrated one year of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Chickadee turned nine! She was also confirmed at our new church in a very quiet, private service, which was just another strange thing COVID-19 has brought us.

We started April strong with a fantastic Easter celebration, especially after our subdued Easter-at-home in 2020. Turkey, Bunny, and I went to a vaccine clinic at our local hospital and received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and celebrated with smoothies from Smoothie King afterward. We visited Origami in the Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden for the first time.

In May, Turkey, Bunny, and I were back at the vaccine clinic to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and Moose and Ladybug got their first doses at Walgreens. We celebrated “May the Fourth” and the “Revenge of the Fifth.” Ladybug turned 14 on Mother’s Day. We took a very special field trip to Grant’s Farm. Ryan and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Ladybug finished 8th grade. After 13 years of homeschooling grades K-12, Turkey and Bunny graduated from high school (and I’m not sure I’ve recovered yet!)! We bought a new double oven, which makes our endless cookie baking much easier!

We started preparing for Tokyo 2020 in June with a summer school that was, like the Olympics themselves, delayed a year. Moose and Ladybug received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. We visited Origami After Hours at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I shared a tour of my Animal Crossing: New Horizons island (I’ve made quite a few changes since then). I had a very nice birthday. Chickadee got braces! We saw the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

In July, I continued my Animal Crossing: New Horizons tours with a peek inside my home, a look at my neighbors’ homes, and a visit to the museum. I also took a look at one of my neighbor’s obsession with the native fruit. We actually took a trip and visited Bowling Green, KY! We also stopped in Nashville to see the Nature Pop! Lego exhibit. Bunny turned 17…the second Golden Birthday of the year! We visited Francis Olympic Field and the Olympic Spectacular in St. Louis. The Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremonies were finally held, and I made a Japanese dinner to celebrate.

August was a Big Month. Moose attended band camp for the first time…all day, five days a week for two weeks, and he loved it! We watched as much of the Olympics as we could…there were a lot of great moments! Turkey and I finally visited the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. We began a new school year, and I found myself with only two students in my classroom for the first time in years, with Ladybug in ninth grade, and Chickadee in fourth. Moose started his second year of high school, but his first year in-person, and he loved that, too, especially all of his band performances and competitions! Turkey and Bunny started college (spoilers: they both earned straight As in their first semester!). I abandoned my photography project of the Ottoman Garden for the second year in a row, but for very different reasons. We visited a beautiful sunflower field!

September was a quiet month. We did a lot of cooking in school, trying recipes from around the world, and from the Little Women Cookbook. We also took a field trip to Forest Park and visited the St. Louis Zoo. We had our annual family Oktoberfest celebration.

In October we went pumpkin picking, and we were even able to go on a day when everybody could come along. We finished cooking our way through the Little Women Cookbook. I had fun celebrating Erstwilder’s 10th birthday. We had a nice Reformation Day/Halloween.

We started November with a fun “Outdoors Week” in school. Bunny and I were very excited about the update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons! Moose turned 16! I wear dirndls now. We went to Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Chickadee finally got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Walgreens…and then a few weeks later, got the second, as well! We visited Creve Coeur Lake. We had fun doing all of our traditional Thanksgiving activities in school. I learned something really interesting in church. Pie Day involved making nine pies this year! Our three-day Thanksgiving celebration was very nice, especially because this year, we could have visitors. We started our new Advent Lego project.

That brings us to December, one of the best months of the year. Bunny participated in a speech contest at college and placed third in the persuasive category. We made our triumphant return to Christmas Traditions. Speaking of traditions, we may have come up with a new family tradition for St. Nicholas Day. We had fun celebrating Santa Lucia Day. Christmas School was a lot of fun! We got to hear Moose play in a band concert for the first time in two years. I’m really into gnomes right now…no, seriously! We finished building the Lego Millennium Falcon, but we’ve yet to figure out where it’s going to go…it’s an enormous set! We had a very nice three-day Christmas that included lots of church and visiting with family. I wasn’t ready for Christmas to be over, so we visited the Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo for the first time.

I think it’s safe to say that for us, at least, this year really was better than the last. I know that wasn’t true for everybody, so my hope for 2022, whatever it may bring, is that more people are able find joy and things to celebrate in the midst of whatever chaos we’re still living in!

A Return to Christmas Traditions

After a hiatus last year due to COVID-19, yesterday we made a return to Christmas Traditions in historic St. Charles, MO!

The parade was a little different this year, including the fact that it ran the opposite direction down Main Street from what we were used to. This actually made it easier to photograph because I wasn’t pointing my camera into the sun, so that was really nice. And Santa liked my Christmas skirt!

Seeing the characters is always the best part, and we saw all of our favorites…in the end, we collected 21 of 35 cards, which is only ok, but the point is, we were there.

The very best moment for me was seeing Bunny see Jack Frost again. If we had accomplished nothing else yesterday, that would have made the trip worth it. And I think he was equally glad to see her!

My annual gazebo picture was a little different this year, but again, the point is, I took it:

Of all the things COVID took away from us last year, missing our favorite family Christmas event was one of the ones that hurt the most. Even if things weren’t exactly the same as they used to be, I was so glad to be back!

Chickadee Thursday

Chickadee has been busy since Thanksgiving! She got the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine:

And she added Christmas colors to her braces…next month, she gets to have brackets placed on her bottom teeth, too!

I’m looking forward to more fun and excitement in the coming weeks!

Advent 2021–Day One

We have been waiting for this year’s Advent Lego project for a long time!

Almost two years ago now, I purchased a set that everyone in the family dreamed of building, but no one person could afford…the Lego Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Millennium Falcon. The plan was to build it last Advent, in advance of the big trip to Orlando, and especially Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney, that we were supposed to take this summer.

Of course, COVID-19 happened, and we quickly realized that we would need to postpone our trip to (God willing) summer 2022. So I offered the children the option of building the Falcon anyway, or building another set I had on hand and saving the Star Wars set for the Advent before our vacation as planned. They chose the latter, and so the GINORMOUS box for this set became a fixture in our den while we (kind of) patiently waited to build it. Seriously…it could play the part of an end table it’s so huge!

Today Turkey got started on the build. He took care of bag one of seventeen. I know seventeen bags doesn’t sound like enough for 27 days of Advent, but this set has over 7,500 pieces, making it one of the largest Lego sets created, so one bag is more than enough for one day…we’ll be splitting many of the upcoming bags in half, and that will still be plenty of building for a day! He took care of the base of the frame, and looking at it right now, you wouldn’t necessarily have any idea what the completed set will even be! Also, check out the enormous, spiral-bound instruction book…that’s definitely something new!

I’m very excited about this set, because of what it represents: a dream that had to be postponed that will hopefully be all the sweeter for the wait!