Ridenour Ranch: April 2020

Jude turned 11 on Saturday. And we are in the middle of a pandemic. I should be writing more about that, but I am trying to keep my head above water most days as this thing just kicked my life into overdrive. I have figured out that I like a slower-paced life. And while this social distancing, work-from-home, homeschooling life has slowed things down for some, it has only cranked it up for us it feels like...I now have to manage ALL kids (plus be their teacher...)ALL the time and do ALL the housework (with lots of "help") AND "work" from home. But that is for another time... Back to Jude!

So his birthday was Saturday. It ended up being a really beautiful, slightly windy day. And it was FULL of visiting of all kinds. The morning started with opening presents as usual. He got a NASA Saturn V Lego, a new button up shirt, work gloves, a coupon to watch Avatar with mom and dad, and a waffle maker! So he made us a waffle breakfast and it was delicious. I got out the chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, blueberries, EVERYTHING. Guess what they wanted? Regular syrup...kids! Then WhatsApp with the Herricks and played his saxophone for them. Then FaceTime with Grandma and Grandpa Ridenour, WhatsApp with the Swindolls, Zoom with some school friends, Facebook Messenger call with Eli, build a little Lego, and lunch. Whew! Then in the afternoon he and I drove around to all our local relatives (aka my family!) with cupcakes for a social distance visit outside. First was Grandma and Grandpa Koester, then Brett and Sammy, then Grandpa and Grandma Erwin, then Hendrixes, then Picks. Whew!!! Finally we hit up Hy-Vee for our aisles online order and Jackson Express for some pizza. Then it was pizza and root beer float party, feed calves, get ready for bed, watch Apollo 13 (to see his model in action, the 2 bigs enjoyed it and the others got bored...), and bedtime. BIG DAY! I think he enjoyed seeing all the important people in his life even though it wasn't quite the same as a normal birthday. He barely had a minute to build his new Lego so Sunday was devoted to that. We also finished Lego Masters last Wednesday and it was EPIC. What a fun show to watch for our whole family. Tyler and Amy ended up winning with their Griffin model.

Jude also picked up quite a few presents from all of his family along the way of our birthday drive. And some nice ones and cards in the mail too. Thank you to all who helped make his day special! Jude, we love you so much. You are our experimental child so sorry (but your dad and I were too!). You are 11 and I really just don't know what to do with that information...I'm happy about the young man you are becoming and a little sad as we come closer to the end of your little boy days. We figured out that you will be a teenager and I will be forty in two years...Yikes! You have become very responsible and very capable. You are a big help on the farm and around the house and sometimes even with your younger siblings. It was such a fun day to ride around with you in the truck! Right now we really don't know what the future holds, but I'm excited to see what this year has for you. Last year of elementary school, a lot of lasts with that. But many more first to come as well! We love you for your smart, funny, creative, outgoing, honest personality and just for who you are.