Thoughts on Traveling Amidst a Pandemic

I'm an enneagram 7 and the 3 months of Shelter in Place was kind of tough on my heart that loves adventure.  Like many, many people vacations were put on hold or cancelled.  We had 2 very special weekends away (to celebrate my husband's 40th and our 15th anniversary) and those got cancelled as well as our Big Summer Vacation.  That was so hard on my heart.  Adventures breathe life into my soul and by the time June rolled around my heart was heavy.  Between the anger and hate I was seeing on social media and not being able to go to my usual spots or wander aimlessly around stores sipping a latte. 

Around this same time, we were toying with the idea of going to visit my parents and grandma in Wyoming.  It has been 4 years since we were last there and because there are so many wide open spaces, we could have adventures safely.  There were a LOT of conversations and most of them stopping because the idea of driving that far was not really high on our list and we weren't sure about flying during this time.  When my grandma started having some health problems, we decided that it was actually very necessary to go while we were able. 

Our trip was set in stone a week and a half before we would leave.  There were so many feelings between nervousness (umm. . . there's a pandemic going on!) and excitement (we were headed on an adventure!).  I did so many things to get us ready for this trip.  As we were leaving, reports were starting to show spikes in numbers and being out and about in it kind of made me nervous.  Despite this, we continued our plans and went on our adventure as safely as possible. 

Our trip to Wyoming was to a small town (about 5000) in Northern Wyoming near the Big Horn Mountains.  We took 3 days driving to get there with stops in Las Vegas, NE and Park City, UT. Nevada was probably our biggest risky spot. 

We decided to take advantage of the Paris Hotel opening just a few days before and I'll be honest with you.  We had so much fun.  Our hotel room was sealed shut with a giant sticker that told us no one has been in the room since it was cleaned.  Masks were required everywhere.  That meant there wasn't a lot of smoking (A big plus!).  There were hand sanitizer stations about every 10 feet and some casinos had full on sinks with soap and paper towels in the middle of their casinos along with lots of hand sanitizer.  Tables were marked if they were sanitized and if you sat at one, you were to flip it over marking it dirty, so no one would sit at it, but also so that a staff member could come and wipe it down.  The Bellagio only let so many people go into their botanical gardens at a time and even then you had to follow a specifically marked path.  We found that the Casinos that were open were doing everything in their power to keep people as safe as possible and be able to stay open.  We were impressed.  I will say that most stores were not open yet, as well as clubs, shows, and bars (that was nice. . . until we wanted to grab a cocktail to take up to our room).   On the way home, we ended up getting to go to the New York New York so we could eat a late lunch at Shake Shack (drooling as I type this!).  It was so quiet there that it was easy to feel safe. 

The rest of our trip was pretty much lower crowds.  We followed recommended social distance guidelines and wore masks when out it public.  In Park City, we took our food to go and bought some picnic food for the rest of our journey (there were not a whole lot of places to eat on that leg of the journey. . . except ice cream. . . lots of ice cream!).  One restaurant that we ate at used shower curtains to divide the booths. . . but it was so quiet that no one was anywhere near us!

When we got to the small rural town where my parents are staying, very few stores required masks, but we always carried them with us just in case.  We were even able to go to a parade safely! We avoided lots of crowds, which was really easy to do in a rural area. 

I thought I would share some tips for planning adventures despite the Pandemic. 

We've gone on our big road trip, a beach trip, wine tasting, and a few other random adventures here and there.  There is a way to do it wisely and it's good for your mental health. 

1.  Don't let fear guide you and trap you inside.  But, no matter where you fall in your belief of the pandemic, you can not argue that it isn't serious.  Be wise.

2.  Avoid Large crowds, especially indoors.

3.  Wear masks when around other people.

4.  If restaurants scare you, order take out and go on a picnic. . . or eat in your car. 

5.  Get creative and do a little research.  Some National Parks are closed or limiting cars, or even requiring a reserved pre-paid pass. 

6.  When planning your adventure, look for ways to experience something or somewhere new. . . like a quiet beach that isn't your normal beach. 

7.  Carry Hand Sanitizer with you and spray your hands every now and then. 

I guess what I am trying to say is just because there is a pandemic, it doesn't mean you don't have to stop living.  Let's safely live our lives going on adventures and living life to the fullest. 

Have you gone on an adventure this summer?

Summer Art Challenge 2020: Self Portraits

There is something about summer (even in the midst of a pandemic) that I really just love.  It's more quiet and relaxed.  There's more time for creativity and rest.  It's been pretty great.  In many ways, my kids are experiencing the same summer they normally have despite society kind of hunkering down where we live.  This means we are doing art and lots of it.  This week we moved along in our Summer Art Challenge to Self Portraits. 

Self Portraits are always fun because kids get a chance to draw themselves.  They get to play with making shapes to form their eyes, decide if they want eye lashes or not (my boys decided that despite their long, beautiful eye lashes drawing them looked like a girl. . .. boys!). 

We started out with just a simple video tutorial on how to draw ourselves from the chest up (I'll link it at the bottom).  The kids had to push pause every now and then so they could do what she asked them to do, but it worked.  They turned out great!   We used pencils to draw and crayons to color.  Super simple. 

Later in the week, we took a different approach to Self Portraits.  We did it Abstract style.  I really wanted to keep with the same simple pencil and crayon approach as we did with our earlier self portraits, but change it up again.  We talked about what we had learned last year when we studied Picasso and then got to see a lot of his creations at the National Art Gallery.  We talked about bold colors, strange shapes, and how they don't look realistic at all. 

We used another tutorial (this time not a video) found on Pinterest (why recreate the wheel?).  It was simple and left room for lots of vibrant colors.  This one was super easy also, but we decided that the colors popped more when we outlined everything in black . . . such a simple thing, but an incredible difference. 

And that's a wrap for this week's Summer Art Challenge.  Have you been taking time to get creative?  I can't tell you how much it does a heart good in the midst of all the crazy!  Plus, I love the memories and conversations that are made from these art times! 

If you are doing them, I'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to tag @outoftherightbrain on facebook or @jolieklassen on instagram. . . or use the hashtag #ootrbsummerartchallenge.

It's a joy to my heart to be able to blog here, but also I get so much encouragement seeing what you all are creating! 

Have a great weekend!

Links:

Self Portrait Video Tutorial

Abstract self Portrait tutorial

More Picasso Art

Connection Time {July 2020}

Hi all!  Welcome to my July Connection Time, where we all go grab a coffee, tea, sparkling water, glass of wine, or whatever you want to drink and well. . . we sit and we chat.  One of my favorite things to do is gather around the table with friends and coffee and just talk about life.  It's one of the things that energizes my soul and right now it's something we need more than ever.  We are all living fairly isolated lives. . . in some areas you might be opening up.  We are at a point where things are closing back up due our numbers.  In fact, where I live there are so many angry people and some how or another, masks became a point of anger and dissension and i just have no clue.  It's actually kind of sucky.  (that's all I am going to say about that. . . this is not the place for angry comments about masks)

But. . .

Oh my goodness, it felt good to just get away and take a break.  Adventures are good for the soul (especially if you are an enneagram 7 like me!).  I haven't done one of these since the school year ended, because quite frankly I was tired and we decided we needed to get out of town (that will be a whole post on its own). 

So. . . How are you all doing?  California friends. . . are you hanging in there?  Are you finding ways to get creative?  How are you nurturing your soul during this time?  Let's chat!

First, a few thoughts:

:: We are doing something with our front door area to adjust to some new ways we are approaching ministry.  It's pretty exciting.

::  I've been making iced tea with some teaology tea my sister bought me.  It's pretty amazing. 

:: The She Reads Truth summer study is on fire!  If you aren't doing this and are looking for a good summer study, I can't recommend this one enough!  

:: I just bought these masks from madewell and a new pattern to make my own! Bring on a fall of cute masks.  And let's just be real. . . I want to go wander Target and Hobby Lobby. 

We're going to start with the usual questions and feel free to answer one or some when you're done reading through mine.  I'd love to hear from you. . . and really. . . the best encouragement for me are comments!

Outside my window  the sun in shining brightly.  It's summer and hot and we basically live inside or at our friend's pool right now.  This week the mornings have been kind of cool and so we've been out playing basketball before it really gets hot. 

I am thinking of ways to destroy the black widow living in my squash planter box.  He's huge and fast.  I'm thinking we need a blow torch?  Any thoughts?

From the kitchen there really isn't a whole lot going on. We are eating lots of ice cream.  There weren't a lot of options for dairy free on our trip (Weston was such a trooper!), but on the way home we ordered our favorite Salt and Straw and then made a Good Pop order.  Both orders have not disappointed and no one is complaining about the amount of ice cream in our freezer. 

I am wearing Fabletics yoga pants and an Under Armour shirt I picked up at the outlets in Park City.  I regret not buying another one. . . it's the perfect workout shirt! It's no longer available, but it is similar to this one.

I am creating I am working on a cross stitching project that is turning out so cute.  I also have some fabric staring at me so after we're done chatting, I am going to go cut out some fabric.

I am going to be getting my house ready for distance learning.  We had made the decision as a family a few weeks ago, but now it looks like the whole school district is heading that way.  Plus, back to school supply shopping is one of my favorite things. . . so I will be putting together some items that I think will be needed at home during this time.

I am reading books.  Actually, I am trying to get back into the habit I was in before vacation.  I just bought the book Hamilton so that should keep me busy for awhile. 

I am hoping that this pandemic ends.  That is all.  But at the same time, I hope and pray we come out stronger, better people because of it.  I was listening to this podcast before I left and they were talking about how they believe that God is changing the way ministry is done.  I fully believe that God is doing something big behind the scenes and I am living in anticipation to see how this all unfolds. 

I am hearing kids playing with Legos and I couldn't be happier.  No one is arguing and no one is whining. 

Around the House projects and lego creations are laid out.  The kids backpacks need to be unpacked.  No worries here. 

One of my favorite things is gathering once a week for Bible Study.  We meet in my front yard and sit in lawn chairs drinking cold drinks and watching the sunset.  We are going through the She Reads Truth men and Women of the Old Testament and it has been pretty fantastic. 

A few plans for the week a wine tasting trip, probably some ice cream eating, and local take out picking up.  Other than that, we are just hanging out at home working on our projects.  Maybe we will even watch Hamilton again!

What I am listening to we have the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat along with Adventures in Odyssey episodes in the afternoon while we create.  I'm also listening to the She Reads Truth podcast and am hoping to start watching this past February's IF conference and last year's IF lead. 

Now, it's your turn!  Grab your coffee and let's connect! You don't have to do them all! I can't wait to hear from you! You can even private message me if you don't want to make it public.  

Outside my window
I am thinking
From the kitchen
I am wearing
I am creating
I am going
I am reading
I am hoping
I am hearing
Around the House
One of my favorite things
A few plans for the week
What I am listening to 

I can't wait to hear from you! 

Summer Art Challenge 2020

It's halfway through July and I think I am finally finding my groove.  I think that a lot of my creativity was spent planning activities for my kiddos when school abruptly shut down back in March.  I was mentally tired.  So, when summer finally arrived I really wanted to do nothing. And then, we went on an adventure and I think my brain was reset (if that's even possible).  So now, we are home and taking advantage of every ounce of summer that we can. . . even in the middle of a pandemic. 

Every summer, the kids and I have tried to some sort of challenge for the summer.  We've done random Pinterest projects, STEM projects, and last year we did an art challenge where we studied 6 artists and their very different styles of art.  (I will link them at the bottom of the page).  This year, when going through some of my old teaching files from my pre-mom life, I found an art journal I had my class create, studying different techniques and skills of art.  And so, we are doing at least one a week.  This may just continue on in the fall, since we are not going back to the classroom, but are doing distance learning, so keep an eye out.  My goal is to highlight our projects weekly on the blog. 

Why art?  First of all, I am in no way an artist.  I draw stick figures.  My circles are really wobbly blotchy round-ish things.  But despite my artistic shortcomings, art is everywhere and art is important.  It gives kids confidence and allows them to express themselves in ways that speech cannot.  It also is some great time with my kids when we sit around the table to create together.  We have amazing conversations and it's just a blast.  My boys are getting older and my oldest is now taller than me (sniff sniff), and I want to take advantage of every moment I can.  So, art time is also our designated us time, where they aren't in front of the tv, video games or  playing with legos.  It's one of my favorite times. 

This week we talked about two different topics:  Color and Media. 

Color is fun, because it begins with the color wheel.  I had a printable that I have no idea where I got it from, but the IKEA kids plates are the perfect size to trace a circle onto a piece of paper, then use a ruler to draw your lines.  (I'd probably do the circle and lines for the smaller kids and let the big kids take care of their own). 

The color wheel starts out with talking about the Primary Colors - Red, Yellow, and Blue.  We first painted those colors on every other triangle of the circle.  Then we talked about Secondary colors and actually used those two primary colors to mix paints and create the purple, orange, and green. 

The next lesson we did continued with color and taking it a step farther to make different shades and tints.  Shades are what happens to a color when small amounts of black are added into the color and tints are what happen when white is added slowly. 

(Sorry about it being upside down. . . oops!).  We started out with the primary colors, but added in the secondary color green.  You can really do this with all 6 colors if you wanted. We started out with a blotch of each original color and then 1 drop of black, mix, and blotch.  Then 2 drops and 3 drops.  Then we did the same thing for white. 

Media

Once we had finished studying color, we moved on to Media.  Media is really the different ways we can achieve the same design, but using different mediums.

For this project, we divided our paper into fourths.  I chose a rainbow and Ethan chose a grassy scene with birds and a sun and Weston kind of did what ever he felt like (partly because he started out with the solar system and it was going to take forever. . . he didn't have time for that!).  We started with oil pastels (if you don't have these, crayons are okay, too!) and drew our picture.  Then we moved on to paper scraps and made a collage.  Finally, we pulled out the acrylic paints and water colors and painted our picture. 

I absolutely loved how this came out and even though both boys took a different approach to the project they both turned out great and got to explore different forms of media.  I really want to mention that with art, it's okay if each kid steers from the original outcome and does there own thing.  They both achieved the same thing . . . in getting to see how different mediums work, but each one shows the personality of each child.  That is what is so much fun about art . . . there really is no wrong way! 

Are you taking time to get creative?  Are your kids?  I'd love to hear what you are doing and how you are keeping sane.  Feel free to tag @jolieklassen on instagram or @outoftherightbrain on facebook to share your creations!  Or feel free to leave a comment. . . this makes my day!

And as promised. . . links to previous summer challenges:

Summer Art Challenge 2019

Summer Stem Challenge 2018

Summer Pin Challenge 2017 - This is the last post from that series, but all previous are linked at the bottom of the post.

Also, as a bonus, we are also working on some STEM projects. . . but due to time, those will only be shared on instagram. Don't forget to follow me over there!