First Day of School September 9, 2020

What strange times we are in.  We are still going through a pandemic, and technically not going to the physical school building.

However, school stops for no one.  So Grace will start her fifth grade year with online classes where she has to connect with her teachers and classmates with online meeting rooms.

Glen is going to start his third grade year the same way.  With his teachers and classmates only knowing him through online meeting rooms.

Since I am a school teacher we do have a benefit.  On Mondays and Tuesdays the kids came to school with me.  They were cared for by a teacher and did virtual learning in the auditorium so they were with a teacher...kind of, and they were with other students...kind of.  I think they liked the idea of getting out of the house and being even kind of normal.

Wednesdays the kids did not have classes and I only had a few meetings so I helped them catch up on work and do their specials on that day.

Thursdays they would go to Grandpa Steve and Grandma Sue's house and they would do their classes and work there.  Fridays they would go to Mamaw and Papaw's house and they would do their classes and work there.

It was a crazy schedule but it allowed me to work from home a little, work from school a little, they got some school experience, and they also had some extra special time with both sets of grandparents.

I think this could be a good year.
 

Just a cute boy.... August 30, 2020

Just a cute boy and his cat, Grissom. 

Weekend at Highland August 7-9, 2020

Highland summer camp for the kids did not happen this year because of Covid 19.  However, they created something called family camps.  So we went out as a family, and stayed in our tent.  We were able to go to the pond and look for frogs and do a water study with a counselor there.

We spent some free time playing in the ga-ga court.

Grace and Glen both had a great time playing against Dad.

They really get into this game.

The swings were a favorite, especially with Glen.

We had a great camping space with just the perfect trees to set up our hammock.  What you can also not see from this picture is that we were not the only family camping on our site.  Grandma Sue and Grandpa Steve decided to come and camp on our site also.

But I love this picture were brother and sister and choosing to enjoy sometime sitting, talking, swinging, and eating walking tacos together.  It is a rare and cherished time.

The next day we signed up to go to the climbing wall.

Grace was the best at the climbing wall.  She went up and down and up and down.

She even at one point did the wall blindfolded.

Here she is sitting at the top after she finished the wall.

Below you can see Glen climbing.  He did not get to the top but I was so proud that he climbed and got pretty far!

Grace challenged Matt to a climb to the top.  

Grace won, but Matt gave her a good fight.

Of course while you are at Highland, you spend some time in the creek.

Here Glen is finding some minnows with his cup.

Another activity that we did at family camp was to build bird houses.  The pieces were precut and we just had to assemble them.  It was a lot of fun.

I hope that family camp continues in the future.  This was a great experience to have together.
 

Pinewood Derby July 25, 2020

Both of my cub scouts participated in the pinewood derby race on this day.  No one came out as a clear winner, but each year we do this race we get better and better.  

Both Grace and Glen won a few of their races, and they both did a great job designing and painting their cars.

 

Cat July 21, 2020

Just a cute picture of Emmett in a basket.

 

Virginia Beach Trip July 18, 2020

We decided to take a quick weekend trip to Virginia Beach.  

It was good to get outside and play in the water and the sand.  Grace especially loved the water and Glen really loved the sand.

In the evening we all cuddled on the bed and watched a movie on Matt's computer or we played Quirkle.  

It is always fun to take pictures at the fun sights around Virginia Beach.  We passed his school of fish to get to the beach every day so we decided to join them for a picture.

Here is Glen, happy and in his element, making sand castles...so that he can destroy them later :)

Many, many sandcastles to destroy!

Such a beautiful sight!

Grace and I spent a lot of time swimming and floating in the water.  It was so nice and relaxing!

Grace really liked riding her wave board into the shore.  She usually did a really good job with it.

Here, Glen and I are floating and swimming in the ocean and Grace is coming to join us.  I am so glad that the kids both like these activities.

Here is another picture with that school of fish.  I told you, we passed them many times each day to get to the ocean.  So we got many pictures with them!

On one of our walks around town we found this very cool LOVE sign.  So I will end with the kids that I love, during the family time that I love, on a trip that I love, standing in front of a sign that says love. 

 

My Children (Furry and otherwise) July 13, 2020

I now have children (Grace and Glen), children with scales (Comet and Golfball), and children with fur (Emmett and Penny).  Here are a few pictures of some of my furry and otherwise children :)

Grace and our two kittens (Penny is in the front and Emmett is behind her next to Grace's cheek).

Grace with Penny.

Glen with Penny.

 The kids are loving having the kittens around (the kittens are loving it or maybe they are just tolerating it :)