Self Portrait October 7, 2020

For art class, Grace had to draw a self portrait.  I think that she did a pretty good job considering she had to do it in her room, alone, with no additional suggestions or help from the teacher. 

 

Glen and Penny September 22, 2020

 

Family Trip to a Cabin September 19-20, 2020

Since I am on the board of Highland Retreat Campgrounds I get the chance to go to one of the cabins free of charge for one weekend a year.  So this weekend we decided to rent Dogwood cabin and get away from city life for awhile.

Most of our time we spent it around the campfire.  It was beautiful weather, but it was so nice to snuggle around the fire and cook around the fire.

The camp loaned us a ball for the ga-ga court and also some corn hole games.  The kids loved playing both of those games while Matt and I usually watched while warming up around the fire.

We did do some hiking during this time though.  We hiked the perimeter trail at camp that went by the lake and on the mountain ridge.

Silliness by the fire.  Those two are not going to be able to share a chair for much longer.

Even though the water was a little cold the kids made their way into the creek and caught some minnows and other creatures.

On another hike that we did, we got to the tree house.  The kids had never seen it before and were very surprised that there was an actual tree growing up through the middle of the house.

Here is a picture of Grace at the ramp up to the tree house.  I think that she was a bit excited that we had gotten to our destination.

This was a fantastic quick weekend away.  I hope that we can do it again in the future.

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.