Not Much New in June

So pretty much things are the same around here . . . I'm still doing a few Shipt shops daily and the kids are still staying at home. They decided this week they would attempt sugar cookies from scratch, so that was a proud moment when they came out and were delicious.  Dave was not thrilled to wash all the cookie cutters, but he didn't complain since the cookies were so yummy!

We got a sign to let our neighbors know we have a proud 8th-grade graduate!

And this kid is enjoying some new books (actually they both are) now that the library is back open.  Woo hoo! They only allow one person in at a time and you can only pick up books that are on hold, not browsing, but hey, we'll take it! 

We continue to spend our mornings on zoom calls and doing minimal school work but thankfully that all wraps up this week.  Preston turned in his last big project today and will learn about his summer reading assignment next week.  Afternoons are spent on screens a lot, but we still try to squeeze in a few walks too.  It's been quite hot lately so we haven't walked as much.  Our Disney trip has officially been canceled since they aren't opening until July so we are trying to figure out a fun summer vacation to get a break from being home!

It's Only May . . .

Yes, it's only May.  We've been home on quarantine since March 13 so it feels like July. Thankfully on most days, the kids can find something fun to do.  Preston and Patrick had tons of fun today with their homemade slip n slide.  Patrick had a baby slide and Preston found some plastic the contractor left in the garage so together then had a blast for a few hours. 

Savannah found our chalk stencils and some shade to create some sidewalk art.

We were able to watch the Crace kiddos one afternoon as well.  The big boys, of course, just wanted to sit in poor Shep's wade pool. LOL

FINALLY, the candy puzzle was finished.  It was quite the challenge, but these two persevered and we finished it today.

The highlight of the week was Preston's early birthday gift.  His old bike broke and the bike shop said it would be $90 to repair so we opted for a new bike instead.  However, little did we know there is a big bike shortage due to 1.more people riding and 2. bike factories shutting down from the virus.  Never the less, I managed to find the only one in Charlotte under $500 at Wal-Mart.  He is one happy kiddo! Dad is pretty excited too that it came assembled. :)

So we press on, trusting that this will all soon be a distant memory!

Mother's Day 2020

My highlight of the entire day was another original card by Dave!!

Today was a fantastic day!  I started bright and early with a triple Costco run for Shipt and was home and showered in time for church.  I LOVE my job!! The kids and Dave made the sweetest cards for me and got such thoughtful gifts (Savannah bought me Shipt stationery, Preston gave me a day without whining and a coupon for one shower floor cleaning, and Dave got my favorite white covered reeses).  We went for a long walk to the JMR track and spend the afternoon trying to paint our basketball lane  . . . so that wasn't the fun part, but at least we got it started.  We ran out of paint before we got the first part finished.  Unfortunately, no one in town sells the paint we need so we had to take up the stencil and order more paint from Amazon.

We had pizza for Mother's Day dinner (our new quarantine routine is Sunday night pizza) but we did get take out from Moe's on Saturday night.  With our coupon codes, we all ate and had leftovers for only $.49!!!  All in all, it was a fabulous day with wonderful weather and attitudes!!!

Adventures and Shenanigans

This kid . . .we have been doing lots of baking and apparently, he approves of our efforts!

This hamster . . why in the world does she insist on climbing on the top of her water bottle?  We've watched her try to get down and it's scary!  One time she landed upside down.  

And these girls, be still my heart!  I'm so thankful for this core group of friends.  They represent three different schools all in the same Sunday school group and have the closest bond.  They were so excited to get together face to face after weeks of zoom calls and tons of texts.  We met at the Promenade to pick up ice-cream and spent over 2.5 hours just chatting.  The teen girls chatted, Ben and Preston played football on the green, and the moms rejoiced in some adult conversation!

We are so thankful for online live church every Sunday.  This week there was some debate in our house about what kind of mug Pastor Alex was using. :)  We are making it.  Some days we are barely making it, but as the quarantine continues we are trying to make the best of it.

Precious Aunt Cherry

Today my sweet Aunt Cherry arrived in Heaven.  After a battle with cancer that left her depending on others for everything, I'm so thankful to know she is finally healthy and healed, living life at the feet of Jesus!  For the past ten plus years, Aunt Cherry filled in for my mom . . . she has been present for so many precious moments (especially for the kids), encouraged me, put up with my indecisiveness in picking out paint and furniture, been there when I needed advice, and always loved me fiercely.  Oh, how my heart aches today, but I find hope in knowing I'll see her again.  She fought a good fight and finished the race well.  How exciting it is to know she is already rearranging furniture in Heaven, but I'm pretty sure her mansion was more glorious than she could have even imagined.

During Week SIX of quarantine

 It's been fun seeing them work together and come up with creative ideas of things to do!  One day I looked out and they were attempting to fly a kite in the front yard.

It wasn't constantly windy, so after awhile they took a break on the driveway.

One day we ventured all of the way to the JMR track.  I didn't realize they had planned to practice Preston's field goal kicks. He actually made two!

Thanks to Uncle Denny's Amazon prime account we were able to get some new shrinky dink paper.  The kids enjoyed many new creations in their mini oven.

Today they have enjoyed having Dave home.  We played several games as a family, went on a long walk to the ATM for Savannah, and then they started a game of Monopoly!  

Although they announced Friday that schools are closed for the rest of the year, we are going to make the best of our stay at home situation.  I LOVE seeing the kiddos work together.  Granted there are still lots of disagreements and moments (okay hours) of boredom, but I'm hoping we look back one day and can be thankful for this time together as a family.  These are the moments I hope to remember! :)

Spring *Broken*

This is Spring Break week . . . supposedly the week of non-stop fun adventures, a break from the routine of school and homework, a chance to hang out with friends at Carowinds and more, but it isn't that at all. :(  We are making the most of it but it is not exactly "fun".  Along with many walks and games at home, we have attempted a few crafts.  Yesterday we tried to marbleize paper with shaving cream, fail.  There was a zoom family game night with the church youth group that we enjoyed last night, but it was brief and interrupted by connectivity issues. 

Part of the game night was basketball shots, Dave hit the most in our house!

Our kahoot was a disaster for game night. :(

We were planning to go to the Lazy Five ranch today, but when the kids found out it was an hour away, they vetoed that as well.  I ordered shrinky dink paper from Michaels for curbside pick up, but the city shut them down just an hour before I was scheduled to pick up our order.  So that left the easy bake oven for today's fun. HA!

Easy Bake oven disaster

Savannah gave up halfway through the cooking, but Preston persevered.  He wasn't too sure about the outcome, but after slopping on some peanut butter and jelly the cookies weren't that bad. :)

I guess we'll just be sticking with our tons of games to keep these kids busy. It's definitely a broken break to remember, but at least we are all healthy!!