Easter 2020

Easter was very different this year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The kids missed being with all their cousins for our annual Easter egg hunt. We also had church online instead of meeting together as a congregation. I didn't even bother getting everyone all dressed up and taking photos like I normally do. I went way overboard with Easter candy and basket stuffers this year. We ended up having two easter egg hunts, which the kids loved! We also had a scavenger hunt to find the baskets on Easter morning. We've never done that before, and it was lots of fun!

I did manage to grab a few photos in the evening after the kids had already dumped everything out of their baskets and eaten most of their candy. Everyone looks a mess, but I definitely wanted to document this unusual, shelter-in-place Easter!

this last photo is a little blurry and off-centered, but I love it. Dan was behind me and must have been doing something really funny!

Bike rider!

One of the best things about the pandemic has been all the extra time we've had to be together as a family. Dan finally got around to teaching Benny to ride a bike! He practiced at the big church parking lot across the street from our neighborhood, and picked it up so fast. He loves to ride his bike! Lorelei also got a few extra lessons!

Bluebonnets!

So happy to discover this little bluebonnet field not far from our house! Of course I made the kids take pictures there. It's a Texas tradition!

Recent read

I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction lately. My favorite was The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. He’s my favorite non fiction author. I’ve read all of his books and loved them all. His latest book is about WWII and Churchill’s time as prime minister. He gives a thrilling account of what it was like to live in England during 1940-41. I can’t imagine how terrifying it would be to go to bed every night wondering if this was the night me and my family would be bombed.

Spring Break 2020

What a memorable and crazy week! Our spring break (March 9th-13th) started with a fun trip to the Houston Rodeo with the three youngest kids. Kyla and Avery were on Trek with the church youth group. The day after our trip to the rodeo, we found out that the rodeo was being cancelled because of Coronavirus concerns. We luckily caught the very last full day of the rodeo!! We had so much fun and I am so glad that we were able to make it in time! Then, we found out that our church was being cancelled! That includes Sunday worship services, meetings, and activities! So crazy! We ended this super unusual week with a trip to North Padre Island. Dan booked a cute little condo a block from the beach for my birthday. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s. The beach water was a little chilly for me, but the kids loved it! The condo also had a heated pool that we enjoyed at night. So happy we were able to take this little trip as a family before things got crazier. While on our trip, we found out there is no school for the next couple of weeks! Kids were very excited about that!

we stopped briefly at the uss Lexington...taken with my cell phone

I didn't take my big camera to the rodeo so heres a few from my cell phone. Kids especially loved the carnival! (And Dan got his turkey leg!)

Wax Museum

Lorelei was Laura Ingalls Wilder for her school's Wax Museum. My mom recently gave her the Little House on the Prairie boxed set that we read as kids, and Lorelei has been reading them every night before bed. Her favorite book is Little House in the Big Woods. I loved reading these books when I was her age and it makes me so happy that she enjoys them too! She had to memorize a speech and make a little book on Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and accomplishments. She did such a good job on her speech! (I couldn't figure out how to upload it here, but I have it posted on Instagram.)

soccer

Kyla decided to try out for the high school soccer team this year and made it onto the JV team! She has never played on a soccer team before, so she was so excited to make the team. She missed a few of the games because she is also on the Varsity track team, and some of the meets were on the same day as soccer games. We sure enjoyed getting to see her play on the field!