Evan was so excited for baseball this year! Opening day was supposed to be in March, but got postponed to June because of the pandemic. It lasted for about three weeks and then was cancelled after a coach tested positive for COVID. Evan only had three games, but we sure enjoyed watching him play while it lasted!
We've had a lot of really fun, relaxing beach days the past couple of months. It seems to be one of the few activities we can do during the pandemic. The beach shut down for 4th of July weekend, but we were able to go the Thursday before and had the whole beach to ourselves. It was the most empty I'd ever seen Galveston during the summer. Our most enjoyable beach trip was at the beginning of June with my brother Jeremy's family, my brother Carl and Grammy and Grandpa. It was a farewell beach party for Jeremy and Nicole before they moved to Utah. We will miss having them close by. Lorelei and Benny will especially miss Rae and Hughy!
What a crazy school year it has been! Schools were closed back in March and stayed closed the rest of the school year because of Coronavirus. The kids had distance learning online, which was difficult at first but we got the hang of it eventually. So sad they missed out on all the fun end of year activities that normally happen, like kindergarten graduation. The school normally takes cap and gown photos of the kindergarteners, but since that wasn't happening, I ordered a cap and gown from Amazon and took my own. Can't believe my last baby has graduated kindergarten!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!)
