Sniffles & Skillman park

After Grandma & Granddaddy left, we enjoyed time watching Maisie while her mom took Colleen & Ian to a birthday party. The big kids had fun entertaining Maisie with toys & the party lights.

Colleen & Austin were pretty miserable with the sniffles a few days later. So we drove to Chick-fil-A to pick up lunch; we had vouchers for free ice cream. The kids were thrilled when I let them eat ice cream for lunch.

Having fun in between school subjects.

Our neighbor gave us a complete set of sparring gear for Austin as her son was no longer pursuing karate. Patrick & Austin had fun sparring.

A Saturday spent hiking & geocaching at Skillman Park.

 

 

 

 

 

Grandparents! After 18 months!

Grandma & Granddaddy came for a visit after about 18months of being apart! We all had looked forward to their visit for weeks in advance. 

On Saturday morning, we took them to Natirar for a walk.

Colleen showing off her reading skills to Granddaddy.

 

We played so many games!

A little baseball practice

 

Austin's baseball game was canceled; we had our picnic on the living room floor while watching the first half of The Rookie.

For our last day of CC Essentials class, the tutors set up a giant Chart A with all the grammar they had learned this year and associated ice cream sundae toppings. The kids were very excited to celebrate.

Because I wasn't sure what to expect at the actual CC Graduation, I recorded the kids' practices.

Colleen's performances:

Austin's group, the "Middles"

Amelia's group, still figuring out what they're doing

So tired that she fell asleep while reading.

Austin's fan club at the rescheduled baseball game.

 

Raining pink petals

Snuggles with Granddaddy

We took Grandma & Granddaddy to our favorite Duke Farms for a walk.

Granddaddy figured out how to operate the new-to-us telescope & explained it to us. We are excited to use it!

Early dinner outside

Fun at the CC Graduation party & the kids' end-of-the-year presentations

 

 

 

Amelia giving her speech on Clara Barton

Mother's Day walk at Colonial Gardens - We had fun watching kayakers setting off on their tour. We also picked up a cache.

 

 

 

 

I took advantage of Grandma & Granddaddy's visit to go watch Austin at karate.

What a heart-filling time we had with our family. We are so grateful for the hours spent being together & don't take them for granted. The kids talked about them for days, wishing we could all be together again soon. Patrick & I thoroughly enjoyed our 2 dates; the first ones since the pandemic started.