A sad day

Today they announced that there would be no school for the rest of the year. At all. None. The Governor holds a press conference every other day at 2pm and today we were told that he was making an announcement about the school year so we all tuned in. In the back of my mind, I knew it was probably going to happen but hearing the actual words come out of his mouth were hard. It was a sad day. The kids seemed pretty happy but it I don't think they really realize what this means and what they will have lost not going to school for the rest of the year. It is a process of grief for us all and this is just one of the many things that we have lost.

Art class meets shop class

At Dan's home school art and shop can become one class. The kids sketched our their designs and then Dan cut them from wood we had lying around and then the kids helped him put them together and paint them with their unique color choices. I didn't get a picture of Sean's but they both turned out great!

St. Patty's Day-from home

I didn't even realize that it was St. Patrick's day until I went to the pharmacy and I saw the woman dressed in green head to toe. I looked at my watch to see that it was actually 3/17/20. No celebrations like usual this year. It has only been a few days since we have been adjusting to our new life. The kids have been calling Nama every day at lunch to spend time with her. Sean realized that his baby quilt that she made had a large hole it in and she offered to help him sew it, via face time. So, he did! It was awesome, he did a great job! Carter decided to spread some kindness by writing some kind notes through the neighborhood in sidewalk chalk and finally Dan got to enjoy his Guinness. It wasn't a bad St. Patty's day. Just different.

It was our first day getting the hang of "home" school and adjusting to the new schedule. So far it wasn't so bad. Our kids aren't getting off easy with a math teacher and an elem counselor in their house!

Coronavirus 2020

Well, it has been years since I updated things but with our current quarantine situation, I figured it was time to update and resurrect this blog to document our time together during this interesting and unexpected time we are facing.

I guess I'll start at the beginning. I remember specifically watching the Today show in late January/early February and thinking about how horrible the situation seemed in Wuhan, China and how I could empathize with the people and just could not imagine living in a world where everyone had to wear masks, etc. A couple weeks went by and it seemed like things were getting worse.

Jenn and Kevin came to visit right before things got really bad, on March 7-8th and things were still pretty normal and there weren't too many signs of things to come at that point. But in just a few short days things spiraled pretty rapidly. By Thursday, March 12th at 4pm we were notified that school was going to be closing for a solid 2 weeks to help slow the spread of the virus. Sean's bus was, as usual, late so he called me from his watch phone to tell me, and he was so excited, "MOM, we have two weeks off of school!" He was acting like I would not already know this information. I could tell the kids in background were all really excited as well.

We had Friday, March 13th to finish out one more day and give the kids the packets that were provided to us by the county to the kids, along with 5 library books and whatever school supplies that they needed for their extended break. Today, we had to work to finish up things as a teacher work day but it wasn't required. I am glad I got to go in through because there were some things I needed to do and I was able to get a lot done before I left. I took this picture on my way and I hit a pit in my stomach like it was the last time that I would see my office this school year. The break was scheduled for two weeks but I felt like it would end up being longer than that.
The kids started their official quarantine on Friday, March 13th and Dan and I started after today when we both got home from school.

Daddy ran a marathon!

Dan ran his first marathon and he did great! It was a super cold day but he trained hard and it paid off! He accomplished his goal. His parents and my sister, along with Carter were all along for the ride to cheer him on. We were able to see him at mile 5, 13, 18, 20 and at the finish line. It was a fun day to drive all around Richmond and be able to see him so many times and be able to cheer on the other runners! Way to go Daddy!!

Jamestown field trip

Dan was able to chaperone Sean's 4th grade field trip to Jamestown and spend the day with his class touring around. It was a chilly day but from the looks of the picutres they learned a lot and had fun!

Carter's (first) Art show!

 We were proud and excited to hear that Carter's art work was selected to represent Ridge at Lewis Ginter Botantical Gardens. It was the only piece chosen from Ridge and there were very few kindergarten students that were chosen across the county. Go Carter! She loves to create art! If you come to our house you'll see her art work and creations all over the place!

Here she is with Mrs. Lindsey, her art Teacher and the Art Director for the county.

Healthy Kids Running Series

We heard about a program through friends called Healthy Kids Running series which is a series of races for kids to run each week, based on their age, they run a certain distance each Sunday and try to improve their time. Carter had to run a 400 (1/4 a mile) and Sean had to run a mile. The first week was tough for Sean as he ran super fast and really exerted himself and was shocked with how bad he felt after running. But each week he was recovering much quicker after his mile. Sean was able to take off 30 seconds from his first time to his last finishing at a 7:04 mile and Carter ended up coming in 2nd overall for the girls age group of K-1st graders.  Dan and I both love to run so hopefully the kids will also enjoy it as well. 

Halloween 2017

 This year we had a Princess Leia and Nexo Knight Lego Man. We had our usual neighborhood pizza party to kick off trick or treating with our friends. The kids got more candy than we will ever let them eat and had fun running around the neighborhood with their friends.

JMU Homecoming 2017

 It has been forever since we have been back to JMU for homecoming so we were super excited that we got the chance to visit for the day. We started the day by taking a tour around campus to show the kids around. Some things feel just like they used to and some things seem so different since we have left. The game was really fun and the kids favorite part was throwing the streamers and picking them up and re throwing them again. Dan and I met up with one of my oldest friends from JMU plus some of our Richmond friends to tailgaate and we even got in a tour of the new UREC (the gym) where we all used to work. It was an action packed day of purple and gold FUN!!