What a May!

What a month this May has been!  We finished out school at home, and I kept my office officially closed until May 18th (though we had a rotating schedule of when employees would go in).  It has really been a unique time for our family, nation, and world.  Ryan and I have said many times that we'll look back on this time and think of it as being one of the best times for our family.  We have spent so much time together, and truly enjoying that time.  The girls have become best of friends again which we've loved seeing.  We've slowed down the pace of life some which has been wonderful.  We also recognize that we are healthy, income-stable, sheltering in a loving, safe, comfortable home, and all of our needs are more than met.  Not everyone has all of those items, so we are staying grateful and appreciative.  The shelter in place order and quarantine bans that we've seen are being lifted, so life is starting to return to a little more normal.

I think we've completely worn Decker out, and he'll be glad if we start getting out a little more!

Blake and Heather Martin hosted a little get-together to celebrate Chip DeWalt's birthday soon after the ban lifted.  It was our three families plus Blake's parents at the Martin's home.  We were so excited that Ryan's guitar teacher and friend, Mark Miller, came to play a concert for us there.  It was a beautiful evening (seriously the weather these last few months has been amazing), so we just gathered in their front lawn, enjoyed some Mexican takeout, and and listened to Mark's great music.  This was our first time to be with friends again in a couple of months, and it was wonderful!

 The girls have had fun doing each other's hair several times.

I just loved this picture of my sweet Mia.  Such joy in this one.

 Oh man, Decker is in need of a grooming appointment!  He can hardly see when he runs!

 Lily found these two house scavenger hunts that we had fun doing around our house one evening.  This was a very fun idea.

 We've all started a "paint by numbers" set which has been a lot of fun.

 It has become our family's summer goal to watch all the Marvel movies in their chronological order (not production order).  We started in the evenings during the last week of school.  We're about 2 weeks in at this point, and we're already down to Ant Man which is more than halfway.  We're all loving this and having fun with these movies.

 One evening we went over to the Foxes house to welcome Sarah and Abigail as "Newest Knights."  We can't wait to have their family at Stonehaven in Lily and Mia's classes next year.  We are very thankful for this family, and we think they'll make a great addition to the school.  The girls all had fun playing together, and we enjoyed sitting out in the driveway with Brian and Katherine to catch up.  Again, it's just so wonderful to be with friends again.

 Mia helped Ryan make bucatini pasta one evening for cacio e pepe.

 They made a few hearts out of pasta too to put in with the noodles.  It looked great and tasted delicious!

 We were thrilled to have Avery and Bella come spend the night last weekend.  The girls enjoyed their friends' company and catching up with one another.

 Just two cute pictures of Decker because really, isn't it always great to see a cute puppy?

 What a wonderful May it has been!

Gulf Shores Trip After School

The day after school finished up, we were supposed to be heading to Hawaii for a fun family vacation.  Of course, Coronavirus messed that one pretty good.  Thankfully we've been able to postpone it to a later date.  We asked Dad, and he said that Beach Club was open that week. I headed down on Saturday and was by myself until Ryan and the girls joined me on Tuesday.  I had not taken my traditional post-tax season beach trip this year, so this gave me that opportunity (even though tax season goes until July 15th this year!).  It was wonderful.  I spent one day completely in worship and prayer and asking God for direction for my business.  I spent another day totally relaxing and watching Netflix.  My half days were spent listening to podcasts, reading, and napping.  It was just what I needed.

I always love this view!

My lunch and dinner just about every day when I'm here by myself: PB&J sandwich, sour cream and onion Pringles, and a fruit.  I love this simple meal.

 We were so grateful to have a different view to enjoy!

 One of the days was absolutely gorgeous, so we spent most of the day on the beach and at the pool.

We spent one day out and about too.  We had Lambert's for lunch (love our throwed rolls!), and then went to play Pirate's Putt-Putt.  I was the winner by one stroke!  It was super hot, but lots of fun.

 Mia and Ryan hanging out at Lulu's for lunch another day.  It was so nice to just get out for awhile.

We so appreciate Mom and Dad sharing their condo with us.  It was such a wonderful little getaway, and a great way to start our summer!

End of 7th and 5th Grades

We finished out the school year from home.  It's weird to think the girls have done virtual schooling for a couple of months now; their last day going to school was March 13th.  They finished strong through and it was a great year for them (though definitely a weird one!).

Some of the end of school activities included Mia showing off her trumpet skills to thank Mr. Irby for teaching her this year.

 Mia had a math project to help teach fractions.  She could choose between blueberry muffins, scones, and chocolate chip cookies.  I for one am glad she choose the cookies; they were delicious!

 Change that...we were all glad she choose the cookies!

 The girls had some year-end testing to take care of.

 Cambridge House delivered a little care package one evening, and it included face masks for the girls.  Here they are sporting them with their Cambridge shirts for field day pride.

 Field Day was held virtually this year too.  Middle school actually did theirs as a zoom call with a lot of minute to win it type games.  I think Lily enjoyed watching her friends participate more than actually partaking in the activities.  5th grade and younger had some fun activities for field day at home.  We set up a sock toss with clothes hamper, and we had timed races holding a strawberry on a spoon in our mouths.

 You need an egg toss too.  Dad and Mia beat Lily and me on this one.

Not our normal field day but fun nonetheless!

The official last day of school was May 15th.  We all tuned in to Facebook Live that morning for the traditional end of year ceremony.  We were so pleased when both girls were announced as having made the all A/B honor roll for the year!  This means they had no more than two B's the entire year, and the rest A's.  They have worked so hard to earn this.  We were all so surprised too when Mrs. Barile announced that Lily won the PE award for the girls in her class.  How about that?!  While this was most definitely a weird year, it was a great year for the girls.  We absolutely love Stonehaven, the teachers who do such an incredible job with their gifts and talents, and friends we have there.

The Most Unusual April

What an unusual April we've experienced.  School has officially moved to online learning for the rest of the school year.  IRS and states moved the filing deadline back to July 15th, so I'm working from home but loving it.  I only work about 35 hours a week, and am spending so much time with my family.  It's fantastic!  Ryan and the girls have been sheltering at home since March 13th, and I joined in on April 3rd.  I run to the office once a week to switch out files, and I go to the chiropractor every other week.  Ryan occasionally goes to the grocery store, CVS, or to pick up take out for us.  We're pretty much just hanging out at home though which reminds me how grateful I am for our home.  Here are a few pictures of the things we've been doing.

School work is still continuing though it's all virtual now.  Mrs. Rodriguez assigned an art project that was simply to create something.  That's it.  Talk about being creative!  Lily made this beautiful sidewalk chalk drawing of the Stonehaven crest.

 Mia made a Great Pyramid of Stuffed Animals in her room!  She measured it too to let Mrs. Rodriguez know it is 4 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 2 feet deep.  This took some effort to corral all of her animals!

 Mia also had an egg drop science project.  She made a bubble wrap suit for the egg, and it successfully withstood being dropped at 6, 12, 18 and 24 inches.  It didn't make it from the 60 inch mark though.

 I think our unending presence has finally worn out Decker.

 The girls have still been getting creative!

 And we've still been cooking up a (delicious) storm.

Ryan made homemade farfalle that we paired with blackened chicken.

 I've been meaning to try this Strawberry Biscuit with Prosciutto and Pecorino Romano cheese for about a year.  Finally made it and OH MY GOODNESS it was so good.

 Decker's attempt at puppy dog eyes so I'd share the fabulous ribs Ryan made.  Not a chance.

 The weather has been amazing this whole month.  We've gone on so many walks and been outside more than I ever remember.  We put up the big screen and watched A League of Their Own one evening.  Now the girls know why "there's no crying in baseball!"

 Kona Ice did a fundraiser one day to raise money to support the family of fallen Smyrna police officer.  Not only do we love Kona Ice, but we wanted to support this family as well.  The plan was for the truck to drive the whole neighborhood.  We played outside for over 3 hours and had a blast, but the truck never came.  He ended up changing plans and parking outside his house, so we walked over there instead.  It was a fantastic treat, and we got to donate to help a local family.

 We all went for a drive one afternoon and stopped by where they've recently broken ground on the new school property.  It's supposed to be finished before school starts back in August; we hope so!  We spent a little time praying over this property and for much good for God's kingdom to come from it.  This is so exciting for Stonehaven!

 We've all four been playing catch in the front yard the last few days.  It's been a lot of fun.

 Even Decker gets in on some of the fun!

 Of course, sometimes we just have fun laying around too.

My little family is made up of my favorite people.  I sure do love them.  I know these are such weird days for everyone, and I know not everyone has a loving, wonderful family to be home with.  I am so incredibly thankful for these blessings in my life.