Easter 2020

Celebrating Easter in the middle of a pandemic was very strange!  Our church is closed so we had to watch church online this morning.  We didn't get dressed up in pretty clothes but stayed in our pajamas all morning instead.

The kids slept in and then we open their Easter baskets.  The Easter Bunny had hidden eggs all around the house so we were still able to have our egg hunt with the kids.  (Parker participated but did not cooperate when I tried to take a picture of him!)

Cory and the girls swam for a little while this afternoon but it is still way too cold for me to even think about getting in!  

My allergies are acting up so just to be safe we decided to cancel our cousin Easter egg hunt and stay home.  It was a hard decision but you just never know these days what is allergies and what is Covid so it's always better to be safe than sorry.

It was not the Easter we had planned, but we were still able to worship together as a family and celebrate Christ's resurrection.  Hopefully this will be the only holiday we will miss out on due to Covid.  It can't last forever, right?!?!?

The Pool is Finished!

There were a few rain delays and setbacks but our pool is now finished!  It ended up taking about 6 weeks to complete due to the rain, but we are so excited that it is finished and the kids can't wait to start swimming every day!

After the gunite, they laid the tile and rock around the edges of the pool.

They finished the electricity and then it was time to pour the decking.  I was so ready for the mud around the pool to be gone!  Because of the rain and mud, I was having to give Maggie a bath almost every single day.  We ended up adding more decking than we had originally planned and budgeted for but in the end, it was worth it!  I was so pleased with how it turned out and can't wait to host a lot of swimming parties this summer!

The final step was spraying the mini-pebble tek to give the surface its texture and blue color.

And just like that, it was time to start filling the pool with water!  It took almost three days of constant running from two different hoses to fill it up.

The grass and sprinklers were finally installed this week and we couldn't be more pleased with the end result!  It has totally transformed our backyard into an oasis and I can't wait to spend our summer outside with friends and family.

The water is still freezing but the kids haven't seemed to mind.  They've been swimming almost every day and can't wait until they can safely have their friends over to swim.

Happy 11th Birthday Aubrey!

Today Aubrey turned 11!  She wasn't able to have a birthday party with her friends but we were able to celebrate with a family birthday dinner tonight. 

We grilled out, opened presents, and let the kids play outside in the nice weather until dark.

I know it's not what she had planned for her birthday, but I hope she had fun and felt special today.  We love you Aubrey Kate and hope this is your best year yet!

March Little Things

March was a crazy month because everything shut down on March 13th due to Covid 19.  We left school for spring break on that Friday and never went back.  School has been moved online indefinitely and we have no idea what the next month will look like.  Here are a few things that happened in March before everything shut down: 

Lily's teacher, Mrs. Click, is in the process of training her dog, Charley, to become a therapy dog.  Because of that, she has been able to bring her to school a few times and let the kids interact with her.  Lily loves when she gets to come and read with the class!

I'm not sure why I took this picture of Maggie, but isn't she cute?!?!

Both girls have been working very hard all semester in GT on an art project for the Multicultural Fair.  Eden painted a picture and Lily created an origami teddy bear.  

At the beginning of the month, I never predicted that March would end this way.  Hopefully, things will be back to normal before too long!    

Parker's Track Season

Parker's track season got cut short because of COVID so he only got to run in three track meets.  His two events were the 800M and 1600M.  He placed 1st in the 800M at all three track meets!  I hate that he didn't get to finish the season but I am proud of how hard he worked during the season and can't wait to see him run again next spring!

Parker's Mid-Semester Band Concert

Tonight was Parker's mid-semester band concert.  Most of my family was able to come see his performance.  They played their UIL songs and did an amazing job! It's still hard to believe that only a year ago, most of the these students were just learning how to play an instrument.

Parker is also in the jazz band this year.  They played some of their recent songs tonight and sounded great!

The Wind Ensemble took their yearbook picture right before the concert began.

End of Basketball Season

This week we ended a great basketball season for all three kids.  I am really sad to see it come to an end.  Watching Parker play middle school basketball has been so much fun!  His team ended the season with a WIN over Weatherford Hall.  It was a close game (like most of his games) but they pulled it out in the end.  Parker has learned and grown a lot this year and I am already looking forward to watching him play again in 8th grade.

Parker has loved having Coach Ellis as his coach this year.  He has been so encouraging to Parker throughout the season.  Hopefully he will be able to move up and coach the 8th grade boys again next year.