COVID - 19

I started this post in 2020.  It's almost 3 years later and a lot has changed.  We don't have to wear masks anymore (except to doctors offices) and we can do normal things like eat out, movies, and go to sporting events.  I'm pretty sure everyone in our family has had covid at least once even if we didn't test for it.  P/V have both had it and bounced back after a couple weeks.  We didn't get the vaccine but respect anyone who does.  It's a personal choice. 

What a few months it has been.  This world wide pandemic has taken the world by storm and totally changed how we do life. It started in March, in China I believe, but spread to the US and flights were cancelled, people worked from home, and then school was basically cancelled after Spring Break.  Teachers did their best to have "online" school, but it's not the same.  Even my school didn't return after Spring Break and I had to host zoom classes for the remainder of the semester.  It's been a wild ride. 

First we had to quarantine to our homes and neighborhoods.  We could walk outside but had to socially distance ourselves from others at least 6 feet apart.  Restaurants, the mall, businesses and the movies all closed.  Bryce started working from home and I had to facilitate my classes and help the kids maneuver their online school with limited devices.  We requested another device from the school and were approved so we had 2 laptops instead of 1 plus R used her Kindle.  The older 3 kids were pretty independent, so I just had to work with E everyday.  We finished the school year out online on June 4.   Since everything had "shut down" and become remote, we decided to take our family vacation early and we flew to NC for 10 days.  J/K Gillam sold their house in Raleigh and bought a house in Oak Island, NC.  We stayed with them and basically went to the beach everyday after school was done.  We were in NC from May 22-June 2.  It was the best (and cheapest) vacation. 



So fast forward and it's summer now (2020).  B is still working from home and the only summer activity is E's gymnastic class. There's no VBS, no pine cove, no Civitan Camp, and no swim team.  i9 Sports cancelled their spring/summer seasons too.  CG just went back outside after doing virtual only for 8-10 weeks but they still have a virtual program.  I've been doing outside camps 90% of the time but occasionally I'll hop on a virtual workout.  It's just crazy to me how things have changed.  We don't see P/V as much anymore trying to keep them safe/healthy since they are high risk.  I've been doing V's grocery shopping for her and dropping them off.  They don't come over for dinner anymore either. 

It's just a weird time and we are so over it, but we have to comply with the rules.  We have to wear masks when we go in a store or business and we have to stay 6 feet apart from others too.  I don't know if things will ever go back to the way they were, but we still only get our food to go from restaurants. 

group picture before looking for crabs

Bree's favorite donut place

Our flight to NC

Cheapest tickets EVER! 

Our daily set up

One afternoon we went kayaking

tie-dye t-shirts

Ice Cream

Vacation!

Wow....Just wow

I cannot believe I've gone an entire 6 months (half a year) without documenting anything.  It's pretty sad and a little unbelievable all at the same time.  I'm trying to talk myself back into getting in the habit and rhythm but I want to be realistic and reasonable.  It's summer right now, June 27th to be exact so I have time.  Question is: Will I use my time to blog? 

Here's our most recent family picture.  June 16, 2018 after the Spartan Sprint and the day before Father's Day.  I have tons to upload and update. 

3 weeks of guests

Working at Logos Prep has its perks but it also has some obstacles we have to work through.  LP starts 3 weeks earlier than public schools so we had to find childcare for the kids for 3 weeks in August.  We asked our parents and they all graciously agreed to come help us out (1 week each) and keep the kids while I had to work.

The first set of grand-parents were my dad and Ella.  Nana & Tata don't get to make it to Houston much because they both have very busy schedules.  They drove over on a Monday night (August 7) and arrived around midnight.  Tuesday I had a workday so they made it just in time.  The took care of the kids during the day while I was at work and then we would hang out in the evenings.  They also ventured out and took the kids to meet Lorenzo for lunch one day and went to IKEA for lunch on another day.  It was really nice having them for the week because we don't spend a lot of time with them.  They stayed through Thursday night and we ate breakfast Friday before they left to drive back to MS.

fun times with Tata & Nana

eating at Pei Wei one night

Saturday August 12th was when our next pair arrived, Gran & Papaw. They drove down from OK on Saturday and made it to our house Saturday evening, after the kids were in bed.  The kids were not yet asleep, so when they arrived, they got to go in and kiss the kids.  We went to church on Sunday and hung out, I guess.  I don't really remember (yikes).  This was my first week of work at LP so I had to work MWF from 9:15-1:15 but I needed to be there early.  Mr. Paul brought me to work and picked me up at 1:30.  For dinner that night, we ate at the Empanada House in Houston and B met us there after work.  After dinner, B took his parents back to UHD with him to show them around.  I'm glad they had that time with him and it was after hours.  I was home Tuesday  with everyone so we met Anna in Katy and jumped at the Trampoline place because she had free passes.  Then we went back to her house and the kids swam for a while before heading back home to Richmond.  Wednesday I had to work again so we repeated the same process from Monday to Wednesday.  Thursday I was home, but I can't remember what we even did, and then Friday I had to work again.  Friday night Vicki made mac & cheese for us and that's exactly what I wanted because we had CG Prelims the following day.  P/V were going to stay and watch us compete and then drive back to OK.  They changed their minds though and stayed an extra night so they could hear B teach at church.  Saturday night we had a family meal with P/V and M/M family in Houston.  It was at a really nice hotel restaurant in downtown Houston.  Our time with P/V is always nice and we look forward to when they retire and move closer.

Our last pair of sitters were Gram & Granddad.  They arrived Sunday afternoon just in time for us to unpack their car and then head to Awana.  While the kids were at Awana, the adults went to Wendy's for a quick meal.  We weren't terribly hungry, but wanted something light.  Since it was a Sunday night, I had school the next morning so we did not stay up too late.  I worked Monday and Wednesday and the kids stayed with Gram & Granddad.  We hung out together on Tuesday & Thursday because I was off.  Our plans changed at the end of the week because of Hurricane Harvey.  Since the storm was projected to hit Friday, school was cancelled and Gram & Granddad left Friday morning instead of Saturday.  It's a good thing they did because the storm did hit Friday and it ended up wrecking havoc on our city for weeks and weeks. 

Civitan Camp 2017

I've been so bad about blogging and I think it might be hard for me to capture all of the details from Civitan Camp since it's 6 months out.  This year's theme was Under the Big Top - The Greatest Camp on Earth.  A circus theme is really fun and easy to decorate and make crafts & activities.   

For Youth week, B was at the pool and I was an area mom at Native Village.  Gloria was actually sick so it was just the two of us, but we managed and had a wonderful time.  All four kids joined us this year and they all had a blast.  The boys traveled with Tall Timbers and the girls traveled with Paradise Lost.  After night activity, we always had something planned back in the area like S'Mores or popcorn or cookies.  Keeping the campers happy is the name of the game and when we keep our campers happy, our teenage boys were happy as well.

Our home away from home

kids with Nana & Tata

my sweet Ian

Our newest Villager

Silly Josh

My boys loved playing with Rope

Some Native Village guys

I heart Matthew Glaze

Peyton is the life of the party

Selfie with Tata

Great grands with Grandmalupe

The week was so much fun and I'm so thankful we get to be part of such a special event.  I was asked to stay for adult week and since I didn't have school/work, the kids and I ended up staying.  B drove back to Houston because he was starting his new job at UHD so he couldn't stay another week. 

Swimming with my boys

I got some special time with Eli

Every night I filled out a medical report and Matthew liked to help me

playing Spot It with the guys

For Adult week, I was an area mom in Dogwood with Susan.  I haven't been to adult week in many years but I actually knew a lot of the adults because they attended youth week in the past.  One of my all time favs, Clayton, was there and I got to see him everyday.  I helped out with drama for 2 periods everyday and cleaned the area during the other times.  E & R went around with Mallory and the boys had 2 different boy counselors.  During adult week, both campers and staff children get to pick their schedule so the girls and boys had different activities each day.  The boys mostly picked the water activities like swimming and boating.  The girls went to drama and spa plus swimming and arts and crafts.  Adult week has such a different feeling than youth week.  It's way more laid back and easy going.  There aren't any "ploppers" along the road and there are not fits in the cafeteria because someone doesn't want to eat their food.  I feel so fortunate that I got to stay and help out during adult week and if they asked me to do it again, I would certainly say yes. 

Seeing TJ after many years was so fun

Steven loved my kids and USM

My swimming buddy

Clayton my love!

Dogwood won the Abbie Award for Adult week

After adult week, I went back to Hattiesburg for dinner and rest before driving to meet B somewhere between Houston and Hattiesburg.  We ended up meeting just before the LONG bridge between Baton Rouge and Lafayette.  It was so good to be back with him after a long week apart and barely any talking.  He had had a good first week of work and without the distraction of us at home, it was probably easier for him to focus on his new job.  The kids loved being at camp for another week, because what little kid wouldn't love being at summer camp???  And I loved being at camp to serve others and build relationships.  We even made it into the local newspaper in Mississippi here.