Erin is 12!

Our wonderful, beautiful Erin is now 12!  As she likes to remind us, she is one year from being a teenager...SCARY!  After much planning and buildup, she had a really fun weekend!  Her birthday weekend extravaganza started on her actual birthday.  First off was presents at 6am, followed by birthday Cheerios, fruit, and bacon.  Then was the next round of breakfast - donuts in the car for carpool.  She had a good day at school, including mini burgers for lunch.  She was thrilled to get the infamous Prismacolor colored pencils that Olivia has been touting for months.  We will see if they live up to their steep price tag!

Anna got her a gift card and a pack of gum, wrapped in a big box!

After school, we went over to the Apex Nature Park nearby, where we set up for her friend party!  It was tricky to figure out what we could do that was Covid-friendly, and after changing our minds a couple of times, we ended up doing the park thing.  It was a beautiful, warm day, and they all seemed to have a blast.  She invited 6 girls, and 5 of them were able to come - Cora, Lexi, Margaret, Lindsey, and Elena.  Sadly, Olivia's parents actually had Covid and they were quarantined at home at this time.  Olivia and Josie never got sick, and their parents felt bad for a few days, but said it wasn't too awful.  

At the party, the girls made lanterns out of modge podge and paper, then played in the amphitheater for awhile, then played charades (which was surprisingly a hit!).  Then, Bob brought Olive Garden pasta and breadsticks, fruit, and veggies for dinner, and then had pineapple upside down cupcakes.  Then we took a little walk around the park.  It was a fun time!

Saturday was our day in between to regroup and prepare for Sunday!  Erin and I baked strawberry cupcakes with vanilla (pink) icing and had fun decorating them.  We had originally planned to meet at a picnic shelter at Morrow Mountain on Sunday, but the weather wasn't looking so great, so we ended up moving our shelter reservation to the spring for Anna and Logan and decided to go to Grandma and Grandpa A.'s on Sunday instead to have a birthday pizza lunch.  It did end up being a cold and rainy day, so we made the right decision.  We had a great time there with birthday and Halloween fun!

So, Erin had a really fun birthday weekend, despite Covid.  She was SO excited!  What's new with Erin lately?  Well, she continues to work her very hardest at everything she does.  We are so very proud of her for giving it her all each and every day.  She is a wonderful example for all of us in that way!  Somewhat shocking to her parents, she now speaks up in class and emails with friends often.  She still loves ballet - she is only taking one class this year, so going on pointe is not yet on her radar, but we are all ok with that.  I have heard awful stories about foot injuries related to that.  She continues to love piano, and she plays beautifully!  She's excited to be back in the saddle with altar serving once a month as well.  When she's not busy with school and those activities, she enjoys walking Finley and helping around the house.  Erin is constantly asking how she can help.  She is so pleasant and cooperative all of the time!  We just love her so very much and are incredibly proud of who she is today.  Now, let's see how the pre-teen and teen years go!

September!

Well, another month of Covid has come and gone.  I guess we have made small progress towards normalcy, but we still have a long way to go.  School has been in for 6 weeks now and all is going well.  There have not been any outbreaks or problems related to being in school.  We complete a health questionnaire every morning before school (same for piano lessons and soccer), and they screen each kid and adult who enters the school with a forehead thermometer.  The governor stated in the middle of September that schools could reopen on "Plan A", which was the least restrictive of the 3 options, at the discretion of each county/school system.  After that, he went to "Phase 2.75", which allows outdoor sports events to allow spectators at 10% capacity or something like that.  Also, as of October 2nd, the state will move to "Phase 3", which is the final stage towards reopening businesses.  I think the main difference is that movie theaters, bars, and amusement parks can now open if they choose to.

Anyway, the month started out with us adjusting to the new normal of school, my new job in the school cafeteria, and Bob continuing to work from home.  We had a really fun Labor Day weekend with cousins Logan, Ansley, Ben, and Elliott coming up to visit!  We all did a 2-mile hike around Bass Lake here in Holly Springs, then the dads and Logan camped overnight at Falls Lake while the moms and everyone else had a fun sleepover here, including swimming at the pool!  

Elliott and Finley had a blast together!  Then Sunday we watched church on TV and drove up to StMM for communion.  They all headed back home after a pizza lunch.  We got our flu shots on Monday, woo hoo!  

The following week was pretty routine, with me spending a day at school working the used uniform sale.  Since parents can't go in to the building right now, we had to lug all of the donated used uniforms out, organize them on tables and racks, and be there to take money from people.  It worked out well, but was hot!  Our next one is October 6th, and that will be much better weather!  Thursday the 10th was Erin's first in-person ballet class since March, and she was a bit intimidated by the higher level class and teacher, but the following week went much better.  The weekend of the 12th-13th was nice - we went to our friend Emilyanne's birthday parade, Anna played at Caroline H.'s house, and Bob served meals on Saturday and Sunday.  We also picked Olivia up and did a fun hike and picnic at Jordan Lake on Sunday.

The week of the 14th was a beautifully cool week, which we all really appreciated and enjoyed...especially Finley!  I had fun at my first in-person book club since March on Monday and also a neighbor mom outing to a craft place on Wednesday.  

We had a busy week with school, cafeteria duty, activities (piano for Erin and me, soccer for Anna, and ballet for Erin), and the kids got their passports renewed (technically, reapplied since they are under 16 years old).  We had a WILD time at the Holly Springs Post Office when we applied for their passports on the 16th...an older gentleman walked in to the post office while we were there completing the passport paperwork (a bunch of other people were in there too) and a gun fell out of his pocket/pants!  Chaos ensued and the postal workers were VERY upset at the guy - apparently he comes in there every day and they know him somewhat.  He retrieved his weapon, walked out, and rode away on a motorcycle without saying a word!  Crazy!   We never felt in danger since this guy was moving very slowly, though Bob said later that he was most worried about him accidentally shooting it when he picked it up off the floor.  We've had fun telling that story!

We were beyond excited for the first NC State football game on Saturday the 18th against Wake Forest, which they won!  The second game against Virginia Tech didn't go so well, but we are grateful that they are playing.  Sunday the 20th was the first official "Mass in person" where anyone could come, not just those who were volunteering as ministers of some sort.  Yay!  They continue to offer the video of the mass on YouTube and also a Sunday evening outdoor mass, weather permitting.  The next week was status quo until our big trip to Colorado on Thursday.  We had a blast!  You can read more about the trip HERE.  

After returning on Sunday evening (we dropped Bob off at the meal distribution site and he jumped right in, literally on the way home from the airport), we tried to readjust to Eastern Time, which took a day or so.  Then it was back to the grind!  

So, September was a good month.  We are still not back to normal, but I guess we are getting there, very slowly.  It's hard to know the real situation with the virus because of media distortion and politics.  We can basically go anywhere now as long as we have a mask on, and there is no longer any concern about touching surfaces (I guess...?).  Clorox wipes are the hottest commodity in the stores, but masks, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper are now stocked in full.  Restaurants are open, and people can eat at tables without masks on.  I still don't quite get how that is "safe" if other similar settings are not, but I won't complain!  Public schools are starting to go back in a phased/rotating schedule beginning in mid-October (elementary and middle schools).  We aren't sure if/how Halloween will go as of now, and the state fair is not going to happen.  Despite that, October will still be a fun and busy month with Miss Erin's big 12th birthday!  She can't wait!