June!

Summer is in full swing now that we have made it through June.  It was a good, busy month with lots going on!  Bob and I also went to Logan's confirmation on the evening of the 1st, which was wonderful!  Bob got to present Logan to the bishop, and both of them did a great job!  

The 4th was the last day of a most unusual school year.  We were all pretty relieved that it was over!  The kids had a fun ice cream outing with the carpool friends, and then it was officially summer!

Saturday the 5th was Erin's ballet recital.  We were all happy that she got to have one in person this year!  For some reason, they had to have it at Hope Community Church in Holly Springs instead of downtown at Fletcher Auditorium.  Hope is closer to home, cheaper, and better waiting areas for the dancers, so seemed like a good thing to me.  Erin says she prefers Fletcher, though.  Who knows.  She did a great job!  

Sunday, we had a really fun day trip to Concord to see everyone, including Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, Cole, Cooper, and Vinny, who were visiting from California!  We had a blast grilling out, playing on the slip and slide, and playing a rousing game of kickball...plus ice cream sundaes and Bingo!  So much fun!

Monday the 7th, Anna got her cast off after 5 weeks of wearing it. She was a real trooper to wear it in the heat and at the beginning of pool season (even though she could wear it in the water, it was still not fun).  The bone had healed nicely and she's as good as new!  I enjoyed book club that evening as well.  Tuesday, the girls and I went to see Raya and the Lost Dragon in the theater with some tickets that Ms. Karen had given to us for cat-sitting pre-Covid.  Wednesday evening, we all went to a Holly Springs Salamanders game.  It was Bark in the Park Night, so Finley even got to go!  It was a fun time.  

Friday was our trek to Fort Wayne for Stephanie's wedding.  We left around 7am and were to Fazoli's on Stellhorn Road before 6pm.  That included an adventure for lunch at the mall in Charleston, WV.  We stayed at what is now a Sonesta hotel on Washington Center Road, though Anna slept over at Grandma Harvey's with Ansley the second night.  Friday evening, we visited at the Harvey house.  Saturday morning, we toured Sweetwater Sound, which was a big hit!  We also enjoyed 2 trips to Meijer.  Saturday afternoon and evening was the very nice and fun wedding.  Sunday morning was church and then a day at the lake!  We all had a wonderful time.  Monday was a smooth drive home.  It was so nice to be there and visit.

Erin's two weekly summer dance classes started on the 15th/16th, and Anna's weekly summer futsal clinic began on the 17th.  

Erin also helped sort used uniforms on the 16th, and both kids came back to school on the 17th to give tours to incoming middle school students.  She got her second Covid vaccine that afternoon as well, and will be declared "fully vaccinated" on July 1st.  

We went took Caroline with us to the YMCA pool on Friday.  

It was a fun week!  Bob had a nice Father's Day on the 20th, and he did the usual cooking on the weekend.  

The week after was our pet-sitting week.  We had the Tierney birds here (we had 1 fatality the first day, but she was on her last legs prior to us taking over), the girls watered their plants, and we took care of the Sauls house (guinea pig, 3 fish tanks, mail/trash, and plants).  It gave us something to do, which was nice.  

We also had dance/futsal, Erin's friend Carson came to our pool on Monday, and Erin visited Olivia and Elena at Olivia's on Wednesday.  Anna also had her 11-year checkup on Tuesday and got a great report!  Go Anna!  We had Jimmy and Danny over to swim on Thursday, which was lots of fun, too. I have agreed to help the PSO president next year, so I have been busy getting plans together for next year, including two meetings that week.  Hopefully once we have things in the works, it won't be as busy.  Good news is that next year will be more "normal" in terms of events.  Yay!

Saturday the 26th was OFTN for Bob and house chores for us girls.  I enjoyed David's 40th birthday dinner at Osha in Holly Springs.  Erin altar served on Sunday the 27th, and we girls hit the pool that afternoon.  The week of the 28th was our big camp week - Erin had the Carolina Ballet Summer Intensive from 9am-3pm Monday-Friday at St. Mary's School in Raleigh (not to be confused with their regular school), and Anna had volleyball camp at Cardinal Gibbons from 12:30pm-4:00pm Monday-Thursday.  It's been a busy and fun week and I have thoroughly enjoyed touring Raleigh for a few days.  Erin and I checked out NC State campus on Tuesday, and I visited the Alexander YMCA on Hillsborough Street on Tuesday and Thursday.  

Erin is really enjoying the ballet camp, which is wonderful!  She's so happy and not too exhausted each night.  

We are excited to get to watch her group put on a performance on Friday afternoon.  St. Mary's campus is beautiful, and now it's concerning that Erin is aware of this all-girl high school option in the area.  She would be paying for it, though!  Anna is also enjoying learning volleyball.  As of now, the verdict is still out about her trying out for the school team in August. She seems to still like soccer more, but she likes volleyball too.

So, that was our busy month of June!  We are thankful that this June is much more normal than last June.  We are not thankful for the heat and humidity, but it goes with the territory around here.  As far as Covid, nothing has really changed, and the current orders are in place until July 31st, but we are really hopeful that masks will become optional in school this fall.  Cases are dwindling and vaccinations are increasing, but kids 11 years old and younger are not eligible for vaccines.  We will see.  Other than that, mostly everything is back to normal.  Thank goodness!  We did have some sad news that our NC State baseball team that made made it to the final 4 in the College World Series was disqualified for having several players in quarantine for testing positive for Covid.  Bummer!  Bob is still working from home and has not traveled, but he seems to be ok with that.  Here's hoping for a continued return to normalcy!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Our sweet, wonderful Anna is now 11!  She celebrated her birthday in true Anna fashion with a month-long celebration that was four-fold.  It began on May 2nd with a fun family gathering at Morrow Mountain after having Grandma and Ansley here for the weekend - it was a beautiful day and lots of fun!  Then was her actual birthday with lots of love at school and at home, then a fun and crafty friend party at Board and Brush in Apex on the 22nd.  Finally, Grandma and Grandpa F. stopped by for a nice visit on Sunday the 23rd.  

So, what's new with our baby who is now 11 years old?  She is creative, artistic, loving, caring, brave, and oh so kind.  She is a good listener and is really great company.  Talking to Anna always makes me feel better :)  One of my favorite things is when she throws out an SAT-level word in the middle of conversation or uses phrases like "in my opinion".  She is sensitive in a very sweet way such that she likes to know that other people are happy.  She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to try to get it, but she looks out for others along the way.  

Hobbies lately include soccer, which she is still loving, despite playing in a mask (which is not required any longer, thank goodness!) and breaking her arm.  She has now played in the fall, winter, and spring, and is signed up for indoor futsal in the summer.  She's going to try volleyball at a camp in June and plans to try out for the school team in August.  We are proud of her for trying new sports and learning a lot at the same time.  She is considering trying to play the flute in the school band next year, but hasn't decided for sure.  

In her spare time, she really loves to be with her friends.  I feel like her personal assistant, always arranging playdates here or there, as well as gathering whatever supplies are needed for "hanging out with" (I'm not supposed to say "playing with") neighbor friends.  She has entered the world of iMessage and loves to check in with friends and cousins that way.  She hasn't been playing Roblox as much lately, but is very much into Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch.  We all (except Erin) have been enjoying playing Mario Party and Mario Kart together as well!  Anna definitely gets her gaming skills from her dad.

She's also an artist - she loves to draw and paint, which have been somewhat hindered by the broken right arm, but she's still trying.  She's also been doing a lot of sculpting lately with modeling clay, which seems to be easier with her cast on. 

Anna has shown remarkable resilience during this year of Covid.  While she initially loved school online last spring, she quickly tired of it (as we all did), but she hung in there.  She has been understanding and cooperative of all of the mask rules and didn't let it slow her down at school or at soccer.  For sure, she has complained less than I have!

We are just so proud of Anna.  She is her own person with her own interests and strengths.  She is a great mix of smart, sweet, and sassy.  She rocked school out of the park this year and is ready for some summer fun and adventures!  Anna is a delight and is growing into a lovely young lady.  We can't wait to see what lies ahead for her!

May!

We had a busy and fun month of May!  The very best news this month was when the governor lifted the mask mandate on May 14th.  That meant that, technically, anyone who is fully vaccinated against Covid doesn't need to wear a face mask indoors or outdoors.  However, nobody is really mandated to wear one, so it's now at each person's discretion.  Kids still have to wear them at school, but that is really it!  They also removed social distancing requirements in places like church and the Y.  It felt so weird to go to Mass on the 16th and be basically back to normal.  We sure are happy, though! The mood is much more "pre-pandemic" in most places and people seem to feel less cautious and concerned in general. Covid finally isn't the top story in the news.

So, back to the beginning.  We had a really fun visit from Grandma A. and Ansley from April 30th-May 2nd.  We were very busy doing the Friday baking, taking Finley for a walk, some hot tub time, Anna's soccer game, baking birthday cupcakes, church, dinner out to Culver's, and then heading to Morrow Mountain for Anna and Logan's fun birthday picnic!  It was a beautiful day and so much fun to meet up and have a fun time hiking, grilling, and playing kickball!  

The only bad part of the weekend was when Anna fell on her arm in her soccer game. After getting home and seeing that it was swollen, Bob took her to an urgent care where they saw a fracture on the x-ray.  She got a big ol' splint and sling (her 2nd sling to add to her collection) until she saw an orthopedic doctor on Monday who gave her a much smaller and lighter cast...that can get wet! Very nice! She had a follow-up a week later where everything looked to be healing nicely. We go back on June 7th and hope to be able to be done with the cast.

The week of the 3rd was busy with the usual activities, including teacher appreciation week.  The kids got out of school at noon on the 7th and we enjoyed a fun dinner out with Grandma and Grandpa F. that evening for Bob's birthday.  Happy birthday, Bob!  

Saturday was Anna's last soccer game and she impressed everyone by getting back out there, cast and all.  Her team had some tough games this season, but their average age was on the younger end of the league.  All of the girls really did a great job and it was fun to watch them improve and learn to work well together!  Coach Bob seemed to enjoy his new gig as well.  

I had a nice Mother's Day on the 9th, including Erin altar serving at 11am.

The week of the 10th was another good and busy week.  Erin had her last piano lesson on the 10th. I had book club on the evening of the 11th, and had the fun job of collecting money from parents in Erin's grade and presenting the teachers with end-of-year gifts on Friday.  One of her teachers was ending her school year early for (according to Erin) a knee replacement surgery, so we gave the gifts early.  It was nice to have it done with!  The other room mom had the idea to give them "cold hard cash" and froze it in blocks of ice.  Ha!  We had a fun family dinner at Town Hall Burger and Beer, where we walked Finley up there and sat outside. Bonus - we saw a basset hound eating there too!  Finley was less than impressed.

Saturday the 15th was Erin's piano recital, which was a beautiful day for an outdoor recital and so much fun.  I loved playing the duet with her, as well!  

We had a celebratory dinner at Cristo's afterwards.  The following week was, of course, Anna's birthday week.  She visited the eye doctor on the 17th and picked out some new frames to go with her slightly adjusted prescription.  

She had a nice day on the 18th, complete with donuts for breakfast, presents from us, and Moe's takeout for dinner per her request. She also made and enjoyed an ice cream sandwich cake!  

We continued celebrating on Saturday the 22nd with a friend party at Board and Brush.  All of the girls seemed to have a great time and made beautiful pieces!

Erin got her first of the two-dose Pfizer covid vaccine on Saturday the 22nd.  She did well with it and only seemed to have a sore arm for a day or so.  Sunday the 23rd, we had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa F.  The rest of the week was mostly normal, as it was their last full week of school for the year.  Erin had her last ballet class, which was also their dress rehearsal for the recital on June 5th.  Parents were finally allowed to watch part of the class for the first time this year, which was really nice!  Our pool was open for 2 days at the beginning of May, then closed for 4 weeks for a pump repair, but then in a sudden turn of events on the 28th, it was announced that it could remain open while they waited for the repairs to be finished!  Yay!  So we had a fun evening at the pool that day with a pizza dinner and Laney in tow, and had a great time on Saturday afternoon with Sarah with us as well. Erin altar served on the 30th and we enjoyed a cool down in the weather.  Memorial Day, we were back at the pool for a spontaneous neighborhood pool party complete with giant inflatable water slide and obstacle course.  It was lots of fun!  

So, May was full of excitement!  We had the arm fracture, the surprise lifting of mask and distancing requirements, the pool drama, piano recital, birthdays, and end of the year excitement.  While things are still far from normal, we are so thankful that they are much closer to normal than last May. Schools are holding modified graduations, recitals are able to be held with some changes, movie theaters and sporting events are starting to happen again, travel seems to be more doable, and things are generally looking up.  May (get it?!) this month in 2022 be full of laughs and "funny" stories about the previous two years!  Bob seems to enjoy his new office space and office mate, so I guess covid wasn't totally horrible.