March!

 Well, March has come and gone.  It sometimes feels like a long month because there aren't many major holidays in it and, well, it does have 31 days!  We had a good month, despite the continuing pandemic.  We keep hoping that the end is in sight, though it's hard to know how close that end is.

We began the month with a fairly routine week, busy with school, work, activities, etc.  The second fish fry happened on the evening of the 5th, and it was a success.  The weekend of the 5th-6th was soccer practice, dance rehearsal, OFTN (Bob's meal program with the Knights - Operation Feed Thy Neighbor), and church.  I enjoyed going to book club on the 8th - one of the very few things that feels "normal" right now!  The 8th-12th, we had neighbor dog friend Ruby stay with us while her parents went out of town.  Finley behaved himself much better, so we now have hope that he can socialize nicely (for the most part)!  

Saturday the 13th was Erin's performance for dance theater - "Lost in the Museum".  Due to covid, there could not be a traditional show with a large audience, so instead there were 2-3 groups of 6 dancers in each studio of the dance school, and audiences walked from room to room in groups of about 10 people to watch each group perform.  It was really cute and lent itself well to the museum theme.  However, that meant that Erin had to perform her piece 6 times per show, and there were 5 shows!  So, by the time the last show ended at 8:30pm, she was wiped out!  But, for Erin, there is no such thing as too much ballet.  So, she had a great time. She even navigated the time change that night and was up to altar serve at 9am the next day!  Whew!

The girls were off on Monday the 15th for a snow day makeup (they did have an ice day awhile back, but I guess it wasn't enough to make up), which was nice.  Erin and I went to a second orthodontist to try to figure out what to do, but were still super confused.  The doctor seemed very nice and had a similar plan to the one we saw in November, other than she thought they could start the braces now and end sooner.  We went to our regular dentist the week after and are still unsure if she really needs braces, but at least the dentist suggested that we wait to start treatment (if we decide to do treatment) until her 12-year molars have come in, which they have not.  So, we bought ourselves some more time to agonize over it.  

The third and final fish fry (but not the final Knights Lent cooking event...see below) was on the 19th, and it went well.  Anna's first soccer game was Saturday the 20th, and she and the team did a great job, despite coming up short of a win.  The players have had to adjust to wearing masks while they play and they are real troopers with that.  I tried to do an indoor cycle class last week and felt like I was suffocating in the mask!

The next week was more of the same, including a used uniform sale on Wednesday.  Bob and company hosted the first ever Fish Taco Night to benefit OFTN on Friday the 26th.  I don't know the final numbers, but it sounds like they did as well or better than a fish fry.  So they are happy to have some more funds to keep the program running awhile longer.  

Anna's second soccer game was on Saturday, an away game.  They won this one!  Go Breakers! 

The week of the 29th was a short one for school with a half day on Thursday and no school on Friday.  Then, they're on spring break for the following week.  We are excited to be heading to Fort Lauderdale for a few days next week to play on the beach and pool!  

So, those were the highlights of March.  It was a good month.  3 classes at school were put on quarantine for 2 weeks due to kids testing positive for covid, but so far we have dodged that bullet.  The classes being out did make the cafeteria work easier!  I got my second vaccine on March 26th, and Bob got his on the 31st.  We are happy to do our part to put this behind us!  

February! (Erin typed)

Erin took over the blog this month!  Thanks, Erin!

Well, February this year was an unique month because of COVID. Groups 2 and 3A people in those groups got their vaccines and will get their vaccines. The governor finally announced that more people can be outdoors and indoors, so that's great! We were busy during February: school, ballet for Erin, piano for Erin and Gina, starting soccer for Anna, and OFTN and fish fry for Bob. Finley also has been busy, too inside our house and outside. Erin is also starting YAA recording videos for piano. They have to record 2 videos to the judges to rate their videos. 

                                                    

On the first week of February (1-7), we had a very relaxing week. At school, the students, faculty, staff and administration celebrated Catholic Schools Week. Each day they had a different theme, like "We Celebrate Faculty". On Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl on tv and the Buccaneer's (with Tom Brady) won. Erin also had Dance Theatre that day, as well.  

The next week was getting ready for Gina's 40th Birthday. She was excited, but nervous to turn 40 and to be in a new decade. On her birthday, started at 7:30 with breakfast, waffles (made by me), hash browns and bacon. Then, we helped Bob with the produce and got a Starbucks treat after. The rest of the day we were just relaxing and Gina was enjoying her presents. We also had a great Valentines day by having Erin altar serve and just relaxing at home with Erin having Dance Theatre at 2. 

                                                                                                                                     

 

On Monday and Tuesday of the next week, the girls (Erin and Anna) had off school and we were just relaxing, like always. We got to do a couple hikes, which were very nice. Erin and Anna went back to school on the 17th, and was great as always. We ordered some Valentine's pictures for Finley at the Pooch Pad. He is so cute in the pictures! Wednesday is also Ash Wednesday, and we started doing family rosary each night except Sundays. Saturday, we got to clean out A LOT and we have a lot of space in our playroom, which we don't know what to do with that extra space! 

    

Erin also got to altar serve again on the 21st. Then, Bob was called to do jury duty on Wednesday and they didn't need him after all. Anna's class and the rest of the 5th grade homeroom classes got to go to Mass in person on Thursday. On Friday, Gina got to go get her first dose of the vaccine, which was very exciting! The staff let her get the vaccine because she works in the cafeteria every day. Saturday, we were busy! Erin had her mock recital at 11:30, which was great. Then, Erin got to go over to Olivia's house for a little bit that afternoon. Anna's soccer practice got canceled because of the rain we had on Friday. Bob had to do meals, as always. We made it through the day! Sunday, we went to church and did some paintings for Dance Theatre. 

January!

 We had a good January, despite the continuing pandemic situation.  Our New Year was fairly uneventful - Erin woke up with a fever on the 1st, so I went to church by myself while the rest watched from home.  In a protest of the traditional "good luck" New Year's meal not working for the past two years, we revolted and had New Year's lasagna instead.  Hopefully it will work better than the usual stuff!  We watched a sad loss for the Wolfpack to Kentucky in the Gator Bowl on the 2nd.  

We broke out the fondue pot again on the 5th for some chocolate:

The school decided to have all kids do remote learning for the first two weeks back in January due to holiday travel and Covid spread, so we did that.  It went well and was much smoother than remote learning last spring.  It was also nice to save some driving time and be able to sleep a little later.  The kids seemed glad that we didn't decide to do that for the whole year, though!  

Otherwise, some highlights were our new washer arriving on Friday the 8th.  After being without one since Christmas Eve, we have a new appreciation for it!  The new one works great so far and is getting lots of use.

We girls and Finley enjoyed a hike at Raven Rock State Park on Saturday the 9th.  

Erin started her first of 9 weeks of rehearsals for Dance Theater on Sunday the 10th.  She is enjoying doing something new, and the show should be really cute!  The teacher has had to be creative as far as dividing the kids up and doing as much as possible outdoors.

Erin made a gourmet breakfast for us on the 14th!  

We attempted breakfast for dinner for the first time in over 10 years (due to Erin's disdain for it), and she tolerated it well.  Whew!

We enjoyed visiting with Liz and David's cats on Saturday the 16th, and the kids had a day off for MLK Jr. Day on the 18th.  

Erin got to go hang out at Olivia's that day and had a great time.  Then, it was back to school on Tuesday, and so far so good there.  Due to 2 more people quitting in the cafeteria, I am now there every school day from 9:30am-1:00pm.  Thankfully, Bob is home with Finley so I don't worry about him, and it's been going well.  I get plenty of exercise running the food to each classroom!  

We had a bit of snow overnight between the 27th and 28th, but only had a 2-hour delay at school.  Anna and Finley got out to play for awhile in the morning and it melted shortly after they went to school.  I was glad they didn't cancel the whole day!

Otherwise, the last two weeks of the month have been fairly routine.  The kids were busy with school and Erin also has been busy with dance and piano.  Anna is looking forward to soccer starting back up in February and has been working on decorating her newly painted room.  We are enjoying the winter weather and wouldn't mind a bigger snow at some point!  Bob is still working with the Knights every Saturday and Sunday to cook and serve meals to families in need in Apex.  Last count, they had served over 20,000 meals over 44 weekends.  Wow!

We are excited about booking a short trip to Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break in April.  We hope that Covid won't mess it up!  The vaccines are slowly being given.  We hope that speeds up and we will be back to normal soon!

2020

Well, people keep saying that 2020 is one for the history books.  It was definitely quite an unusual year for many reasons.  The event that has had the most impact on us by far has been the coronavirus pandemic.  What started in March as something that we knew nothing about and was going to mean 2 weeks in "lockdown" continues 10 months later!  The whole world has been affected in many ways.  The best news, I think, is that our country and many others have approved several vaccines for the virus after a record-breaking development and testing process, and these vaccines are being produced and distributed as quickly as possible.  We are hearing that the last phase of vaccines (young healthy people who do not work in healthcare/Bob and me) should happen in the spring.  As of now, kids under age 16 have not been tested to receive any of the vaccines, but it sounds like that will change.  So, we will see!  I am also hoping that the number of cases drops drastically once most people get vaccinated, and that we can return to more of a sense of normalcy.  It has to, right?!

We are thankful that this has not affected our jobs, home, etc.  Bob has been able to spend every Saturday and Sunday since the end of March cooking and distributing 200+ meals each day to a community in need, and he has enjoyed that quite a bit.  The kids did school from home from mid-March to the end of May, but were able to return to school in August wearing masks, with smaller class sizes and desks spaced apart, no lockers, no switching classes, lunch in the classrooms, etc.  It seemed to work well, because I think that only 3 adults and one child tested positive between August-Christmas break.  I was able to get my first "on the books" job since November 2009, delivering hot lunches to the classrooms.  That has been a lot of fun and great exercise too!

The kids were able to continue with their activities, though modified.  Dance was all virtual (classes over video that they participated in from home) from April-May, and the recitals were canceled.  Erin's ballet summer camp was moved to virtual.  Anna's summer dance class was shortened from 8 weeks to 4, and then made virtual.  Erin's piano lessons moved to virtual in the spring, as well as her recital.  Anna started soccer in August, which was able to happen more-or-less normally in the fall.  She then tried indoor soccer for the first time in November and December.  That was good, until the Y decided to make them wear masks while playing for the second half of the season.  Boo!  I have been doing cycle classes outdoors at the Y - first in the parking lot, and now under a picnic shelter type area, which is much better - it's covered from the rain, and they recently added outdoor heaters.  The gym is open, but they require masks to be worn indoors at all times, which I am not too excited about doing.  We watched church on TV only for awhile, then did TV mass plus drive-up communion in the parking lot, then daily mass only with TV mass on Sundays, and then finally mass in person but wearing masks, spaced apart, no touching, etc.  Two of my book clubs have not happened since last winter, and the third was virtual for awhile before resuming in person in September.  Bob's Knights and parish finance council meetings have been a mix of virtual/video calls, outdoors, and spaced out in the church lobby or the chapel.  The second and third fish fries were canceled in 2020, much to Bob's dismay...but plans are in the works to offer a modified drive-through option this coming Lent.  The neighborhood pool was opened without furniture or floats and with sign-in required to maintain low numbers.  We didn't make it to the Y pool because they did not allow guests (the kids) this year.

So, all of our regular activities have been drastically changed.  We have not been able to celebrate birthdays and holidays with family, which has been sad for all of us.  We have gotten good at Zoom calls/group FaceTime, and Google Meets!

We had planned a spring break trip to Aruba that was postponed to July and then canceled by the hotel/airline.  We had also booked a trip to Banff in early June with Grandma A., which was also canceled.  Luckily, we got all of our money back in some form or another for both trips.  Instead, we went to Hilton Head twice (once just ourselves and once in August with cousins and grandparents) and Rocky Mountain National Park.  These trips were lots of fun, and we had a great time!

I have spent a great deal of time griping about the pandemic and its effects to anyone who will listen, though I keep seeing people on social media who are trying to look at the positive side of it.  Being positive about it is not always easy for me to do, especially when we watch/read local or national news that seems to stretch the truth or present conflicting information such that we don't know what is really happening.  However, we are truly fortunate that Bob's job has been stable through all of this, the kids have been able to continue learning, and we have our home.  We have learned a lot about technology!  

Speaking of home, we definitely made a lot of home improvements in 2020 - partly out of necessity, and partly because we were home so much that we had the time/motivation to do so.  Highlights include: a new stove/microwave combo, curtains in the living room/kitchen, new window films on the front of the house, a new-to-us sectional in the bonus room thanks to Dale and Maria and Grandpa A. for delivering it, new mattress for B&G, new refrigerator, new-to-Anna bed and bedroom wall color, and a new washing machine.  These have all helped spruce up the house a little bit, along with the never-ending purging of old stuff.

Aside from Covid, other events this year include some racial tensions in the early summer, the presidential election, and a bunch of random freak things that kept prompting people to say "that's so 2020".  We also saw Msgr. Staib retire and welcomed Fr. Chris to our parish over the summer.  It was quite the year...we sure are thankful that we did not have to attend nearly as many funerals as we did in 2019, and there were some really great things that did happen in 2020, but we sure do hope and pray for a return to normalcy sooner rather than later.  After all, I don't know how much longer my "favorite face mask" is going to hold up!!  That's SO 2020!

August

Well, things are slowly becoming somewhat more normal...or at least a little closer to normal, with still some things being definitely NOT normal.  But, baby steps!  Let's see...August started out really great with a super fun trip to Hilton Head (again!) where we met the Summer family and Grandma and Grandpa A. We got a hotel room at the new Courtyard by Marriott for 3 nights, and they were all in a really nice house down the road for the week.  We had a blast at the beach, riding bikes, pools at the house and hotel, and also did a really neat kayak tour one morning where we saw lots of dolphins, birds, and even a manatee!  So much fun!  

Finley tried the pool at the Pooch Pad while he was there, and it sounded like it was kind of a bust. 

We came back and had a yummy anniversary dinner a day late at Town Hall Burger and Beer right by our house while the girls stayed home alone (freedom!).  The following week, we stayed busy with school prep and also watching the Tierney birds (we had no casualties on our watch this time, thank goodness) and the Sauls guinea pig, plants, fish, and hermit crab.  Anna had a fun sleepover with Sarah, where they did their last virtual summer hip hop class and also went to paint pottery!  The girls and I laid a bunch of mulch and pine straw on the 10th in record time, supervised by Finley.  

Erin had her first piano lesson of the year also on the 10th.  It is back in person (with a virtual option), with her and the teacher wearing masks and sitting 6 feet apart.  The teacher got a cool new electronic piano that is more cleanable than her baby grand, so that is fun to play on!  I had my first lesson on September 2nd.

The week of the 17th, we had virtual meet the teacher and then the big first day of school on Thursday the 20th.  School is very different so far this year, but overall they (and I) are happy that they are back.  It feels good to be more in the normal routine and for me to not be trying to teach them everything.  The class sizes are smaller, they have to wear face masks all day except when eating, and they have to stay in their classrooms other than going to the bathroom, recess, or PE.  So, there is some grumbling about not switching classes, not eating lunch in the cafeteria, and missing out on some freedom, but overall I think they are just happy to be there, and they are adjusting to all of the changes.  Just being at school in itself was a big change after being home for over 5 months!  Luckily, Olivia is in Erin's class and Sarah is in Anna's, so we are all relieved about that.  Erin reports having fewer "bad boys" in her class this year, and Anna seems generally pleased with her class, so they really can't complain too much.  They have several new teachers this year, and all of them seem to be really great!

I am excited to report that I now have my first real "on the books" paying job since 2009!  Ha!  The cafeteria manager at StMM asked me if I would help cook/pack/deliver lunches to the classrooms.  Between the school not allowing parents or volunteers in the building and the requirement that kids eat in the classrooms and not the cafeteria, she needed to add some more staff.  I am just working two lunch shifts a week for a grand total of 6 hours a week, though this week I did pick up an extra shift because two people couldn't be there.  Anyway, it has been a blast so far and I am enjoying having the time in the building and getting to peek at everything.  It's also a really fun group to work with - we stay busy and work hard!

Some family excitement is that Dale and Maria and their boys moved to Orange County this month!  They had a big adventure driving cross country with the 3 boys and dog.  They got there, closed on their house, and are now moved in and settling in to a totally new area!  They are lucky to be close to the beach and are enjoying the gorgeous southern California weather.  Their house looks beautiful and we can't wait to visit!

Those are really the main highlights for the month.  We have spent the last two weeks mostly settling into the school routine.  We are doing a carpool with two other families this year, even though it was "strongly discouraged" by the school (they check the kids' temperatures each morning, and if one kid in a car has a fever, the whole car gets sent home to quarantine/"go virtual" for an extended amount of time), and that's going well so far.  Bob has continued cooking meals every Saturday and Sunday with the Knights of Columbus to donate, though things look to be changing there regarding funding from the county/state, so they may be changing their plan in the next month or so.  I have still been baking 8 batches of various bar cookies every Friday to him to put with the meals, and the girls and I have helped here and there with dinner prep and bagging donated groceries and produce to distribute.  

Erin had her first two ballet classes for the year at home virtually, but since the governor moved us to "Phase 2.5" starting tomorrow evening, they will now start meeting at the dance school on their regular schedule beginning next week.  She will have to wear a mask and parents can't be in the studio, but otherwise it sounds pretty much like normal.  Anna started soccer at the Y last week with neighbor friend Nina, and she had a great time!  They won't be playing other teams this year, but will be doing some drills and scrimmages within the team.  I think it will be a great season for her, and a good way to get started, since she hasn't played since she was 4. 

So, other than the coronavirus saga continuing, it was a fun month.  In between everything else, we have spent some time at the pool and have gone on a few hikes plus our daily neighborhood walks. 

It's been hot lately, though we did have a little reprieve at some point during the month.  Fall will get here eventually, right?!  We are looking forward to continued improvements on the situation here and hoping for better times ahead!  As of now, the ACC is still playing football, though the first NC State game was delayed until 9/19.  We are hoping that still happens!

June!

Well, we spent another month in various degrees of "quarantine".  However, we have still tried our best to make summer as fun as possible!  We spent the first 5 days of June not in Banff as originally planned, but instead in Hilton Head!  We had a blast on the beach, in the pool, and riding bikes all over the island.  The weather was wonderful and it wasn't too crowded.  It was also great to get away from the house/dog!  We stayed in a condo in Shipyard Plantation and brought Bob's and Anna's bikes.  We rented a tandem for Erin and me, and it all worked perfectly!  We could ride the bikes to the beach on a paved path, and also biked around the island.  We discovered the northeast end of the island one morning, a really neat secluded beach with views of nearby islands/mainland.  It was a wonderful week, and we can't wait to go back in August with family!

Once we got home and got Finley readjusted from the Pooch Pad (he was exhausted and under the weather as he always is after going there), it was time for summer mode!  We tried to stay busy with neighbor friends, Sarah, and had a fun week watching the Tierneys' parakeets while they were in Branson (other than one passing away on our watch...apparently he was at the end of his lifespan and they were not upset.  Whew!).  We also got window films put on the front windows of the house on the 8th.  They look great and make a huge difference in heat inside the house in the afternoons.  Yay!  I finally got to go back to the Y on Friday the 12th for cycle class, but it had a twist.  Cycle class was outside!  They have been moving the stationary bikes outdoors for the classes!  It was warm but really not bad at all.  I was so happy to be back.  I signed up for class the following week, but it got rained out.  I was able to go on the 26th.  Between those, Bob has been sharing his stationary bike at home, plus we have been doing lots of dog walks and a few yoga videos at home.  I should try to branch out a little more!



We had friend Caitlin over on the 13th in the morning, then enjoyed a belated pool opening day on Sunday the 14th.  As with everything, there are changes to the pool this year.  There are no chairs/tables and no floats/toys allowed, but we are nonetheless thankful for it to be open.  The 15th-18th, Anna had tennis camp over at Sunset Ridge.  She and Sarah had a blast, despite 2.5 out of the 4 days being really rainy.  That may have been better than 90 degree humidity, though!  Erin went to the dentist while Anna was at camp, and I got a haircut that week as well.  Bob had a nice Father's Day complete with bike ride and a belated grilling out due to helping with the meals on his actual day.  We got him some more bike accessories!



The 20th-26th, we got to spend some time with neighbor friends Joey and Quint while their mom and Laney went to see family in Florida.  They were over from 9am-2pm and we had lots of fun playing here, going to the pool, having a pizza party, playing outside, etc.!  It kept us busy as an added bonus!  Anna also had her 10-year checkup and dentist appointment that week.  One went better than the other, but we are cutting back snacks and working on some improvements ;)

Saturday morning the 27th, Anna and I drove up to Wake Forest to pick up our first-ever host dog for the week!  She has been asking to host a dog for a week/weekend, and we were finally able to do it.  We got the sweetest little young adult German Shepherd mix who must be mixed with something small, because he is only 34 pounds.  He is wonderful!  Finely was NOT pleased the first 2 days, but seems to be calmer now.  The host dog (we are calling him Carter to go with Finley) is quiet, well-mannered, house-trained, and great on the leash.  We could not have gotten a better dog.  The good news is that he has been adopted, but for some reason he can't go to his new home yet, so we get to watch him this week.  That's even better news because we won't have to be sad about taking him back!  So, that's been something fun and new to try.  I don't know how often we will host due to how far Saving Grace is from our house, and also Finley's attitude.  But, we will see!



So, that was June.  Other than all of this, we have been trying to get outside as much as possible and also have done a few more home improvements.  In addition to the window film, Bob replaced one toilet and has a second one on order.  And, we got a new mattress for our bedroom.  Bob managed to convince me to try a latex foam one, and so far, it is great!  Finley seems pleased, which is what really matters.

"Phase 2" statewide restrictions got extended from June 22nd to July 17th, and the governor made masks mandatory in NC until we hear otherwise, so that means masks in public with a few exceptions and no gyms or bars opening.  We are still doing TV Mass and "drive through" communion, but our wonderful pastor, Fr. Staib, is retiring today (!) and we are getting a new pastor, so we shall see what he decides to do as far as church.  As before, it is hard to know what all to believe about all of this, but we are trying to hang in there and hope and pray for school to start in August.  The governor is supposed to make an announcement tomorrow regarding school requirements.  People seem to think that they will open with some modifications, so we will see.  Our principal took a survey in June, and 94% of respondents said they'd send their kids back if it was "reasonably safe".  Sooooo...that's a good sign!  Erin the optimist has already bought most of her school supplies.  Let's hope they are put to use!

May

Well, May was another month of quarantine!  Things did ease up a little bit towards the end of the month, but we are still far from "normal".  Bob and Anna had a fun campout in the backyard on the night of the 3rd.  We had a Cinco de Mayo dinner at home on the 5th, which Anna especially enjoyed. 



The highlight of the first week of May was Bob's birthday!  He had a nice day, even though he had to work from home...we had yummy ice cream sandwich cake and he opened a few gifts, though he had gotten his big gift, the bike, a few weeks early. 



We also had a fun time on Wednesday the 6th delivering teacher appreciation gifts on behalf of the PSO.  It was fun to "sneak attack" the teachers at their houses!  Our list wasn't really any of the girls' teachers, but we still knew most of them and had fun.  Anna also went to the eye doctor on the 8th, and her prescription changed a little bit.  She went with tortoiseshell frames this year, and we think she looks very grown up in them!

We had a fun weekend over the 9th-10th, starting with a family rosary call with cousins and grandparents organized by Erin.  She did a good job!  Then there was the neighborhood graduation parade, where high school and college graduates (and a few preschool and kindergarten ones, too!) drove through with their parents and we all sat in our driveways and cheered for them.  Sunday was a fun Mother's Day, complete with family nature hike/bike ride. 



The following week was a little more busy with some dance virtual classes, a flower-watering job for Erin at the neighbors' house, gift drop-off by Ms. Margaret the piano teacher, and ending the week with Anna's virtual birthday party on Saturday morning! 







She opened gifts from cousins and grandparents and we all watched and admired.  Right after that was Erin's virtual (again) piano recital, which was really nice.  Margaret had each student record themselves introducing and playing their songs, and she then compiled it into an hour-long video that we all watched together (virtually).  The most amazing part was two group songs where Margaret had kids play a little part of a song and she compiled it all together...some parts had up to 4 kids playing/singing at the same time!  I have no idea how she did that.  Super neat!



Monday the 18th was Anna's big day, and she celebrated to the max with Sarah staying over, playing with Laney and having lots of fun and special food!  Her favorite gift is her hoverboard that she got with money from Grandma and Grandpa A.  She rides that thing all the time! 

 

 

The rest of the week was more of the same with virtual school and activities.  Erin had her final piano lesson on the 18th, and then we were able to put away our ladder/webcam setup for the summer.  North Carolina officially went into "Phase 2" of restrictions on May 22nd, which didn't mean a whole lot for us other than the church is now offering outdoor communion services on Sundays after we view Mass at home on tv.  Also, more stores have opened and I guess people can gather in larger groups (?).  But, since school and activities are still not back to normal, our life is not either.  At some point in May, Laney was allowed to start playing with Anna again, and all of our lives vastly improved at that point.

We didn't do much over Memorial Day weekend other than the usual, but it was nice to have that extra day off.  We did have a fun bike ride/hike around the lake at Apex Community Park on Monday evening. 



The girls' last day of school was Friday the 29th, and then we were able to put those workstations away as well.  I went to school to return books and clean out the lockers. Anna's teachers had cleaned the papers out for us and put all of her stuff in a big envelope, so I totally feel like they went above and beyond taking on that job for all 65 kids! 



We had a fun final weekend of May with beautiful weather.  Each weekend in May, Bob has spent both Saturday and Sunday afternoon/evening cooking, packaging, delivering, and distributing meals to those in need in a neighborhood in Apex as a part of the Knights of Columbus.  I make 250 desserts on Fridays and bag them up for them to distribute as well.  The recipients are very thankful for this food during a very stressful time.  So, a lot of our weekends have included this time for Bob and us ladies usually hanging out at home.

So, that was May.  It was still far from normal and far from how we would have wanted to spend the month with fun end-of-year activities, field day, birthdays, Mother's Day, cousins' First Communion with my grandparents visiting, a Garth Brooks concert in Charlotte, piano and dance recitals, but at the same time, it strangely felt "normal", since this is our new normal. Some days it was nice to not feel as busy and frantic as May normally is, but we would have given anything to have the usual hectic month.  We have come up with creative ways to stay in touch with family and friends from afar.  But, it is what it is, and we continue to hope for better days ahead this summer!  The summer shall be interesting with the same restrictions but also without school to keep the kids somewhat busy.  Our pool is scheduled to open on Friday, June 12th, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for that.  Hopefully we will have a better report next month!