Quarantine Life

Working hard at school, but having more fun playing outside on a perfect spring afternoon after school.  Max documented the day for us.

Wet Day

Ian made a fire for us to enjoy as we read in our canoes and relaxed Sunday morning.  Lovely way to spend a dreary morning.

Parkway Classic

I registered for the 10-miler as opposed to the 5k this year.  The race has been rescheduled to August, but I knocked out 10 miles Sunday morning as if it were still on.  I crossed the finish line at 8a, the start time of the original race.  Woohoo!

4th Grade, Dum-Dum

4th grade has a lot of special traditions.  They get brownies on Mondays if the teachers' preferred teams win their games on Sundays in football season, and every Friday they have Dum-Dum Friday to celebrate another week.  Mrs. Komnick dropped off a supply of Dum-Dums to get through the rest of the year, as well as a hint about what is to come in math.

Teachers are Amazing

Ms. Shannon is running 18 miles today to stop in and say hi to all of her students.  Nuts, but SO meaningful.  I joined her for the 1.5 from here to the next house.  Fun way to show your class you care!

Thurs-YAY

Max has a nasty case of poison ivy.  While Evelyn and Piper snuggled under my desk, Max did his first telehealth visit with the pediatrician.  Next up it a tele-check with the orthodontist next week.

You're gonna miss this

As crazy-making as it is to spend 4 hours+ a day in a room with 3 people and a dog, I sure am grateful for this time together.  I'm learning so much about who the kids are as students, as citizens of the world, and as classmates.  There are lots of blessings coming out of quarantine, and we're lucky to be in a position to sit back and appreciate them.

Bobcat Rally

What fun it was to fund a surprise out front from ACDS this morning!

You gotta have friends

We are quarantining in coordination with the Siglers.  Everyone has stayed out of shops, delivered groceries, and stayed away from people in general.  In reward, the kids are allowed to play together outside and 6 feet apart.  It's been awesome for Max and Jay, but the littles have been more reluctant (and not so encouraged by the bigs) to hang out.  Yesterday, Evelyn and Conrad spent hours digging rocks and selling them so they can save up to buy tools to dig even bigger/better rocks in the future.  Evelyn came home a new girl, ready to tackle the world!  And Max came home with new perspective; it turns out a happy sister is worth sharing some of your time with your bestie.

Louie Louie

The girls had a lot of fun Face Timing each other.  After the call, I found more than 100 screen shots of their chat.  Crazy girls!

We like to party.

Evelyn planned a Family Dance Party, complete with invitations, decorations, and a delicious snack display.  She hired a band to play live music and coordinated the action.  We were all happy to attend such a fun event!

Friday Fun

We had a slightly rough start Friday, but quickly rearranged the office to accomodate 3 people (from a 2,00 sq ft private penthouse office all day to working in a cubicle with 2 junior associates.  How the mighty have fallen).

The highlight of Friday was working together to build Hogwarts, complete with all 4 house common rooms and dormitories and intense negotiations for which stuffies join which house. 

Rearranged

We rearranged my desk this morning to make room for both kiddos to have desk space.  I'll be working from a relatively small corner of my desk (grateful for the big desk I inherited when we bought the house) for the foreseeable future.

Glad to have the chance to learn with these co-workers.

New Hire

Max has joined the Cooley Public Strategies DC office.  We're excited to add him to the team.

Easter Joy

Evelyn told me that she loves to decorate for the holidays because it reminds her of the good times when she was younger.  This Easter was different than prior years, but we still found lots of joyful moments.  I enjoyed a post-run breakfast in quiet, watching the sun come up and enjoying my hot cross bun.

Piper was excited to be included in the basket fun, with dog treats styled as Peeps for her very own.

The kids got Astros Buddies Club gear and were excited to root for their favorite team.

Evelyn helped Ian get in a solid workout.

 Then it was off to the yard to hunt for eggs.  It was harder than I thought it would be to find them!

 We watched the service from the National Cathedral and celebrated communion at home.

 Then the kids put on their own services, complete with preaching and a stuffed animal choir.

 We enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail hour in the kitchen with cheese and sparking wine, then moved to the dining room for an Easter dinner feast.

 We finished the day in good spirits and with a picture with this year's Easter Bunny.  What a fun day!