We survived March! Celebrating four birthdays was so much fun, but also exhausting and I'm glad we now have an 11 month break before it's time to start over. There were so many presents, and treats, and balloons, and special activities (baptism included!) to make our month one big party.
March also was the the one year mark of Covid in our area. I can't believe it has been part of our lives for that long. Luckily, our kids have been in school all year, where in some areas they are just now getting back into the classroom. I am so, so grateful I haven't had to do virtual learning for the past 7 months!! Our gyms, stores, most restaurants, and entertainment venues are also fully open again. We are still waiting for library story time and the Chick fil A playground to open, but otherwise life has pretty much resumed as normal.
This month Amarillo also moved from level Orange to level Yellow, which mostly means numbers are decreasing and new cases are staying low, and the state-wide mask mandate ended. Many places still required them, including Sophie's school and church, but the blanket mandate is over and nothing bad happened in it's wake, like many feared when Governor Abbott made the announcement. The 100,000th vaccine was also administered this month, which makes our area one of the most immunized (percentage-wise) in the country. I am loving these encouraging signs and hope the positive trend will continue. My fingers are crossed that Davey will get to start kindergarten, mask-free, in August and that I'll be allowed back into the school to eat lunch with him.
March is when the weather starts to turn, giving us more nice days than bad days. We made a trip to the zoo with friends, and also had lots of fun at different parks in the area.
Sitting on the big block throne at the Discovery Center
Davey danced a little too hard in music class and ended up with a black eye
I found this Hatchimal kingdom set up in Sophie's room one day. She would have loved a sister to play with, but does pretty well on her own. I'm glad she is not growing up too fast.
Taking the power wheels out for a spin on a nice night
I upgraded my library bag at Christmas and the new one is so big I could check out a Charlie!
Playing at Sleepy Hollow for a bit after school before taking Sophie to her first Activity Days
Before covid we made weekly shopping trips to United after school, but now rarely visit. We popped in the other day though, and Griffin got to ride in the car cart for the first time. He thought it was pretty awesome!
I scored a Food Saver for free from our local Buy Nothing group on Facebook. I had to buy some freezer rolls off amazon to use with the machine, but it works great and the cost will quickly be offset by keeping our food safe and useable for much longer.
It was our turn to host Letter Group again this month! My mom was in town to help (which was wonderful) and we had several activities for the letter S, like decorating sticker snakes.
Eating a sweet and salty snack and frosting a star-shape sugar cookie, including sprinkles!
Reading a book about snow, which was fitting because there were flurries in the air that day
Dressing up like snowmen
We went on a super hero scavenger hunt around the house
Swim lessons started up again! This was one of our first activities to be cancelled last year due to covid. Sophie and Emery were in a class together as the only two students and had a great time.
At church in the shirts I bought in Greece during our November 2019 trip. Luckily I got them a size up, because this was the first time they had a reason to wear them!
Now that it's warmer we've started taking the bike trailer out again
Well, we survived another month of Coronavirus! The end of this month marked almost 80 days since life as we knew it came to a halt. Things are slowly starting to improve, but I am tired of hearing phrases like "in these unprecedented/uncertain times" or "now, more than ever." I am sincerely hoping this is not our new normal. We miss people, and going places, and being able to take the kids out without treating them like plague bearers.
Our stay at home order expired this month and we are now in Phase 2 of reopening. Some restaurants are offering dine in again, our library resumed service after closing, gyms and pools are reopening and hopefully parks and museums will soon follow! Church is still a work in progress and we are anxious to find out what school will be like in the fall. In the mean time, here are some things we were up to in May:
Davey found this lovely "hammer" rock on a walk one morning, It is his new favorite and he loves to use it to smash things in our backyard.
The kids saw these rocks in someone's yard on our walk and thought it looked like a crocodile and wanted a picture taken with it.
Silly Griffin on our walk
We bought this pool so the kids would have a place to play and cool off now that summer is starting to really heat up. It's been worth it, even if this is the only summer we use it.
Some cute pictures of our little Griffey Guy
Sophie used some of her points (that she earns from doing daily jobs) to buy a play doh set from my gift closet. She spent all morning crafting this dessert to make it look just like the one on the box. I was impressed by her creating!
Hanging out with my little man - he went on his first date with me to Sonic one night to get a cherry limeade because it was a hot night and we needed refreshment :)
Charlie is adapting to big brotherhood pretty well, but sometimes he still likes to be a baby
Climbing trees during one of our morning walks
We tried out a new recipe for a GIANT cookie! It was so fun and easy to make, and also tasted delicious. I think this will become a snack staple in our house.
Davey is becoming a little bug collector and is always catching various insects. Charlie is following in his footsteps and always wants a turn to hold whatever his siblings catch. Lately he's become an expert on finding spiders - yikes!
Griffin on the receiving end of a little too much loving
Bedtime is Davey's nemesis. He is so tired buts fights getting in his bed almost every night.
We bought a big climbing dome for our backyard! It had been out of stock for months, but then I was able to snag one this month when they were briefly available on Amazon again. The kids have loved having something to climb and I love anything that makes them want to be outside.
They "helped" us build the dome, which took about 2 hours, including time spent looking for the screws and nuts that Charlie dumped in the gravel.
I lost Charlie one afternoon and found him sleeping on the floor of the van
A bed full of boys - only Griffin was missing out on this moment
The kids and I grabbed lunch at Sonic one Saturday as a reward for getting chores done
We have started seeing friends again for play dates in back yards or parks. Sophie has missed her bestie Emery so much after not seeing her for two months!!
These little choo choos have been Charlie's favorite toy. He never gets tired of lining them all up.
More hammock time with this nugget
Sophie watermelon vs. Davey watermelon. This is actually an improvement for Davey. He used to eat the white and sometimes the green parts too!
