Six games > 24 hours

What a weekend it was for Kaden and the Aces. Not only was it Father's Day weekend BUT they competed in their first tournament of the season.

It would be a busy weekend but the boys were up for the challenge. We would start out Saturday with three games. Noon. Two. and Six. The top 6 teams would move onto Sunday for bracket play. 

We won the first game pretty easily. We lost the second game by a good margin as their pitcher struck out our first 9 batters but the boys battled back and got the win in their third game. I believe we ended up getting the 6th seed which meant, we would have to play two games on Sunday just to get to the championship. The boys came in and they started battling. They won their first game, then they won their second game over the Kings (An Ace always beats a King) and we were onto the championship. 

Our opponent for the championship game, the same team that ROCKED us the night before but the boys were up for the challenge and actually led for most of the game until the very last inning with one out to go. Sadly, the boys lost 8-9 BUT we were all so proud of how the fought and went toe to toe with the same team that got them the night before. & when they saw the BLING they were getting, their frowns turned into smiles. 

Six games in 24 hours---not sure how those boys did it--but they did and we were all so proud.

 

Pool is OPEN & Baseball STARTS

With Covid we have learned to be flexible --- the pool & baseball are two examples. Honestly, we weren't sure if either of them were going to happen so when the pool finally opened and baseball started we were dancing a little jig. Two things that we could continue to control how we interact & social distance & two things we all enjoy. 

I can't even explain how great it was to see the boys back on the ball fields again. To see them laughing and playing with their friends again but all while being respectful to each other's space. Coaches were amazing when it came to ensuring that the boys were all wearing gators and that they were social distancing as much as possible but also keeping things somewhat normal too. The boys needed this. We needed this. 

 

Lake with friends

Back to the lake we go & this time with our bubble friends. The Kufeldts have become what we refer to as our bubble friends. During this pandemic we have kept our circle pretty tight but we have also realized that we need to somehow feel a since of normalcy so for us, that meant being with friends who we knew were taking this whole thing as serious as we were, enter the Kufeldts. We are so thankful that we were able to spend this extra time with their family---the kids get along so well, we as parents do too---it's just easy, just as it should be. 

But first, a haircut for Nellie...

 

Memorial Day Weekend LOTO

We weren't sure if this weekend would actually happen---well, we knew it would happen, we didn't know what it would look like as we haven't spent much time with our family since this whole COVID thing started. However, we found a way to make it work and I am so glad we did. It was one of the most normal feeling weekends in a very long time. & we all needed it. 

And even though things were more normal than usual, they was still a stark difference between this Memorial Day weekend and our previous ones---mainly when it came to eating. All the eating was done at home since we decided to play it safe and NOT venture out to any of our favorite restaurants but we are hopeful that we can get back to our normal lake routine by end of summer. 

In other news, Nellie ate a fish hook. & there were ZERO vets open so we gave her a Xanax & our dear neighbor pushed it the rest of the way through as I held her. She did amazing---she's such an awesome dog. Thankfully the boys were out on the seadoo so they didn't have to watch.

But they did get to watch Nellie "jump" into the lake for the first time & I think she was probably the happiest with that decision as she LOVES water. Now, just to get her to "jump" in on her own.

& this guy---all he wanted to do was catch a CATfish. All weekend long he tried and finally, right before we were leaving for the weekend, as I was in the middle of cleaning the cabin, he caught one. Thankfully the CATfish was cool about hanging on the hook in the water until I could google how to safely remove a CATfish from a hook. Mission accomplished.

The boys swam. We took boat rides. We ate like king and queens, thanks to Justin & we tie-dyed family shirts. We made the most out of our socially distanced Memorial Day and it was the perfect way to officially kick off the lake season.

 

School is OUT for REAL.

Well, that was the most unconventional way to end their 3rd and 4th grade years but we tried to make the most of a not so great situation. What started out as only an extended spring break turned into virtual learning for the entire 4th quarter. The boys had mixed emotions about the whole thing, I did to. On one hand they got to wake up and stay in their PJs all day, if they wanted to, & Logan didn't have to do his hair but on the other hand, they both missed their teachers and their friends fiercely. & I'll admit it, in the beginning we were ROCKING everything about sheltering in place but towards the end, we were just trying to survive. 

And even though this school year didn't end as it typically would have with kids spraying silly string at each other, water gun fights and ice cream socials---it was still a pretty fantastic year at our beloved Canyon Creek Elementary. These boys were the first class of third and fourth graders to walk into the new school & they both THRIVED. They were blessed with the best teachers a parent (or student) could ask for. They benefited immensely from the smaller class sizes, from the project based learning and they both grew a little more into their own shoes. So proud of how hard these two worked all year & so thankful for such a fantastic inaugural year at CYE. Here's to hoping that the start of 4th and 5th looks vastly different than the end of this year.

Week 10 - Quarantine Style

Day 64

Day 65

Day 65

Day 66

Day 68

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Day 70 

Week 9 - Quarantine Style

Day 57

Day 57

Day 58

Day 58

Day 60

Day 62

Day 63

 

Week 8 - Quarantine Style

Yup. Still doing the social distancing but we aren't rocking it like we once were. Days are long & as much space as we do have, we sometimes can't find time to ourselves!

Day 50

Day 51

Day 52

Day 53 

Day 55

Day 56

Logan turns NINE!

This kid. He's bummed his birthday plans aren't what they were going to be but he managed to take it all in stride and make the most of it. 

Hard to believe that this little man of ours is NINE! Eight wasn't that big of a deal to me but NINE, cue the waterworks. 

And because of COVID and shelter in place, we had to get a little creative with birthday wishes. I sent a message out to all his best buddies and asked if they could come by the house after 8 pm on the night before his birthday and leave a birthday message on the driveway. And let me tell you, he woke up to the most amazing display of chalk birthday wishes. He is one lucky boy and has so many people who love him in his life.

And then we filled his day with all of his favorites. The Pavkov family dropped off donuts--his favorite. Emily brought of hot chocolate from his favorite little cafe he gets to visit with her. He got McDonalds for lunch. Sonic for happy hour -- where he got his new favorite drink, Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper and then his daddy smoked ribs for dinner followed by Nothing Bundt Cake, cake. Even though it wasn't what he had hoped for in a birthday, he said it was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER. 

Happy Ninth Birthday, Logan Beckett. We will make sure to do 10 BIG.