Smith Family

For Fall Break we headed out to the Science Center. We wrongly assumed since public schools were in school and it was a week day that it wouldn't be crowded. If felt more crowded than when we've gone before the virus. It did feel nice to get out and do something, but there were so many people there that we kinda zoomed through it this time. We got a year pass back in March before we had any idea what Covid meant, this was only the 2nd time we used it! We'll have to go a few more times to make sure we at least get our moneys worth.  

  This is 36. What a year this has been. While it has come with it's challenges I've really loved the opportunity to slow down. I've enjoyed having Elliott home all day working and the kids here. Our home is small and sometimes we get cabin fever but I feel like I'll miss the time when everything like church and school got canceled and we could just focus on what matters most, our family. My birthday was perfect. The kids and Elliott made me breakfast in bed, Audrey, Elliott and I headed to Michaels to get décor for our front porch. Shoot, I didn't take a picture. I'll add one later. After that Elliott and I headed to the mall for me to get an outfit and eat lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We shared the buffalo blasts which are just perfection and I got my very favorite lemon raspberry cheesecake. I went and got a pedicure before we went out to Carrabba's for my favorite meal of chicken bryan. 

 Yep, we're homeschooling! I feel like we were presented with a pretty impossible decision with this school year. We were forced into a virtual learning situation to finish out last year's school year and it was awful. The kids were not learning, it felt like busy work and caused a lot of unnecessary tears and frustration. I didn't appreciate having my kids on screens for hours during school then they wanted their free time to be on more screens. I knew I was not up for a whole school year of virtual schooling, I didn't like how it controlled my entire day instead of me being in control of what was going on. Sending the kids to school came with its own challenges, masks all day, spacing of desks, being isolated during lunch and recess and not knowing what the virus was going to do made me feel uneasy. One of the biggest reasons I send my kids to school is for the social aspect, if we cut that out then what's the point? I have a teaching degree and am currently stayi...

 Trying to keep occupied and limiting electronic time has been a bit of a challenge during quarantine especially with really hot and humid summers. While we definitely could always be better about electronics we have tried to keep our minds and hands busy doing other things. 

Our first 4th of July here in Houston! We had a low key chill day. We decided to grab burgers at Sonic to make things easy, we made some special red, white and blue drinks, Ellie helped me make the fruit pizza, we did our own firework show and ended the night by watching the Patriot. It was a simply yet perfect day for our little family. After watching The Patriot I was curious if we had family members in America during the Revoltionary War and we did! I've only gone through one line, my Grandpa D's mom line and found 2 guys who fought with the South Carolina Militia for the Revolutionary war, an ancestor who was hung in Salem during the witch trials and a slave owner. I going to continue through all my ancestrors to understand more of my American history that I didn't know. As I was looking through these people I was wishing I could hear their thoughts and perspective, especially the women.  We seem to be going through a pretty historic time with ...

For Christmas my parents gifted us a stay at The Great Wolf Lodge with the whole family in Scottsdale. We had been looking forward to this all year, then became a bit concerned whether we would be going or not with the pandemic. We toyed with the idea of renting an RV and driving but ultimately decided to risk flying. Numbers were sitting at about 1,000 cases a day, which isn't great but also not terrible. We were required to wear a mask in the Uber and the entire time we were in the airport and airplane.  While our flight was completely full the airport felt like a ghost town. Most shops were closed and because airlines have limited flights it didn't feel crowded at all. We kept our distance and frequently slathered on the hand sanitizer. Once we landed we picked up our rental car which was a life saver! Last year I didn't have a rental and felt a bit stuck at my parents the whole time, so it was nice to have Pete there the entire time with us and have the ability to...