August

The summer flew by and before we knew it, we were already into August which meant there were only about two weeks of summer break left. We decided to make the very most of our time, packing in as much fun as possible while we still could!

Flights were super cheap so Grammy and Nonie were brave and decided to make a trip out here to spend an entire week with us. We've never had them here for that long so we were excited!

Flying in 2020...

An evening bike ride around the neighborhood with Nonie

They loved watching Kyndall sew up in her new craft room and as you'll see, they put in orders for some custom items of their own.

We tried out a cute new little lunch spot here in Forney called The Lunch Table

Kyndall loved their watermelon lemonade!

It was HOT that week with temps around 105 so we spent lots of time in the pool

Grammy and Nonie got to accompany Kyndall to her weekly sewing class where she made a blanket for Grammy. Earlier in the week we all made a trip to the fabric store and Grammy and Nonie both picked out fabric for blankets. Since they take a lot of time to complete, she was only able to do Grammy's for now, but she'll have Nonie's finished by the next time we see her.

Dinner at Freddy's after sewing class

Ham Orchards is one of our favorite places to visit in the summer and with only one week left in their season, we knew we had to take Grammy and Nonie along so they could see what it's all about!

A true sign of the times!

You can't go to Ham's and not get their famous peach ice cream!

Sometime during the summer we were asked by our school district to make the choice between either sending Kyndall back for face to face learning on campus, or a virtual school option where she could remain at home. We really struggled with which learning option would be best for her. Obviously since we were still in the middle of a global pandemic, her safety was our number one concern. After being SO careful since March, it just felt reckless and unwise to send her back to school with her peers. Thankfully I have the flexibility to be able to be at home with her unlike so many families who had no choice but to send their kids back to school. It was such a scary time because nobody really knew what would happen when the kids went back. I kind of assumed that by a few days/weeks into it, ALL kids would be at home doing virtual learning. With all of that being said, we chose the virtual option for Kyndall. She was a little disappointed because she really missed her friends but deep down she knew this was the wise choice, at least for the time being.

The week before school started, her virtual teacher stopped by to meet her and to drop off some paperwork. Mrs. Elliott seemed very nice and this really made Kyndall excited about the upcoming start of school!

Our school district provides each student who is 4th grade and up their own Chrome Book and Kyndall was very excited to personalize hers with all her favorite things!

After the longest spring break in the history of forever, it was back to reality on August 17th, 2020. Things definitely looked and felt a little different than all of our past first days of school, but we were excited, nonetheless.

Getting started with her morning meeting

Reading in her reading nook

I love traditions and our tradition on the first day of school has always been to get a sweet treat after I pick her up. This year was no different!

Over the next week Kyndall and I began to navigate our new way of doing school. There were definitely some frustrating moments and some feelings of "was this virtual school choice a mistake?" but with some time and some grace we began to find our groove. We realized right away that it was vital to get out of the house at least for a little while each day. So, we took a stroll around the neighborhood.

Virtual school science

We also realized that Kyndall really needed her own space where she could focus better so we created a "classroom" in her nook under the loft in her craft room. This allowed her a place to really spread out and also gave her a quiet place to concentrate.

This space was also much more comfortable!

Each year during the first week of school our neighborhood hosts a drive through "breakfast on the go" for the kids. We look forward to this so much!

Another tradition that Kyndall and I have always had is our weekly Friday lunch date. Every Friday since kindergarten I've been taking her a special lunch of her choice to school. We decided to keep it going and her first request was pizza and french fries. I had to go to two different places to fulfill her odd request, but after a pretty good first week of school I was happy to oblige.

This week was also her first week back at gymnastics since March. COVID had caused to gym to close and then even after they opened back up we were hesitant to let her go. But, it was also important to us to let her slowly and safely start doing some of the things she loves again. Her mental and emotional health is just as important as her physical health.

Less students in the gym and all coaches and parents wearing masks

We celebrated surviving the first week of school with dinner out--another rare treat since the pandemic began. Restaurants were at limited capacity and masks had to be worn as you walked to your table or moved about. There were no menus, salt, pepper or ketchup on the table. Every other booth was blocked off and all employees wore masks.

Huckabee represented how we all felt after making it through the first week of virtual school!

Slowly but surely we started getting back to doing some of the things we loved--like having friends over to swim and cook out. Ryann and Erykah were some of our first guests and we loved having them!

These two have been friends since kindergarten

We don't call them the twins for no reason--Sometimes I have to look twice just to see which one is actually mine!

Kyndall didn't slow down with her creativity just because she was stuck home. She found a new passion in animating and spent a lot of her time creating things like this on her ipad.

Even though it was only August, she got right to work on her Halloween costume. She enlisted the help of her sewing teacher to assist her in making her dream of a Dino onesie come true. This girl loves The Flintstones!

It would take several weeks to complete, but she was excited to see it coming together!

She always has to visit with Ashley, one of many cats that belong to her sewing teacher

She decided her stuffed turtle needed a mask too!

Another week of school down, another Friday lunch to celebrate! Most fast food restaurants still don't have their dining rooms open so a car picnic it was!

These two were very excited to get back to their Saturday morning Daddy/Daughter breakfast dates to the Waffle House. It's funny how doing the little things that we used to take for granted no longer felt so little.

Putting this TV on our back patio was one of the best things we did over the summer!

Finally, the time came where we felt that we could return to church. This was an exciting day because as nice as it is to be able to watch church from the comfort of our couch, there's just no substitute for being there in person.

We hadn't gotten dressed up on a Sunday morning in over 5 months!

This particular Sunday also happened to be promotion Sunday which meant that now that Kyndall is in 4th grade, she's no longer eligible for childrens' church. That means she goes to "big church" with us after Sunday School is over.

One of m favorite things--treating myself to pretty flowers from the grocery store "just because".

The following Sunday we resumed our weekly routine of picking up Kyndall's sweet friend Adara and taking her with us to church. We had sure missed seeing her each week!

These two had missed each other so much over the summer so we invited Adara to come home with us after church so they could spend some time together.

While they were in the pool they heard the familiar sound of the ice cream truck!

The boys got summer cuts and looked so cute!

August was a good month. It was the first time in almost six months that things began to feel somewhat "normal" again. Granted, the virus was still very real and very active, but the fear had subsided a little which was refreshing.