you go girl (and man)

so.  the last 3 weeks have been filled with news and change.  all good things.  

we continued to be poolside everyday.  well.  the kiddos were in the pool.  i waited patiently in the parking lot.  

i THINK this was after she came in first place in backstroke?  oh man.  this kid in the pool this year.  she had the fastest times for backstroke and breaststroke for the girls 9-10's.  she beat the boys in several heats.  she did another no-breather.  i seriously could not be prouder.  

yay - coach melanie said max's arms looked great this season!

bahama bucks for dropping times - awesome job, kiddos!

sweet piper went in for surgery on july 2nd.  her dew claw continued to be infected.  thank goodness the surgery went well and we're counting down the days until the bandages can be removed and she can run and play again.

we finally got around to dropping off mrs. karel's end-of-year gift.  so thankful for her - she was an amazing teacher!!!

check out ella's breaststroke and freestyle.  especially the freestyle - she is amazing!

upside of coronavirus swim season.  these are the meets.  during practice.  beyond chill.  

continuing virtual art classes

sad day - coronavirus cases have been through the roof so i basically cancelled my own birthday weekend getaway with my girls to starr pass.  we're mostly hunkered down again.

i'm thankful the girls threw me an amazing birthday party (socially distanced of course) and this year i fanned out my candles because you can't blow them out.  ha!  i also had an amazing birthday with rog, the kids, my parents and jill!!!  thank you everyone - it was a fabulous birthday.  

swim pics are in - sooo grown up, guys!!

unfortunately, cases skyrocketed in Arizona so much that school is now delayed until at least august 17th (kids were supposed to start on august 6th) and pools were limited to 10 people.  we scrambled to rearrange practice schedules and groups so there would be no more than 8 kiddos in the pool.  thankful we were able to continue the season.

a week later, we threw a similar birthday party for my friend, ali.  i love these girls and very thankful.

another upside of coronavirus.  easiest party to host ever.  people brought their own chairs, beverages, and dinner.  and they didn't go in the house.  

this was the last week of swim team.  spirit day - kids were supposed to decorate a shirt.  ella's turned out awesome!!!

max did not participate, but his buddy came through for him and made the sweetest box filled with a shirt that he decorated, an orca stuffy and several fun toys.

an our awards ceremony.  so thankful for coach melanie and coach lauren!!

the kids had just gotten their t-shirts but they say "orcas quaran-team"

and the back says:

we came stayed home

we saw did dryland 

we STILL conquered!

the coaches gave "fun" awards to the kids to recognize their dedication and say "we saw you" this season.  i thought it was incredibly special.

ella got the "wall sit master" award for holding a wall sit for 21 minutes during one of their zoom meetings.

the coaches kept a sticker chart and the kids got stars for every time they dropped time - ella had the most of the 9-10's with 9!!!

max got the "lunch" award.  apparently it was his answer every time the coaches asked him anything. anybody remember what he asked santa for when he was 2??

ella "reading" to piper to help calm her down during a storm - monsoon season is here!!

things keep changing around us.  we are still in quite the holding pattern on a number of fronts.  but.  we found out that roger was promoted to director level of RAM (the missile program) at raytheon.  i cannot even begin to convey how impressive this accomplishment is.  nor could i ever fully express how proud i am.  you are ridiculously intelligent, driven, talented, thoughtful...  we are so thankful for how hard you work everyday for our family.  we love you.  we're in awe.  congrats, roger!!!!!

untitled. because, I just don't know.

Um.  I don't know.  We are now in an almost-weirder phase of this thing.  Technically, we are free to roam about the proverbial cabin again (although we were briefly under a state-wide curfew for social reasons), but it might be safer in the meantime to remain seated with our seat belts (or face masks) securely fastened.  Sad face.  Major sad face.  Low on motivation, we are trying to remain optimistic, hopeful, energized.  

a post-covid hair cut.  so great to see your face again, mr. max!  

a drink in honor of george. cheers, buddy.  i seriously miss you every single day.

i'm thankful for daily swim practices.  this activity has defined our summers for the past 5 years, but this year, i'm especially thankful for this distraction, something to work with.

els and max have been doing amazing in their weekly time trials!!!  els missed first place in breaststroke by a fingertip!!!  her time was 54.53.  

max getting ready to dive in for freestyle.  look at the mountains behind him.  the catalinas have been on fire for the last 2 weeks.  

disney themed time trials!!  poor els, really trying to socially distance herself.  

ooh and she killed it for both her back and free last week!  she came in 2nd place for both AND PR'd for both.  her backstroke was 50.92 and free was 46.28.  go, ella!!!!!!!

such a beautiful dive off the blocks!

max has been doing well - his fastest backstroke was 33.69 and fastest freestyle was 28.97 (he is still doing 25's, while el is doing 50's).  

sweet piper.  the infection remains in her dew claw and she has a bone abnormality, so she is scheduled for surgery on july 2nd.  poor sweet girl.

ahh!!  my amazing mom made matching masks for els and all of her american girl dolls!!!  so much fun!  i really don't know why she has four...

happy father's day to roger and my own dad!!!    we had a great day - a delicious breakfast together, pokemon card gaming, NO scavenger hunts and/or escape rooms, swimming, and a fabulous dinner with family.  we also surprised roger with family shirts.  during this quarantine, we have watched the entire marvel movie series in chronological order together.  such a fun time to watch all of these movies together.

and then it is my goal to re-create this picture every father's day.  last year, piper met max and els on father's day.

one year later.  she did a little bit of growing.  happy father's day to the best daddy.  we love you!!

brace for it

well...this happened.  here's the before:

and the after!!

miss ella got braces!! she's already doing a phenomenal job remember to brush her teeth after every meal.  good job, els!!  we love your smile!!

she brought dale with her to her appointment and they gave her two brackets for my mom to sew on his teeth - just like i did with seamore the walrus when i got braces as a kid!  and sweet hailey, put together a care package for her with a novel about getting braces and a headband she knitted in the colors of hufflepuff house!

our water puppy.  she loves the pool and sitting in the backyard.  and her fur is growing in nicely. unfortunately, her dew claw is infected so she's on antibiotics and pain meds.  fingers crossed, they do not need to do surgery to remove the dew claw.  

happy birthday roger!!!

a trip out to the nursery to pick out succulents for his new planter!

the kids and i have done a few virtual escape rooms, so we set up an escape room in the house!!

last monday, orcas started up again.  it is sooo different from previous years.  our team, which normally has 250ish swimmers, is now down to 60.  they are assigned areas to drop their swim bags and lanes in which to swim.  parents are not allowed in, so i stay in the car and maybe run a quick errand.  el goes in first, then i drop max off for hers, run to the other parking lot and pick up els and wait again.  but glad this is happening at all.

on friday, they had "time trials."  no meets this year, so instead once a week, the kiddos will swim for time.  they will be tracked on improvement.  both did great!!  els came in 2nd and 3rd for her heats and max came in 3rd for both freestyle and backstroke.

a mini monet art class!!

last week marked george's first birthday in heaven and tomorrow will be one year since we said good-bye.  i still get teary eyed over him.  i still miss him so very much.  oh what i wouldn't give to snuggle with him one more time.  we love you buddy.  forever would not have been long enough.  

a cautious new world

leftover pictures from spring at school!!

roger and els at the father/daughter dance

the kiddos' spring portraits:

love the hair and expression on max's face

with the stay at home order lifted, we ventured out into the world on monday.  max went to his first in-person karate class in months.  temperature checks, foot wipes, hand sanitizing at the door and circles on the floor to mark where the kids (limited to 5 per class) are able to move within.

and just like that, the school year, and my disastrous attempt at home schooling are over.  the teachers collected their school belongings and, all clad in masks, deposited them into the trunk of my car and i drove by the cafeteria at my assigned time.  such a crazy time in this world.

and so 2nd and 4th grades are over!  max will be going into the 3rd grade with mrs. hensel (ella also had her for 3rd grade!) and els will be going into the 5th grade with mrs. foster!!

max finished his year with a reading level spanning from 3rd to 5th grade.  he's also going to continue his challenge math class into the summer.

mrs. larose stopped by to deliver his scrapbook she made for him this year.  love and appreciate our teachers and we will miss them!!  she also gave him a copy of one of his favorite books: weird but true.  

miss ella bean finished the year making principal's honor roll with straight a's!!

mrs. karel also voted her 'best artist' in their class AND she came in 3rd place for the yearbook cover contest!

we are so stinking proud of both of you.  it's been a weird year to say the least and i'm sad that was how your school year ended.  but we are going to have a wonderful summer together.  i'm thankful for my time with you.  we had our moments and it wasn't always easy, but i love you both so much.

ugh.  i'm back at work (from home).  i was quite enjoying being furloughed...  but at least i have a cute co-worker!

 ella's watercolor art in her virtual class.

we wrapped up the week with two cautious playdates...feeling out how the kids did with remembering to socially distance themselves.  it was (mostly) successful and it was good to see other humans again.  it also felt nice to leave the house.