Vacation

We were lucky enough to spend last week at the beach.  We rode bikes, swam in the pool, saw alligators and stingrays, etc.  I'll check to see if any of us got any pics from the trip or if we were too busy enjoying it to whip out our phones.  That said, Everett and I came home early while the girls went on a second 4-day beach trip with friends.  Don't feel sorry for us.  While there were no bikes, no pools, and no wildlife, we managed to have a great time on our own.  As you can see from this picture, I spent some time catching up on work, Ev spent every waking moment playing video games, and Lucy apparently learned to read and use an IPad...

Growing

As you can see, I wasn't joking about Everett's pledge to avoid haircuts all summer...

Summer Pals

With the kids out of school and me working from home, it would seem as though we'd be sick of each other by now.  However, between Ev getting covid, them going to their grandparents' for a week, and most importantly, them spending countless hours facetiming with friends on virtual playdates... like seriously, an insane amount of hours...no, really, think of a crazy amount of hours... yeah, more hours than that.  I don't feel like I've seen them all that much.  In fact, I decided to take these pictures of them so I could remember their smiling face ... 

My beautiful daughter who just got her first haircut in a long time...

My handsome man who has a stated goal of dodging haircuts for the entire Summer...

Shooting Stars pt. 2

 A few weeks ago I posted this 

http://barberbabble.blogspot.com/2022/05/shooting-stars.html 

While we weren't able to bring home the title, I am happy to say we came in 5th place out of 64 teams.  Our goal going in was to make it out of the first round. Given the fact that Ev was one of the younger kids there, I am hoping we can make another good showing next year.  In the meantime, I want to say how proud I was of Everett.  My man was pretty intimidated when we walked into the gym to see 126 other people warming up and shooting baskets.  After a few pep talks, including the coach telling the boys the best feeling in sports is winning, the 2nd best is when you try your best and come up short, and the worst feeling in sports is when you don't participate because you're too afraid, he was ready to roll.  After our first win, his confidence was so high that he "carried" us to our second round victory....just ask him....he's happy to tell you all about it. 

Break

The kids have spent the past week at their grandparents' house.  While Meggan and I took advantage of the time by going out to dinner, seeing friends, and watching zero minutes of Youtube, Pokemon, or Lego Ninjago, it wasn't the break it used to be.  We realized this time around that our kids are so independent and fun to be around these days that their absence leaves a bigger hole than the freedom can fill.  That said, based on this screenshot I took last night of Ev enjoying a Coke and movie at almost 10pm, the kids (justifiably) still think it's quite a nice break from us...

Time to Report

I don't often do this, but I'd like to brag on my kids.   Okay, I do it all the time.  Hey, it isn't my fault they keep me loaded up with pride!  Both kids got their year-end report cards ....and there was nothing but A's to be found.  That means for the year, Amelia received straight A's on every report card and Ev received 1 B+ in the first trimester (which he moved to an A and then to an A+ in subsequent trimesters) and straight A's everywhere else.  They dealt with COVID scares, several absences, an advisor and a teacher leaving school mid-year, and the reset of social circles that stemmed from the starting/stopping/remote learning, etc. the prior year.  I can't tell you how proud I am of these two kids

Symptom

Turns out, the crazy kid sign on the door was really just Everett's first COVID symptom.  He's been locked away behind that sign since he tested positive.  Luckily for him, COVID amounted to a day of headaches, a slight cold, and playing with his also-quarantined friends (it went around his class) via video calls and video games literally 12+ hours per day.  Luckily for us, we were able to drag him away from his friends a few times to enjoy a socially distanced popsicle outside....