9th Birthday

 It's Emily's birthday today!  She woke up to a table full of gifts:

A special mermaid gift from her MT grandparents, a DQ Ice Cream Cake, and a day at the lake.  Later, her good friend Jane stopped by with a gift!

Fireworks

Made blueberry pies for Independence Day...a lot of overflowing blueberry juice...opened the door to see actual flames shooting up from the back of the oven, also catching the drip pan above on fire. That’s a first for me. Burning stuff is a running joke in our family, but I've never had a fire in the oven! All is fine now. Hope these pies end up being worth it!

Made Girl Scout masks for Emily's troop

We are making masks to donate to the schools; the kids are helping

Got a new kayak that seats 2 - 3 people!

Emily received an early birthday present: a snow cone maker.  Great gift to use after a hot bike ride!

My trusty old 1960's sewing machine broke and the service center is backed up for months so I ordered a new one.  It arrived today!

June 2020

1. Doing so well with her math!
2. We bought caterpillars and kept them until they hatched.  Today was butterfly release day
3. A fun day at the lake; the neighbor let us try his paddleboard
4. This cutie road all the way to my work at Wright Lindsey & Jennings to see me
5. What a fun lunch date!

May 2020

At the little Bentonville Airport, a flyover was arranged in support of all the healthcare workers.  Emergency personnel like police and firefighters also lined their vehicles along the street with lights on.  There were some cool planes, and Brendan got some great photos.

1. Flying in formation
2. Goodyear Super Corsair coming in for a landing
3. Goodyear F2G Super Corsair
4. North American P-51 Mustang

In other news:

1. Brendan got a haircut - what a handsome face!
2. Emily got a "Future Author Award" from her 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Held

We went to the King River Campground and stayed there with the Wittenbergs.  We had a wonderful weekend!

1. Emily holding a tiny baby turtle
2. Brendan had fun searching for minnows

April 2020

The most recent advice is that everyone should wear masks anytime they are around other people to help stop the transmission of COVID, since scientists believe that it is spread through air born particles.  Disposable masks are very expensive, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control says that a double layer fabric mask will help, so I found a YouTube tutorial on mask making, dusted off my sewing skills, and made masks for each person in our family.  I had fabric on hand, but no elastic and most elastic is sold out, so I had to improvise using hair bands.  Emily looks cute; I look like I'm about to rob a bank...

Emily's school is trying to come up with things the kids can do and post online to make it seem a little like they're still part of school.  This week was spirit week and Emily really enjoyed dressing up each day!

Day 1: 'Merica Monday
Day 2: Team Tuesday
Day 3: We Will Rock You Wednesday
Day 4: Throwback Thursday (pick an era - Emily is Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly)
Day 5: Favorite Time of Year Friday (Emily chose Valentine's Day)

Much of the world may be shut down, but we can still celebrate at home!  Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020:

1. Emily posing next to their Easter basket
2. Now that Brendan is older, he had fun playing "Easter Bunny" and hiding all the eggs for his sister to find!
3. Enjoying down time to play together, April 26
4. I have been enjoying walks during my lunch break; enjoyed seeing this blue heron catching its lunch!
5. & 6. One of Brendan's school assignments was to make a mask - he did a great job!