Baseball

As the state of Texas began slowing reopening in May, we were beyond thankful to resume activities for the kids like tumbling and baseball. At first the teams had strict mask and social distancing protocols to follow, but slowly things began feeling more and more normal. Connor's 14U select baseball team participated in a tournament in mid-May, the first time Connor was able to play in an official game since last September before he broke his wrist! It just so happened that Collin was in town, and he and Kevin were able to drop in to watch Connor play and spend some time with us afterwards. It was a fun kickoff to the upcoming abbreviated baseball season, and we were hopeful that we'd be able to enjoy many more games ahead.

Dining Out Post-Quarantine

As much as we enjoyed to-go restaurant food during quarantine, it's just not the same with certain types of meals that don't hold up in the delivery/to-go process. Once restaurants were able to open back up here in Texas, we were all happy to try the post-quarantine dining experience. We weren't sure what to expect, but dining out was definitely different from before. We first tried a spot outdoors and were surprised to see other patrons wearing masks outside before their food arrived. Another thing we noticed was that the menus were now printed on paper (to throw away after each use), and there were no shared condiments or napkin holders on the tables. When I asked for salt, they brought me a tiny cup with the equivalent of a few shakes of the dispenser. On another occasion, we took the kids to Texas Roadhouse for a long overdue birthday steak. We had to pull up their menus on our smartphones, and again we had to ask for condiments in single-serve portions. It seemed like no matter what time of day we visited a restaurant, we were able to walk right in to be seated, when previously there would have been an hours-long wait during normal mealtimes. The tables were spaced far apart but yet we were still in in the minority of folks that seemed comfortable rejoining the dining society in public. How long would this last, we wondered?

Playdates with Lily

One of the activities Kaitlynn missed the most during our 2-month quarantine period was the ability to get together with her friends. As restrictions began lifting in early May, we began letting the kids hang out with their friends, and Kaitlynn was finally able to have a long-awaited reunion with her sweet friend Lily. Their initial playdate turned into a 2-night sleepover at Lily's house followed by another sleepover at ours. And they never ran out of fun things to do the entire time!

Celebrating the End of Elementary

One of the things that Kaitlynn most anticipated during her 5th grade school year was a special day that we planned to "skip school" and celebrate her official end of elementary school. Connor and I had a similar day towards the end of his 5th grade year, and it was a special rite of passage that Kaitlynn was excited to experience. Unfortunately, COVID had other plans. As we approached the end of school, we were having a hard time figuring out how to celebrate this milestone because most businesses were still closed from the Corona lockdown.

Kaitlynn's official last day of elementary school was May 19, and finally businesses were started to open. When I made an appointment with my hairdresser (finally!) to take care of my unkempt, overgrown quarantine hair, I came up with an idea that might be worthy of Kaitlynn's celebratory day. When I ran the idea by her, she jumped with excitement. She was going to come with me to the hair salon to get some long awaited fun colors in her hair!

Kaitlynn had been asking for some color highlights in her hair for ages, so this was the perfect timing and reward to close out her 6 years of elementary school. It was also her first full service salon experience. Thank goodness for her laptop to keep her entertained during our hours-long appointments.

The end result was beyond worth it - Kaitlynn's hair was beautiful! The multiple colors were subtle yet blended perfectly. She was so excited and happy with the end result.

After the long morning at the hair salon, it was time for Kaitlynn's choice of a spot to eat. The restaurants were operating at 50% capacity and still not crowded at all, so we were able to walk right in and enjoy a yummy Mexican food lunch at Kaitlynn's favorite, Lupe Tortilla.

We ran a couple of other errands and then capped off our special day together with a final stop at (no surprise here) Freddy's for a frozen custard treat. It's Kaitlynn's all-time favorite ice cream spot and the perfect ending to our fun girls' day, all in honor of our elementary school graduate.

Next stop for this girl - Junior High! So hard to believe!! 

Yard Work

One of the more popular activities for Jeff during the long days of our quarantine at home was yard work. After the pool was finished, our back yard and side yards were dirt/mud pits, and Jeff began the not-so-fun task of filling in the yard with grass. The cool thing about living in a neighborhood where new homes are being constructed is that Jeff has a seemingly endless supply of materials that are discarded curbside. He also has direct access to the lawn crews that bring in the pallets of grass for the new homes. As the neighborhood lawn workers would install a yard full of grass nearby, Jeff would stop by and strike a deal to purchase any leftover grass for pennies on the dollar. Slowly but surely, and with the help of a cute but inexperienced home crew with bad attitudes, our yard began filling in nicely.