barrett: 83 months old

It's hard to imagine that just one month ago, we were headed to Angel Fire to go skiing!  Since we returned, the kids haven't been to school and the hubs and I haven't been to work.  All work happens at the kitchen table now (the hubs and I have commandeered the ends, but oddly enough, not the ends we each usually sit at for meals!).  And the kids move about the house to do their schoolwork assignments, with Britton usually ending up in her room and Barrett hanging out with us so we can help him out a bit more.  Barrett has absolutely embraced getting to see his class weekly in their Zoom sessions.  And he's enjoying the variety of activities he is assigned, since most are different mediums and keep his momentum up.  

We went ahead and got Barrett a new bike so he could learn to ride with no training wheels, and admittedly, we waited too long!  He's nervous about falling and doesn't want us to let go, and it turns out that the bike I bought is a little too big and was making him feel unsteady. So he's back on the smaller bike (training wheels removed), and is so close to doing it on his own.

Likes:  all things pugs, leaving Legos all over the house (the formal living room is covered in his Lego city creations, and I've just given up and let it go)

Dislikes:  me, when I let go of his bike and he careens into the curb

128 months old

We made it back from our first family ski trip to a completely new world of Covid-19!  The adjustment to home-schooling has been relatively easy, though with both the hubs and I having to work from home as well, it's been a juggling game! It seems like every week we're dealing with another disappointment and this week was no different.  So far, Britton has missed out on her "teacher for a day" experience we won at the school auction, her choir concert (with solo), summer camp, swim team, and she's been the only one to show up to her dance class's Zoom meetings (they haven't cancelled the recital, but it's only a matter of time).  Don't misunderstand, we are of course appreciative we are healthy and able to be home together.  There's a ton more positives in life than negatives.  It's just that a 10-year-old isn't inclined to see the bigger picture, and each thing cancelled hurts a little bit more than the one before it.  

But she is trying to make the best of it - working on art, reading every book she can find on her bookshelf again and again, and teaching Barrett to ride his bike without training wheels.  And of course swimming in the pool and racing me on bike rides!

Likes:  "The Hunger Games" trilogy, snow tubing, doing puzzles 

Dislikes:  Not getting to see any friends except over Zoom