Back to School: 3rd and 5th Grade

The kids were so excited to be back in school.

A few back to school pictures.

The school did a staggered start to test the COVID regulations.  Caden started two days before Annabelle.  Caden's teacher sent a few pictures from the first day of school.  Caden's class left to right:  Ms. Yohe, Bass Lang, Ainsley Walker, Preston Wilson, Sammie Staples, Cooper Dow, Sutton Bruce, Gigi Parker, Henry Buja, Arden Prouse, Garrett Tilger, Caden, Andrew Collins, and Harper Philips.

The 5th graders typically have a Fall Frenzy at the start of the year to celebrate their last year in Grammar school.  They weren't able to do that this year, but they did get Chick-fil-A for lunch.

End of Summer Fun

 We are soaking up the last few days of summer.  We are so excited that in person school is scheduled to start soon!  We have enjoyed the down time, but we are ready for some routine!

Caden is still enjoying nerf wars in the backyard.

One of my friends turned 50.  Laura and Angie Buja during the party.

I'm still working on projects around the house.  We had originally planned to tile above the vanities in the master bath.  But I changed my mind and opted for wallpaper there, instead.  Here is a before picture.

The after pic of my vanity.

We finally got the shades and panels installed in the dining room.  I love them!

We had a themed tennis event at the club.  Here is Evi and Laura in their US Open attire.

Shelly, Laura, Liz, and Evi.

Annabelle wanted me to make her some scrunchies.  I made one for violet to match her school uniform.  She's ready to go back to school, too.

Annabelle wanted to match one day.

Annabelle did some baking with a few neighbors: Sabrina and Natalie.

I had painted two canvases for the other house, but the colors don't quite work for our new decor.  I decided to paint over them.  A before pic...

Laura ready to paint.  You can see our new car in the background.  Brian was done with our hybrid after our vacation fiasco, so we went ahead and traded in the QX60 for the QX80.  The kids are loving the extra room this can has.

The finished paintings.

The paintings are up in the living room.  Now I need to get the pillow covers sewn.

The roman shade being installed in the kitchen.

Orange Beach, AL Vacation

We had initially planned to head to Montreal and Maine this summer, but COVID changed our plans.  The Tilgers invited us along on their Orange Beach vacation, and we were excited to get out of town.

We got up super early and were on the road by 4am.  The kids set up with their devices.

All was going fine until about 5-6 hours in the car, when our car died on the side of the two lane highway about an hour outside of Baton Rouge.  After about a two hour wait, the tow truck arrived to take us to the Infiti dealership in Baton Rouge.  

After a few hours waiting for the car's diagnosis and futile attempts to get a rental car, we decided to just book a hotel in Baton Rouge for the night.  We finally located a rental car in New Orleans, so Laura took an uber to the New Orleans airport Saturday night.  Then after spending Saturday night in Baton Rouge, we drove on to Orange Beach and made it there about 20 hours later than planned.  A pic set up with their devices in the rental mini van.

The kids with their boogie boards in the water Sunday afternoon.

After an afternoon at the beach, the kids hopped in the hot tub.

Caden working hard on the sand castle.

Annabelle and Hadley digging with some other kids on the beach.

A picture one night on the balcony before heading to dinner.

The boys having a laser gun war in the condo.

We went parasailing one morning.

The girls having fun with Garrett.

The boys went fishing one morning.

We rented a pontoon boat one day.

We got a double decker boat this year with a slide.  The kids loved it.

Another Covenant family was staying in Gulf Shores, so they joined us on the boat.  The kids left to right: Sojo Thomas, Chloe Thomas, Annabelle, Emerson, Hadley, Garrett, and Caden.

The kids playing in some shallow water.

Back to the beach...Caden and Garrett digging.

The school had a ground breaking ceremony for the new high school building while we were there.  We recreated the pic with the kids. :)