Camping and Dancing

 The girls were able to go to Young Women camp again this year. Last year was weird. We did the best we could, but it still ended up being a mix between virtual and in person. But COVID number were down this year and they were able to do a ropes course and then head down to Colorado Springs where they had the treat of showers and flushing toilets. Truly a luxury. 

The day after they got back, Jane had a recital. A real, in person, recital. She missed it last year because they rescheduled from May to August - duetocovid. It just so happened to fall during our trip to Disney World. 

But this year, she danced her little heart out. 

Things are starting to get back to normal. We want to be done with these strange times. 

Not Throwing Away our Shots

 

The whole family is officially vaxxed. 

As soon as the first shipments started arriving, I've coveted that precious shot. 

My opportunity came early. The hospital sent me a message in February telling me I qualified based on my unpleasant health history. I jumped up and down, celebrating like I'd won the lottery. Pfizer has become a more desirable brand than Gucci in the past few months. 

The first dose was easy. The second came with a high fever and body aches. It was totally worth it. 

Chris got his early too. He was on a waitlist at a local pharmacy and they called him one Saturday, asking if he could be there in the next 15 minutes. They had one dose left. He was still celebratory, but didn't indulge in a selfie. 

The kids finally got the green light in May. We took them to the clinic after school and it was almost all teens. 

I was even more excited for the kids to get theirs than I was when I got mine. They need to go back to normal life so badly. We haven't been hiding in our house this past year, and they've been attending school in-person since September, but things haven't been normal either. It's been tough. The girls miss regular church activities and in-person school activities. Emily has been competing at speech meets over video. It's surreal. We're done with surreal. We're ready to get back to real. 

Hooray for the vaccines! May they help usher out these dark times. 

Fifteen

Emily is fifteen. 

It's strange thinking that she's already been with us for a decade and a half. It's even stranger to think she only has 3 more years before she goes to college. 

We've been trying to give her responsibility and privileges a bit at a time. We decided that this year, she is finally ready for a smart phone. She was so excited to finally be able to have the internet in her pocket. 

She also got her learner's permit. That particular achievement is not pictured here, but just imagine her taking the wheel of an actual vehicle, her parents terrified on the one hand, but also very excited at the prospect of her being able to transport herself. 

For her birthday, she requested a movie day with her bestie and an Oreo cheesecake with a brownie crust. Fairly simple requests that were easily granted. 

Happy Birthday, Emily! 

 

Easter 2021

It seems like Easter is always a bit rushed, given its proximity to Spring Break. 

But we didn't care. 

We got off the plane on good Friday. 

The next day we dyed eggs. 

Easter is a nice low pressure holiday. You throw some candy in a basket, heat up a ham, and voila - It's properly celebrated. 

The kids still consented to hunt eggs this year. Probably because they contained candy. 

We need photo evidence while we can get it. Every year could be the last hunt. 

Happy Easter!

 

Sun, Space and a Sea Kayak

If there's one thing we've learned during the pandemic, it's this:

Florida will never turn us away. 

Chris and I were fully vaccinated by the time Spring Break rolled around. But we would have gone even if we hadn't been. We've been cooped up for too long. So, for the second time in less than a year, we got on a plane to Florida for a little sun. 

Kennedy Space center was pretty amazing. After visiting Johnson Space canter a couple years ago, we had to complete the spacey tour of the country. 

This is the space shuttle Atlantis. It lives in a big building on the space center campus. It's pretty cool.

The hours were shortened due to covid, but we saw most of what we wanted to see. And we had plenty of time after closing to visit Cocoa Beach. 

The next day, we engaged in a bit of kayaking.

When we decided to reserve a kayaking adventure, I had visions of paddling alongside a friendly manatee. Someone in our group caught a glimpse of one of the mythical creatures.  But the closest we got were some manatee bubbles. They were pretty amazing bubbles. We did see a couple dolphins. That was a nice consolation prize. 

And then, because we couldn't not, we drove across the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico. Because Clearwater is amazing and we had to spend some time there. 

Also because Winter the Dolphin lives there. Winter isn't looking too lively these days so I'm really glad Jane got to see her one more time. 

I'm really glad that Florida won't turn us away. The girls are getting older and I don't know how many more family vacations are left in the hopper. We try to be careful, but we also refuse to let these years be stolen by a pandemic. 

Thanks, Florida. We'll be back. 

 

Winter Wonderland 2021

 

It's been a pretty dry winter so it only makes sense that the entire winter would be compressed into the course of a few days. 

We saw 30 inches of snow fall over the course of a couple days. 

This resulted in us being trapped for 4 days. That's a long time when you live in a small house with two adolescent kids. 

Luckily, Jane didn't spend much time inside. 

School was cancelled for a week. Work was technically called off. Unfortunately, I had received remote access a year ago when the pandemic started. So, because I could log in to my work computer, I was required to. 

The first day I was irritated with this arrangement. 

But by the third day, I was pretty happy just to have something to do. 

It was a relief when we could finally get out into the world again... replenish our fridge and interact with other humans. 

This storm followed the pattern of so many others - at first the novelty was fun, but cabin fever set in quickly. Thank goodness we're so close to spring. I'm not sure I can take much more of this. 

Them's the Breaks

It happened again.

The only difference was, this time, I was home. Also, I was actually inciting the behavior that caused Jane to break her arm.

We have a small entryway between the living room and kitchen. I was showing Jane how I could put my back against one wall and my feet against the other and magically suspend myself a couple feet off the ground, thanks to the beauty of friction. 

Of course Jane wanted to try. 

Jane is a great sport and the best playmate that a 41 year old girl could have. 

She tried.

She fell. 

She screamed. 

I knew from the pitch of the scream that she was hurt. 

I was in the midst of blaming myself, so Chris took her to urgent care. He sent a pic of the x-ray. He couldn't see it, but I could. The same break as 7 months ago. The same place. Different am. 

Again, no cast. The break was too near the shoulder. Just a sling and a wrap for a month. The orthopedic surgeon assures us that it is just bad luck. Jane doesn't have a rare disease that weakens her bones. He also said a little vitamin D wouldn't hurt her. After all, we live in the frozen tundra and it is a long, dark winter. 

Jane's primary care doctor says she would rather see kids with broken bones, due to activity, than obesity, due to inactivity. I guess that's a good way to look at it.

Jane will spend a little time doing things awkwardly. But since it is her little arm this time, she will be able to care for herself. Last time was more challenging because it was the big arm. 

And when she's older, she will have some great cautionary tales for her own children.