School's out for summer!

No matter how it comes or when it comes the last day of school is always an exciting one. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Cade and Caelin had to completely change how they go to school. When students left campuses for Spring Break, they had no idea they wouldn’t be returning. That the last two and a half months of school would be done independently, mostly online. That they wouldn’t really be able to leave their homes during that time, see their friends or that they would miss out on traditions like school field trips, field day, end of the year school parties, and the feeling of leaving campus for the summer. Despite all the uncertainty that came with the end of the year Cade and Caelin hung in there and made the best of it.  We conquered virtual learning for 2+ months like a boss with 4 people all working under the same roof and a LOT of zooms (we had to have a family zoom calendar). Despite having to change the way they were taught, both finished the year strong with straight “A’s”.  We celebrated by decorating the kitchen and stairs for when they woke up to breakfast.  Gamee joined us shortly and brought silly string attacks while playing “School’s Out For Summer”.  We then headed up to Decker Prairie Elementary to take our last day of school pictures.  This year our signs read “I survived 2^nd/4^th grade quarantined”.  Can we just pause to say that we officially have a 3rd and 5th grader in the house?!  Cade will be moving up to Intermediate School next year as a 5th grader and sis is NOT excited about BroBro being at a different school! Sigh...time marches on.  We even took a few pictures with their face masks, hand sanitizer, and a roll of toilet paper.  Sonic lunch with treats (Blue Coconut Slush for Caelin and a Mango Lemonade for Cade) were on the menu while we spent the afternoon trying on clothes for the wedding and playing with Gamee.  After Grampee got off work, we made a reservation to eat at Cisco’s Mexican to celebrate.  It still takes getting used to being out of the house, staying 6 feet away from other tables, and restaurants only having 25% capacity due to Covid.  Like we have said a thousand times before, things have been very different in this phase of life.  During dinner, both kids received their report cards and special awards.  Cade was awarded the inspiring writer, technology guru, and brilliant bookworm.  Caelin was awarded the happy helper, growth mindset, and creative inventor.  Gamee and Grampee even spoiled them with cards and some summer spending money.  To finish out the evening, the kids had to solve a picture puzzle which told them we were doing a day trip to Galveston beach the next day.  They were pretty excited and after a long day, we went to bed ready for the beach!