I'm back to being a month behind on posting to the blog. Life must be picking up pace after a 16 month slumber. It is certainly evident in our calendar app, which was nearly bare in June 2020. June 2021 had sports scheduled every day except for two.
The weekend before Memorial Day weekend, there were many gatherings and events to mark the anniversary of George Floyd's death. We went to a park that had murals displayed. The murals were preserved from the plywood that had covered windowfronts during the riots. The park was near the sight of his murder, so we walked over there again. The intersection was still closed as a memorial, though the city has since reopened it.
We also attended a Saints game. At the time, the stadium was at 50% capacity; now it is fully open. The Saints are now a AAA team for the Twins, so some of the players are familiar names, and they play other AAA teams. Still the same fun atmosphere!
We didn't have any big plans over Memorial Day weekend. We went bowling with some friends and went to a disc golf course. We grilled steaks and had fresh salad from our garden. The salad was what we started in a plastic bin on the patio in March and transplanted into the garden for about a month, so that experiment was a success.
Our refrigerator quit working. We had the frig 1 year and 3 weeks - no warrantee. Bryan did some research and tried a few things, then decided it was a lost cause. Appliances should last way longer than a year!
We had a very late last frost over Memorial Day - about three weeks later than normal. Then it became very hot and dry. My tomatoes and peppers were already in the ground but no harm done thanks to a little protection from the elements. My beans got planted late. Reggie wanted to grow watermelon. I don't really have the space or the sun for watermelon. We're attempting to grow them in pots on the south side of the house. I'll let you know if it works.
June 3rd marked the last day of school for all the kids.
Reggie spent the most time in in-person learning at 71 days. During the whole time, there was only one reported case of Covid at his school and he didn't have to quarantine because it was a 3rd grader. Reggie was involved in a new club called EmPowered that learns about and promotes energy conservation. He participated in Young Scholars again and took advanced math online. Because Reggie wants to play percussion in middle school, he is also taking piano lessons. Due to Covid, the 5th grade didn't get to go on their 3-day nature camp this year either (so Brett was the only one who participated). It's hard to believe we are all out of elementary kids!
Lydia and online school were a pretty good fit. She's a homebody by nature and easily works independently. I have a feeling this past year has prepared her for independent learning opportunities in the future. Lydia went inside the school building four times: once for her school picture, two days of state testing, and one day she was supposed to have state testing but there were technology problems (so it was study hall). She played the mallets the first half of the year and the trumpet the last half of the year. I think she will stick with trumpet. She was on the A honor roll for the full year and received a student of the month award from her band teacher.
Brett spent a total of 51 days in in-person learning. He was on the honor roll every quarter. He was also on the yearbook committee. He favorite class is gym. Usually the secondary kids go to the local theme park on a field trip on the last day of school. Due to Covid, Brett hasn't gotten to go yet. This year, they walked to a park and a candy store. Maybe 8th grade will be the year he finally gets to go to Valley Fair! Also, note that Brett is 5.5 feet tall and I had to buy him size 11.5 shoes!
