Memorial Day 2021 - We joined the Pool!

Shane and I went to the pool for Memorial Day.

And we signed up as new members! 

It was $350 for a family of 2 (since Carrie won't go). My plan is to take Shane at least 35 days over the summer to make it worth it! We want to have fun, get some sun, some exercise, and meet new friends!

Break was ending when we arrived. I brought my swimsuit, but none of the other adults looked like they were getting in the water. 

Shane said the water was a little cold, but he was too excited to stop.

Shane swam around awkwardly on his own for maybe 5-10 minutes. There were several small groups of kids and he looked like he wasn't sure which one to join or how to approach them. I know how that feels.

Unlike me, Shane got over the awkward quickly. He recognized one boy from school, Atlas, and started talking.

Shane spent the rest of the time hooked in. Sometimes the groups came together for group games of Sharks and Minnows, Volleyball, or Keep Away. Other times they splintered, but Shane didn't come over to talk or spend any time with me for the rest of the night! He was in social heaven.

Shane happily engaged with adults, too. I heard him ask some to rate his cannonball!

I felt pretty damn good about the day and our decision to join by the time we left! 

We would have signed up last year, but the pool posted they were delaying opening. The post said they would offer discounted fees due to the pandemic when they opened, but there was never a follow up. It was clear from hearing some of the kids talk during keep away they did open, but it was never posted online.

But we're signed up now. I saw a flier about swim lessons I may sign him up for, too. Shane and I are both excited about the opportunities the summer will bring.

Last Handoff of the School Year

Sunday, May 30th we met up with Nana and Pop to hand off Shane for the final time this school year. There were lots of hugs and non-socially distanced greetings!

Pop thought I'd appreciate his latest garage sale t-shirt. He was right!

Shockingly, Nana said she thought my hair looked better! Was it reverse psychology or did she mean it? Carrie had used a #2 to clean my sides up, but I was expecting an increased bribe for a haircut rather than a compliment!

While Shane hasn't exploded in height this year, Nana swears he's grown in other ways. She bought him a pair of sandals at a garage sale that could work for her!

We measure and mark Shane's height off on his door frame, so I made a mental note to add a tick when we got home (Note: I was going to link to a post/picture from the tick marks from our house in the city, but I couldn't find it! Maybe I never made a post on it?).

I took one last picture of the SC crew with Shane before we said goodbye.

Though I really took a lot more than one. Shane has trouble making a genuine smile on command and Pop likes to tickle him to help out...

Carrie and I listed to some of the Murderbot Diaries on the way down, but we listened to Jeremy Thatcher: Dragon Hatcher on the ride back with Shane.

Is it Summer yet?

I'm at that point. Wednesday, I came home from work and did next to nothing.

Next to nothing productive at least.

I get this way around the end of every school year. I've spent my energy. I'm running on fumes. It's happening a little earlier this school year with everything else that's gone on, but the end is in sight.

But there's still stuff to do and the fumes have to push me through it! I rushed out and did a quick job on chores after lazing about. Other than that, I ate way too much and laid on the couch. I had time to catch up on the blog, my grades, the laundry, or something. Instead, I watched random videos, read, and talked to Carrie. When she fell asleep on the couch I went back to videos and my book.

The SOL for my students is next Tuesday. I've covered all the material for it and done what I can to get them ready. They have the tools if they choose to use them. I think the year went well for what it is, but now I'm out of steam.

And there's still going to be 2.5 weeks of school that I have to find something to fill with. 

The holiday weekend will help. Summer will help more. I feel like my body is giving me signs that it's ready for me to rest. 

Shane will come home Sunday from his last trip to Nana and Pop's for the school year. It's been a huge help being able to send him south. We've got some fun summer plans for him including beach week and going to camp! I'd like to go to Busch Gardens and visit John in NOVA. I'm even considering driving further north to NJ to see Bill. 

But summer has to get here first! There's my senior who's failing. I worked with him for ~3 hours on Friday to raise his grade from a 48% to a 55%. One more session like that and he can earn his pass, but I'm not handing out freebies. I'll attend graduation next Friday...which reminds me I need to see if I still have a cap and gown. Stuff to do, stuff to do!

Weeds, weeds, weeds!

Last year at the start of the pandemic, I did a lot of weeding. I had the time. I had the energy.

This year, we didn't start weeding until May. It was nearly too late.

Some of the weeds had started to grow out seed pods.

Carrie recognized the variety and said that the pods turned black before they released their contents....which I was able to find examples of.

They hadn't released their seeds yet from what I could tell, though! We made it before it got worse!

There's a moral lesson in there somewhere. You can let a problem go only so long until it becomes a bigger problem, etc, etc. 

Like with my blog (How's that for a segue?). I'm writing this post for May 27th on June 12th. It's not the furthest I've been behind, but when I get behind far enough it makes it harder to right the course. I drafted out the next post weeks ago and it's an end of school year "I'm tired," sort of thing, so I won't go into that here.

There's still a lot of weeding and writing to do. No better time to start chipping away than now.

SC Shane!

Shane's been loving his time in SC.

I'm not sure what type of science Nana's been teaching him, though. Shane came home last time saying Nana told him that a goose could break his arm if he messed with it.

I bet it kept him from messing with any geese, but I bet it didn't prevent him from flirting with danger and getting close!  

Nana and Pop know how to keep things interesting for young-ins. Even the driveway becomes a canvas.

Our driveway is gravel, so we can't replicate the phenomena.

Cole's birthday hit after Nana's Birthday/week/month.

Cole's learned to swim so he and Shane have been having a blast in the water.

Nana's sent me many, many action shots.

The boys played in the water all week long. Shane even made a couple of new friends through the pool. He met one girl when Indy jumped in the water last week and upset her mother!

Shane and Nana invited the woman's daughter over after they fished Indy out. Nana wrote the entire story up in an email. 

Many of Nana's updates included swimming and Cole.

Towards the end of the week, Nana discovered a new game she called "Hide the Tablets."

Certain chores revealed hints as to location of the treasure.

Nana liked the game much more than the boys. Shane told Nana, "his grandkids would hate him for playing that game!"

This will be Shane's last SC trip for the school year. I don't regret keeping him home an on virtual school, because of these opportunities. Going to school full time in Scottsville is going to feel like a real downgrade from the pandemic!

Charity Side Gig

Carrie woke up at 5:15 AM on Monday. She donated her time, truck, and trailer to a charity by driving one of their horses to surgery at Virginia Tech.

The filly's name was Maya.

She was a rescue from an auction and nearly went to a meat buyer.

She had a condition that could have been treated easily as a foal, but was left unattended since she was abandoned. Maya couldn't use her front right hoof correctly. She walked on it like a ballerina walks on tiptoes. She could compensate now, but if she grew to full size it would become crippling. The options were: Surgery or euthanize. 

If you want a better explanation, I recommend you look this up online, but the gist of it was that Maya needed her deep digital flexor cut surgically.

It's the only tendon that goes down to the base of the hoof and it wasn't releasing or allowing her to use her foot correctly.

The danger was the tendon runs much further up the leg than just the hoof and there was no going back once it was cut. The surgeons would perform the surgery, examine how Maya adapted, and then decide if she was likely to recover or if she needed to be put to sleep.

The operation was Wednesday and word came that it went well.

The charity sent Carrie pictures and she passed them along to me.

It looked like the vets were fans!

They even signed her cast!

Carrie is slated to transport Maya back when she's ready to come home. A date has not been set. Carrie, also, offered to let Maya do her stall rest at our barn, but it sounds like that won't happen. 

Anime Movie

With Shane out of town, Carrie and I had the chance for another date at the movies....and we saw an anime.

I don't think I've ever seen an anime in theatres before. I might have seen Spirited Away, but I count that as something more akin to Disney. Demon Slayer broke records worldwide and the series was available to stream, so we watched it over the course of the week to get ready.

We almost had the theatre to ourselves. One other person showed up and ruined my "I rented the whole thing just for you" joke! We really enjoyed ourselves. 

When Carrie likes something she puts on her research hat to learn more. One of the main characters in the movie, Rengoku,...

...was drawn as a tribute by the artist for Fruits Basket (One of Carrie's favorite animes).

She texted me the image at work. That's just one way I know she really enjoyed our date!

Carrie's a movie fan. I hope that there will be lots of kid friendly showings over the summer, so that Shane can experience some movies, too!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Or should I say, "Happy Birthday Week?" It feels like everyone's been celebrating ever since we passed over Shane!

I got pictures from the local fair early in the week.

Thursday, May 20th, was the opening day. Anyone who donated canned food got free admission and then it was only $15 for unlimited rides. Few people showed up, so lines were short and kids were happy!

Shane and Cole buddied up and rode a ton of different rides together.

I'd wanted to take Shane to a theme park last summer, because he was finally tall enough for the good stuff. The pandemic hit, but with vaccines out and restrictions lifting it finally happened.....and with Cole, to boot!

Everything is more fun when shared with a friend.

Nana said the spinning swings were their favorite.

Cole wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but he took comfort in knowing Shane was there. "At least if I'm dying, he is too."

No children were harmed in the taking of these pictures.

Whenever Cole was too small for a ride, Pop would go with him so that he'd be allowed.

Nana watched and texted me that she hoped Cole wouldn't get motion sick and puke on him!

The boys took some turns picking rides. "Cole picks things you walk through and Shane picks the scary fast ones," Nana said. "They are loving both!"

I thought it was great that the boys pushed and encouraged each other to try different things.

Obstacles courses don't move, but I loved (and still love) going through them!

More people showed up in later pictures Nana sent.

Word about the fair was getting out!

If Shane wanted to ride anything too scary for Cole, he'd hang out with Nana and Pop.

Shane plunged fearlessly on!

And everyone had funnel cake!

Further confusing "How's Birthday Week is this?" Pop got an order of frozen Runzas in the mail that morning.

If you're not from Nebraska, you're not likely to know what a Runza is, but you should have heard of dry ice.

Pop got food and the kids got a science experiment!

And I got the pictures Nana and Pop sent. Presents for everyone!

Nana did ask to go to the Greenville Zoo on Saturday. Kathleen made the reservations.

All of the kids went and had a ball!

Nana said the zoo takes about an hour to walk through. The kids got to see giraffes and all sorts of exotic animals.

But don't think Nana was forgotten! I sent her a text at midnight to try and be the first of her kids to say Happy Birthday (Carrie recommended I call!).

I've said it many times, but Shane's visits to SC will make his view of the pandemic far brighter than they would've been otherwise (and probably much brighter than most peoples'!). 

I hope you had fun with all of the grandkids on your birthday, Nana. They sure love you!