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Spencer’s birthday

October 20, 2021

Spencer started his birthday with his choice of breakfast – doughnuts! Can’t beat it!!

bday

Then off to school with NO MASK! First day in two years! School went masks optional and these kids were happy to be free of them. Fingers crossed it all works!

sub

no mask

Robert then took him Firehouse Subs up to school for lunch – too bad Spencer didn’t get it from the office in time to eat it for lunch! oh well. After his basketball practice we made brownies…

brownies

and then waited and waited for dinner time and presents! He picked Chick Fil A and we finally got to eat once Maxwell got home from football. I’d say the presents were worth the wait!! He’s been asking for an Xbox and I had told him “no way!” I said no mainly because they are impossible to find. I did manage to find a Series S at the Target in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago and made the drive one day to pick it up. Then last week I went up to Best Buy to get an extra controller and some games for it. When I was checking out I started chatting with the girl ringing me up – she was a big gamer – and I was saying how hard it was to find the consoles and that the Series X was just impossible to find. She then said “do you want a Series X?!” Turns out a lady had returned one that morning and they had it in the back!! Woohoo! It was definitely my – and Spencer’s! – lucky day!

He had no idea what he was getting and he was a pretty happy kid when he realized what was in that package!

presents

presents

presents

presents

presents

spencer

Make a wish!!

spencer

We love you Spencey!

spencer

Cheers to 9!

Would love to hear from you! 3 Comments
Filed Under: Birthdays, Quarantine, school, SPB

Things

March 5, 2021

A few things from this week…

PJ day at school!

pj day

and then she changed out of PJs and into unicorn princess gear after school. Love her.

princess

Fun craft projects…

craft

Wearing your mask like a sling? Ok! But look at that cute new shirt!

mask

Pigtails!!

pigtails

And I’m fully vaccinated! I volunteered at a vaccination site and was able to get the vaccine after. Second shot done!

shot

Woohoo! Make it a great weekend!

Would love to hear from you! 3 Comments
Filed Under: Quarantine, SKB

Bike adventure

January 13, 2021

During quarantine we’d do anything we could to get out and get some fresh air. Samantha and I went on a walk/bike ride every day it wasn’t raining.

bike

We even ended up all the way over at the Botanical Gardens one day! She rode her bike all over that place just like a pro!!

bike

bike

bike

bike

Can’t beat adventures with my best girl!

bike

Making the best of it!

Would love to hear from you! 2 Comments
Filed Under: Quarantine, SKB

two wheelin’

January 12, 2021

We tried to make the best of our quarantine and a big part of that was getting Samantha riding on two wheels! Woohoo! It didn’t take her any time at all to learn. Robert ran up and down the driveway with her maybe 3 times and then she was off!

bike

bike

She’s been on her bike every day since she learned and has been all over the neighborhood! She even got to show off her skills to Mrs. Susan who stopped by just to see her ride!

bike

bike

She’s even given her new robot cat a ride! πŸ™‚

bike

bike

I’m so proud of this girl and she’s pretty proud of herself too! She’ll also be happy to tell you that she learned to ride younger than both of her brothers! πŸ™‚

bike

Go Samantha Go!

Would love to hear from you! 4 Comments
Filed Under: Firsts, Quarantine, SKB

Ho Ho No!

January 11, 2021

Well, today I’m usually recapping our fantastic after Christmas stay in Naples. Not this year though. This year I get to recap our Covid quarantine. Yep, covid invaded us! We really have no idea where we got it as we have been as careful as we could while still taking calculated risks. The boys got out of school on December 18th and we didn’t see anyone after that Β as we were planning to head to Naples on December 27th. We even pulled Spencer out of a basketball tournament that was scheduled for December 18 to 20th because we weren’t comfortable with that level of exposure. Since we had no “known exposure”, after school was out on the 18th we followed the CDC’s least conservative guidelines of quarantine for 7 days with a test at day 5 or later. We all got PCR tests on December 23rd as the place we go to was closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We got our results that night – all 5 of us were negative! Hooray! We had a great Christmas with just the 5 of us – really and truly one of the best Christmas days ever.

On the 26th I was busy putting away all of the Christmas decorations when Maxwell came downstairs around 11am and I could tell he didn’t feel good. I was hoping it was just a migraine but took his temperature and it was 99. Hmmm. I took it about half an hour later and it was 99.5. Not good. I threw him in the car and we went to Urgent Care where we waited in the car over an hour to finally get a rapid test and find out he was positive. What?! Shocked. We had been so careful but this virus still found us. He had to have gotten it at school or basketball the week before. Trip cancelled. Lots of tears and even more disappointment. But, ultimately so incredibly thankful that his fever showed up when it did and we did not fly down and expose GJ and Daddo. So, so thankful. It is CRAZY to me that we escaped this virus for 9 months only to test positive one day before we were to leave for Naples.

Maxwell and I packed a bag and moved into GJ and Dado’s house next door. Unfortunately, two days later, Spencer had a headache and didn’t feel good. We all got tested again. Me, Samantha, and Robert were still negative. Spencer was positive. Boo. Spencer was then quarantined to his room and the playroom. We really did our best to keep all of us completely separated and masked – we even kept the boys separated. Even though they were both positive, the doctor told us it was still best for them to keep their distance from each other so as not to increase their viral load and symptoms. All I have to say is thank goodness for Fortnite!! Those boys played more video games over the next 10 days than they had in their entire lives up to that point…and that’s ok. Survival mode! Spencer really had no symptoms after that first night and felt fine. Maxwell ran a low grade temp – never above 99.5 – for the next 8 days. He became very congested and also lost his sense of smell and taste. Major bummer. Pretty sure my anxiety over the situation was worse then either of their actual symptoms!

test

test

test

We did our best to get outside daily for some Vitamin D and together (but distanced!) time. I hope we never have to go through this again.

quarantine

The rest of us continued to get tested at the first sign of a symptom but never ended up with a positive result. Hooray! It hasn’t been fun and it hasn’t been fair, but we’ve made it. The kids are back in school today and everyone is feeling good. Praying for no long term effects on the boys and also that the rest of us stay healthy in 2021. Merry Christmas and a Happy Quarantine!

Would love to hear from you! 3 Comments
Filed Under: Doctor updates, MBB, Quarantine, Robert, SKB, SPB

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