We did things this week so it’s not such a struggle to type up some takes. What a relief.
Last weekend I hacked down a ton of branches from the evergreen trees that border our backyard. They, like most of the landscaping, were very overgrown and much of our yard space was taken up with large, low hanging, branches. I cut all the lower branches and now we’ve gained tons of useable space in the backyard, which is great since it’s much shadier behind the house. During the hottest parts of the day, you can still sit in the backyard and not roast. Which I demonstrated on Monday because I was exhausted and could only bring myself to sit in the backyard in my pajamas and admire my work while yelling at the kids to “Look at how much more space there is back here!” in a desperate attempt to garner words of affirmation.
Tuesday we went to the beach. YAY! We went after Tony wrapped up work, and we went to Atlantic City so it was a.) empty b.) free c.) the perfect temperature. Ramps and beach mats made it easier to get across the loose sand and since alcohol is allowed on the beach, I quickly forgot how heavy all our stuff was, or that our lift stopped working while we tried to unload. We met friends and all the kids had a great time. We took along the boys old bath chair so one of them could sit closer to the sand if they wanted. Both Fulton and Teddy took turns riding the waves in the Mobi-Chair. It was Teddy’s first time trying it out and despite his insistence beforehand that he wanted to head right into a “60 ft tsunami”, he preferred to stay closer to the shore than Fulton.
Lots of education news this week as well. We learned that the community college where Addie and Byron attend will offer their classes online this fall. Our district also released a parents survey which outlined their reopening plans for the coming year, and asked parents what they preferred. The options were to attend school for two days, and have three days of distance learning, or do full distance learning. As much as I wanted to sent Teddy back, Tony and I decided we would homeschool him next year. If I homeschool Teddy and Fulton, I can combine multiple subjects and keep the boys on the same schedule day in and day out. It will be easier in some ways, harder in others. It’s not ideal, but I think it’s the best option for this year. So just like that, I’m back to all kids being under my roof for their education. What a crazy year.
On Wednesday our town’s annual Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Festival kicked off. Yesterday was the procession through town. It was smaller, but I still get a kick out of seeing a bunch of Catholic statues rolling down Main Street. The festival is 145 years old and I was glad at least parts of it could take place despite all the restrictions still in place.
What magical summer memories are you still managing to create this summer? Write them down then link them up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!
We got a similar survey (although not as detailed) that asked us whether we’d rather do all in-person, all-online, or a hybrid of the two. I’d love to do a hybrid, where my kids can still see their friends but they’re also home more and not spending all their time on school. We’re going to homeschool with my oldest but the younger 4 are still going to public school.