Last of May

To finish May off we tried to do those mosaic chalk art things that we've seen other's do. Rebekah wanted a very geometrical design.

End result. Think our tape was a little too thick. We'll try again soon.

We filled our days with many nature walks. Rebekah was on camera duty.

Lots of mushrooms this year.

Love the reflection on this one.

I did suggest she get in the picture to show how tall the wild flowers were.

Then there was the day I asked Rebekah to help with the garden chores. I've been asking her to do more lately, giving her more responsibility. This particular time she was not too happy about it and did her chores (watering the plants) while singing / humming softly to herself Olaf's song from Frozen II, "...This will all make sense when I am older...."

Don has been more involved since the quarantine. Rebekah has wanted to play basketball, not only because of her dad, but also because of her uncle Daniel and cousin Sam.

But it's such hard work! That basket is so far away!

Every year I work really hard to qualify for our insurance rewards. Last year I ended up with a gift card to Kohls. I finally spent the money on some new clothes. Have to tell you, it's really something special - going from same old clothes for years to new stuff. Feels nice. Sent this picture to Don to prove that I bought and wore said clothes.

Rebekah said, "silly face!"

And speaking of silly faces... yes, her teeth are blue. Moving on.

More Chester phone time:

So much rain this year!

We went on a little bike ride but came back when it started to rain. Don, however, took a detour. Rebekah was quite worried and quite happy when he came back.

Then there was the night we got a little knock on the door for Rebekah. I'll let her tell you the story:

The night was complete with a beautiful rainbow. 

Our little neighborhood turtle made an appearance.

And our neighborhood geese as well.

Memorial day we drove up to mom's. She made a beautifully delicious dinner. Afterwards she and Rebekah painted this frame to house the newest picture of little Cole.

We sure love grammy!

Our first marigold:

The garden continues to grow.

My niece Abby is part of the class of 2020. We made her a celebratory card. Ironically I had to try about 3 times before I stopped putting 2002. Yes, you read right - 3 times. I blame lack of sleep.

More snack time for Chester:

Sprinkler time:

Where'd my baby go...?

Playing with the hose.

Cleaning the neighbor's fence.

Such a helpful cutie!

Our lilac tree started to bloom!

Then there was the day my good friend sent me flowers. I admit, I may have let off some pent up quarantine / heart monitor / e-learning / only child at home needing a friend - wanting a child - wanting a dog / far from extended family emotions.

When they were delivered I tried to make sure they had the right address and right person but it indeed said Elizabeth Walker with my correct address and everything (there was another Elizabeth Walker in the last area we lived). Made my heart smile. I then asked if Don sent me the flowers to which he said, "no, but I feel I should have now..." Ha!

One day we weren't home for Chester's treat time so my mom recorded the experience on her end for us. 

More basketball with dad.

She made this shot:

So I started to try and video it:

Then she made three in a row. It was awesome.

We eventually had another social distance acceptable playdate. Rebekah took Adelaide on a nature walk with my camera. There were many pictures so I had to narrow it down.

Complete with a video:

Cute girls. And yes, I know they are closer than 6 feet but sometimes you need to let go a little.

Our bull frogs are crazy loud. I took this for a friend out in Utah.

And finally, Rebekah's wild flowers' first bloom!

Not going to lie, kind of glad May is over. Part of me wants 2020 to be over too. It's been rough. Last night's riots in Salt Lake (my brother who lives in downtown SLC is in lock down over the weekend) to the fire in Ogden complete with a filling station exploding.... A friend of mine posted, "heading outside to see what chapter of Revelations we're living today." Too true. I miss the peace of the life I thought was crazy. I've been reading the Teachings of John Taylor book; he suggests that we need to have trust in God, that he is at the helm, and it mattereth not what happens for it will only be a short while. Somehow I've got to get there. I do understand that but can't seem to apply that in the here and now when I think of the world my snuggly little girl is entering.

On to see what June will bring. I'm cautiously hopeful. 

Last Day of School

The end of the school year couldn't come soon enough for so many reasons. I was entirely too frustrated with the school in general, with her teacher and put e-learning on top of it... I was ready for Rebekah to be done.

Usually to celebrate I purchase an extremely overpriced cake-pop from Starbucks but because of the pandemic Don is not buying prepared food. So I had Rebe look through Mel's Kitchen Cafe website to find what I could make for her. She landed on mug cake. But she wanted ice cream with it. The good news was I was out teaching piano lessons that day so I simply stopped by the store on the way home. It was for a good cause.

(Oh, and piano lessons: a few weeks into the quarantine the mom of my students asked if I could do lessons via Skype. So we started doing that but internet connection was bad making it so I couldn't see their hands and sometimes the video would stall and then speedily catch up making the music unlistenable. About so about this time I suggested I just come over fully masked. She has the room roped off, the kids in masks, and I don't touch anything - sometimes using a pencil to lift wrists etc and so on. It's absolutely crazy but at least it's somewhat effective. But every time I go I ask, to no one in particular, are we done yet?)

Back to Rebekah:

The recipe calls for sprinkles which thanks to my little snuggly who loves her sprinkles, we have in abundance. So Rebe used sprinkles. For myself and Don I put in strawberries and blueberries (just strawberries for Don) instead of sprinkles. Have to admit it was pretty good. The Breyers vanilla ice-cream made it all the more perfect. And no one asked where said ice cream came from. Go me. 

And of course her interview. To compare please feel free to watch the beginning of the year interview:

2nd Grade Back to School Eve

And now the end:

I have mixed feelings about a certain teacher and a certain gym class being her "favorite." Honestly I don't feel like Rebekah learned much this year. There was so much drama with the 2nd / 3rd grade split class. I feel like the teacher was more of a babysitter. And when I would ask for advice on how to help Rebekah with her writing, reading, etc I would get the "She's Fine" speech and then he would comment on how much I'm emailing him - more than any other parent in all the years he's taught. Ugh. And the gym teacher? He yells more than he teaches. And he's a big bully - not a few months ago he walked by me waiting for Rebekah and mocked my inability to do the pick up line. (I had stopped doing the pick up line when he yelled at me to move forward - as Rebekah was getting in the car - during her 1st grade year.) Yeah, I'm done with both of them. So, I'm hoping she likes them because she doesn't know better. And I need to be forgiving. Maybe it's the quarantine talking.

After the cake I made her pose for her end of the year picture.

Then we played games and I snuck in more pictures.

And more pictures.... I'm very sneaky.

We did challenges as part of our game.

She challenged me to draw U. S. Grant. 

I asked her to sing and dance to "You're Welcome" from Moana

All in all it was a fun way to close the school year.

Another Week of May Quarantine

Another melancholy week goes by. Rebekah found the nest I uncovered as I trimmed the bushes. She's somewhat sad. Me too.

But snack time with Chester-Bester cheers her.

Watching mama, daddy, and the puff balls do too. She's taken most of the pictures she's not in - just FYI.

Don continues to search for the perfect place to relocate. Are we moving? Are we staying? Don't know but it's fun to see Rebekah and Don together as they search. And yes, Rebekah is searching too. She can navigate through Realtor.com with the best of them.

Meanwhile, the basil is sprouting.

Don had to help mom one Saturday so I planned a socially acceptable distance playdate with Rebekah and Adelaide. I sat (from the acceptable distance) with her mom and chatted while they rode.

More of the geese family.

More gardening.

The one on the bottom (looks like a three leaf plant) is a sweet pepper - I forget what color. It's the last of the peppers I planted and it looks like it's fighting really hard to live. Go little plant, go!

Love seeing the little peas come up too.

And this view of the table looks nice and healthy too.

I continue to try and involve Rebekah in things that have nothing to do with the iPad. It's difficult but she liked this old puzzle I inherited from my grandparents. The date on the puzzle box says 1970 - so really it's only just older than I am, but compared to the newer puzzles of today it looks antique. Wonder what that says about me....

The other day I found this little zucchini trying to re-birth itself. I sent it to mom and said I should probably pull it. She replied that it's fighting for life and I should let it life. I then mention to her that if it produces fruit that will make 4 zucchini plants. She replied, "Where's your courage?" So, little plant is still growing strong.

Rebekah and I have taken many a nature walk.

I tend to force her outside and therefore away from the pull of the iPad. This time it backfired. The rain started pouring down. We quickly turned around and headed for home but I did a lot of silly yelling (complete with AHHHHHHH!!!) so Rebekah ended up having a blast.

The next day the Bee embraced the rain and did a little Gene Kelly dance.

And finally, I give you e-learning. And yes, it was that fun.