Bowers Blog: The rest of May 2020

We had a fun and busy May despite the continued constraints of Coronovirus quarantine holding us back from many activities. We went to SSI with family, we added a new family member that has brought us tons of entertainment, we had a tumbling recital, we had teachers visit and we visited teachers, and we cheered on our neighbors that are Seniors as they paraded through the neighborhood on golf carts. We've also done a lot of cooking, baking, playing outside, swimming, arts and crafts, and tv watching that I don't have pictures of. We are still attending church via livestream in the living room, we still have to wear masks when in a store or doctor's office, and we still have to remain 6 feet apart from others when out and about. It's such an odd time, but it hasn't slowed our house down so far.

We made it to SSI for a long Mother's Day weekend with the Berryman's

Ellie - always entertaining everyone.

These 3 couldn't get out on the beach fast enough the first night.

These sweet cousins are getting so big!

Grey has no worries when Emma and Ellie are around to take care of him.

Day 1 at the beach was a little chilly, but it didn't stop these kiddos from digging a hole.

A Grey photo bomb

The first full beach day was rough on Banks. He fell asleep face first into the wooden arm of the chair.

Never a dull moment with those Berryman boys.

I so enjoyed spending Mother's day weekend on the beach with these sweet babies. It made us all feel a tiny bit back to normal to be out there.

We were able to pick up Leonard, our new kitten, when we got home from the beach. This was Ellie introducing Aspen to him.

Ellie is enamored.

Mack was unsure of how to hold a baby kitten, and Emma would not even try.

He is so tiny.

on the go....

Mack soon figured out a way to carry him around.

Leonard wasted no time warming up to Ellie.

Ellie got a big surprise on what would have been her 5th grade honors day/graduation. Her Discoveries teachers showed up to send her off to middle school. Ellie loves them so much and I was so thankful our babysitter, Alanna, could snap these awesome pictures for me!

It's a bitter sweet ending to her elementary school years.

Ms. Tone is a nut, and by far, one of Ellie's favorite teachers.

Now, off to middle school!

Also on what would have been the last week of school, we had to do drive by pick up to pick up all the kids' belongings that had been left behind as well as pick up their yearbooks and Field Day t-shirts (which never happened.) Yes, I cried as I pulled through and saw Mack's teachers handing him his kindergarten diploma.

Mrs. Herndon, Emma's homeroom and math teacher brought her stuff to our car and reported that Emma was REALLY good with math and that she would have no problems with 4th grade math next year.

Lastly we drove around the back of the school to get Ellie's stuff. I teared up when I saw the decorations.

She looks like she's ready for middle school in this picture.

Mrs. Tucker, her homeroom and ELA teacher began to cry as we thanked her for a great year. She told me to drive off because she didn't want Ellie to see her crying. It made me cry, she was crying so hard. She was so sweet.

At least we got to come home to this cute little guy to cheer us up.

Poor Leonard gets daily torture from Mack.

Ellie refuses to put him down most of the time. I'm pretty sure he may not learn to walk or run like a cat should.

Honestly, I'm so proud of these kids for their perseverance through this crazy school year. I was so happy to make it to this last "school" day. Working, being a teacher, and being mom was way too much for me. It was exhausting, but we did it! Hopefully, they will be somewhat ready for the next grade.

The last day of school, Mack had a final google meet with his classmates. He was so bummed after it was over when it occurred to him that it was over and Mrs. Causey would not be his teacher any more and he wouldn't see his friends until school started back again. He cried, and it broke my heart. All of this has been really confusing for him to process.

Leonard seemed to make him feel better though.

AND building legos ALWAYS cheers this little guy up. He worked on this masterpiece for a couple of days.

Ellie was honored in a virtual honor's day program online with her school. She received the principal's award of excellence for one of the highest grades in her class and she received the PE award for her athletic abilities.

Although it was sad that my kids missed the end of the school year, I can't imagine the grief felt by the parents of those seniors. There was a golf cart parade in our neighborhood for the seniors that live here. It was the day that was supposed to be when they walked across the stage for their diploma. My kids made homemade signs, I cranked up some music on the front porch and we waved to them and yelled for them as they passed our house.

The kids were proud of their signs. The families that drove by were thankful and honking their golf cart horns at us.

Leonard, living the life.

Hard to get my bible study in with a kitten getting comfortable in my lap.

ROTTEN

Emma has FINALLY held Leonard. She was terrified to hold him, but finally broke down and fights with her sister for turns to hold him now.

This past week Ellie and Emma had their socially distanced tumbling recital. It was short and sweet, which was nice. I can't seem to get the videos rotated correctly on youtube, so when that happens I will post the videos here on the blog.

We had a fun weekend finally getting together with some neighbors/friends this weekend. The Barry's had us over Saturday for water slide fun and pizza.