Anna race and other randomness

 Anna had her second race of the season on Saturday. It was held at CIU where she did summer camp so it was nice to see some coaches she worked with and to be familiar with the course. I was able to go and watch her which was nice. She ran a good race and was out front for the first two miles. Then she died a bit and finished 6th. I think she's switching from track to cross country which takes a mental adjustment as well as better pacing. She went out too fast and ended up running the first mile in 6:30. A good lesson to learn. Her team came in 3rd and that was thrilling. She was able to get another t-shirt (why am I buying clothes?). 

She and Patrick had a bit of an adventure with a flat tire on the way home, but we were able to get it fixed as well as take our other car in for an appointment. Busy day!

Other random things:

Anna was in the local paper for her first race. So cool!

A sweet friend dropped off this gift for me for no reason and it just made my day! I might have teared up a bit. 

Teddy got a new hair cute this week and a new lifejacket. I am not sure he is thrilled with either. We're also still on poop watch as his tummy hopefully starts returning to normal some time soon. I just can't with this any more!

The Amazing Paige

There are some days I just laugh and smile thinking of how God knit together this awesome kid of ours. Paige is creative, bold, smart, passionate, intense and a thinker. I noticed this past week that she's hitting her stride at school and I couldn't be happier, especially after a rough year last year. Of course, we're continuing to hold things loosely as she could be sent home any day, but for now, she's making the most of it. 

As a 5th grader at her school, she's finally risen to the top and at the top there are lots of great opportunities for leadership. She was very excited to sign up for safety patrol, where she stays late after school and helped kids get into their cars in carline. I think I heard every detail about her carline experience on the first day. She was thrilled and took it very seriously. Let's just say if you don't pull your car all the way forward, you will hear from Paige Kelly with a knock on your window!

I was also thrilled her class was able to hold their first Gathering in 19 months! It was a little different, but it still happened and that's awesome. They only invited three other classes to the main room and then they video cast it to the other classes as well as parents who could attend. Paige had worked so hard on getting her group to come up with a rap to communicate the rights and responsibilities to the school. This is another 5th grade thing. I kept telling her to really commit because if she looked confident all the other kids would think it was good. Sure enough, she killed it. Their rap was complete with catchy lyrics and even a rapping sway. I loved being able to tune in and see them live. 

Finally, Paige's excitement was over the top for her class job. I should mention that she had to complete a job application, which I totally offered to help her with because this is literally what I get paid to do. Of course, confident Paige refused my services....even after I insisted this is what I do for a living. Oh well. She turned it in and received her first choice, class Librarian. All I know is she came home and said: I have ideas, Mom!

I saw her working pretty hard on her computer and then she asked me to print some documents. Turns out she was putting together some overall rules and a check out list. Next think I know, her teacher has called me to report that she has given every student a library card, re-organized all the books in the class, presented to her class about the changes and created sections to include: best reads and dystopian. I kid you not! There's a dystopian section! Oh she's in heaven as Librarian and her teacher is just tickled with her commitment. She got her a binder to stick her stuff in and said: Paige M. Kelly is going places!  

All in all, she's had a great week capped off with a good soccer practice where she could exchange trash talk with her own teammate. Ha! 

First week back

Summer is officially over around here because I started back to teaching this week. Monday was my first day back on campus in over a year and a half. I was definitely a bit nervous...new procedures, wearing a mask, seeing students again, lots of people, etc. There were just a lot of unknowns in addition to making sure to share the information with the students that needed to be shared. 

Truthfully....and this may sound silly...the thing I was most worried about was seeing how my voice would do teaching three classes in a row again. What if I got a tickle (which I am prone to do)? How do I do that with a mask? What if I'm hungry or need to take a sip or water? Would the microphone help? Ahhh!! Turns out it went just fine. I do have to switch to a clear mask/face shield for my second group of students because I have one that is hard of hearing. But other than that I survived. One cool trick was getting a plastic guard that helps the mask stay off my face. I think overall I'm just glad that all students have to wear them so I don't have to worry about the number of students not wearing one. 

So the first day went fine. I had a couple of hiccups...forgot my tea at home, ran a little later than I wanted because I stopped by Starbucks to get a $3 tea, locked myself out of the classroom during my second class and took 20 minutes to get out of my parking garage. But other than that, the material was covered and I felt like it was a good start with my students. 

The second day went even better and I knew what I was doing so that helped. Only problem was I came home to a dog who had thrown up all over his area because he's been having tummy issues. Then when I took him out he had diarrhea all over the yard. Fun times! Fortunately, he's being checked out tomorrow at the vet. More chicken and rice for this doggo! 

There you have it. We're back to a some what normal routine. It's definitely kicking our butts and we need to build some endurance. I miss the margin we had when we were home and didn't have to endure 3 hours of being in the care each day. No that's not an exaggeration. But overall, we're getting there and will just take one day at a time. 

Other random things...

A turtle rescue on the way to church. We couldn't leave Fluffy in the middle of the road!

Quality time with this girl at the dock. She needed some one on one Mom time and I was happy to oblige.

A rainbow at the end of a long day. 

Sports Saturday

And just like that fall sports are up and running in the Kelly household. Patrick and Anna left EARLY this morning to make it to her first cross country race of the season. I was hoping to take Paige and watch her, but when Patrick arrived he said not to come because it was bananas down there. Plus Paige had soccer practice a bit later. So it was just Patrick and Anna and hundreds of other people!

The team was using it as a time trial to figure who would be on varsity. I wasn't worried and it was also nice not to have the pressure on Anna. This was a large race and Anna was seeded 25th with her PR.  Patrick texted me at the one mile mark to say Anna had gotten out well and was in 10th place. I was a bit surprised by that! Apparently she ran her first mile in 6:30. Track mode I think. Then he texted me at the 1.5 and said she was 6th and looking good. By the time she finished she was 8th out of 193 runners with 21:19. She definitely slowed a bit in the last mile, but she's also not used to doing 3 miles in a race format yet. 

The top ten runners received an award (a nice t-shirt) so they stayed for the awards ceremony. Anna reported that she felt great and the team earned 7th place, the first public high school team to place on the list. So all in all, a great first race!

Meanwhile, Paige slept in and I did some work to prepare for class on Saturday. Soon enough it was time for her first soccer practice. We learned that her team has some returning players we recognized and it was fun to catch up with friends. I was talking with other mamas which was nice so I didn't get any photos. Paige was looking sharp out there, scoring some goals, playing at goalie and of course, being a defensive powerhouse. I think it will be a good season for her as well. 

My morning beauty

So if you are looking for us on a Saturday morning, you will find us at the soccer field or on a cross country course!

First Day of School

We finished up our summer with some fun around the house. The girls enjoyed playing Legos and making some recipes with peaches we bought from the farmers market. We also got to have some pool and friend time with the Soongs and Powells as a last hurrah. These crazy kids swam well into the night and we had to drag them home. Patrick went to Myrtle Beach to speak at a welcome for the new Coastal Carolina Teaching students. The girls and I hung back to have a movie night, which was fun despite choosing a really awful movie. So all in all it was a low key way to say goodbye to summer. 

Wednesday was our first day of school. I have such mixed emotions about sending the girls off this year. One they are in 5th and 8th grade which means the end of an era at our beloved elementary school. Paige promptly reminded me on the way to school that it was her last first day there. Thanks Paige! So many lasts will occur there this year and it makes me bittersweet.

I am also very torn about sending unvaccinated Paige into an environment that I know is ripe for an outbreak. With Patrick's work, I know too much and I don't like what I know. All around the state, kids and faculty are getting sick, board members have died, students are in the hospital and children are having to learn at home after being close contacts. None of this makes sense and the blame game at the state level is maddening. So on the first day, I pasted a happy smile on my face and acted like I was excited for the girls (in some ways I was), but inside I was shaking my head and wondering if we had made the right decision. 

Regardless of feelings or decisions, we did the measuring the night before and both girls grew over two inches. Anna is almost to the 5 foot mark and she's excited. Paige is a good 4 inches past where Anna was when she entered 5th grade and she's excited. Patrick and I neither grew or shrunk thank goodness. 

Our first day pics are practically in the dark as Anna and Patrick had to leave early. He drops her off before heading to the high school to teach his early bird class. Anna will do orchestra party in the morning since she arrives early. 

Paige and I also left well before normal so I could help with the new parent table outside the school. It was nice to see familiar faces, lots of masks and sweet families dropping off their kindergarteners. The tall bearded man with tears in his eyes and his wife under his arm almost made me cry! I gave snacks to little sisters and brothers and assured some mamas that everything would be OK. The part I didn't expect was consoling a crying nurse who has to cover both the middle and elementary school with no assistance. It was also sweet to see Paige's class as they went to music and I could not get over how BIG they all are!

Soon enough it was time for Anna to come home and for me to pick up Paige. Good grief, the car lines and traffic were insane. I do NOT miss that part! Both girls reported they had a GREAT day and most kids wore a mask, which was nice to hear. We celebrated with our traditional giant cookie before Anna had to head out for cross country practice. I was left with all the homework of filling out paperwork. 

So I'd say the first day was a mixed bag. The girls were certainly happy and it was good to see them excited about school again. Last year was difficult to say the least and I certainly don't want to repeat that. I'll keep processing my feelings with Patrick who is doing his best to get some people to move on changing what's happening before it's too late. We'll just take it one day at a time and rest in the Lord!

Dog days of summer

Well, it's about a billion degrees outside and we're in the final week of summer. Usually I plan things and have grand ideas in order to squeeze the life out of the last days, but the girls have been happy to have some quiet days at home playing Legos, reading, watching TV, etc. Check out Lego Uncle John in Lego Town. He got made into a Lego (which is one of the most awesome things ever) and the girls have now positioned him in their make-believe world. I'm pretty sure he's still running-in real life and as a Lego!

Anna and I have done some yoga which she has been really excited about as she is seeing some results in her running. I'm glad for that and I LOVE yoga so it's been good for both of us. She's amped up her conditioning for cross country and has her first race a week from tomorrow. Here we go!

I'm not sure I mentioned this, but before we left for TN Anna re-painted her room (ivory lace). She's going for a "boho chic" look in her room and has slowly worked on the design, picking out a new bedspread and throw pillow. I promised her she could earn things for her room re-do if she did math over the summer and she's been pretty faithful when we've been in town to practice. The room isn't quite finished, but she's content to allow the finishing touches to come as Christmas and birthday gifts. I also had the chance to update our fireplace mantle and was so thrilled with our new pictures from out west. 

We picked up some peaches at the local farmer's market so I can make some peach recipes. Of course, the girls twisted my arm into getting some ice cream. 

Teddy has spent his week recovering from fun with friends last week. Lazy dog has been sleeping it up all day long. I try to get him out early on a walk because it's so darn hot. 

goobers

Cutting eyes at me because I dared wake him up when I made the slightest noise

While he's snoozing at my feet, I've been working on my class stuff which will start in just a week and a half. This has proven to be more difficult than any other year. It might be chill around the house, but honestly Patrick and I have been in a flurry of conversations, email, phone chats and praying about this coming year. Covid has picked back up and the circles we are in, to include school for the girls and our jobs, have provided opportunity for a lot of uncertainty. 

I am livid that government entities have blocked the use of mitigation techniques that worked last year, essentially tying the hands of institutions at all levels to do anything to stop the spread. It just seems like all the difficult choices we made last year were all for not and now we have to send our unvaccinated child into an environment where she could not only get sick, but her schooling will be disrupted when she has to come home due to exposure. I will be teaching in front of 120 students each week who may not be wearing masks and the majority of whom are not vaccinated or lying about vaccination by finding fake vaccination cards. This means I am at risk of bringing something home, although I am thankful for my vaccine and will be wearing a mask. 

The lack of a plan in either environment has left tons of questions and led us to ask ourselves what are we going to do with Paige for the school year. Homeschool? Send her to school? Pay a former teacher friend to homeschool her? How do we balance safety with happiness? How do we figure out what is the least disruptive path to her learning and do this while working? How do we not sew fear in our girls, but also inform them that their expectations and excitement over "normal" things they think will happen this year needs to be tempered? 

Yes, we have faith that God is in control and ultimately we have an inner peace about whatever will happen, but that doesn't mean we aren't searching, asking, praying, gathering information and fighting like hell to do whatever we can to protect her and other children at risk. I'm proud of Patrick who has been working behind the scenes to move the needle in various ways to get children masked back up, at least temporarily. And I'm hopeful the children, teachers and staff in our schools will mostly be masked. 

I don't care about the differing opinions and politics. Let's just continue to do the things we know keep schools open and kids safe. Let's really practice the concept of Love Thy Neighbor instead of just allowing it to be lip service. All that to say, I am soaking in the last days of summer, praying for the school year and stepping forward in faith each day. 

I'll leave you with a pic of Paige wrangling a snake out of our friend's pool because she was the only one willing to do it. Be brave, Paige!