September 2020

My family didn’t take a vacation this summer because of COVID-19 and they’ve been dying to get out and do something, so the Sharp’s graciously offered their house in Rock Hall for the weekend for a little getaway. Dave and I and the kids met them down there for a three day weekend and it was lovely. All three kids are still in virtual school, so they all did their own remote learning on Friday, and then we had the rest of the weekend to just chill.

Although the weather was only so-so all weekend, we were still able to get in some good beach time, including Penny’s first time ever on sand (she loved it!), and some biking around town, a little shopping (our first time shopping in a store other than a grocery store in six months!), and a visit to the boat (no actual sailing).

The beach was never that crowded so the girls had the run of the place. One evening we took Penny down with us – even though no dogs are allowed. No one cared and she was in heaven in the sand!
We never took the boat out for a sail – just had some cocktails sitting in the marina. Penny came along and we can confirm, she’s not a good boat dog.
These two! They were inseparable most of the weekend.
  • Outside of Evergrain
  • Down on the dock
  • Sophie in her current favorite sweatshirt
On Saturday we went to Chestertown where we hit the farmer’s market and then walked around town to do some shopping.

And of course, there was a lot of ice cream consumed!

Read more

The first day of school was also Dave’s 41st birthday. As a result, it was a pretty low key celebration. We had a family dinner and the girls and I made him a Peppermint Pattie cake (his request). I have to say, it turned out pretty well – very decadent.

The Peppermint Pattie cake – we melted and baked patties into it, and then the girls decorated the top with more patties. It was pretty amazing.
The birthday boy!

Read more

The start of school this year was a little (okay, a lot) different that the last few years. School is starting totally virtually this year, so while the girls got dressed in their first day of school best, they settled down at their computers in our house to log in an meet their teacher and classmates – Sophie 5th grade with Mr. Keeler and Lauren 2nd grade with Mrs. Sam-Dorley.

We still took our first day of school pics outside the house – and then headed right back in to get started!

The first day was a little bumpy – some technology issues – a lot of frustration with sitting in front of a computer for six hours – but we made it through.

We’ve got Lauren set up in the living room and Sophie in the dining room. What we learned from home school in the spring is that they need a dedicated “learning place” in the house – rather than just doing work wherever. The school also provided both kids with laptops, and all of their books – which we didn’t have in the spring.

Lauren working from the living room; Sophie in the dining room.

We’re now in week two and things are going a little more smoothly. Neither of the girls love it (in fact, Sophie actively hates it), but they’re both staying as focused as they can. Dave and I are still both working from home and one of us works from the dining room to help with tech issues or answer questions.

Read more