A Gurley Gurl

We start school on Thursday. Virtually of course. Right now, the school is saying 4 weeks of 100% virtual, but time will tell if that is accurate or not. We committed to returning to school in-person once it has re-opened, but that wasn't an easy decision [see Ariel meme below ha]. I keep saying we need to find a way to live with COVID instead of around COVID, and returning to school seemed necessary.

As of me writing this post, we know who Paige's teachers and Trent's teachers are. One of the benefits of a Montessori education is you stay in the same class for 3 years. Well, there has been really high turnover at our school {like every other school}, and Trent's teacher left. I am REALLY upset because Trent was pretty bonded to Mr. Blackburn, and even if Trent could be difficult, they had 2 years vested into a relationship, and now we get to start over. Sigh. I don't know Paige's guide, but her assistant is the sister of her assistant last year at our old school. Paige is really nervous about going back to school - I don't blame her given she's been home for over 5 months now. But at least I *think* it helped her to hear Ms. Rossy's sister would be in her class this year???

What's frustrating is Drew's teacher hasn't left, but because they are dedicating certain teachers to virtual and certain to in-person, we don't know yet if Drew is keeping her guide. She LOVES Mrs. Worcester, so I really hope they will be together again this year. I know none of this is the school's fault, but it's all so frustrating and sad. I have been obsessively refreshing my email all weekend as we wait for the teacher emails to come through. That should surprise exactly zero people. {grin}

During a webcast a few weeks ago, I got a little upset at some of the COVID-related guidelines and seriously considered keeping them home longer, but we ultimately decided {hoped?} the benefits of returning would outweigh the negatives. I'm really bummed that the school has decided ALL children will wear masks all day. I keep picturing Paige in a mask all day, and I want to cry. The administration has said they will have 'mask breaks' and also be outside more, but I still hate this. I also hope they get to actually play with their friends and have PE and recess and collaborate in class. Brent and I NEED to work and it seems to be getting harder as time goes on to have them home, so I think {hope?} this is good for all of us.

We haven't seen details yet on how exactly distance learning will look. We know it's going to be different than the spring, which was really just a band-aid. From what I've heard, it's going to be a mix of zoom meetings/lessons and posted video lessons with assignments that need to be turned in. I think they are trying to limit the amount of live zoom calls and adding the recorded videos to help working parents manage.

How we are thinking things will work over the next 4 weeks: My parents have offered to help us 3 days/week. BEST NEWS EVER! I will either go to their house or they will come to ours and they will help coordinate zoom calls, watch videos, help with activities, and help keep the kids entertained. My mom was a PE teacher for over 20 of her 30+ years of teaching, so I have asked her to also get them moving more AND she's agreed to start teaching Trent and Drew piano too!!! My in-laws have said they will help 1 day/week, but they don't want to do school work since they were never teachers but are happy to entertain them which will be amazing. I have a ton of vacation time saved up, so I imagine I'll be using it for the remaining day each week.

I'm extremely anxious about how all this is going to actually go down, but I'm so thankful for all the help we have from our parents, and of course, that Brent and I are in this together. I know we'll manage, we both have supportive bosses/jobs, and we have really great kids. It's just a lot, so I also wonder how much wine I need to buy this week... {grin}

My mother-in-law and I have started a new tradition of taking a trip just us and the kids {we added Brent's niece to our crew}. This year we went to a resort about an hour away called Canyon of the Eagles. It is a resort focused on nature, which was right up my alley with my goals for 2020!

First things first upon arrival, poinsettias!

{champagne + cranberry juice}

View from our balcony!

The first thing we did upon arrival was hit up the lake! We played for several hours, and it was a perfect spot. I forgot Paige's life jacket, but she could walk quite far out without any problems and swam back and forth between Janet and me a ton. The pool was closed and it was actually not a bad thing because it was 5' at the shallowest!

Building sandcastles

Later that night we went to the resort's observatory and got to view several things in space through the telescope. We got a close-up of the moon, and we also saw Jupiter and Saturn. It was so cool! Paige couldn't really figure out how to use the telescope, so she didn't enjoy it, but everyone else really liked it.

My bed partner!

Sleeping girls!

Bright and early Saturday, we went on a guided nature hike. This was the highlight of the trip for everyone! {Except poor Paige who was bored again and kept asking to go back 'home'}

Our guide, Willard

Willard was such an amazing guide! He patiently answered all our questions and taught us so much about the plants and animals we saw along the way!

This plant is super poisonous and 2 berries can kill a child!

I can't remember the name he told us in Italian, but it means beautiful killer!

Me and the big girls

My handsome boy!! {How is he 11?!?!}

Loved this view! Willard talked about it being FULL of flowers in the spring.

I really want to go back and see it all in bloom with Texas wildflowers!

Can you find the hearts??

This tiny performer found a stage and gave us a show {grin}

More drinks!

We went down to the lake again after lunch and spent several hours in the water. There's not much else you can do when it's 100 degrees. The water felt great and the kids had a blast playing!

After we ate, on the main patio they had s'mores and a movie under the stars. They showed The Little Rascals. The kids acted disinterested in the movie but loved it!