Usually the most efficient configuration for travel is Maggie in the wagon, me pulling the wagon, Laney on foot, and Kaya on rollerblades. Lately, I’m slow enough on the way home that I get to ride!

We are thrilled that cousin Ben is finally home and we got to meet him.

Here’s what happens to a mylar balloon stork after a few weeks:

We have been members of the UNC Farm for the last few years, and therefore spend our summers in the pool. This summer the plan was to get Laney really swimming but old man COVID is limiting us to backyard inflatables. Tommy and I entertained building an above ground, but another big project seemed a bit much in the current era. So here we are.

Quarantine finally got to us. On Wednesday, Tommy had the whole family tuned in to watch the first American manned space shuttle launch in years, which was cancelled about 20 minutes prior to launch due to weather. When they announced that the 2nd try would be Saturday, we both sort of looked at each other and then I did the world’s fastest VRBO search and booked us a condo in Cocoa Beach. We drove the 9 hours straight on Friday night (it was a big of a slog) with no food/bathroom stops (we brought a portable potty for the kids, not joking).  Saturday was GLORIOUS and we all played on the beach and then watched the space shuttle launch. We were maybe 10 miles away, so the view wasn’t the ones you see on TV, but it was as close as we could get and feel socially distanced. It was a GREAT trip and the kids were so happy to do anything different that they didn’t even complain about the drive.

Maggie’s birthday was right before the COVID shutdown, and we just cancelled any social  celebrations we had planned (which were easy to cancel because we hadn’t planned them yet). But it’s been fun to see the virtual parties and other solutions more inventive parents have come up with. For example, today we joined a drive-by birthday parade for Eleanor and Krishna – happy birthday guys!

Proof that the Rose family wore masks before it was cool. Picture taken November 2018.

We went over to the backyard of our new house this weekend for a family camping trip. Tommy designated and cleared a “camping spot” and we got out of the house for a night. We are considering pitching a tent permanently in this spot and just having the kids use the new house for bathroom privileges after we move – teaches resilience right?

We are fully remote here and I’m pretty impressed with what the kids have been able to learn virtually. Unfortunately, I think 2nd grade itself requires too much parent participation to move learning forward, but the extracurricular activities (Maggie physical therapy, Kaya piano, and Laney ballet, among others) have been very engaging and successful. I really miss my Saturday morning social hour and avocado toast during ballet class though…

Tommy had to teach a webinar tonight, so I took the girls over to the top of the UNC parking deck to watch a flyover to salute health care workers (I know I haven’t physically been to work in 2 months, but I still count!). They were under impressed because it was over so fast, but I had fun! We also got to wave at a few sets of friends from a distance, which felt really exciting.