Labor Day Weekend and Derby 146

Labor Day weekend was much anticipated this year. We have all been very busy with with school and work, so having several days off together was wonderful. It was made extra exciting, because we FINALLY had The Kentucky Oaks and The Kentucky Derby. No spectators were allowed, but all of the races were broadcast. We enjoyed watching the races and making bets. I was super excited to pick the winner for The Oaks and The Derby! We had Bonnie Mom, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy, Caroline, Alex and Andy over for a small party. We also spent time at the pool. It was a really nice weekend.

Derby Day 2020

Labor Day was lots of fun. We had a reservation at the pool and our usual DJ had fun contests for the kids and adults. Preston won a dance contest and Carl won second place in the big splash contest!

The Karate Kid

Preston has continued to take private karate class with Coach Robbie via Zoom. He loves the one-on-one instruction and has learned so much. He has also been able to go to karate class once or twice a week at the gym. He recently tested for a new belt and he did really well. He now has an orange belt with a purple stripe! We are so proud of him! He has worked very hard. 

School 2020-2021 and The End of Summer Break

We have started school, but due to the pandemic, we are doing school online. It is similar to what we did when school closed in March, but there is more structure and more live instruction. The kids like it more, since they can talk to their teachers and friends more often. It is challenging at times, but everyone is working very hard to make it work.

We have a pandemic pod/little school at our house. It comes from necessity, as Alek and Kate's mom works full time and needs help with the kids when school is in session. It feels a bit more like school, which is helpful and provides structure for the kids. It is nice that they can play together during their breaks and I think it is definitely helpful for the kids' mental health. I am exhausted at the end of the day though. I feel like I am working full time again, as I help all four kids with their learning. 

Evan is in seventh grade at Kammerer Middle School. 

Preston is in second grade at Chancey Elementary School.

Kate. Alek, Preston and Evan enjoy Koontz Academy!

Even though school is online, the kids are learning and engaged. Preston loved playing "drums" in music class with Ms. Fassio. 

Some days school is easier in pajamas with your favorite kitty. 

Despite not doing most of the things we usually do, we managed to have a good end of summer. Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. 

We have enjoyed our garden. The tomatoes are my favorite. I like eating them as soon as I pick them.

This picture makes me smile. We were enjoying time in our backyard and I asked the boys to let me take their picture. This is what I got. It sort of sums up this crazy year!

Preston LOVES to take bubble baths and use bath bombs. He asked me to take this picture, because he looked like Santa. 

Carl got this awesome Lego set for his birthday. He enjoyed creating the old school Nintendo and TV. 

We celebrated Granddaddy's birthday and Bonnie Mom's birthday.

Preston loves visiting the cat cafe. We have been a couple of times and we have so much fun. The kittens are adorable!

Evan has done lots of fishing. He loves to catch bass. 

We are outside a lot. Preston was thrilled to find this cicada that just emerged from its shell. 

We enjoy seeing the deer. We have seen quite a few fawns this summer. 

Usually Evan takes a shower and Preston takes a bath. Lately, they take a bath together. I guess it is relaxing. I found them bathing and watching a show on the phone the other night. I thought it was so sweet. Sometimes they don't get along, but they definitely need each other and I know they love each other very much.

The boys spent the night with my parents and Carl and I had a date night! It was so nice to have time together. 

We were able to have a virtual swim meet! The boys didn't get to train much, but they did really well. Evan and Preston each placed in their individual races and their relay races. Our meet was against Audubon Country Club and we won! 

Lake Cumberland

We opted to take a summer vacation close to home this year. We don't feel that air travel is safe right now and lots of states with tourist destinations have high rates of Covid-19 infection. We were very fortunate that Robbie and Donna offered to let us go to their home on Lake Cumberland. It was SO good to get away and was especially nice after being sick and stuck in the house for so many weeks.

While we were there, we spent a lot of time on the water. We rented a large pontoon boat, which was lots of fun. The boys could jump into the lake from the second story, as well as use the big water slide. It was fun to ride around and explore the lake together. We did some fishing on the boat as well, but we had the best luck with fishing off the dock at the house. We also enjoyed swimming and floating. The boys liked to swim over to the land and explore. They found lots of geodes, which they were VERY excited about.

We took a trip to Cumberland Falls while we were there. It was about an hour away and definitely worth the drive. The large waterfall was really pretty. There were also a few other activities there, such as mining for gems, which Preston really liked.

Everything is so very different this year, including vacation. Even though we didn't get to go to Key West or some other tropical destination, I am grateful that we were able to get away at the lake and enjoy spending time together as a family. It is definitely a vacation we will never forget.

Robbie and Donna's house was really nice. We loved sitting on the porch and looking at the lake and at all of the birds that would come to eat at the feeds.

This was the view from the porch.

These pictures were taken down at the dock. Lake Cumberland is very pretty.

There was a waterfall and a working mill in a nearby cove. I have never seen anything like it before. We enjoyed exploring the area with the mill and seeing the waterfall. 

We liked visiting Cumberland Falls. It is a really pretty area and the waterfall is huge.

We spent LOTS of time on the boat. I enjoyed taking pictures of the lake and the land surrounding it, because I thought it was so pretty. 

There are lots of creatures in and around Lake Cumberland. We saw lots of turtles and Evan and Preston even used a net to catch a baby turtle. There were lots of butterflies and dragonflies, as well as lots of different birds. Evan saw a snake while he was exploring. He didn't catch it, but he did catch a little skink! Preston caught several bluegill and Evan caught lots of bass and catfish. He fished each morning and night and often during the day too. He caught his biggest freshwater fish, as well as one of the smallest too!

We celebrated Carl's birthday at the lake. Uncle Ron joined us and we had a great time fishing, riding the boat and relaxing at the dock. 

We had a wonderful time at Lake Cumberland.