School's Out!

 Homeschooling the kids was interesting. Obviously they are very young, so there's not a lot of work that needed to get done and handed in. Bentley and Deacon's teachers sent me optional things for them to do each week, including worksheets and activities. I didn't feel too stressed about doing everything, but it was tricky to find things that they could all do together, or find alone time with each of them. What I ended up doing was some fun activities, like playdoh and chalk, that involved letters or numbers or some type of learning, and then each night after the boys went to bed I would spend half an hour with Bentley reading and doing worksheets. She actually really enjoyed this time with me, and I did too! She started really picking up reading and is now into chapter books! I'm pretty amazed with her! The first chapter books she's read are the Ivy and Bean series. It's so fun seeing her enjoy books. Deacon's teacher sent some personalized goals for me to work with him on and activities with how to do that. Sometimes I would just play the games with all the kids. He's especially been working on words starting with s like snake, snow, spoon, etc. and I've been working with him on pencil grip too. He also had circle time every day with his teacher and class on zoom for half an hour. He sometimes enjoyed it, and other days I would skip it because we were outside playing. It wasn't mandatory, just an extra thing for him. He definitely really missed going to school and doing crafts with his teacher!
On the last day of school, I drove Bentley to her school to pick up her folder of things she had done during the year, pictures, and report card. It was so nice to see Mrs. Ozimko and even let Bentley give her a hug. She is the nicest teacher! I took a couple of pictures of cute things I found in her folder. Deacon had a party on zoom and the school sent some prize bags for him with party blowers, stickers, and other things. He wants to be a firefighter when he grows up (although lately he's been telling me a policeman). What a sad way to end the year! We're hoping and praying they can go back to normal in September. 
The picture in this section with the flour mess is what happens when you try to teach your older kids school and leave Leo to roam...

 Here are some pictures of some other things we did in the month of June. The kids have grown to be best of friends, that's for sure. Mostly we played in our basement and backyard, went for walks and hikes, and we started to hangout with family again. It took a while for other things to start opening up again. Bentley was reunited with Emri and Scarlett, and even got to have a sleepover with her (which included nails, face masks and bubble baths)! Emri had a small birthday party. Jeff and Don built a sandbox together for our kids and they love it!

 Church continued on at home. We are into a good rhythm with it now and Bentley loves to plan her own talks. 

 All the parks opened up and we made sure to go to every one of them! Hair cutting places also opened up and Leo got a cute haircut. Deacon got a buzz cut earlier on.

 When places started opening up again, the first thing we did was go to the zoo. We went on the last day before our membership expired! So that will do for the year. We had to book a time to go, as they only let in so many people, and then they had one way arrows telling you which way to go around. It was fun, but I forgot my phone so I took no pictures. Then we went to the Corn Maze (or the Calgary Farmyard as it's now called), and bought passes here for the year. We've had a lot of fun! It was one of the first places that felt normal after quarantining for so long. Of course there are still social distancing rules here, and lots of sanitizer stations, but it was so nice to go somewhere again that felt like things used to be. We've been going with Lena and her kids lots because they bought passes as well! The kids love feeding the animals, the zip line, slides, tractor rides, and jumping pillows.

 Bentley lost her two top teeth as well, making that 4 teeth gone. Sad! But she still looks pretty darn cute!!

Father's Day came and we made sure we spoiled Jeff! My mom helped the kids make a cute picture frame with rocks glued on it, and inside it said, "Dad, you rock," with some cute rock drawings of the kids with Jeff. We also got him a World's Best Dad cup and made him dinner. We did brunch with my family at my parent's house, eating crepes and sausage hash. So yummy and so much fun! I got my dad a cute little garden shoe planter. He enjoys gardening these days. 

 To celebrate school ending and things starting to open up, Jeff and I took a trip to Banff without the kids! We felt like we really needed this after working so hard through the pandemic. It wasn't easy for Jeff with work, and I struggled with my new routine of having the kids home all the time. Cindy got us a better rate at the Banff Springs Hotel and we had the best time! We hiked up Tunnel Mountain, swam in the warm outdoor pool at the hotel, took a helicopter ride (so gorgeous!), ate out lots, got my first ever beavertail, and visited bow falls and a few other places. We only stayed one night, but had a full two days there, and my parents were nice enough to watch the kids for us! It was a great time.

That was pretty much the month of June. The last shot is a random one Jeff took of me in my mom life. I have to say, Deacon has been telling me he loves me every so often without any sort of prompt and it just melts me. That boy has such a sweet heart and cares about people so genuinely. Leo is pretty dang crazy, but so handsome, and some days I just catch myself staring at him! I wouldn't change my life for the world.