I'm still catching up with my blog -- writing about November 2020 in July 2021! Much like every other month, we really did out best to keep ourselves safe and healthy, which meant wearing our masks, limiting time with family, and focusing on outdoor activities. Here's a quick look at our month in pictures:
The weather in Texas is usually pretty nice in November, so we got outside quite a bit. Early morning walks at the Arboretum are always a favorite activity. One of the neatest things about going so frequently was getting to see how the landscape changes with the seasons. There is always something beautiful to find out in nature!
Gene and I took a day off from work and spent the morning at Sheldon Lake State Park with Ruby.
Ruby was tuckered out afterwards!
Because of Covid, we didn't get to spend much time with family or friends, but Gene took Henry over to Nana and Pop's one afternoon for some outdoor time with the cousins.
It was also a very tense election season. Henry and I celebrated Biden's victory!
Henry had a day off from school for parent-teacher conferences, so he and Gene went to the zoo. Gene ended up talking to Henry's advisor while at the zoo! Fortunately, even with some distance learning, the boys both did well with school in 2020-2021.
Here's a little peek at librarian life during a global pandemic: my library was closed to students but I still managed to get books to students by letting them place holds and by rolling carts into classrooms for booktalks and checkouts. It was a ton of work but it was so worth it to get books into the hands of my students! I would start each class period with two full carts, visit 2-3 classes per period, and run back to the library to restock the cart for the next set of classes. I even joined in virtual classes on Zoom to booktalk books on Sora (our ebook/audiobook platform).
Back at home, Gene was in charge of more weekday dinners because the boys and I didn't get home until 5:30 (late Kinkaid athletics). Gene loves to make savory pies for us -- they are so delicious!
Henry went back to in-person art class, and for an after-class treat would sometimes get boba tea from the little shop nearby.
We sat outside and did some reading in the backyard,
Snickers discovered the joys of the clean laundry basket,
the boys played video games,
And then it was Thanksgiving break. Dealing with students and worrying about Covid was so stressful that by the time we got to Thanksgiving break, I was worn out and spent several days just relaxing and recovering. And then the weather wasn't great, so we didn't do much with our holiday other than rest up and spend time together.
This was actually our first Thanksgiving with just the four of us! It was really nice, but of course we missed spending time with family. Will helped make the pumpkin pie. Yum!!
Some funny pet pics: Ruby loves to sleep this way.
And Orie bites the heads of dragons. #fierce
Will purchased a new video game with early Christmas money from Gramma and Grampa.
And we had fancy waffles for breakfast one morning.
Leftover turkey drumsticks
and another of Gene's delicious meat pies!
We took our annual family pictures in the backyard.
Goofy outtakes
The cats are family too!
That's it for November during a pandemic. It was unlike any other November, but we still had much to be thankful for, especially our family and our health.
