February 2020 Recap

I'm heading back in time again, via the photos on my phone, to a world in which going places was normal, before most people had heard much about coronavirus, before social distancing was something everyone did.  It seems so far away and yet not that long ago.  

So, back to February, when we still got out and saw people and didn't put on masks when we couldn't social distance.  Here's what normal looked like for us:

I had book club with my friends, in person. I can't remember what we read, but we talked about a book, drank wine, and sat together on the couch.  The boys had boys' night with burgers and "fruit salad."  

The next night, we went out to see "Paloma," an origami bird installation at Discovery Green. We ate at Phoenicia and strolled around the park. It was beautiful and magical.  

Everyone went to school, every day, and there were projects. 

and Ethics Bowl (the Kinkaid team won the civility award again).

Henry and I went to the zoo.  

 

Will practiced toaster oven safety with ridiculously large oven mitts.

Ane the rodeo came to town (briefly).

One thing that hasn't changed is that we get outside in nature as much as possible. We've always done this, but we do it more now than ever before. In February, Henry and I took Gene to Cullinan Park in Sugarland. It's one of our new favorites.  

If you look closely, the green leaf is being carried by a leafcutter ant.  

 

I have no idea what we were doing but there was a clearly a pileup on the bed.   

Another thing we still do: cook and eat some really great food, like rabbit pie

and Gomes de Sa.

Gene and I celebrated Valentine's Day at Tapas on the Trails at the Arboretum, which combines two of our favorite things: good food and nature.  

Eastern screech owl

Ruby even got dressed up with a tux from her BarkBox. Sucy a fancy dog. 

February was the last month of normalcy, but even then, we knew that things were changing. My parents were stuck on a cruise ship in Asia, unable to dock and get home easily because of the virus. Cases started popping up in the U.S. If we had known what March would bring, I wonder what we would have done differently in February?   

January 2020 Recap

Time sure does fly when you're busy with work, grad school and reimagining life due to a pandemic! Now that it's May, and grad school is finally over, I finally have some time to blog.  So, here we go -- back to January when no one was even thinking about the coronoavirus, quarantine, or social distancing.

When winter break was over, I had to go back to work a day before the kids went back to school. They stayed with Nana and Pop for the day but came to visit me at work at the end of the day. Looking at this picture now makes me sad. I haven't been to my library in over 7 weeks!

Henry's winter recital was in mid-January on the UH campus.  Gramma and Grampa were able to join us for the fun!  

Henry played "Fur Elise" and he did an incredible job!  We were so impressed with Henry and his hard work on this very tough song.  

 Henry and I got outside on a beautiful day to explore the Arboretum.

Ruby got a new BarkBox with a toy that can be stuffed with treats. 

8th graders at Kinkaid all participate in a musical, which means lots and lots of weekend rehearsals. Over MLK weekend, Will was in rehearsal every day, so Henry and I decided to go hiking at Cullinana Park in Sugar Land.  

 

We first visited Cullinan Park about five years ago when there was only a small boardwalk and no trails. Now, the park is full of trails and is just a beautiful place to visit.  

We found the 23rd largest pecan tree in Texas! It's over 100 feet tall.

Hodge's Bend Cemetery is part of the park. This old cemetery dates to the 1850s and is named for Alexander Hodge, one of Austin's Old 300.  

Cullinana Park is just delightful and we highly recommend a visit!

This kiddo graduated to adult-sized shoes in January.  

Henry started band and startled Ruby.   

Henry also became obsessed with rubber ducks in January and has quite the collection, which he showed Pop.  

And the big event of January, of course, was the 8th grade production of Beauty and the Beast. Will was part of the tech crew and he truly had a wonderful experience.  The performance itself was mind-blowing! These kids have quite a lot of talent, for middle schoolers! 

Will's math class designed stained glass windows for the musical, and these were on display in the gallery.  

And finally, some snuggly pictures from a chilly month!

January, back when life was normal, seems like a distant memory!