The One With the Knives Out House, The Friends Finale and Pilot, the Outdoor Movie Part II, and the Schedule

This was another busy week at our house.

1. Emmie launched the "schedule for the week" this week with daily schedules to keep us on track. Although the schedules were a little off, they engaged us in going for walks, cleaning rooms, getting shopping done, getting reading and work in, and getting game time at home...including "Just Dance" parties.

2. Late at night, we actually watched the FRIENDS finale (which Emmie and I watched years ago at my old condo) followed by the FRIENDS pilot (which coincided with the first year I worked at my current school). It was a fun trip down memory lane.

3. We attempted to watch Jaws outside. Our second attempt at an outdoor movie was thwarted by some technical difficulties.

4. Kiff and I took a ride to Natick to see the Knives Out house. It was on our bucket list this summer.

All and all a busy week that also included....

Rock painting
Bird house building
Five trips to the pool
A game of Stackapus
A game of Clue (which was fun to get reintroduced to)
Finishing the outdoor living room
Weeding two gardens
Planting a garden in front of pool
We watched First Knight
We watched Summer School

The One With The Drive In, The Class, the Natick Waterfall, and The New Cat

This was a busy week...we had a ton of things go on, but three in particular that stood out.

1. We went to our first drive in ever as a family. It was the Topsfield Fair Drive In, where we saw Empire Strikes Back. It was a little rustic and took a little getting used to because Emmie and I last went to a Drive In when we were young. It was a little buggy and we brought a portable radio and tuned to 93.1 on the FM dial...which worked well. We actually did enjoy it and got a chance to see all but two minutes of the movie (we left early because Kif had to go the bathroom).

2. We all were busy with classes this week. Kif's was probably the most fun because he designed a house. Emmie and I were busy with ones for school. Bri had a dance class.

3. We also got a new cat this week. Liza - now known as Zoey - an import from Georgia, joined out family. We originally wanted a he, but observed and learned of several that did not get along with other cats, which we figured would not be good for Sam, so we decided she was a good option. She was super friendly and she seemed to like the other cats in the common room. We briefly introduced her to Sam today - that was a bit tense, but went okay.

4. We also visited the Natick waterfall. We got lunch at Nick's Pizza - one of my favorite stops - and ate at the falls. I took some videos because their are some rumblings that the waterfall might be taken down. ZOINKS!

The One With The Ice Cream Man

THE ICE CREAM TRUCK DELIVERS

Earlier today, Emmie saw on Facebook that there was an ice cream vendor that delivered "Sweet Treats" to different neighborhoods. You had to preorder the treats - in this day and age of Covid - but the delivery person would bring them to your door. It was just like the ice cream trucks of old.

These days, it can be hard to find special things to do, so we decided to harken back to our childhood days and place an order. After all, Sweet Treats was delivering to our town today.

What an awesome surprise. Sure enough, those classic sweet treats of yore showed up on our doorstep just a short time ago. We got some classics, including...

• some screwballs (just like the cannonballs I craved when I was a kid from our ice cream man, which Kiff likes, too).
• strawberry shortcake (pops that Emmie used to get when she was a kid).
• chocolate chip cookie sandwich (Bri liked that) 
• a dipstick
• a Dove frozen bar
• a chocolate Big Dipper


What a wonderful treat on a hot summer day!!!

The One With The Police Parade

Today, our town decided to honor the magnificent work of the first responders who work at the Police Department and have gone above and beyond during the Covid Quarantine. Residents got together to hold a parade to thank and honor the police department of our fair city.

It was great to see so many people come with decorated cars donning signs, balloons, streamer, and window paint to express the unfailing gratitude to the officers of our town. They have gone out of their way to protect our city and even host birthday parades for elementary students during our shelter in place.

During this time when people are expressing negative views about the police, our family sends its unyielding gratitude and appreciation for those who serve and protect our town... a sincere THANK YOU.

The One With Emmie's Last Day of School

While we were able to "enjoy" to a degree getting out of school for summer on June 17, Emmie had to wait until the 26th to get out. Part of the reason is her school went to April vacation during the Covid- Quarantine.

Well, summer has arrived...and Emmie now is on "vacation."

Our first goal - to watch a summer vacation movie. Next stop, "One Crazy Summer!"

The One With The Last Week of School

It is hard to believe but this weird school year has finally come to an end. It is definitely memorable and I am going to miss it because it was one of my favorite classes. And it had some many unusual moments.

1. Being in new modulars.

2. Have modulars totally under prepared.

3. Having field trips canceled for EEE.

4. Seeing activities moved to earlier in day because of EEE.

5. Kids that were really good.

6. Seeing Bri take part in her first play.

7. Seeing Kiff come into his own.

8. Having school become "remote learning" on March 13, 2020.

So hard to believe. What a year.

The One With The Podcast

Here is the podcast link to Bri's honorable mention podcast for the NPR student podcast challenge that Bri did in 7th grade. 

Only 110 of 2200 podcasts won honorable mention. A few more won prizes.


Here is the podcast link: https://soundcloud.com/karinbutterworth/whats-in-store-for-the-amazon-rainforest

Here is the link to the podcast: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/867842394/the-winners-of-the-npr-student-podcast-challenge

Great job Bri and her group.