Summer - Week 9

This week was marked by big ups and downs, along with more uncertainty about school reopening.  The virus cases in KS keep rising, leaving questions about how to safely reopen schools.  Gov. Kelly had ordered schools not open until Sept. 9, but the state BOE voted on that order and the result was a tie.  This meant the order failed and each district would have to decide.  Basically, that meant we would have to wait some more until our local BOE could vote.  Aarrggghh!  

Our new superintendent did finally email on Friday evening to give us an update.  School would begin Sept. 9 or Aug. 20 - basically start on time or follow the governor's order.  She also indicated that we would be offering both on-site classes and remote learning.  Yikes!  This seems like a lot to plan for so we are hoping the board votes for a later start!  A task force will meet Monday morning to begin planning for the changes that are coming, which I will be a part of.  

One downer from this week was that we finally decided to cancel our vacation plans to S. Dakota.  I really felt like staying at our own place, visiting mostly outdoor places were going to be safe options, but I suppose the risks are still there.  I'm just not sure when we will fit this trip in again because we also will be making the big 50th anniversary trip next summer, hopefully!  

Speaking of the anniversary trip, we did help Grandma and Grandpa celebrate on Sunday evening at the McCabe's.  We Zoomed with the CA crew and it was so good to 'see' them again!  We enjoyed pizza from Inman and cupcakes from Shelby Schmidt, along with swimming (girls) and listening to 50 memories that we had all worked on compiling.  It wasn't a vacation, but we were happy to celebrate in any way we could!

Everything's Golden!

Now, from the world of pets - we also had highs and lows.  The high is that Biscuit is back to herself!  She's running all over and enjoying her rides with Grandpa on the Mule again.  The low?  We lost the beautiful Siamese(ish) kitten when Caiden started his truck up one morning.  It wasn't pleasant and I was glad I missed the whole thing.  We miss that dear little guy.  He was everyone's favorite.  I've had enough pet drama for a while!

4-H was definitely the highest high-point this week.  The Marion Co. Fair didn't happen like normal.  There were no public events, but thankfully, they kept the 4-H judging.  We took Cambry's projects on Wednesday afternoon, had them judged, and then took everything home.  Cambry had a great fair.  One of her photographs was reserve champion in her class, and her porch swing earned a grand champion in the woodworking project (even though the judge caught that the armrests were 1/2" shorter than the plans showed)!  Like I've said before, we were particularly proud of her effort this year because it was largely driven by her.  And, as far as judging goes, she has gotten much more confident in speaking with the judges. It's really all about the process of learning, but getting a reward at the end is kind of nice!

A bonus from judging day was that Cambry reconnected with her friend, Ellie, from Hillsboro.  We invited her to come swimming with us on Friday, and the girls had a pretty great time.  I think we'll do it at least one more time yet before school starts!