The Growing Caldwell Family

After weeks of school from home, we made it to the last day of school! There were sweet zoom calls to say goodbye and remember the fun times together during the school year, and we picked up the contents of the kids' desks from school Charlie did a fun project where he chose Mexico as his country and learned a lot about it. One final part to the project was to make a recipe from thet country. He chose a pineapple dessert from Mexico. Given our grocery buying schedule, it took a while for us to get to the store for a pineapple, but he was very happy to make it! It was a complicated, multi-step recipe. With some help from Aaron, he got it done.  He ate it and seemed to enjoy it, but didn't ask for me! To mark the end of school we enjoyed a fun dinner of fried shrimp and french fries! Charlie and SG were very pleased. So much so that Charlie asked if we can't go out to eat for his birthday, could we have this! Glad he is a kid of simple pleasures, but hate t...

As the end of school grew nearer, the days stayed busy.  A car parade to say thank you to Ms. Freeman for all she did for her students this year.  Sissy is so thoughtful and pays attention to people's likes. She made these signs for Ms. Freeman. Charlie continues to spend all his free time working on Minecraft. He researches and watches videos to learn how to do more. He is a bit obsessed! Sissy took it upon herself to learn to make homemade tortillas. She researched and watched videos to learn how, then made some delicious tortillas!  In lieu of a typical field day at school, the P.E. teachers arranged for the kids to participate in a virtual field day with fun activities using household items. Aaron helped them setup a speaker for music in the backyard and we joined them to help with the activities and keep it fun.  Charlie played "flip your lid" Sis was getting "foot loose" These activities were pretty f...

These yard signs were a fun surprise and acknowledgement of the kids moving up to the next grade. This time during COVID-19 has been so unusual and I am grateful for the creative ways the school has found to celebrate and keep school life fun for the kids.  I can hardly believe they will be in 2nd and 5th grade! The time flies!

We started the day off with a fabulous brunch, if I do say so myself,  and the kids were eager to give their gifts! While making our crafts for Lovie, Sissy made me a ring holder out of clay. So sweet! Sissy treated me to a pedicure. Nice to be pampered!  The weather was still chilly, but less wind made the kids think it would be great for riding the raft!  Lovie and her babies! Riding like normal wasn't exciting enough, so they decided to stand up! No one fell out into the chilly water! Playing family is fun, especially when you get to sit in the golf cart and pretend you are going on vacation! Had such a great day with my favorite people! I enjoyed the day and appreciated the thoughtful gifts and cards the kids made. 

To make the end of school fun, the school organized spirit days. There were 2 weeks worth of fun, but these were their favorites.  This theme was "All dressed up and nowhere to go" They were so excited to put on their finest! Crazy hair was their other big hit!  Sarah Graves was totally tickled by her "beard"!  Charlie loved gelding his hair like a mohawk.  Sarah Graves has continued to work on her baking skills. She loves to bake bread and has really overcome her fear of the heat of the oven.  Charlie did a fun social studies project where he chose a country, Mexico, and then read about, wrote about it, and made his own passport to travel there!

Trying to keep life fun, Aaron made this awesome Star Wars pancakes served with blue milk for a fun dinner to celebrate May the 4th Be With you! The kids love breakfast for dinner, so it was a huge hit! Charlie's fashion is always a little crazy! He reminded me of a European kid with his socks pulled up high. I am not a fan of buying the kids toys at random. They both had birthday and Christmas money that they have decided to spend periodically to get new things. The decision to spend "their" money and have to hand over the cash is always a hard one!  Sarah Graves was very pleased with her purchase of new clothes for Barbie and Ken. Included in the set was a wedding dress and a tux. These are perfect for her Barbie virtual play sessions with her friend, Sienna. Those afternoons playing Barbies with a friend have been a lifeline for her. I am so grateful for that time and the joy it brings her. 

Charlie got his weekend time going with some cosmic yoga. He it took it very serious and worked hard to follow all the movements.  Sarah Graves is generally not into board games, but this time she was all in for Ticket to Ride! Fun when everyone is all in! We worked on some crafts with clay. The air dry clay was fun to shape and mold and not a big mess! We had a really fun outing to see the Blue Angels fly over Atlanta! It felt so good to get out of the house and do something! The weather was gorgeous! Sissy and I tried out a face mask. Not sure it was her thing! Fun to do a little beauty treatment with my girl!  Charlie and I worked on a science experiment recommended by school. The red was boiling hot water and the blue was ice cold water. We poured them into a container expecting to see the colors stay separate due to heat rising.  We did it twice and it just didn't work! Oops! Probably why I'm not cut out to be a teacher! We dete...