The Mardi Gras season kicked off this year on February 7 with Krewe Boheme, Lizzie's parade. Dana and I went out to see it and then had dinner at Paladar, just like we did last year. Such a fun night!
The first major parades all four of us went to were in Metairie on February 15: the brand new Krewe of Mad Hatters and Centurions. Our college friends group went out to a spot on Vets (not our normal one since they switched the route on us) and had a great night. Mad Hatters' signature throws were hats based on their float themes; Rory got a chicken one!
The next day we headed Uptown to catch Carrollton and King Arthur. We had so much fun out at those parades last year that we decided to do it again. We saw Fred with the Stompers, Riley scored a moon pie, Rory caught a cute stuffed puppy dog, and the three boys enjoyed a mini sword fight with other new acquisitions before we called it a day. And I came home with three boots and a grail!
More parade recaps coming your way soon!
In what seems like forever ago (but was really only two months, on February 7), the boys and I spent a morning at the new Louisiana Children's Museum in City Park. Rory and I had already been back in November, but this was Riley's first time seeing the new location.
They were off of school on account of parent-teacher conferences, hence the impromptu Friday field trip. It was a beautiful day: we arrived just before 11 and stayed for more than two hours. We had a great time.
AD#1 gave them passes to the museum for Christmas, as well as gift shop spending money (which they of course used to buy even more stuffed animals), so that was the main impetus for our visit. Rory had actually been dying to go back ever since we went with his class; he really liked it. Plus, he wasn't able to do his favorite thing, play with the huge blue foam blocks, so he wanted to go back mostly for that. We ran into a fellow SCR student while we were out by the blocks, and together the three of them made a pretty epic blue castle!
One week later, on February 14, we found ourselves back out at City Park. This time the boys and I drove straight there after school (remember when kids went to school??), and Kenny left work a little early and met us. We never put too much focus on Valentine's Day, but I thought it would be sweet for the four of us to go see the City Park tulips on that day. So we did!
Those were the days. When we could leave our houses and ACTUALLY GO PLACES!
Stupid corona.
The Scout Pinewood Derby was held in the SCR gym on the morning of Saturday, January 25. Both boys went for looks last year, but this time they were all about speed. They wanted to win!
Kenny started working with them on their cars right after Christmas. They did a LOT of research on car shape and finally settled on two designs: a thin, rounded-edge block for Riley and an arrow for Rory. They also focused a ton on polishing their wheels and axles, an important step for maximum speed. Rory chose to paint his arrow a rusty orange, while Riley went with silver for his car, matching his special dome weight they installed towards the back. Kenny even set up an alignment test the night before the race, to make sure they had done all they could!
Race day finally arrived, and we headed to school early to check in. Riley and some of his friends were chosen to lead the Scout Motto and Pledge of Allegiance to kick things off, and then races were underway.
Like last year, each car raced 8 times, twice in each of the different lanes. Riley was fairly consistent in all of his heats: he won almost all of them, including the one against his brother. Rory won the majority of his, too. They were both so excited their cars performed so well!
Riley finished in first place in his den (Webelos) and third place overall. Rory finished in second place in his den (Tigers) and in the top ten overall. Both earned a really cool medal they can pin onto their Scout uniforms, and Riley also received the third place trophy. I was so proud of all of the hard work they (and Kenny) put into their cars this year!
Because both of them finished in a top spot in their dens, they earned a place at the Pinewood Derby District Championships. It was supposed to be held in Kenner on April 25. However, all activities related to the Scouts have been cancelled because of the coronavirus. Doesn't make me any less proud of them though.
Happy Good Friday, y'all. Stay safe!
The world as we know it is now different. Vastly different. And it may never go back to the way it was. All because of a few letters and a couple of numbers strung together in a very specific order: COVID-19.
Coronavirus.
Not many people knew what that was a couple of months ago, but we all do now. It has changed everything. EVERYTHING.
Here's just a short list of what we've been dealing with, just so I never forget:
*School cancelled - yes, cancelled. Students left March 13 and probably will not return.
*Self-distancing measures on the rise.
*No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now no gatherings of 5 or more.
*Tape on the floors at grocery and other stores to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.
*Limited number of people inside stores; therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
*Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.*Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
*Entire sports seasons cancelled.
*Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
*Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
*No church masses; churches are closed but providing live stream mass online.
*Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
*Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
*Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers, and shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
*Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.
*Shelves are bare. Especially bread!
*Banks are drive-thru only. Restaurants are drive-thru or curbside pick-up only, if they're open at all.
*Major manufacturers, distilleries, and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer, and PPE.
*Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
*Fines are established for breaking the rules.
*Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
*Press conferences daily from the President and state governors with updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
*Government incentives to stay home.
*Barely anyone on the roads.
*People wearing masks and gloves outside.
*Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
*Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.
This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11, 2020.
I have been homeschooling the boys since March 16. They likely will not return to school this year. There's even debate as to whether the next school year will be able to begin on time.
Insanity.
I do have a lot to catch y'all up on, things we've done since the end of January, as well as our new way of life since mid-March. Suddenly becoming a teacher to my two children has not allowed me the time to keep up with everything, so that's why I've been absent on here for so long. However, they do still have a Spring Break, which means no schoolwork to do until next Wednesday. (Hallelujah!) So while they're upstairs playing Minecraft, I'll hopefully be able to sit down at my computer and document these crazy times.
In the meantime, we'll keep on social distancing, getting through one day at a time, and, oh, yes, washing our hands.
