It's time!

First day of school!!  (Remote learning, hence the lack of shoes or a backpack.)

And nap time.  (I got a new mattress, and Coop was testing it out.  For two hours.)

With our John Deere masks:

 

Friends

Coop made this goldfish art masterpiece for a friend's birthday:

We bought a movie projector so we can watch movies outside on our garage door.  So far, it's been a great success -- a couple of times with Cooper's friends and once with the kids in the neighborhood (Into the Spiderverse!):

Only once did it rain and so folks moved inside the garage:

Coop and friends at the park:

And Coop got some roller skates.  His friend Sophia is really good at skating, so she met him at the school parking lot for some lessons:

 

Summer Rock Camp

Cooper participated in Rock Camp again this summer.  (See last summer's adventure here.). He played the electric guitar instead of piano, which was a fun twist.  And everything was virtual, which was a different experience.

Here is a group photo from a planning meeting the organizers and various band members had:

Each band member learned their part and recorded themselves playing the song.  And then the organizers put it all together in one technologically-magic video.  Screen shot of Cooper's group (his friends Molly and Eliza are the other two guitar players!):

And here is their final video:

 

Foster kiddo...

Coop and I got to love on a sweet one-month-old baby for a weekend to provide some respite care for his mom.  Lots and lots of snuggles!

More summer...

Coop participated in a live chat session with one of his favorite YouTubers!  He was thrilled!

The photos they took at the end of the call:

Birthday card from Coop for my 45th!

Coop and Alan built a small table for Cooper's record player to sit on:

Still summer....

"Mama!  There's pea on the bathroom floor!"

Family zoom to celebrate Grandpa Cecil's birthday.  He was very proud of his gift:

Coop's computer set up in his room at the new house.  Lots of time playing games there:

And a dashing new hair cut!

It's summer forever, isn't it?

Alan bought this 1970-something (I should know that!) VW Beetle for Coop to eventually drive someday!

Alan's family moved into a new home, with plenty of room for all of them!

Coop entertained some young friends (in a socially distant way) at a birthday party:

Another puzzle:

Us!

End of school + start of summer

This was Cooper's school schedule for the last 8 weeks of the semester.  Lots of zoom meetings for his classes:

At the end of the year, the school buses paraded around the neighborhoods.  19 in total, I think!

Reading:

More reading:

And a puzzle!

Bad pun prank war

"Mama, come quick!  The toilet is smoking!"

"Cooper, I'm so sorry.  I wasn't paying attention and now there's a 'leak' on your computer!"

Mama, come quick!  I flushed the toilet and now there's water coming out of the bathroom!"

Sound effects

One of the online school assignments from Cooper's speech and drama class was to add sound effects to a movie clip.

When Cooper's teacher posted this, it was completely silent.  And then Cooper had to add "Foley effects" -- the general sounds of the scene -- footsteps, rustling, background noise, etc.  Here's what he came up with, just by recording various sounds around the house and timing it perfectly with the video:

Missing friends

Cooper has been desperately missing his friends and needing some interaction other than with his parents.  So we filled up some giant water guns, drove to friends' houses, set the water guns on the porch, and waited for them to come out and start a war:

Natural enforcement of the six-feet-apart rule:

And at least he got to see some new people!

Inside activities

Cooper with his easter basket (tool box?) from Grandma Joan and Grandpa Cecil:

With his trophy (toilet paper and suckers) for winning the first family game night:

I'm on a zoom faculty meeting, with wine, trying to also listen to Cooper's latest guitar skills:

Boardgames:

PLENTY of screen time for Minecraft and YouTube.

Exercising (technically an inside activity since the elliptical is in the garage):

Snuggling for a movie night: