Us

(Cooper playing with snapchat filters.)

Braces!

With a sweet foster kiddo who stayed with us for a couple of days:

 

Fall

Coop is making some (slow) progress with the roller skates:

Another driveway movie night with the projector:

Before it gets too cold, Coop and I walked a 5K and participated in a "virtual race" (which mean I paid for the "registration," we walked on our own, and got these fabulous medals):

Cooper and Sophia spent one afternoon assembling a fire pit that I ordered to enhance driveway movie nights:

Success!

 

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!"