The Beeston Family: 2020

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Dance

Alexis' audition for the TinyCo dance team didn't go very well. I noticed that most parents went to the studio for the audition, but Alexis did hers virtually. She just wasn't focused. She was goofing off and not listening. At the end of it, I thought for sure she'd blown her audition, so imagine my surprise when I got an email saying that she'd made the team!

Alexis has dance practice 3 hours a week. On Tuesdays, she gets 2 hours of modern dance, one hour with Miss Ashley (her combo teacher from last year) and one hour with Miss Emily. Then on Wednesdays, she gets one hour of accro (tumbling) with Miss Betsy.

There are 8 girls on the team: Alexis, Addie, Everly, Isa, Juniper, Mackenzie, Maggie, and Violet. Juniper and Alexis clicked right off the bat. We quickly found out that they're also members of the church, which is super cool. They've had many playdates. Everly and Alexis also clicked, but not in the same way. Both of Everly's parents work, so she goes to preschool all day every day. Because of that, they've only been able to have 2 playdates so far.

Each year, they assign a Dance Buddy. It's someone to watch out for on competition days. Alexis was assigned Violet and vice versa. She was kind of bummed that it wasn't Juniper, but I think all the girls on the team are great.

Virtual School in August

Without knowing how long the kids would have to do virtual school, we had to adapt. Last semester, we made it work with just one computer, because Logan really was the only one who had digital work that needed to be turned in, even though the whole school district went with a Pass or Fail grade for the semester.

On the first day of school, I set up Taylor on the computer in the office. I gave Kendall my old phone for chats and the Apple laptop for work. She was in the piano room. And I gave Logan the iPad. He was in the kitchen. It did not work well at all! The computer was fine. But the phone was too outdated for the app they used for chats and the laptop was too difficult to use. The iPad was also too outdated for the chats and not easy to work on. I ended up having to give Kendall and Logan my phone so that they could participate in the chats. That day, William went to Costco and ordered two computers, which would be delivered two days later. We made it work again for two more days, but it was painful. Finally, with three computers, everyone's life was much better and easier.

Kendall did really well with virtual school. She was on time to the LIVE meetings most of the time. She always finished her work and turned it in. My only concern was that she wasn't busy enough. She had a lot of free time, which she filled with tv watching. I wasn't thrilled about that, but it was too hot to do anything outside.

I had to be behind Logan, for sure. I actually put reminders on my phone so that he could be on time to his LIVE meetings. Between the 3 of them, I had 15 reminders on my phone. But Logan was really the only one I needed to drag out to the computer. He was either reading in his room or watching tv in the playroom. I constantly had to make sure his work was turned in. Who is this kid?

Taylor did really well! He was always on time to his LIVE meetings. In fact, he was usually early. We occasionally encountered some technical difficulties, and he was always so worked up because he didn't want to miss his meetings. He almost always turned his work in, and when he didn't, it was because he needed help. He was very good at asking for help when needed, though.

The kids finally went back to school on September 21. By then, we'd gotten the hang of this whole virtual learning, though. Still, I think being at school is better for them. They need the interaction. They need the focus. It was a happy day when they went back.

First Day of 4th and 5h grades (virtual)

The first day of school was virtual. Kendall wasn't thrilled about getting Mrs. Smith as her 4th grade teacher, mostly because when she was in 2nd grade, she could hear Mrs. Smith yelling all the way from the opposite side of the hallway. I told her that she'd be okay as long as she got on her good side.

Taylor got Mrs. Benedetti, who I know absolutely nothing about. Sometimes that's a good thing because I can't be overexcited or bummed out about the class assignment. She seems nice enough.

On a side note, Taylor's teacher from last year, Miss Dalton, got baptized earlier this summer, and she's in our ward. I was a little nervous about her last year, but she turned out to be great. She had rules, which she expected to be followed, but she was also super chill. She was fun and loved to tease Taylor, like when she dumped glitter all over him on his birthday. Haha. Anyway, sometimes I think Heavenly Father places certain people into our lives for a reason...

And because of a CATS-only school opening up in the area, Logan's school now only has one CATS class per grade, so Mrs. Wendt moved up with him. I'm excited that he gets to have her again because she is AMAZING! Seriously, the BEST teacher EVER! She's so dedicated! Her kids are all-grown, so she has all the time in the world to dedicate to her class. Last semester, she put so much work into making everything digital for the kids. And she had meetings with them daily, to make sure that they were doing okay and adjusting to the new curriculum. She must have spent hours researching the best websites and then downloading everything from paper-form to digital form. Plus she was always really fast at responding to email. This woman breathes and lives for teaching. She's mentioned before that she's tried to retire before but that she always finds her way back to teaching, and I'm sure glad she did again this year.

Alexis' birthday party

Quarantine birthdays are the worst! But since school is back in session (for Alexis, at least), I thought she should have a couple of friends over anyway. And since I've always wanted to throw a Princess birthday party, we invited... ELSA! It was fun to plan the food and decorations and not have to worry about the entertainment. Elsa actually arrived first. She read a couple of books, then Jane and Kira arrived. The girls played some games like Freeze Dance, where they froze like various characters from the movie. They also played Pass Bruni (like Hot Potato) and a game of Limbo.

Then they went over to the table were Elsa painted the girls' nails while telling them stories about her other princess friends. Meanwhile, her assistant braided the girls' hair. They also made bracelets together.

At the end of the hour, Elsa left and we ate some cake. Alexis also opened up her presents. The girls had a lot of fun and it was nice to have a normal birthday party. I'm so thankful for Alexis' friends.

Alexis' 4th birthday

I can't imagine my life without Alexis in it. She brings so much joy to everyone. She lights up a room. She's bubbly, fun, silly, smart, and a beautiful dancer. She loves to make William jealous by giving me extra love. She will never admit to liking someone or someone's something more than another for fear of hurting their feelings. She can also be very truthful and just say NO to kisses if she's not in the mood. She is super social and says Hi to everyone. She makes friends easily wherever we go. She loves to dance, sing, play with stuffed animals, and play at the playground. Her favorite food is sushi. Her favorite colors are purple and red. She doesn't really have a favorite movie or TV show because she's just not into watching television to begin with. She loves cats and puppies. She loves going to school. Her best friends are Jane (from church/school), Kira (from church/school), and Juniper (from dance).

So, for her special day, Alexis went to school. Meanwhile, I helped the other kids with virtual school. After I picked her up, we went to Build-a-Bear, where she got to stuff 2 stuffed animals. She picked this super random rainbow bear and put something inside that smells like Samoan cookies (except that I think it smells like pee). She also picked Light Furry, from How to Train your Dragon. She stuffed that one with something that smells like strawberries (much better).

For snacks, I made Liege waffles, then Alexis had an accro class. When we got back, William was home, so we gave her her birthday presents. She got bath bombs, a coloring pad, and a car! The car came with a remote control, which is the best, because Alexis was really nervous about driving it.

Then for dinner we went to her favorite place: Kodo Sushi. I love my sweet girl. She's my everything!

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Alexis' 4th year pictures

Alexis got her 4 years pictures taken and they turned out so great! I'm in love! She was super silly during the photoshoot: she kept sticking her tongue out. Her tongue is out in half of the pictures, but they're still adorable.