I was thinking this would be our first full week back at their old school but that won’t be until next week due to the holiday.

Elliott went back today and Emmett is back tomorrow. I think I already shared that Elliott goes to school Monday – Thursday. Emmett goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s already been a more positive experience than the previous online setup.

Elliott is getting much more interaction with his teachers and friends. Emmett’s in the same boat. I’ve overheard Elliott being very involved in class and talking with everyone, much the same way he would if he was physically present.

Emmett has been working on assignments on his off days and seems to be doing quite well.

Today we decided to try working outside. Elliott had PE and thought doing it in the yard might be a better experience. We setup his Chromebook on a table in the yard and he did his workout with his class.

Emmett was working on some art at the same time. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were absolutely horrible and we quickly admitted defeat and finished up inside.

The mosquitoes and gnats have been really bad this year. You walk into the yard and they swarm on you.

I’m not sure what makes mosquitoes worse on some years but it’s been a rough one.

Anyway, we had a pretty good day. I have some really awesome interviews setup this week and I’m finishing up Friday’s episode with my friend Amy Nielsen. This was the very first full episode I recorded with the Rode Rodecaster Pro. I think this was actually recorded over a month ago. I’m pretty far behind right now. I’d recorded ads and some other odds and ends but this was the first time I’d used it for a full episode.

OMG this has made my life so much easier. It’s cut post time significantly. While I still need relative quiet while recording, the built in noise gate means there’s less background noise to deal with in post.

I feel pretty good about life in this exact moment and I’m hoping that’s just the beginning of what’s shaping up to be a decent week.