Man, who would have thought this dang pandemic would still be dragging on? I thought everyone would run out to get vaccinated…boy was I mistaken, so here we are, Covid Summer #2.
We returned from a very early summer WI trip and immediately set up our new summer swimming pool. With Covid cases down a little, we let the boys play with their friends at daycare and surprised them by setting it up before they got home. We got a pretty priceless reaction! The boys had outgrown our prior one, and we decided to sacrifice a little more lawn for the sake of summer fun. Andrew was a bit hesitant at first but within a week they were all splashing and having a great time. It took a while for the pool to warm up, so I didn’t actually set foot in it until July. The kids would splash until they were popsicles and then try to warm themselves in the sun. The swimming time got longer as the water got warmer. We definitely got our money’s worth and it should last us several years.
Mid June we masked up and made our annual pilgrimage to the chalk art festival. It happens every Father’s Day weekend although it was canceled in 2020 due to Covid. This year it was HOT (99 degrees) and although there seemed to be a few less drawings than most years, the boys still each found a favorite.
At the end of June Jason gave me a half day of peace and quite and took the boys hiking to a local waterfall called Rocky Mouth Falls. It is barely out of the valley and poor Christopher got carsick and puked before they even started. Christopher also really struggled with motion sickness during our summer WI trip. I decided to look into a new solution since he hates the motion meds and we can’t medicate him every time we drive more than 15 minutes. I found some arm bands online. Honestly I was pretty sure they were complete BS but they really seem to help Christopher a lot. We now have a set in each car and Christopher just puts them on whenever he gets in. I’m writing this months later and I don’t know that he’s been carsick since we got them even after a couple 12 hour road trips. I guess I’m sold. Maybe I’ll have to try them myself sometime.
Because of heat and record droughts, most of the fireworks in the state were canceled this 4th of July. Covid made me leery of going to crowded public fireworks display so we decided to get out of the valley with a visit to the ranch in Logan. Grandpa Garth showed them treasures and 2 out of 3 of them were brave enough to ride the rope swing across the pond (nobody fell in!). Before we headed home they even got a ride in Clarabell complete with hats. It was a nice little break summer days at home.
Have you ever been NOT looking for a project and one just falls in your lap? Well Grandma Marion acquired a dresser and asked if we would like it. My immediate reaction would have been “nope” but then we realized it was the same footprint as Andrew’s current dresser, but taller. I decided I shouldn’t pass up getting him a “big kid” dresser if it just fell in my lap. Of course one thing led to another and soon I was refinishing a dresser, followed by a headboard, followed by updated the older boys’ room. While Andrew’s room wasn’t really planned, the older boys were set to inherit the kitchen dresser, and I bought matching bookshelf and nightstand (thank you IKEA) which needed to be painted to match. So throughout the summer, along with shopping for the impending kitchen remodel, I also painted a dresser, headboard, nightstand, and bookshelf. Here are some before and after’s taken over the course of several weeks.
At the end of July Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Laura came to visit. I don’t know if we’ve had 2 visits so close together before as we had been in WI 7 weeks prior. We didn’t PLAN any projects for this visit and at first those plans worked out pretty well. We visited the Tracy Aviary, watched the kids splash in the pool and I took my mom for a birthday pedicure. Mid-visit we spent Friday at the Ranch in Logan visiting with Garth and Maydene. That’s where I got the phone call that our kitchen remodel demo would be starting Monday–2 weeks ahead of schedule. Needless to say my parents both pitched in and we got everything packed up and ready for demo day, but it definitely wasn’t the project free trip I had intended. One fun thing was that I was asked to host the annual block parts that happens during Midvale Harvest Days. Not to brag, but I was named block captain. The woman who has literally been block captain for the past 40+ years is now in her 80’s and decided to pass the baton to me. Can I put block captain on my next resume? In any case, we hosted a picnic in our driveway the day after they demo’d our kitchen and my parents got to meet all the neighbors who came.
Between the WI trip in June and the kitchen remodel starting the first week of August, summer seemed very short this year. Pretty soon it was time to enjoy the final days of daycare and get ready for school to start up again. I’ll leave all the school business for another post. Goodbye Summer 2021!
