Summer part 1

It seemed like in our small town, the virus wasn't such a bid deal.  The shut-down happened way early, unnecessarily early.  I'm not sure what good it did.  We seem to experience things a little later here, but whatever.  As things reopened and we felt okay to hang out with people again, we did somewhat.  Bruce went to a birthday party, and we had another piñata party at our home for a friend.   We went out to eat then realized afterwards that that would most likely be the last time for a while.  Still not a great idea to be out in public... as my husband works at the hospital here he was experiencing cases first hand.  We chose to continue taking precautions and always wear masks in public, if we had to go out in public.  We hoped everyone would do the same and life could go back to normal sooner than later....

Trying to keep busy during the summer and I found this on my porch one day!  Yay for sidewalk chalk!  I love these sweet love notes.  Okay so this ball of dough and the other pics are from when we tried out homemade pasta.  Success!  It was so delicious that now we are spoiled and don't want regular box pasta!  John found the recipe with Tasty I believe.  We've adapted many recipes from them so, thank you Tasty!  

We love running to Sonic for quick refreshing happy-hour drinks!  Yes, if you're wondering, EZ is in his pajamas in this Sonic drive-in pic.  Since we aren't really going places, the kids stay in their pajamas pretty much everyday.  These other pics are from EZ's major dentist visit.  He had a rotted spot in his molars so we took him in and they shaved down one tooth and put on a silver filling.  They couldn't save the other tooth so they pulled it.  Poor kid had a hard time but he did great!  He wasn't sure about a silver tooth but once he saw it, he really thought it awesome, and he's totally right!  He also thought it was so strange and cool how half of his face was numb!  We had a good time trying to make him smile since only half his mouth could do it normally.  Ha Ha!

What would summer be without swim lessons?  We were nervous about this too but it's outdoors so we felt okay about it.  The kids always have a blast!  Bruce is getting better and better and EZ is nearly pro!

Pool noodle fights!  

Summer also brings tiny creatures.  I'm so glad this kid likes finding snakes and isn't afraid to touch them, the little ones at least.  Our peach trees are starting to bloom!  We did lose a branch though and my oh my was there a lot of lost peaches on it.  So sad.  The weight of those peaches can really be hard to watch.  Gotta remember to do some good trimming when winter comes.  

Once the kids saw the Sonic movie, they became obsessed!  We bought it and they watch it nearly every day.  They even have a Sonic video game they play all the time too.  EZ really loves the Knuckles character and so wanted a plush toy of him.  We had him earn one and he jumped at the chance.  What a champ!  Look at the pure joy on his face!  Okay, so Father's day!  We didn't get John anything super great this year, he doesn't care that much about presents.  He just cares about being treated right and having a good meal, or two.  It's the only holiday I stress about because it's the only holiday he really cares about.  I so love it, he totally earns to be treated like a King.. I just can't seem to relax enough to enjoy it too!

So we play a lot of video games when school is out and these dudes discovered the fun of Punch Out and Street Fighter.  This particular day they stripped off their shirts and pretended to knock each other out.  They even would "crash" in the way the characters do on the game.  It was so fun and awesome, I had to get pics!  It shocks me a bit how violent the games that I played as a kid are... I have to remind myself it's not really a bid deal.  I do have boys after all!  They duel daily regardless, haha!

Can we pretend everything is fine?

No.  The answer to that question is, no.  Sadly, if we act like nothing is wrong and we don't take precaution, more people will get sick and die.  I refuse to be responsible for someone else's death because of carelessness or stubbornness.  It seems like the longer this virus is around, the more we can learn about it.  Terrifying as it is, it didn't seem quite as frightening to go out or visit with people.  I mean to say that once the panic phase cooled down a bit, people relaxed a bit too.  Some maybe too much!  We did loosen our tight grip just a bit.  We knew we could still be safe by being smart, careful, and cautious.  At first it was like, all we know is that it spreads rapidly and the only way to prevent spread is to stay indoors away from one another.  That seemed to help for a bit, but then people began suffering in several other ways.  Job loss, depression, loneliness, trips cancelled, conspiracies and fake news all over the place.  As well as many other thoughts and opinions, (I don't mean to leave anything out, I'm just giving a few examples).  For me personally, not only did I start to feel divided physically from the people I love, I have also felt divided because of beliefs.  Either you take it too seriously or not seriously enough!  I won't get into it because everyone already knows.  It has been frustrating on levels I don't think anyone could foresee.  We were all hoping it would die off in the summer heat, kind of like the flu.  The flu isn't nearly as present in the summer as it is in the winter.  Well sadly, that turned out to not be the case.  We saw the number of cases and deaths spike and dip and spike and dip.  So, now that it was officially summer break and we couldn't make any big plans, we had to get creative!  You can tell from the next bunch of photos that we took a lot of funny pictures, built Legos, played with toys, made and frosted cookies, experimented with new foods and meals!  EZ also learned how to ride his bike!  7 may be a little later than other kids but here's why: we moved to dirt town!  There aren't near enough paved roads to practice on!  We just didn't push it because we weren't sure how to... but after living here long enough the kids are more familiar with street safety now.  Plus, what else were we gonna do??  We also had some visitors!  It was a little strange when both my brother and my sister called one week after the other asking if they could come visit.  Of coarse I am always game for family get togethers... but.... should we??  Is it smart?  Is it safe?  Probably not.. but you also gotta live!  Small groups are safer than large ones!  Life in general is a risk I suppose, and as long as you've been careful, then we'll take our chances.  It seems crazy to me now but so far, so good!  Count our blessings right?

Aaron and Janet came one weekend and Jake and Cody came the next weekend!  Bruce really navigated toward his Aunt Cody.  She's great with him too.  She played so many games with him.  They even played Nintendo together and she totally dominated, which left Bruce in hysterical tears for a time.  It was hilarious, and a teeny bit sad.  Their trips were quick but wonderful.  All this isolation really makes a person appreciate the little time we do get.  I only hope we get to do it again very very soon, but with even more people!

Look at that, I busted out another post!  Hope to keep them rolling.  No more excuses!