Part of July

The kids have enjoyed helping Steve and Vallerie with some projects around their house. . .

. . . and that may or may not have something to do with the indoor treats they also get to enjoy! =)

We were very thankful for friends giving us the use of their pool in exchange for watering their garden while they were away.  The kids and I were in their pool almost every day that week, and spent the afternoon of July 4th swimming as a family before a festive dinner.

Gretchen did a great job with our patriotic dessert!

Meanwhile, my garden has produced food we can actually eat - goal achieved!!

Sunday afternoon outing to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see the lotus flowers in full bloom - amazing display of God's glorious creation!

The kids and I spent one morning exploring a new creek area at Dora Kelly Nature Park.  I'd heard about from a friend, and the adventure did not dissapoint.  We had such a great time, we insisted Ryan go with us again a few days later!

 

June

Dear friends offered us the use of their house in Luray, Virginia for the weekend.  We took off one evening and drove towards this beautiful sunset to enjoy a few nights away.  Because of my face stuff and surgeries, and then coronavirus stuff, this was the first time we'd taken a trip anywhere all year.  The trip was good on so many levels, the greatest thing being that we enjoyed a change of scenery and pace, and spent lots of time outdoors together.

Home game project: ball run.  It was easy, fun, and gave everyone a new game to play for a few days =)

With quarantine restrictions changing, our church has been able to meet again outdoors on another church's yard (thank goodness it's shaded!).  Everyone brings their own seating and masks, our service is early and not long, but we are getting to be together and hear God's word preached.  It's been great!  And we still have plenty of time for our Sunday outdoor exploring. =)

The kids and I rode the Anacostia River bike trail for the first time and somehow managed to find ourselves at District Donuts for a mid-ride treat =)

Happy Father's Day to Ryan!

My little garden is coming along!

The beginnings of an eggplant that no one else in my family will want to eat - ha!

Each of the kids picked a meal for dinner one week.  Bridgette picked breakfast for dinner, which included these delicious donut puff things that were a lot of work, but totally worth it!

I thought this reflection word art project looked cool, so I made the kids do it with me one morning.  There were mixed levels of enthusiasm and some comments about it being summer and school subjects shouldn't be required - ha!  But after we got going, everyone was glad for the time spent together.  I think.

Sisters, the sprinkler, goggles, and a made-up dance routine - the perfect summer afternoon!

May

Goodness!  Let's see if I can get caught up on photos over here in this little blog space.  Thankfully, it won't take as long since COVID happened, and there haven't been as many adventures and activities to document this summer!

Before we knew it, school was over and the kids were so used to using Zoom that they scheduled hangout time with their friends while we were all quarantining.

A good friend let us borrow his scooter for a few days and Rooke got to try out driving it himself

Uncle Steve ushered Rooke into the era of taking on the responsibility of mowing the lawn.  I'll admit, it's one of my favorite chores, so I haven't completely given up on letting him mow our lawn every time yet!

Speaking of Uncle Steve, he was quick to help me put together my first raised garden bed.  I scored three of the needed boards from the scrap wood at Lowes for $1!  Add another board, some screws, and Uncle Steve's power drill and I was up and and ready to garden in no time.  My personal goal for 2020 was to grow food we could eat, so this was the first step =)

The girls were good garden helpers

Saturday mornings in our home almost always include kid cartoons, a big breakfast and a family game.

My sourdough game is getting stronger.

Kid shenanigans in the guest bed

Our annual tradition of picking strawberries was a bit of a flop this year; we were late arriving (didn't realize the farm closed at 1:00!), and the strawberries were fairly picked over.  But there was enough to eat and still make a few jars of freezer jam.

The summer we realized that playing in water and soap on the trampoline is a major irritant to our gingers' skin - oops!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I convinced my family that I only ever want one-on-one dates with my kids for mother's day.  They are the best!  Rooke and I got sushi take-out and played Sushi Go on the National Mall.

Gretchen and I went for a bike ride to get smoothies (no photo), and Bridgette and I rode our bikes to a park she'd picked out for a lunch picnic.  

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Early on in our marriage, Ryan and I learned that me cutting his hair is not good for our relationship - ha!  With all barber shops closed indefinitely, Ryan took to cutting his own hair a couple times, and a did a pretty decent job!

With more time at home and less outside responsibilities, we finally hung curtains in our living room!

Goofballs!

What we thought would be a fairly simple DIY repair project with Uncle Steve's help quickly moved to the realization that we needed an entirely new porch - ah!  Thankfully, we now have a well-built and structurally sound porch that should last for years.

Socially distanced hangouts became the norm for a while

Some backyard work left the girls with a little clearing for a short-lived "clubhouse".

I walked with the girls to 7-11 for slurpees.  It was the first time the kids had been inside a store since quarantining.

When the quarantine rules were put in place, our church moved to Zoom meetings.  So while the weather was still cooler, we started a habit of heading out to explore a new trail after our church meeting each week.  We also found a few new ice cream shops in the process =)