July Happenings

July is halfway over. We are still social distancing, and we have officially surpassed the point of boredom. This too shall pass...that seems to be my motto these days! 

July is feeling a bit more normal in some ways. We went to a graduation party...without the littles. We celebrated the 4th of July with a few close friends who are at the same level of social distancing as we are...AKA working from home and not going anywhere. And we're spending our afternoons and evenings in the pool...even though it's a 2 foot inflatable pool in our backyard!

I'm sure the rest of the month will pass by quickly. We're going to reinstate our weekly family hikes, Grant's birthday is on Friday, cheerleading is supposed to start at the end of the month, we're going to try to plan a beach vacation for September, and we have big decisions to make about school. I just wish this was a typical July full of fun outings and excitement over upcoming birthdays, reunions, and family vacations. But really, there's nothing typical about this July...

July Happenings

Wednesday July 1st

July kicked off with lots of excitement. My great niece, Aubrey, was on her way up to visit. If you've been around for a while, you might remember Aubrey. She spent a lot of time with my family, and was like one of my kids. Two years ago, my niece moved her family to Georgia, and we were devastated. Lexie and Aubrey are best friends, and they were used to seeing each other almost weekly during the school year, and daily during the Summer, so it was especially difficult for them.

The 1st was a typical Wednesday with all of us at home, but Lexie gave me hourly updates on Aubrey's travel progress. That evening we had to go to my sister's house - the first place we have gone other than my parent's house since the pandemic began - so Lexie could surprise her. We were all in tears as the girls hugged for the first time in nearly a year! 

Thursday July 2nd

Just an ordinary, messy Thursday at home, with lots of time spent outdoors. Of course, Lexie spent the day with Aubrey!

Friday July 3rd

On Friday, Lexie went swimming with my sister and Aubrey, the little boys went to my parent's house, and we went to a graduation party for a close family friend, at a nearby park. It was very strange, because we had to wear masks around other people, but our dear friends did a great job setting up a party during a pandemic. Even the emoji cookies were wearing masks! It was so weird to go to a big event without our little kids, but the break was so nice. For the first time in years, I didn't have to take a diaper bag or chase a kid around. Grant and I even managed to escape for a quick walk on the walking/running trail!

Saturday July 4th

We had a 4th of July celebration at home with a few close friends, followed by fireworks. (Here's my 4th of July recap!)

Sunday July 5th

We spent the day cleaning up from our picnic, then we visited my parents. We were obviously too tired for pictures!

Monday July 6th

Grant had the day off on the Monday following the 4th of July. I only took one pictures, so I can't even remember what we did!

Tuesday July 7th

Another day with our crazy crew! I *think* I went grocery shopping at some point. The days just seem to blend together!

Wednesday July 8th

Coen turned 16 months old! I can't believe it! Lily had tumbling, so I sat in the car with 3 of my 5 kids, then we dropped Lexie off at my sister's house so she could spend time with Aubrey. She pretty much spent almost every day with Aubrey!

Thursday July 9th

Officially a trouble maker!

Friday July 10th

We spent another Friday at home, and as usual, there's never a dull moment! 

Saturday July 11th

Grant and Dylan went on a little road trip to explore Centralia, PA. I was supposed to spend the day visiting my parents, but they might have been exposed to the virus, so they told us to stay far away.  (They're fine!) Lexie went to my sister's house to help Aubrey babysit my nephew's three kids, so it was just me and the littles all day. We played outside, went through a few boxes, Lily wrote on her baby brother with invisible ink, we ordered pizza, and had a little movie night before everyone came home!

Sunday July 12th

We had a quiet day at home, and spent most of the day outdoors. Lexie was gone for the day again!

Monday July 13th

Monday is usually my grocery shopping day. I haven't taken Coen or Liam into public since March 13th, so Lexie and Dylan keep an eye on Liam and Coen while Grant works from home. I now shop for our elderly neighbor, too, so shopping, delivering, unloading, and putting away takes up hours of my day. It's an undertaking! 

Tuesday July 14th

We spent the day at home, and I had to rush to take some photos for sponsored content before Dylan went skateboarding and Aubrey came to our house to hang out. 

Wednesday July 15th

Wednesday was filled with laundry, tumbling, and outdoor play. Lexie spent the evening with Aubrey, and we had a quiet night at home. 

Thursday July 16th

Grant had a busy day working from home, so I tried to keep the kids outside all day. It was in the nineties, so water play was our only escape! The kids had a fun day outside. (Spoiler Alert: Coen still hates water!) At 10:00 that night, I ran down the road to pick up Lexie from my sister's house, and it was still 85 degrees outside!

Friday July 17th

We spent Friday visiting my parents, and we took a special guest with us. It felt like old times again, with Aubrey visiting with us. It was a great day until the very end, when we had to say goodbye to Aubrey. We're praying we get to see her again soon. FaceTime is nice, but a year without seeing her in person is far too long! When we arrived home, we were all in tears, so it was a sad night in my house.

Saturday July 18th

Everyone moped around my house on Saturday since Aubrey had left. We tried to cheer everyone up at the end of the day with a waffle bar and lots of snacks. It kind of worked!

Sunday July 19th

We had a quiet day at home. It was super hot and humid again, so the kids spent the afternoon in the pool, and Coen finally realized it was fun! We did some yard work, and I just *might* have caught a potholder on fire, but it's all good. It ended with our little adventurous climber trying to follow in Liam's footsteps, and falling off the couch. He cut the corner of his eye, and it's really swollen. He's sleeping now, so we'll see how that looks when he wakes up! A not so dull start to another dull week!

We might not have done much over the past two and a half weeks, but we made a lot of memories! We're nearing the countdown to the start of the school year, and I'm really dreading it. It's going to be so different this year, and I kind of wish it could just stay Summer until this pandemic finally eases!

How is your July going?