June Joys

School is winding down down down. There are still a few more things to be done before school is officially out for the summer, but it is rapidly waning. This week we had some oddly cool weather, with some storms and humidity. It made for some dynamic sky views--my favorite. 

On Monday my adult sized scooter came, so Jeff and I were able to enjoy scooter rides together. That same day, our ward primary had a kids' virtual talent show where each child could perform and share a video on our Facebook group or create art and share a picture of it. Jay played one of his favorite piano songs from Lord of the Rings. Rose did a flip on the trampoline. Amber drew a picture of a rainbow. It was fun seeing what talents the other kids in our ward shared, and helped us feel just a little more connected. 

On Tuesday, Rose lost her backpack somewhere outside. The kids have been playing a make believe survival game where they pack backpacks and hike around the fields and hole up in the neighbor's tree house. I don't know many more details about the game, but apparently at some point Rose left her backpack down by the small pond about half a mile from our house. One of Jay's friends saw it and told Rose, but Rose couldn't find it and she was exceedingly upset about it. And of course this crisis was happening while I was trying to work on revising my book. After much tribulation (aka when she had drained her mother's patience sufficiently), Rose finally found her backpack. Our bishop, who lives near the pond in question, had found the backpack and saved it from the elements.

On Wednesday, we enjoyed lots of outside time in the beautiful weather. I ran 5 miles, rode my longboard 1 mile, scootered a mile with Amber and Rose, and scootered another mile with Jeff. Good weather makes being outside a joy.

On Thursday, the weather was patchy, shifting back and forth between sun and clouds and drizzle and humidity. I ordered a Costco fresh same day delivery to sustain us through the rest of the month. Just like my previous Costco order, it was such a decadent treat to have the groceries delivered to my door without all of the hassle of driving 40 minutes and hoisting the heavy cart through the lines while wearing a mask. Jay went to his buddy Ian's birthday swim party next door. 

On Friday, we had our final day of easy-quarantine before our self-imposed family quarantine. My siblings are convening at my parents' house in Denver in early July. We didn't feel good about bringing our Yakima county COVID-19 epicenter to their house without doing something drastic. We decided to do a  self-quarantine for the two weeks before we drive to Denver. The only change to the way we've managed life for the past 3 months is that Jay's buddy Ian will not be allowed to come inside our house, and Jay will not go into their houses. We decided that playing outside with friends is fine. However, we will not go to any stores for two weeks. Hence the Costco delivery. 

On Saturday, our official family self-quarantine began. I hope it's enough. The kids have already started praying that we "won't annoy each other on purpose and that we will be nice." It's funny because not much is different with our self quarantine. But the mental aspect is real!

These country girls, in their boots and big brother's old shorts.

Jay likes to go on walks for his "outside time." He is also still diligently running a mile five days a week. I ran a mile and a half with him on Friday!

Midday scooter date! We love quarantining together! And our adult sized scooters! They are seriously so much fun to ride. We only grow old when we stop playing!

Puffy fluffy white clouds to the east in our backyard view.

I  love standing on the back side of our house and breathing in that minty-fresh vista.

The brown hills to the north had massive cloud shadows on them! 

Amber's rainbow.

Amber adores playing in the sink. We keep getting behind on dishes. We need to do them every day and a half, but loading the dishwasher every day seems wastefully sparse, and waiting a full two days is too much.

Virtual piano lessons continue through the end of June.

The kids spend long hours in Jay's room writing spells and inventing all kinds of... stuff for a Dungeons and Dragons-type game they are inventing with their cousins. They have long FaceTime phone calls with Steve and Dan (who live in Missouri) wherein they plan and play and talk. I love cousin-buddies!

Moody sky on my morning canal run.

Looking across a mowed field towards Sunnyside.

HELLOOOOO, Costco on my doorstep! We got pretty much everything.

Amber has discovered a large mulberry tree out back and spends lots of time doing her best to reach reach reach the berries for a sweet snack.

Rose loves to build intricate mixed-media castles. Amber loves to help and watch.

Rose discovered a long lost cache of gum and started sharing it with Amber. Amber hasn't swallowed any yet, even though she's never had gum before. I personally detest gum--all of the smacking and chomping chewing noises are enough to make me lose my mind. But then again, I struggle to sit at the table while my children are eating anything. It's a personal problem. JUST CHEW WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED!

Rose's friend put a homemade ladder against this tree and Rose makes great use of it. The paved pathway behind our house leads to this random park-like grassy yard next to the canal. The girls love to scooter or bike out to it and climb trees. They tried explaining the game they play out there, but I can't remember enough of the details. What I wonder is how long before they take the ladder and carry it a quarter mile over to the mulberry tree for some serious snacking!