Monthly: July 2020 (& Covid Vacation)

July was good for us. The weather was reliably warm and beautiful. We continued to get out to our favorite outdoor Boise spots. We swam a ton. We were pretty lazy. We are also stressed about our upcoming travel plans and a couple of cases of coronavirus at Todd's work - we had to reschedule our trip to be safe, and take a Covid test, but we were able to go!

A beautiful day on the Boise River.

Did you notice Carolina's hair above? She had been wanting to cut it for a while and I made her wait until after the dance recital.

Before:

After:

This wasn't the same day, just the same outfit - she had 4-5 inches taken off!

The cousins came for a visit so the kids were VERY happy even though we couldn't have the traditional sleepover, and play had to be limited to outdoor activities for safety.

Whit's 5th birthday!

It was a good time on campus, with lots of toys, and Chick-fil-a nuggets!

The next day we were on our way to California. After a negative Covid test we were greenlit and headed for the Michaelson's in Riverside first. It was SO lovely to be somewhere else after feeling very stuck in Idaho for so long. It felt so wonderfully normal! We still ate fish tacos, and got açaí bowls, and went to the beach!

There are few things better than beach days with friends.

This one lost her tooth sitting right in this spot! 

I just can't get enough palm tree!

We can't not go to Disneyland when in California, even if it's closed. We got to shop and eat treats, and it was definitely a worthwhile stop even if it felt so strange.

 *sniff*

So strange to see it completely empty :(

On to Bakersfield! It was very hot - so they got out the slip-n-slide! It was fun to watch the others do it :)

 We had such a good time, all the fun was packed into a quick visit, complete with lots of kitty time, really good Mexican food and coffee, and thrifting.

Our last stop was South Lake Tahoe for a night, we were going to try and make it two but there were SO MANY people there that weekend for whatever reason, it was beyond busy and frankly it was a bit stressful. We were able to get out of town and find some peaceful spots, but we weren't too sad to head home. 

We were really SO glad we got to go, and not quite ready to be home yet, but it always feels good to come back when you've been gone a while.

With the looooong summer coming to a close, I felt a lot of feelings. I was so thankful to have the extra time at home, with my family, thankful to have been granted my health and my paycheck throughout this whole time. I also felt disappointed in myself, I feel like I wasted it a bit. We did go on lots of walks, and swims, and did movie marathons, and were together ALL the time, but I could've done more intentionally with my kids, and I should've. Now that the free time is over, I'm wishing I could do it all over again and do it better. It's so hard to think that Liam is in Middle School and pretty soon his time is going to be taken up by sports or clubs or friends, it feels a bit like this was his last summer as a true kid. I wish I'd enjoyed it more.

July 2020 Video