We continued the summer in a semi-quarantine. There wasn't a stay at home order, but there was a mask mandate and the virus kept growing instead of shrinking so we mostly stayed home.
For the 4th of July we got a set of fireworks since many of the fireworks were canceled.
Throwing the poppers...
Sparklers!
It was cool because so many people were doing fireworks at home that we saw a bunch in the sky!
We celebrated Linus' birthday a little late since we were in quarantine during his birthday. It was a beautiful day and we played in the sprinkler and threw water balloons.
Grandma liked the sprinkler too!
Grandpa Rikli taught some fishing classes to us over the summer after he retired. Here we are practicing casting...
We celebrated Grandma's birthday!
Sam took some pictures of his friend Pluto.
We went to visit Julie, Jared, Elijah and Rosalie. Here we are getting the sprinkler all set up...
Joey had a great time being silly with all of Rosalie's things. Hairbows for everyone!
He pulled his shirt up to make himself have an Elsa head.
Camp at Pine Lake was different this year but still fun! We stayed in a cabin with G&G, and this time John got to come see what camp was like.
Sam made himself right at home.
Sam did the dishes several times during our stay.
Joey did the vacuuming...
We had some beautiful weather!
Group picture...
Grandma tried kayaking for the first time. She got a little too close to the trees so Sam and John rescued her.
The boys got the wiggle mat to themselves so they made the most out of wrestling on it.
The lake has so much water that the beach is pretty much gone. Sam made do in the volleyball court.
Joey too!
Grandma came to help too.
We celebrated John's birthday while we were there since he was going to be on his hunting trip during his birthday.
Joey relaxing on the last day...
Funny story, Uncle John told us the wrong day for Olivia's graduation party so G&G and us showed up the day before the actual party. While we missed seeing the others, we had a great visit and the boys enjoyed the pool!
Rosalie had a water inflatable for her birthday. The boys went down it over and over.
Sam went to the woods with Dad to do some work (and be apart from Joey for a little bit!)
Joey was too old for attending VBS this year, but he helped prepare materials for the packets by cutting lots of strips of paper.
John and Joey did a bike ride to the Capitol and back. It was 27 miles.
And they're off! You can also see our road under construction. We got all new pipes, sidewalks and of course road. It was a VERY long project and felt like it would never end, but the end result is great.
Sam was making up one of his VBS projects...
The boys and I did a 5K for church to raise money for Sunshine Place. Here is our starting line...
When we got back, Sam and I went in the pool. Sam's friend got first use of the floaties.
We went to Westside after not having been to a park in many months. Sam was so happy!
We did a trip to the zoo while John was on his hunting trip. It was nice to get out somewhere.
We went to the beach in Lake Mills because Sam really wanted some sand to play in. It was a beautiful day and not a lot of people. We went to the beach we normally go to and it was super crowded so we drove to the one you have to pay for and that was much more empty, and they weren't collecting payment so it was a double win!
Maebel and Grandma playing Chutes and Ladders!
We went fishing early one morning and stopped and got smoothies on the way home. Sam approved!
Maebel turned 5! We celebrated with clenching (Linus' term for sword fighting) and playing outside (Nerf gun fight and stomp rockets).
I think this was the last time in the pool for the year. It was pretty chilly, but the boys wanted to do some fancy football catches.
The first day of school. School was all virtual and is through January at least.
Independent reading time for Joey...
Sam is doing a pre-recorded lesson...
Joey was teaching Grandma some basketball pointers. She was a good student!
Joey with his new desk doing some virtual learning (and telling Mom to get out).
The boys both got does when they went cross bow hunting. Sam was hunting with Grandpa and Joey with Dad.
We met Linus and Maebel at the park to play. We had a great time!
Linus got an ice cream cone for the first time. His facial expressions were hilarious!
The kids checked out the lake across the road from the ice cream shop. We realized that Maebel and Linus hadn't really been that close to a lake before. They loved the sand by the water.
All of a sudden it was going to be Joey's birthday. He asked for a gaming chair, and the gaming chair came a week before his birthday and was discovered on the porch by Joey so he got his present early. That is one big problem with quarantine, we are all almost always home so there is no hiding anything!
