COVID Summer

What a strange time we live in!  This summer was particularly weird as COVID ran rampant through our country.  We had to cancel all of our vacations, no beach, no crowds, no big hangouts or parties.  We limited out social circle and stayed safe.  I have lumped all the pics of our summer into one post.  It was pretty mundane.

Emma wearing her "mask"

Emma got mad at me and squirted lotion in my face.....good times

My wonderful mother bought me a new sewing machine.  I was so excited.

Emma ran away in the rain with Pip.  Photo taken from my porch.....

The dogs were thrilled that we were home all the time

Emma made her own lunch

She set her table.

Just look at this scrumptious meal.

Josh took Em for a little golfing

What a mess

Lots of lake time

We didn't do much for the 4th

Hankie

Awesome rattler at the Park

Emma gets a lot of treats from the neighbors as she strolls around.  This time she got date balls and popsicles.

Dog pile

The front porch is my favorite place

Myles was able to go on a beach vacay with the Wardwells!

He sent me this selfie

Myles and Emmett

What a house

Making "sand cake"

The cake!

Fish dinner

I love this kid!

We went camping and the "nice" camp group folks gave each kid paint and a rock.

Needless to say, the rock didn't have a drop of paint on it

Em in my wedding dress

She sharpied on some eyebrows.  She was surprised for a week

I sewed a bunch of kindergarten bags for Evergreen

I helped run Camp Grady at work

The campers had a little fun with critters

The cheese puff in the mouth was a nice touch

Just a view from my kitchen

Being at work is so much easier

Walking the dog

I cut and donated 12 inches of hair

Uncle Will and Leia moved to St Lucia.  This is their backyard

Porch time

Josh and a friend got a riding lawn mower for free and got it running again.

Our neighborhood friends

This girl loves some makeup

There aren't too many pics of the boys as they basically hide in the basement and play video games.  Is 2020 over yet.....

 

Waterfalls with Will

 

Uncle Will came to visit before he moved to St. Lucia.  We did a lot of waterfall wandering.  We went to Linville Falls, Chimney Rock, DuPont and Tom's Creek Falls.  Emma was our constant companion with the boys joining us here and there.  It was great to hang with my bro before he takes off for his big adventure in the Caribbean.

Hiking in Linville

Will and I both love to hunt for "manders"

I think she was tired

Chimney Rock

Me and my bro

Adoption Day

 Happy Adoption Day, Em!  Emma looks forward to this day as much as she does her birthday.  It's a special day that only she has.  She's one of a kind, fierce, funny and a total mess.  To say she keeps us on our toes is a complete understatement.  She keeps us sprinting....to save her life, or the dogs or our own.  A hot mess, I tell ya.

She drew on some eyebrows with sharpie

Wearing my wedding dress

Emma likes to wander around the neighborhood visiting her "friends".  They all give her treats.  This day, she came home with a bag of popsicles and some date balls.

This is how she wears a mask......

She's sweet....when she's sleeping

I got her a punching bag for adoption day.  It didn't last long.

Adoption Day unicorn cake.

Chop the Mop

Grady has had long hair since Kindergarten.  That's when he started letting it grow.  It's a part of who he is.  BUT when you go through two months of quarantine and don't brush it, it's a total disaster.  It was like a living creature.  I tried my best to brush it out.  I used coconut oil, detangler, conditioner, etc.  It was too dreaded to get out.  Grady made the decision to cut it.  Well, I had to cut it as salons are not open yet.  Take a look below

It was so nasty

At first I cut out all the dreads.  It was like a nest.

At first he looked like the Little Dutch Boy

They had fun with the nasty hair

Then he took a shower and I cleaned it up.

It's not great, but it will do.

Whew, that was nerve wracking.  I know how much he loves his hair!!

A Teenager in our Midst

 What a way to turn 13!  Grady's birthday was smack in the middle of COVID quarantine.  He was super bummed that he wasn't going to be able to have a party.  His friends decided to do a "parade" by our house and we had some social distancing fun.  We stayed outside and had cupcakes.  It didn't last long but it was great because Grady hadn't seen his buddies in over 2 months.  The "party" was short lived but Grady was content.  

          It's so strange to think that I am a mother to a teen when I feel like I was just a teenager myself.  While I'm so happy to witness the young adult he is becoming, it is only mere years until he will leave.  I hope we have given him the love and guidance he needs.  He's one spectacular kid.

The morning of Grady's birthday

COVID cupcakes and friends

He was so excited to see his friends that "social distancing" flew out the window for a second as he had to hug them all.

The parade arrived

Parade

Guess who was the most excited??

The Man