Scott is "Unemployed"

Scott's last day of work at Petroleum Services was March 13. The timing was perfect as we went into lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16. We had multiple trips planned between March 13 and September 1 when we are anticipating that Scott will return to work. None of the trips happened. Instead, we have mostly stayed at home. Nonetheless, his official last day of work/pay at Petroleum Services was June 30. He had to turn in the company car and replaced it with a Ford Explorer. So, here we mark the next chapter - not exactly sure what that's going to look like. We are going with the flow. Seems to be the theme of 2020.

Ozarks

We were scheduled to be in Europe visiting our friends from June 19 to July 1 but COVID-19 had other plans so we decided to rent a house in the Ozarks with two other families instead. 

On the way to the Ozarks we dropped Bo off at Grandma's and Papa's and celebrated father's day. 

Happy Father's Day to Scott!

Our friends have a condo and massively impressive boat in the Ozarks. They were kind enough to give our entire crazy crew a ride. 

Lunch at Dog Days. 

A competitive game of mini-golf.

The house we rented had a private dock which made it easy for us to rent a pontoon for a couple of days. These poor boys were the first to try out the tube and the ones to discover that it was underinflated - which caused them both to sink. Whoops! 

Popsicles while waiting for the tube to be inflated. 

Back to Dog Days for lunch and this time a quick swim. 

View from our rented house. 

Lots of dock fishing! 

Cousin Week

One benefit of a pandemic is that mostly everything is canceled. We took advantage of the free time and sent the kids to Grandma's and Papa's for the week with their cousins. Lots of fishing, catching frogs, swimming, ice cream and fun! I joined the chaos for a day, bringing along Evy's BFF Laela and we enjoyed Uncle Dennis's pond. 

Will Turns 6!

Will chose Bluebird Cafe for his birthday breakfast. This is the first time in 3 months that we have been to a restaurant due to COVID. We sat outside and the sun was in his eyes! 

We are still trying to maintain some social distancing so we had only the Grandparents over to celebrate Will's birthday. 

Remote control car! He has wanted one since playing with our friend Dillon's cool car. 

We rented a 14' waterslide for the weekend and of course Cade and Graham were in on the action. 

So much fun playing with his new car.

Of course Will requested a Fortnite cake. 

Patio party.

On Saturday the Illinois cousins came for a visit. So fun!

Will’s Six-Year-Old Birthday Interview

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Blue

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Bluebird Café – bacon and pancakes, hash browns.

Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Graham and Cade

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A:  Play Fortnite

Q: What is your favorite song?

A:  Metallica

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: Candy - sour skittles, sour patch kids. Ice Cream

Q: What is your favorite drink?

A: Shirley Temple

Q: What is your favorite show or movie?

A:  Fortnite videos on YouTube

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Xbox controller, bike and RipStick.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A:  Go to Adventureland

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: Adventureland

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: The Cool Bean by Jory John

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A:  I am not sure about that. A professional gamer.  

Curfew

As if 2020 was not already a crazy challenging year. Last week a black man named George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. The unnecessary and brutal death was caught on camera and sparked outrage nationwide. Peaceful protests have been held across the country as Americans speak out about the systemic racism that continues to plague our country. Many of these peaceful protests have turned into violent riots and then looting late into the night. Last night in Coralville the riots turned violent and windows were smashed at a few businesses and the riots went to the mall threatening to break in and loot the stores. So tonight, for the first time in my life, we are under a curfew. Everyone is to be in their house from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Businesses that are just reopening following the COVID shutdown are now closing early, gyms are canceling classes and we are essentially in lockdown again. This year is psycho.