The First Month of Summer | June 2020

We're still deep in the muck of virusing in our state, with the addition of required face masks. But enough things had opened up this month [Yellowstone NP, Bogus Basin, Lewis and Clark Caverns] that I thought it might be worth taking a road trip with the kids.

I could probably really happily live a #vanlife...hiking, biking, eating, sleeping, swimming... but my two boys crave the comforts of home [aka WiFi and friends]. So there is a bit of tension to our summertime -- me wanting to adventure and escape the humdrum and them not necessarily wanting that at all. You've probably heard me say all this before. It's like the record player that got stuck.

We compromised [I think] with one ten day trip.

But before I forget, let's mark Ezra's 11th birthday in time. He ordered a fancy mouse for himself [who knew clicks per second would be so important?] and then daddy bought him a super cool chair [he really wanted one like this!!]. No cake, just Oreos. I had to work for most of the day and we're still not having people over for parties, so not much birthdaying to report sadly. But he did turn eleven!!

We did quite a few more bike rides with the kids this month, because I set that goal for ten rides!! Goal setting helps!! If you count our Fourth of July ride on the Boise Greenbelt, then we met our goal, but really there were only nine rides in June. Not bad! Now, to keep it up... They are both great bikers, but still lack the motivation to think they LIKE biking.

We've also played a decent amount of frisbee golf this month, but that doesn't mean my skills have greatly improved. I still huck it with all my might and watch with surprise to see where it goes. Other people seem to have a relationship with their disc in which communication is sent and received and the frisbee actually does what the player wants it to do. This is a mystery.

Also in June, we celebrated the last day of school, Father's Day, and went on a fun hike to a waterfall. This finishing of grades business is pretty weird. Never do my kids or my students seem to me to be old enough for their grade until at least half way through the year. Ezra in 6th grade?? Peter in 8th?? Nope. Not yet. They still seem solidly in 5th and 7th territory. But I know they will mature and my perspective with change.

Okay, so we went on a little trip, sandwiched on both ends with visits with grandparents. We saw a coyote, several buffalo, a couple trumpeter swans, lots of ground squirrels, three bears and some wolves [in captivity], lots of elk and moose, and many, many people who had never seen the aforementioned creatures before.

We spent too much time in the car, remedied only by Trader Joe's ginger cookies ["they help my tummy feel better, mommy"] and Costco's dried mangos. Peter declared that he never wants to take a road trip ever again. But gas was cheap!! Almost always less than $2.50/gallon! Small consolation? Maybe.

We also saw lots of bubbling, hot water, some of it shooting 80+ feet into the air! It was cool to see geysers erupting that weren't scheduled to erupt at that time, but we were lucky enough to be there just then. The boys were NOT thrilled with the sulphery smell, and spent most of our boardwalk time poking and pinching each other. They just aren't really into looking at things... LOL

Okay, sit back and enjoy the rest of the slideshow...

Our last destination before heading home was Boise, Idaho. I had heard about Bogus Basin, which apparently has cool skiing, but also lift-served mountain biking and a mountain coaster!! Yes, they do! The coaster is very cool [kinda $$ though] and we took it up and down 15 times!! Ezra said, "finally mom, you planned something fun!"  : /

Unfortunately, the mountain biking trails are built for people with better bikes [full suspension] and a lot more courage [you gotta hit those jumps and corners fast for them to work]. We were hoping for more chill. Buzz tried a blue run for his first time down and it ended badly, making it his first and last run on the day. I didn't see him fly over the handlebars, but I guess he crashed pretty well. A stranger helped him down and we met him at the bottom, still in tears. Poor guy. Even an hour later, after ice and ibuprofen, he had trouble walking. He's still sore, four days later. We'll stick to our local trails, thanks!

So here we are, front end of July, not exactly looking forward to August and not sure how to make this month awesome either. What a year!! 2020, you can go right back where you came from!!

We did grab 2 out of 3 goals in June [biking and pictures], but our eating habits haven't really changed at all. Except we're trying to find ways to eat all the squash coming out of our garden! The fresh raspberries aren't bad either!

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July Goals
When I asked the boys what our goals should be, Ezra replied "ten things with friends!" You can tell who the extrovert is in this family. Peter doesn't really set goals, he just gets things done... or doesn't...

1) I'd like to ride 10 "double days" [that means two 16 mile loop trails]
2) I think we could aim for 5 outdoor activities with friends along to help satisfy Ez
3) The shed really needs to get painted and I might have time for that

We'll do what we can!! Have a wonderful month!