Disclaimer: This post is six months late but I wanted to get it into our blog. Covid killed my blogging but the catch up is coming. Stay tuned for more of the last 6 months at the Hymas house.

The kids decided they wanted to try doing public school this year even with all the crazy, so that’s what we decided to try. Technically the kids started school on September 7th-remotely. But we are counting the first day of school this year as the following Monday when they got to start in-person. They are going every other day right now which they hate, but I kind of like. My dream school was always to homeschool them for half the week and send them to school for half the week. But that didn’t exist-before Covid, anyway. Now I’m getting it a little bit. I do “Mom school” with them after they are done with their official school work and teach them stuff I want to teach them. They would rather be going in-person every day because the every other day thing is confusing and cumbersome. Half the days they don’t have much work and half the time they can’t get answers to their questions because teachers are busy teaching the other half of their students. The whole thing is ridiculous and we are all ready for every day, but I am cherishing this time with them every other day. So here are the first day pics.

I am totally in awe of what these teachers this year are having to do. They are working double and triple over time, need personal secretaries to handle all the paperwork and logistics of every other day school and many feel they are putting themselves at personal risk to teach. So, here is my front porch sign dedicated to all the teachers of 2020. We love you and are so grateful for you!

We visited a few of the many beautiful lakes here in Idaho this summer. First was Brundage Reservoir in July. This is one of our favorites now. So beautiful and serene.

Rock took each of the boys on a backpacking trip up to the Sawtooths this summer. First was Reagan up to Goat Lake.

Next was Cade up to Alpine lake. Cade took most of these amazing pictures.

Next was Levi, also at Alpine Lake.

When Rock summarized the differences between each boy’s trip this is what he said, keep in mind this is a very general summary ;-): Reagan slept the whole time, Cade took pictures the whole time and Levi looked for animals the whole time. 🙂 I love that Rock made the time to take each boy separately this summer and I hope they remember their special hike forever.

Before our little Aspen getaway, we visited with Rock’s parents in Grand Junction. On our way to CO we stopped for lunch at one of my very favorite places to eat-Shake Shack! We fell in love with this restaurant in NYC and they are finally coming out west. Yippee!

After lunch we headed up Spanish Fork Canyon only to find that the road was closed due to an accident, so we had to take an unexpected detour through Manti and some pretty amazing scenery along I-70.

Before heading to Aspen we spent a couple days in GJ. As always, we visited the two most important monuments in Grand Junction; Great Grandma Roper and the Colorado National Monument. We blew bubbles with Grandma and the kids while we visited and she was so cute, giggling like a school girl as the bubbles flew through the air. I wish I’d thought to get a picture of the kids with her. But here she is blowing bubbles.

That night we watched the sunset at the top of the ‘other’ monument. Never fails to impress!

The next day we drove up to Grand Mesa. We drove all the way out to “Lands End” to feed the chipmunks that come right up to eat out of your hand. The kids had a blast!

The Mesa was unforgettable. The view was amazing as well! So glad we got to go! When we got home that night we played a game of Apples to Apples. It was my turn and the word was Complicated. Guess which one of these cards I chose as the best definition? I know my family will get a good laugh out of this one-especially this year.

The following picture will help if you’re stuck.

On the way home to Idaho, we met up with Monica and Mason and Jess at the State Capital. It was boiling hot and we are grateful they made time to see us!

We have lots of special days in July. The 4th of July, Liberty’s birthday, Cade’s birthday, and our anniversary. Here’s a recap of our July celebrations.

4th of July

The 4th of July was more mellow this year thanks to Covid, but we still managed to celebrate. When the neighborhood canceled it’s traditional 4th of July breakfast Liberty was devastated, but she manged to put together a bike parade with her friends anyway and we had a pancake breakfast with our neighbors. That night our cul de sac fireworks were more mellow as well with fewer families involved (not a problem for me AT ALL) but there were far more fireworks going on around the neighborhood than most years, since the big shows were all canceled. I loved listening to them all night long. Happy Birthday America!

Liberty’s 10th Birthday

We kept Libby’s party small this year figuring many parents wouldn’t be ok with a big party invite. She was dying to have a pool party but with no pools open, she had to settle for a water party in the back yard. She managed to come up with a fun theme anyway. Water + Bunnies = A Merbunny party.

Cade’s 16th Birthday

For Cade’s birthday he got a super fancy computer that helps him make some pretty amazing videos for his youtube channel.

Here is an example of the cool things he is creating on his youtube channel:

He went on his first date on his birthday but I didn’t get to take a picture. I thought about going to the pond where he was paddle boarding so I could sneak a picture of him, but decided against it. He’s all signed up to take drivers ed and he now has a job at Burger King!

Rock and Kami 19th Anniversary

We drove to Colorado with the just Levi and Liberty so Rock’s parents could watch them for a night while we went to Aspen to celebrate our anniversary. Aspen is gorgeous!

After seeing the Tetons this summer I was afraid Maroon Bells might be a little anti-climatic, but they were stunning. Our pictures and even fancy ones online do not do them justice! They are huge!! So beautiful.

After Maroon Bells, we walked along a river that wound through downtown Aspen and couldn’t believe the homes nestled up next to it. Rock looked a few up on Zillow and we were looking at $20,000,000 homes! This really is where the rich and famous live-well, their winter homes anyway.

While eating a romantic dinner that night, we got a panicked phone call from Reagan and Cade who were at home alone. The upstairs toilet had overflowed without them knowing. A while later Cade was on the main floor and saw water coming out of the light just below the bathroom. A while after that, he realized maybe there was a problem in the bathroom above. By the time they found the problem, Noah could have floated an arc in the bathroom. We walked them through the cleanup process and braced for what we would find when we drove home the next day. The water made its way all the way to the basement, damaging ceilings, walls and carpet on all three levels. The good news is, the water destroyed our ugly, outdated vanity with forest green formica and matching linoleum, so insurance is paying for new ones! When they removed the toilet we found out that it’s a miracle it hasn’t happened before now-so we are getting a new toilet and we decided to go all in and do a new tub/shower too! So the bathroom remodel that was high on my list, but not #1, got moved to the top and I have spent every moment since we got home picking out toilets, tubs and tile.

And that completed our July Celebrations. Stay tuned for more summer travels and happenings.

Coronavirus killed the prom. Twice. First in March when everything was canceled. Then the Village tried to save it by offering to let every school in the area hold their prom there since it’s outside. But when the Covid numbers started to spike again and our county went back to stage 3 they canceled prom again. The kids were super bummed, but decided to go ahead with everything but the dance. So here are the pictures. Reagan had a wonderful time and I’m so happy he did.

Ah, the Tetons. I LOVE these mountains. The drive to them, the drive by the time, the drive into them. It’s all amazing, every view.

Parking was impossible in this park, but we found ways around it and even though we only got to spend part of our day here it was so worth it!

We went on a magnificent hike around Jenny Lake.

Levi kept a very close eye out for a moose, but the closest he ever came was this one.

I’ve decided they are just mythical creatures.

The Oregon Coast trip last summer went so well Alli and I decided to try another trip with the littles in June. Admittedly, our plan was ambitious for the summer of Covid, but we started out wanting to do Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and Arches. Reality hit in small doses. First we cut Arches, then Bryce and settled on just Zion. Then Covid Reality hit. To limit the number of people in the park, Zion was closing its doors as soon as all the parking spots were taken. Consequently, people were lining up before dawn just to get in. No thank you. So we decided on Yellowstone because Levi has been dying to go ever since Reagan’s trip there last year. Covid cramped our style a little bit, but not too much.

We arrived in Rexburg in the late afternoon and checked into our Airbnb armed with clorox wipes and hand sanitizer. After scouring the place (Alli is SUPER thorough) we went to dinner at Millhollow. Best sandwiches and fro-yo EVER–STILL! We couldn’t eat inside-cause Covid-and the ordering process was quite the ordeal-their drive through menu is antiquated to say the least-but it was worth it. Then we drove around campus so I could show the kids where 25 years ago I slipped on ice and dropped my planner, scattering pages all over the road, where my roommates and I sledded down a hill on a hamper lid and the apartment where I decided to go to Jerusalem.

The next day we headed for Yellowstone. Though we didn’t see nearly as many Bison as we did on Reagan’s trip, we saw plenty of animals. We even saw a bear ten minutes into the park! Sometimes we wore face masks, but most of the time we could stay far enough away from people. The kids got tired of us handing them the hand sanitizer every time we got back in the car after a stop. Luckily, there was plenty of parking and no traffic thanks to Covid.

We drove all the way up to Mammoth in the hopes of seeing elk lounging around everywhere and we were rewarded for our efforts! Levi loved it! I have got to go back to Yellowstone when their antlers are big.

We stopped to see the Prismatic Pool and then tried for Old Faithful, but missed it by a few minutes. We were all exhausted so that ended day one in Yellowstone. The plan was to do one day in Yellowstone, one day in the Tetons and then drive home the third day. However, when we headed out the next morning, we couldn’t even see the Tetons and the forecast was for rain and clouds all day. Alli had only agreed to do Yellowstone if she could spend a day in the Tetons so when we had to pull the plug on the Tetons for that day she threw a little bit of a big girl tantrum. I felt terrible and was not willing to give up on the Tetons completely, so I convinced her to go home by way of the Tetons. And after much deliberation on a farm road somewhere in Nowhere, Idaho, we decided to use the day to go see more of Yellowstone. Levi was bound and determined to see a moose, since that was the one thing Reagan hadn’t seen when he went. So back to Yellowstone we went, this time to do the top half of the park. I was happy because I LOVE this part of the park. The drive from Mammoth Springs to the Lamar Valley is breathtaking and I was excited to do it again. We decided that when driving that portion of Yellowstone you need to have the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing in the background.

All in all we saw bison, antelope and some of us saw a bear, though Alli is still bitter she missed the bear. We also saw three coyotes, two of which caused a major traffic jam until people realized they weren’t wolves. But NO Moose. Levi was holding out hope that the Tetons wouldn’t let him down. Stay tuned.

Well, it’s time to look back and remember what we did on Memorial day this year.

We decided it was time to get out of the house and take a trip. Quarantine was over and we needed to “see something other than our backyard, neighborhood and park”-as my kids put it. So we drove up to McCall for beautiful views and our favorite foods. We stopped along the river to explore.

Next stop was the McCall cemetery to see if we could find any war veterans.

McCall was the emptiest I’ve ever seen it, but there is ALWAYS a line at My Father’s Place, and this day was no different, though it was five times as long thanks to social distancing. We had to order take out and then ate at a little park. No trip to McCall is complete without a trip to Ice Cream Alley, so after getting ice cream we headed home, stopping along the way to play at the river again.

Levi tried for a solid half hour to catch one, while Liberty chased butterflies and Dad and the older boys snoozed in the car.

And that was Memorial Day 2020-remembered.

You would think that during quarantine, while we are all stuck in our houses that you could not possibly get a concussion. But little miss managed to do just that. Relaxing in the hammock reading a book, no less.

Yesterday Liberty sat up in the hammock and it flipped over depositing her on her head. It hurt a LOT. There’s not much grass left under that spot. She felt sleepy and tired the rest of the day and had a horrible neck ache and head ache. This morning she woke-up still in pain and was super sensitive to light so the Dr. wanted us to bring her in.

It was eery being at the pediatrician when it was empty. They wouldn’t let us in till they’d checked our temperatures. Sure enough the Dr. agreed it was a concussion. She sent us for an X ray to make sure her neck was ok.

Nothing is broken so we just get to sit around and do nothing and wait for her head to heal. No screens, no reading, no schoolwork. We set her up to listen to audio books so at least she has that. She is already hooked on 39 Clues which is a forever long series thank goodness.

Luckily Grandpa came by with a treat for her and she perked up a bit.

Levi has always had a long list of things he wants to do or learn. He is searching for the one thing he can be really good at. Thanks to Covid 19 he has had plenty of time to learn and practice many new skills. Note, it will look like all these things happened on the same day because Levi is wearing the same things in almost all the pictures. But they didn’t. Levi just likes his tan pants the best and he wears that sweatshirt EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you don’t believe me, you can watch as the grass in each picture is a little greener. lol.

Levi set up his own exercise program and gets up each morning to work out, read his scriptures and shower all without any reminders or nagging from me. He has spent a lot of time learning about World War II, he taught himself Morse code and he decided to clean out our garden boxes so he can plant a garden. He’s been reading up on how to grow tomatoes and carrots. Levi got Liberty excited too and she is going to plant strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I don’t know exactly when we will be able to go buy said plants for planting however, as the lines outside Home Depot wrap around the building due to crowd control inside the store, and the parking lot is full all the way to the back. Thanks to Covid 19 the only thing people can do right now is work on their yards and houses. That’s at least one company that is doing well.

Levi’s garden is admittedly science, but he has also learned all kinds of disgusting details about any number of insects and animals that he likes to share at the dinner table to gross out his mother. Next time you are with him you should ask him about why ants are so cool.