July 2020

July 2020 ... with the fourth of July, and the 24th, but all big firework shows canceled due to Covid, there were a LOT of personal fireworks this year. Not us of course, but around both holidays the skies lit up, and the local stands reported phenomenal sales. What else was going on in July?

• New Stuff ... as Cal and Kate got married and moved into their own house, they needed a washer/dryer. Jen had the idea that they could take our old ones, and the Blackham house could get new ones. It took a little longer (Covid caused some delays in getting the new ones) but it was out with the old white ones, and new gray ones are now installed. The old fridge in the basement (the old kitchen fridge moved downstairs when we got a new one upstairs) had really been struggling ... so we replaced it. Then while we were replacing old things with new ones, Gray traded in the Sequoia for a new truck! We also were putting in new walls (water damage discovered as Callahan moved out) and prepping for new paint and carpet in the basement.
• Lake Time ... finally got the family (sans Jen/Coop) to the lake. Then Gray went three more times with work buddies.
• Family Fun ... Gray made a couple wonderful dinners of steak and chicken, and then we did burgers for the 4th (veggie burgers for the three vegetarians).  We took a trip up to Highland to see the Symphony Parade home before it opened officially and had a few game nights (Pirate, Exploding Kittens, Poetry for Neanderthals, Progressive Rummy and Racko). 
• Basketball ... Colton has stayed super busy. Clinic at the high school every Mon/Wed. Practices Tuesday evenings. Games on Saturdays. A big tournament ... Colton had 11 games (playing freshman, sophomore and some varsity) in just two days, and then it was shut down due to Covid concerns. Hit a little close to home too, with a Wolves team member testing positive, as well as a Jags basketball buddie's mother testing positive. The Wolves still went to Idaho for a tournament there.
• Out and About ... Covid not withstanding, Jen was still doing Zumba three times a week. Gray got out with work buddies a few times (dinners, comedy show). Gray and Jen hit Tepanyaki for an anniversary dinner and joined Scott's family at Hale Theater for Mary Poppins. Cal and Kate went to see a sunflower ranch ... fields of flowers! Keaton and Colton got supercuts with Aunt Olivia.
• Home Garden ... a few sunflowers at home. The hyacynth finally bloomed. The garden is growing, with tomatoes and bush beans producing a lot. Zuchinni and pumpkins struggling a bit this year. Gray has enjoyed fresh caprese (basil from the garden too) and Landon made tempura green beans.
• Other Stuff ... Coop got another dog-watching job (this dog was also named Remi!) and our Remi dog next door had puppies! Hamilton hit Disney+, so we resubscribed and watched it. There was a bomb scare nearby in SouthJordan with evacuations (didn't come this far or impact us personally) and then a plane crash in the neighborhood just to the South.  There was a big surge in Covid numbers, then mask mandates (required everywhere in public places) and lots of stress about what to do with school starting soon (not as much for our family, as Coop is doing his online again. Colton agreed to do two classes online, but that's more for basketball reasons than Covid concerns.

There were weekly reports on the Westra Write On blog that have a few more details of the day to day. 

Here's the video highlights from the month!