Summer 2020

This summer of 2020 was unlike any other. In fact it feels like it had started in March because the kids were home for so many months. We love summers in North Carolina! I love the heat and the sunshine and the beautiful flowers that bloom by our house (gardenias bloom twice for me!). But here is a quick recap mostly in regards to the kids, although it’s worth mentioning that Robert is doing great with his private office and is enjoying owning a dental clinic. 

Alex probably had one of the most eventful summers as he learned how to drive! They had to do behind the wheel lessons wearing masks and the theory lessons virtually. We hired a private company to do all of that as we knew that the school was going to be months behind on fitting him in. 

And then he passed the written test and got a permit! Robert is the main adult driving with him because he still makes me nervous;). Only once though he jumped the curb and rode on the grass for 30 feet or so.

 

Oh yes! And Alex got his first OFFICIAL job! He was not even 15 when he got hired by Chick-Fil-A. They receive so many applications (they said they hire one out 25 that apply) and they picked Alex! He loves working there although it’s a minimum wage pay till he is 16. It’s been good for him to be social and also learn how to work outside of home. 

He still does chores at home, of course. But on the side, he tries to go perform in Downtown Apex when he can. He loves it, but has been kind of tired after working till 7 pm at CFA. He makes around $40-80 PER HOUR when he goes busking, which is incredible!

Oh yes, Alex also got to participate in a rowing camp in July. He still loves rowing, thus he signed up for rowing for another season in the fall with Jordan Lake Crew. 

This post is not just about Alex, I promise.

The following pictures probably fits better with Mark’s tennis post, but here it is! One of the highlights of Mark’s summer--winning 96 Dunlop tennis balls. This is three out of four boxes that arrived on our porch one day. 

This year our neighborhood pool did open but we had a very strict cleaning routine (families took turns volunteering cleaning it) and we had to sign up in advance to visit the pool. 

Our gorgeous kids.

Robert covered his corn hole boards with Bass and Watson sticker. Somehow that diminished the kids’ desire to play corn hole😂😂😂.

Oh yes! And for the 4th of July, we got together with friends to play baseball at Kelly Road Park. Our kids turned out to be pretty good actually!!!

We were trying to avoid big crowds....of course, having many kids kind of makes it difficult. 

And then we celebrated 4th of July on our own at home...probably first time ever. 

We made good food and enjoyed each other’s company.

Apple pie from scratch???

Alex, the master of watermelon cutting! He gets lots of practice of cutting watermelon and pineapples in our house.

Oh, and of course, how can we forget Katya’s awesome gig this summer???  Katya got to work at Robert’s office as an aid/receptionist/COVID scanner/helper of what’s needed. She loved this job and people really enjoyed working with her.

 She looks particularly excited in this picture 😂😂😂

So this post showed me that I am not taking enough pictures of me and Robert and also that Mark doesn’t have lots of non-tennis pictures. 

We are so grateful for our extended family time this summer and know it has definitely changed our family dynamics. The big kids spent a lot of hours with us rather than hanging out with a bunch of friends. We know they wish things were different, and so do we, but we are accepting these (TEMPORARY) changes in life. Things will work out.