Week one of Camp Johanik was so much fun, we decided to extend it another week. Week two was not quite as eventful as the first week, but everyone enjoyed the cousin time just as much!

We had family over to celebrate Jeremy’s birthday. We stayed (mostly) socially distant.

Jeremy was careful not to blow too hard on the candles!

We girls put on our face masks and made a trip to Costco to get some food for the week. Of course, we had to stop and try on hats. As soon as they put the hats back on the shelf, we saw the sign that said, “Do not put on hats.” Oops.

On Hannah’s final day with us, we went on a bike ride to visit Derek at work. Peter had a football workout, so he had to miss out on the ride.

We arrived and caught Derek just as he was about to begin his lunch break.

After a brief rest,

we rode to DQ for ice cream cones. It gave just enough of an energy boost to make it back home.

After dinner that night, we started up the fire pit.

While Jim and Ruth got the fire going, the rest of us threw the frisbee. See the dog? She laid right at my feet the entire time.

Then it was time to break out the marshmallows to make s’mores.

These two are too cute…

Molly may have had the most fun of all, for there were so many dropped graham crackers and marshmallow bits. Jeremy made sure she was well-hydrated.

But seriously, in almost every picture I took, Molly was in the background with her snout to the ground, scrounging for sweet morsels.

Resting a moment with Peter.

As the sun set lower, Peter broke out the guitar and played while the fire died down.

It was a good end to a great two weeks with Hannah!

It all started with Minecraft. Cousin Hannah was FaceTiming from Michigan with these guys while they played on the common server. They began tossing around the idea of her coming here for a week. The idea turned into reality, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa driving her here from there. We called it Camp Johanik.

We introduced Hannah and Alyssa to Nertz. And also to the fierce competitiveness of our family.

The timing of Hannah’s arrival coincided with Jake and Tiffany stopping here for almost a week on their way to their new home in Ohio. Everyone waited eagerly to see them pull up with the UHaul and the Kia.

Jake and Tiffany kept the option open to stop overnight somewhere in Nebraska, or even Iowa, since they were driving the long 15 hours separately. But as the hours ticked on, they continued to feel good and full of enough energy to make it all the way to West Chicago. We were all very impressed–and glad they made it!

The next morning, Jim came downstairs to this sad sight:

Was someone sick, he wondered. He asked the unknown sleeping person if they were alright. When he got no response, he quietly sat in his chair for devotions so as not to disturb her. When Derek came downstairs, he walked gingerly around her. When I saw her, I observed that some things didn’t look right–the bulge at the hip and the floppy sock among them. When I lifted the hood, lo and behold the “person” was stuffed with blankets and clothes. Hannah and Ruth had had some fun the night before and loved hearing how we all responded to their stuffed person.

The rest of the day, our new friend relaxed in the recliner.

For dinner, Jim went all out and made 19 rolls of sushi. Making food for others is a love language of his.

And eating such prepared food is the love language of many around this table!

Peter had workouts to complete for football, and Hannah joined him for a couple of them.

We did a lot of playing in the backyard.

One morning Ruth helped Hannah make delicious breakfast sandwiches for everyone.

The weather was quite hot that week, so we decided one day we would have a water balloon fight.

It took a half hour to fill 80 balloons,

and less than 5 minutes to launch them at each other.

The last night that Jake and Tiffany would be with us, we got a family picture: the first one since Tiffany joined the family!

The next day, it was time to move the newlyweds into their new home in Dayton. Derek held down the fort and took care of the animals; he was prevented from traveling with us because of work and the continuing military travel ban.

As soon as we arrived, the unloading of the truck commenced.

These guys were work horses.

Meanwhile, the girls unpacked and organized the kitchen.

First meal in the new house: pizza!

As we were getting ready for bed, Tiffany gifted Ruth and me with the robes she had bought for bridesmaids and mothers prior to the wedding. So sweet.

Then the kids blew up their air mattresses and settled in for the night.

The next morning, we had birthday pancakes to celebrate Jeremy’s 14th birthday!

This guy was a trouper, not only celebrating his birthday on the road, but also by working manual labor.

It wasn’t all hard work, however. Some of us found time to still be goofy.

Speaking of goofy, one piece of furniture in the kitchen–the drink station–lost some parts in the move and wasn’t holding together very well. The mission on Saturday for Jim and Jake was to figure out how to hold it together. To jury-rig it.

As irony would have it, the word of the day that happened to pop up on Jim’s watch on Saturday? Jury-rig.

It was fortuitous. They successfully jury-rigged the drink station, and now it’s sturdy as ever.

After accomplishing the Saturday goals, we packed up our car and headed out. First, a picture of the couple in front of their home.

We were so grateful to be able to lend a hand with the move and see their beautiful home.

We said our goodbyes and hit the road.

What a wonderful, whirlwind week it was! Not only was the house full of people, but it was full of love.

In the span of just a few weeks, I have seen several turtles around the neighborhood. I took pictures of a few.

One was nestled deep in the grass, and I nearly stepped squarely on it before it caught my eye.

As I was walking on the track with a friend, we spotted this little guy scurrying in front of us. He was no bigger than my thumb! We both immediately stooped down to snap a picture of him.

On the opposite end of the size spectrum was this guy, whom I saw on the prairie path. He had made his way out of the nearby pond and sat greeting the runners and bikers.

It must be the year of the turtle. At least in this part of the world.

Memorial Day weekend was spent working on the wooden arch of our front porch. It desperately needed to be sanded and stained, or…

redone altogether. We weren’t sure what we’d find behind the wooden boards as Peter pulled them out. It wasn’t too bad, except for a carpenter bee that had made its home behind the wood after boring a hole into it; and an abandoned birds’ nest.

The boys made a great team. Peter tore out the boards (an apt job for Bam Bam), Derek cut the boards up,

and Jeremy hauled them to the side of the house for future disposal.

We are pleased with the upgrade.

A more tasty project was completed when we learned that Grandma and Grandpa were coming to visit, and I asked if anyone wanted to make a dessert. Derek and Peter got right on it, looking up a recipe for German chocolate cake.

It required Derek going to the store to get ingredients, plus the recipe was quite complex. But, oh, was it worth it.

Speaking of tasty desserts, we fueled up the fire pit and made s’mores one night.

Ruth joined my mom on one of her weekly visits to Michigan so that she could meet the new canine cousin, Morris. Thus far, she is the only member of our family to meet the adorable pup.

We were careful to give the newlyweds their space. Even though they were quarantined and couldn’t travel anywhere for a honeymoon, they still needed their time just the two of them. But when Jake and Tiffany gave us the green light to visit, I bought three plane tickets to Denver!

Jim had to work, and the two older boys still had school, so Jeremy, Ruth and I embarked on a mid-lockdown adventure. Midway Airport was a ghost town, and Jeremy commented how eerie it felt.

The plane was so sparse we felt like we had chartered our own private flight.

It was a different story when we arrived in Denver, however. Except for most people wearing masks, it was business as usual at the airport. The kids were eager to see their brother as a married man for the first time. We had a sweet reunion and settled in to their rental house.

Tiffany had planned out all the meals and activities for the few days that we planned to be there. We woke up to eggs Benedict the first morning!

Despite having hiked up Pike’s Peak with a friend the day before we arrived,

Jake was excited to hike another mountain with Jeremy and me. We set our sights on Blodgett Peak.

These two brothers bonded.

The hike was more challenging than we expected, but offered beautiful views along the way.

There was a lot of loose gravel on the steep incline, and we scrambled boulders. Most of the time, it was hard to tell whether we were on a path or blazing our own trail up the mountain.

When we made it to the peak, it was obvious that storms were moving in, so we didn’t linger too long.

Meanwhile, back in West Chicago, the three guys were truly bacheloring it.

One reason I timed the trip when I did was to be able to see Tiffany commission into the Army. Like everything else these days, it was an unusual event, held outside with onlookers remaining socially distant. But it was significant nonetheless, and I was so happy that at least part of our family could be there.

I gained an appreciation for my firstborn’s adeptness in the kitchen. He sure knows how to use that beloved cast iron skillet and made us a delicious chicken parmesan dinner.

One night, Jake and Jeremy planned to drive east and star gaze. But first, Jake checked the night sky radar. They drove to where it was black on the radar, meaning there was little to no light pollution.

As mentioned earlier, it was pretty much business as usual in Colorado. so we were able to go to a pottery place and paint ceramics. Tiffany painted a planter, Ruth chose owls to paint,

and the boys teamed up to paint a day sky/night sky bowl.

It was a fun activity, and now we have the finished products to remind us of it!

We attempted to hike a popular trail–Helen Hunt Falls–on Sunday. Unfortunately, every Colorado citizen seemed to have the same idea. Instead, we parked on the side of the road and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the creek.

We attempted again to hike the trail, but the crowds made it intolerable, so we snapped a selfie and turned around.

We enjoyed one last night with the newlyweds and headed home, hearts full, anticipating our next visit with them in a few weeks.

We usually reserve our puzzle assembly for vacations; however, desperate times call for desperate measures, and we needed something to do during the evenings. First, we broke out a puzzle we had already assembled twice during two different vacations. It’s a favorite for sure!

A couple days later, once that was done, I went on the hunt for more jigsaw puzzles. Apparently, we are not the only family doing puzzles during lockdown. I found that either puzzles were sold out or for sale for $100+ dollars. Um, no thanks. On a whim, I checked the Farm and Fleet website to see if the store in Montgomery had any. I vaguely recalled buying a puzzle there many years ago. Lo and behold, they had three in stock. Ruth and I hopped in the car and bought two.

They were not as fun as the ski patch puzzle that preceded them, but we persevered until the end. Some of us fight for the right to put the final piece in.

Judi and Dave celebrated their birthdays at the beginning of the month. Judi’s was a milestone, so they hosted a drive-by party and handed out pre-sliced pieces of cake to anyone who stopped by.

My dad also celebrated his birthday in May, so we had a (mostly) socially distant party for him. He did put out the candles by waving his hand over the flame. The mayor of Chicago would have been proud.

Ruth joined me at Woodman’s. We made a great team: she scanned while I bagged. All the while, wearing our masks.

We met Brian and Sarah in Indiana in order to transfer the basketball hoop from one home to the other. From the sound of it, the hoop is getting way more use at its new home than it ever did here. We all enjoyed escaping our own states, even for a couple hours.

Jim and I watched The Last Dance. Molly joined us.

We continued to battle with the robins at the front door, and they were not the least bit deterred by my presence on the porch. They’re looking for the wreath I took down.

As mentioned in another post, Peter’s big lockdown activity has been learning to play the guitar. He’s gotten really good.

But Peter has not given up on the drums! He and Derek enjoy jamming in the basement.