Peter helped coach a youth football camp last month. I snuck over and took some video. He was a natural!

We went downtown for Father’s Day and spent the day with my mom and dad. You wouldn’t know that by the pictures I took, however, for the only snapshots of the day were of dogs from the dog park.

Ruth, my mom and I walked over to watch dogs run around. People may not be allowed to gather in Chicago, but the quarantine restrictions do not apply to canines. As soon as we sat down on the bench, the dogs began to curiously approach us. They were quite welcoming.

No surprise, they especially took to Ruth, who met dogs small

and large.

The next day, Tiffany sent a picture of Jake’s first day on the job at Wright-Patterson AFB.

Not 30 minutes later, I received another picture of Jake returning home after being told (along with all the other new 2nd lieutenants) to wait for future orders since the base wasn’t ready for them yet. Round 2 is today, as Jake officially reports for grad school classes.

Look who else began guitar lessons during the Covid era!

The piggies enjoy being serenaded.

What to do when things are still on lockdown and the weather is nice? Build a potato launcher!

Molly took a turn in the hammock while the assembly took place.

When Jim took the launcher to the porch to test it, in a matter of seconds the neighborhood boys were swarming.

My parents came for fun-due dinner that night,

with after-dinner entertainment on the front porch.

So as not to alarm passersby, we would obscure the launcher and “act natural” until they passed. We found that a taped up whiffle ball shot even further than the potatoes, and had the added benefit of repeat use and no mess. The boys took aim for the field across the street

while one person stood ready to catch the projectile.

It is quite a process to ramrod the ball into the cannon.

Here’s a video after the test launch. We were all excited that it worked so well.

Ruth pulled the trigger once, with Jim holding the cannon to keep it steady.

This was the best picture of the night, however. The timing of my finger hitting the red button on the phone happened to be perfect. No editing of the pic required. Check out not only the flame coming out of the cannon, but inside as well!