July Misc.

 We made it through another month! Blogger has changed their interface a bit and it is driving me crazy, so hopefully this post works out ok.

Here are a few more pictures from July:

Sam started up his "Zupas" again where you can order some food and a drink and he'll make it for you

Nora made a typed-up version of the menu for him

After watching all the Indiana Jones movies, Nora and I decided to play through this blast-from-the-past game - Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis. It is just as awesome as ever

Funny Max

Cute little Oliver

Oliver and Sam hanging out

Dorie was making a really weird face, and as soon as I pulled out my phone to take a picture of it, she changed to her cute smile, haha

Mike and friends

Max and Sam

Sam tucked Max in for a nap with his favorite toy fish

The Burtons came on a trip to Utah, and we were able to have a little social-distanced get-together in my parents' backyard. It was fun to see everyone again!

Karin made some paintings for my parents

A few more movie classics we watched with the kids this month - Pirates of the Caribbean

Back to the Future movies - the kids thought the portrayal of 2015 in the second movie was hilarious

Max was using Dorie as a pillow during the movie - haha

Watching the Steel Days fireworks from the backyard

Poor Nora has been struggling with bad eczema since March. She got a new and rather time-consuming skin regimen from the pediatrician to try and help it. Is has helped somewhat.

I was changing the sheets on the bed, and when I came back with the new sheets Max was doing this. It looks so uncomfortable, but he must like it

Max is a pretty chatty little soul. It must be the Siamese in him. Here he was meowing in a conversation with me. He also looked like the Princess and the Pea because he was sitting on a pile of pillows.

Nora and I picking up a little weekend treat

Cute lil pink toe beans

I made some more cloth masks for the kids so that they would have a good supply of them. Nora helped me out on her sewing machine for a while.

Little did I know at the beginning of the year that a significant part of my summer would end up being sewing face masks

Oliver and Sam playing in the backyard

Afternoon nap

I looked out into the backyard and saw Oliver standing just like this - he looked like a little garden statue

Another left handed challenge

Animal Crossing

One thing that has been fun for us the past few months is a game for the Switch called "Animal Crossing New Horizons." In the game you move to a little island, and you build a house,  and design and decorate your island and house over time. You can earn money by catching and selling fish, bugs and sea creatures that you catch. You can have multiple players with a house on your island, so each member of the family has their own little character with their own house, and we work together to make our island look cool. There are also animal villagers that move onto your island, and you can become friends with them.

The animal villagers are pretty funny sometimes

My character getting a picture in matching outfits with two of my favorite villagers - Bob the purple cat, and Octavian the red octopus.

There is also a museum on the island, with an owl curator. The kids thought this would be Grammy's favorite part of the game. There are sections for insects, fish, fossils, and art. As you collect these items, you can donate them to the museum and they show up in displays there.

Sam and Max playing

My character with all of our animal villagers

 One of my plans for this summer was to do a professional family photo shoot, but since that did not work out this year, we did a virtual one with all of our AC characters

One of the outtakes, haha

Evie doing some construction work on the island

It has been fun to see everyone have the chance to be creative and show their personalities with how they decorate their houses, the outfits they put together, and the things they help create on the island.

Here is Evie's house.

Her front walkway is very fancy with all the lights, and twin waterfalls

Her sleek and modern family room

Kitchen

Mermaid guest bedroom

Bathroom

Space-themed bedroom

Some areas of the island that she made, or helped make are:

 This adorable picnic spot

The food court

The rainbow garden

The enchanted forest

Nora's house:

Her family room

Cherry-blossom themed bedroom

Bathroom

Kitchen

A workout room

Phantom of the Opera themed basement

She made this cool spa area on our island

Mike's house:

He is making his house all ocean/fishing/beach/pirates themed. He is still working on some of the rooms, but has two that are done

His front room

His beach room 

 Our fruit tree orchard

Sam's house

His front room - with a cello

His "Smudge the cat" TV room

Bedroom

His fish room. The money flooring is a nice touch

He built this diving platform

He is also the king of fishing

Visiting the little store on our island

My house:

Conservatory-type room

Kitchen

Fish room

Bathroom

Bedroom

Library room

Playground on our island

Another aspect of this game that is fun, is that you can connect with your friends online, and have your characters visit each others' islands. Nora has two good friends that play, so that has been a fun way to "virtually hang out" with them.