Every week, Connor would go over to Kealia and Bodie's house to hang out. It was supposedly all outdoors for safety, but I know they went inside to play video games when it got dark. Most of the time, though, they did Airsoft in the hills above the house and rode dirtbikes - Connor counted it for P.E. hours!
A conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Artsakh territory caused the many Armenians in our community to protest and hold fundraisers to try to help their homeland.
We drove up to Solvang for a day trip to visit with the Palmers. We went to an ostrich farm, the kids swam, and the grownups ate at a German sausage restaurant outside at a pavilion.
The 2020 Presidential election was between incumbent Donald Trump and Joe Biden. People were so angry and divided over EVERYTHING at this time, and the tone was being set by the politicians themselves, along with talking heads on both sides. There were a few reasonable voices out there, one of which was Mitt Romney. Although a Republican, he did not support Trump or many of his policies, which gained him a lot of enemies.
I was able to leave the kids with Ryan and travel by car up to Utah to stay with my mom near the anniversary of Chuck's death. This has become a lovely tradition, and I had such a great time with her, despite the fact that we social-distanced and mostly played outside together. I was also able to visit with Grandma Cloe through the window at Brookdale in Cedar City. They gave her a cordless phone, and I talked to her on my cell while we sat across from each other. Although her memory was not great, we had a nice conversation, and I was glad to see that she was relatively healthy.
For Halloween, the "Enrichment Crafts" group painted pumpkins and ate fluorescent cupcakes.
The Ward Halloween Party this year was a really clever driving scavenger hunt. They gave out clues for 7-8 ward members' homes (mostly the elderly or new move-ins), and we all drove around as families to collect treats at each stop.
We finally finished our Doggie Bunker! This kennel is next to the back door, and has a predator panel on the top, so Phoebe can go potty at night without risking being eaten.
Ryan and Evan got to go shoot .22 rifles with Gordon and Ezra Emmerson. There were plans to take the other kids individually with their Emmerson counterparts, but things got busy and it never happened. These boys had a great time, though!
Halloween this year was not too different from normal, actually. We carved pumpkins, got dressed up, and went trick-or-treating in Glenwood Oaks. There were a lot more people giving out candy than there were trick-or-treaters, so it was both lonely and profitable! Some families even had long tubes attached to their stairs so they could send candy down to the kids without getting too close - it was awesome!
