The Barnes Family

Summer in Quarantine

Quarantine cuts :-)

Give me ALL the memes!

Summer also brought massive protests around racism after the killing of George Floyd. I don't have the words to write about it now....but it's given meaningful conversations within our family and Claire wanted to participate in a childrens march. There is much work still to do in our country.

We escaped for a weekend at the river!! Aunt Bradford and Uncle Chuck graciously allowed us to use the house while they weren't there and we were able to spend some time with Andy, Tara and Samara.

So many puzzles....I'm addicted! This is a favorite sent to me by Roland. I've done it 3 times.

Mimi's solution to being separated from grandkids!!

A favorite spot of the kids that we found this summer is the Nottoway falls.

4th of July at the river! They had a blast and it's so nice to get away and not think about Covid for a minute. Fielder had the time of his life because he got to hold a roman candle. (We missed being with the Hulchers this year.....next year we'll have to do it big)

Claire was able to go to Camp Willow Run for 3 nights! I still can't believe it happened but she was very excited to try her first sleep away camp.

Overall, summer was pretty good. Lots of outdoor adventures and the kids were able to go to camp all summer long. It was hard to know what is "safe" and ok to do, but we made the decision and it was the right one for our family. They were able to be with other kids and stay busy while Rob and I could work (from home still.)

CORONAVIRUS 2020

2020, I don't even know what to say. This text started it all, at least when it came to how Covid was soon to affect all of us. (excuse the language!) I was letting Rob know the kids would not have school the next day and I felt certain they wouldn't return for at least a couple weeks. As we all know, it's now September and they have started virtual school. So the wild ride/dumpster fire that is 2020 begins...

Parents everywhere quickly scrambled to figure out child care and made cute color-coded charts for activities and learning for school. This was more accurate for us...

We were all quickly moved to work from home, everything shut down, toilet paper was scarce, and we were soon quarantined at home.

Lots of family hikes and outdoor adventures!

Here's Fielder's school doing a drive-by parade. This was the same day the governor announced the kids would not be returning for any of the school year. Many tears were shed that day (by me!) and I could barely get out a "thank you" as his teacher drove by.

Moments of creativity....Fielder enjoyed learning to draw cars! He would also sometimes get on google meet with friends to play or talk.

Kids motivated to earn a little extra spending money :-)

A ray of sunshine during quarantine - Jake proposed!!! We are so happy to officially have Ali join the family!

Easter was...weird. The bunny came despite the pandemic and then we went for an afternoon hike. But Claire fell in a creek and was soaking wet and I was very worried because Charlie was not doing well so we ended the hike pretty quickly.

The Monday after Easter we had to say goodbye to our old boy Charlie. He gave us all the signs that it was time and I was at least thankful they would allow me to go in the room with him at the vets office. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do.