So Bad it's Good

We planned a little weekend getaway for Labor Day. We had been talking to Marie and Antione about maybe meeting them in Colorado at The Great Wolf Lodge there, but we ended up deciding to go to South Dakota because it would be cheaper. Come to find out, my Dad and Lynn had been thinking about a trip there, because it's one of the few states my Dad hasn't been to, and he wanted to tick it off his list. We told them they should come Labor Day weekend too, and meet us there. Then we figured we'd better not leave anyone out, so we asked Lorraine and Rebekah to come too. Somebody asked us if we were having a family reunion, and I guess we were. It was absolutely lovely to get into the mountains and a drier climate. So good for my soul. Heck, it was just good to get out and travel! It's been way too long. First we went to The Crazy Horse monument (first for the night show, and then to see the museum the next day). I visited in 1993, the summer I graduated high school. It didn't even have a face then. It still has a long way to go, but we loved seeing it, and the museum was great.

Then we visited Mount Rushmore. It's funny because I remember the viewing platform being so much further away than it actually is. Not much to do there other than look at the big heads (front and back), but we can say we've been there. 'Merica.

The highlight of our trip was The Badlands. Only our family went to that, because it was on our way home, and not something that everyone else had planned. I'm glad we didn't miss it, because it was stunning! I could seriously spend a week there - it would be so much fun to camp there. 10 out of 10. Would recommend. Full disclosure though, not everyone was interested, and some refused to get out of the car after the first stop, hahaha.

On our way home we also were going to stop at the famous Wal drug, but it was CRAZY busy, and pretty much nobody was wearing a mask, so we passed. Actually, all of South Dakota was pretty much like this - very few people wearing masks. Again, it made us a bit uncomfortable, and not surprisingly, their numbers started going up not long after this. Actually, when we were on the way to our hotel in South Dakota near Crazy Horse, our GPS was directing us through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, but the whole reservation was on lockdown. Unless you lived there, you couldn't get in - no drive throughs - so we had to turn around and find a different way. Anyway, we also stopped to see the Corn Palace. Didn't go inside, but got some pictures. The crazy things we do as tourists!

FYI, South Dakota has the most sunflower fields I've ever seen. I didn't get any super great pictures, but it was cool to see.

Oh, and we TOTALLY lucked out on good weather while we were there, which was perfect. The day we left it was getting a bit too cold, and by the next day they had a couple of inches of snow. But mostly I was lucky because I got to spend time with the people I love.

Sunny

Catch up time again. This year is slippery, and it keeps getting away from me. Maybe in 2021 I'll be more consistent in my blog posts. Maybe. Honestly, I feel like at this point I'm really doing this more for me and our family history than I am for anyone else. Speaking of which, I've been turning my blog into books (by year). So far I've done 6! They are so fun to have, and it's been great fun going back and reliving all the memories. I hope my kids appreciate them as much as I do, and someday they can show their own kids all the things we've done over the years. Back in August, we had a couple of visitors, and one of the things we did was go to a Sunflower farm. I thought it would be fun to take some pictures, and in the end, that's pretty much all we did there. They had various activities (mostly for little kids), and some shopping, but we were among only a few who were wearing masks, and it was quite crowded. We felt a little uncomfortable. It's funny thinking back on this, because more and more people wear masks now (partly because more and more businesses require them, and partly because people are just getting used to it) and I'm not sure that it would be as much of a problem now.

One of the funny things we saw there were dozens of old school buses filled with watermelons. And apparently I embarrassed my kids by taking this video. Whatever.

She Could Potentially be Driving Now

 Madelyn turned 15 in July.

Once again, there was no party and no friends. Although, she did get a promised sleepover (which we never do, so that was a great present). She kept things real simple, and requested Sonic for her birthday dinner. 

This girl is growing up to be a woman so quick it's dizzying. She's so independent, sometimes I'm surprised she's not already living on her own. And yet, I know she still needs us. She's ready to get her driving permit, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. She's also chomping at the bit to get a job already. When she wants something, she goes after it.

I started homeschooling Madelyn back in January, before the schools closed, and before Covid. But she's decided she wants to go back to public school for high school. Being able to be with her friends every day is VERY important to her. I'm hoping it is a really good experience for her.

Here are 15 more things about Madelyn.

1. Favorite food - gummy worms

2. Favorite color - green

3. Favorite TV show - Criminal Minds

4. Favorite movie - doesn't have one

5. Favorite song - doesn't have one

6. Favorite game - Subway Surfers

7. Favorite school subject - art

8. Least favorite food - carrots

9. Least favorite color - mustard yellow

10. Least favorite school subject - art

11. Where she wants to live - don't know

12. Where she wants to vacation - Egypt

13. Where she wants to hang out with her friends - shopping at Shadow Lake

14. What she wants to be when she grows us - Cosmetologist

15. Her favorite thing about herself - her eyes

We love you Madelyn!

Are We Moving?

 No, we're not. But we thought we were going to have to for a hot minute! Joe thought he'd get hired on with the company he was interning for in May, when we started terminal leave, but when June rolled around and he still hadn't gotten an offer, we started to get a little worried. We couldn't just wait until the last minute without having a plan B, C, and D, so Joe started putting in resumes anywhere and everywhere, and we even started looking at houses in a few places when company recruiters started showing interest in him. We kind of all caught the bug, and were actually looking forward to starting over again somewhere new. We were seriously looking at North Caroline, Florida, and Colorado. Joe and I were making pro and con lists, and wondering what we'd do if we actually did get an offer here in Nebraska. It was a crazy few weeks.

Well, the offer ended up coming through, and it was too good to turn down. Joe is switching career fields, going into computer security. He doesn't have a degree in that though, but this company was willing to hire him on anyway, and has been great to work with him. We felt good about it right away, and suddenly, staying here in Nebraska seemed like what we were supposed to do all along....at least for right now. 

So Joe officially retired from the Air Force, after 20 years of service, on July 1st. No fan fare. No retirement ceremony. He just walked away, and never looked back. Honestly, it wouldn't have been any different anyway, even if it hadn't been for Covid. We went to the retirement ceremony of his supervisor right before everything started shutting down, and it reaffirmed to us why we didn't want one. Who wants a commander, who knows nothing about you, and cares even less, to stand up there and spew off bullet points that he's gotten from your past performance reports, that he had his secretary look up, and then talk about how much the Air Force appreciates your service and will be missing a great guy? Not us, that's who. It's so disingenuous. It's so out of touch. And Joe has spent his entire military career working under people like that. There have been a few good apples here and there, but not many. It's all politics. It's all kissing butt. It's all about getting those bullet points. That's how you rise through the military. It has nothing to do with actually doing your job, and being good at it. It has nothing to do with being a good leader, in the real sense of the word. And so, is it greener on the other side (the civilian side)? For us, 100% yes. Joe likes the people he works with. They actually respect him. They actually appreciate him. They actually want to see him succeed. And the better he does his job, the better off he will be. What a crazy concept!

Don't get me wrong, Joe is very proud of the 20 years of service he gave, and I am WAY proud of him. He made sacrifices that allowed us to have a life I never could have dreamed of. And he always gave 100% to his job and his language studies. We're just glad it's over.

Now to the next 20 years.

Now to growing a beard again. 

Now to living our best life.

Getting Outside

Well, we've tried to get outside this summer. We had especially good weather in June, so that helped. No vacations though. Camping was closed all through June. Pretty much everything was closed all through June, so there really wasn't any point going on vacation anyway. 

We tried a second time to go to Platte River State Park, this time on a weekday, and it wasn't crowded at all. It's really pretty there. 

We walked around Walnut Creek Recreation Area a few time, and enjoyed all the flowers.

We went back to the Safari Park and got up close and personal with the Bison this time.

The zoo opened back up (outside exhibits only, one-way walking path), so Madelyn and I went there a couple of times. Not too exciting, though we did get to see the snow leopard and the baby rhinoceros for the first time. 

And we got a new grill, and Cora made a picnic bench, so that kept us outside a bit more too.

We are all DYING to go on a vacation. We've got a little something planned for Labor Day weekend, so that's something to look forward to. Not having a spring break vacation OR a summer vacation is the worst (first world problem)!

Last Teenager

 I'm going to try to do a bunch of catch-up posts today. This summer has flown by, and I haven't kept up on the old blog at all.

Alex turned 13 back in April. I now have four teenagers, for the time being. His birthday was uneventful, because that was right when everything was shutting down. We had planned to have a party for him, but obviously that didn't happen. Instead, we ordered in from Red Robin for dinner, and ordered him a present off of Amazon. He didn't complain. He never does.

Alex had tested for, and been accepted into HAL (the High Ability Learners program). He had been enjoying going to those extra classes/activities once a month, and he was really disappointed when they stopped school and all the activities. 

Alex definitely has an adventurous spirit. He would love to live overseas again. He still loves putting together Lego sets, especially with Cora. He's a really funny kid, and love to make people laugh. He has a hard time being serious about anything, really. 

I foresee that when Alex is the last kid left at home, he will be very spoiled. Can you blame us?

 

Here are 13 more things about Alex

1. Favorite food - Fruishi

2. Least favorite food - Cilantro

3. Favorite color - Purple

4. Favorite subject in school - English

5. Favorite TV show - Umbrella Academy

6. Favorite movie - Mr. Fantastic Fox

7. Favorite song - doesn't have one

8. Favorite game - Hollow Knight

9. Best friend - Taylor

10. Where he wants to live - Tokyo, Japan

11. Where he wants to go on vacation - South Korea

12. Favorite holiday - Christmas

13. What do you want to be when you grow up? a Doctor in the Air Force

We love you Alex!

Those Who Wear Masks, and Those Who Don't

It's crazy how fast time can go by, even when you're stuck at home all day. I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last posted - it only feels like a couple of weeks.

We continue to deal with the Coronavirus, and all that it has brought. Since I last wrote, there have been an additional 11,000+ cases in Nebraska, and 132 deaths. I'm mostly focused on Nebraska numbers these days, especially because states are starting to ease restrictions and open things back up now in phases. This has caused a division (what doesn't these days?) between 1) those who want things to go back to normal because our economy has taken a huge hit, and they're afraid of the government taking away our rights, and 2) those who want to follow the advise of the experts because the curve HAS been flattened by social distancing, and they're afraid of a second, worse wave of the virus hitting us if people jump the gun. Of course, a lot of people can see both sides of it, including myself, but everybody leans one way or another, and that determines the choices they make.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with establishing a new normal, but that would take a HUGE cultural shift that I don't think a lot of people are willing to make....ever. For example, face masks. In Asia, this is a non-issue. When we lived in Korea, it was common to see people wear face masks in public, not just during the yellow dust season, or if there was the threat of a virus (like the SARS outbreak the first time we lived in Korea), but all the time. Nobody thinks anything of it - it is their normal. Now certain businesses are requiring face masks here, and people are totally freaking out about it, saying that it's taking away their personal rights and freedoms (as if they don't have the right to just shop somewhere else). There was a security guard who was actually killed after he stopped someone from entering a store because they didn't have a mask on. It's madness. To quote the Wicked Witch of the West, "Ohhhhh what a world, what a world!"

To me this comes down to the difference between collectivist cultures versus individualistic cultures. The common good versus individual rights. Are these really opposites? I don't think they should be, but yes, I'm definitely leaning one way more than another.

I will tell you this, I am trying very, very hard not to be judgmental of those who are choosing differently than me. I've always been grateful for my diverse group of friends, and this situation is definitely revealing all the differences. Today our stake president shared a much appreciated message about not letting our differences lead to contention. If we don't have the spirit of Christ, we don't ahve anything. So for now, I'm just going to worry about me and my family, and continue to do what we think is best, and let others do the same.

Speaking of our family, we've all been experiencing this in our own ways. I asked everyone what they thought was the best thing about quarantine, and the worst thing.

Best:
Alex - nothing (although he never complains about anything)
Madelyn - having more time to do crafts
Joseph - not having to deal with the stupid kids at school
Cora - getting more time to do the things I want to do, and still getting paid for my job
Ruth - more time to focus on family and making our house our home
Joe - spending time with family
Bo and Kronk - the humans are always home

Worst:
Alex - everything (although he never complains about anything)
Madelyn - not being able to go shopping with friends
Joseph - not having any motivation to be productive
Cora - not being able to see my friends
Ruth - becoming less active physically and socially
Joe - worrying about not getting a job in this economy
Bo and Kronk - nothing, because the humans are always home

And now it's Memorial Day weekend, and I was feeling a little bummed that we couldn't go camping or something. Cora said, "get used to it, this is going to be our whole summer break," and a little piece of me died inside, because what if she's right?!!! I hope she's not. We tried going to a state park to do some hiking, but when we go there, there were SO many people, and not one single one of them was wearing a mask, or doing much in the way of social distancing. We ended up not staying. We did end the day with a fire and 'smores in our new fire pit though. We've been enjoying that a lot.

In other news, Joe is officially on terminal leave, which means he can start looking for another job. Can he actually get a job, now that the economy has turned South? The hope is that he will get hired on with the company that he just did an internship with, and we'll stay put for a hot minute. But time will tell. Seriously though, what a crazy time to get out of the military! But 20 years is 20 years, and we're ready to move on to the next thing....even if that necessitates actually moving.

And speaking of Joe getting out of the military, he's been growing a pretty decent beard while he's been interning, but he had to shave for his final out-processing, so we had a little fun with the facial hair before it all when bye-bye.

Now to grow it back.