Fun Times in August 2020

 

Fun Times in August 2020

Todd Swank's Diary Update for September 7, 2020

I spent the month of August posting photos from our Colorado vacation so this is my post to catch up on the fun things we did and the neat things we saw last month.  Like these adorable baby ducks!

I got to see my buddy, Orlando Mazzolini, who is always up for a Saturday morning adventure!!

We spent a lot of time going on various boat rides including a nice one with Grandma Linda.  She's such a colorful lady.

We were halfway back to being empty nesters when Luke moved back to Mankato for his senior year in college.  It was so nice to have the boys home for our "Surprise" 6 month quarantine, but they were both very ready to get back to living their own lives.  It sure is a lot quieter at home since they've been gone.

Luke moved back in with his buddy, Jackson.  I think they've been having a great time together, but wouldn't know since he really hasn't been home again since he left!

The hot tub has been pretty much unused in the heat of the summer so when we wanted to get in there, we thought we should clean it out a bit.  Turns out the spiders had made the gazebo their new home including this monster who I was surprised to see had more hair than I do.   I guess we're going to need to clean it out a little more often in the summer.

Luke did come home one night to celebrate Miss Sheri's birthday with us.  It was nice to have the whole gang together for one last summer hurrah.

We've hardly seen our buddies the Zitzewitzes and Browns since the quarantine began, so it was great to have the opportunity to spend the day on the St. Croix River with them.

2020 has been a tough year, but one nice part about it at least in Minnesota is our summer weather has been phenomenal.  We had a great day playing in the water and laying out in the sun.  Not necessarily in that order.

I love cruising around the river on Karl's jet ski.  It's so fast and fun to go wave jumping.  I really want to get one some day, but this is not the year to do it from what I hear.  They're sold out for hundreds of miles...I guess it's a good activity for social distancing!

We also had the chance to go visit BoatHouse Brewery in Prior Lake together.  I was so excited to be able to say it was Open again that I decided to sit in the shadow of their Open sign the entire evening.

My old buddy, Steve "Cuds" Cuddihy, had his Fantasy Football draft in August which I was ecstatic to attend.  There was talk of it being cancelled this year, but lucky it went on as scheduled.  Football wouldn't be the same this year without our Fantasy Football league smack talk to lead up to it.

Sadly, my smack talk is getting weaker and weaker each year since I haven't won the trophy in quite a few seasons now.  I really think this is my year, though!!

Covid-19 haven't affected our albino squirrel population from frequenting our yard.  These pleasant little fellows still stop by from time to time.

Blue was in dog heaven when his mother and brother came over for a sleep-over.  I'm quite certain none of the squirrels hung around our yard on this day.

Miss Sheri and I have still been doing our daily walks and are constantly looking for new hiking trails to explore.  Cedar Lake Farm regional park in New Prague used to be a working farm, but it has been converted into a park.  It has some nice trails that we navigated one Saturday morning.

  

Late in the month, we had the opportunity to go on a boat ride with our old friends, Scott & Jennifer Fowler.  This was another crew we hadn't seen since before the quarantine began so we had a wonderful evening catching up on the good old days.

We also knocked out another 4 puzzles including our new favorite which was the boys high school graduation photo that Avery gave me for my birthday.  It's exhilarating putting together pieces of your own face for some reason.