Our lives this summer are VERY different than last summer. We got our first dog seven months ago; having a dog has changed our lives far more than owning guinea pigs has over the last 4.5 years. We lost another family member when Paul's mom passed away in May. I still have moments when something happens and I think I need to call her and tell her, and then I remember that's not possible. Last year was a very unusual year. I've had plenty of times in my life when I was sick and looked forward to feeling normal again. I'll be turning 50 in 9 months, and I don't recall any other time in my life when life in general was so abnormal that I was longing for life to return to normal. Comparing our calendar for last from April - June with this year's would be one way to see that life has drastically changed over the past year. Today and tomorrow I actually had nothing on the calendar. That was the norm in 2020 but that hasn't been the case lately. I almost took the kids swimming this afternoon, but a thunderstorm changed those plans. I like having some days when I don't drive anywhere, and it's been awhile since that happened.
Our budget is another indication that life is very different. I've been tracking expenses for three decades. The Excel document I am currently using contains data from 2005 to the present. This past month we hit a record as to the most money spent on gas in a month - $633.19. Ouch! The previous record had been in the fall of 2008 when we spent $523 in one month. There were months over the past 17 years that we spent less than $100 on gasoline in a month. Over the past five years, we've spent an average of $303 per month on gas, which means $633 is a lot more than usual. I attribute this to the increase in the price of gas in addition to an increase in how much driving I've been doing. There was a month in the spring of 2020 when we spent less than $150 on gasoline. The kids and I were at home all the time, and the price of gas dropped lower than it had been it quite awhile. Gas hasn't reached the highest price I've ever paid yet, it would have to go up another 80 cents a gallon for that to be true. One of our credit cards often has a quarterly bonus of 5% on gasoline, but none of them do this quarter which is bad timing because we're planning to drive a LOT more than usual in September. I recently applied for a credit card for myself that will give us 3% off of gas all year and applied for a different one for Paul that gives 5% off each month in the category you spend the most in that month. I'm planning on having Paul use that one for gas for his car. Gasoline isn't the only thing that has gone up in price lately. For example, I picked up pizza this evening at a restaurant in our town, and the price of a large pizza has recently gone up 20%. Speaking of driving, the kids and I decided that when we trade in our grey 2012 Sienna, we'd like to get an Obsidian Blue Pearl Honda Odyssey. After driving a vehicle that I didn't like the color of for nine years, I'm looking forward to enjoying the color of our next vehicle.
A positive change has been that more places we hoped to go over the next two months have reopened over the last two weeks. Today I booked reservations for a tour of Sagamore Hill on Long Island for August 28, and I learned today that we will be able to visit Springfield Armory next week!! We'll save Weir Farm for 2023. Two of the four National Park sites I had hoped to visit in the Lake George area recently reopened. We haven't decided if we'll schedule a trip to that area before our Six Flags' membership expires. I was also thrilled to learn that the Navajo Nation recently reopened. I had already found a replacement slot canyon tour. I'm not going to add Antelope Canyon to the schedule, but I did delete two National Park sites in Flagstaff so that I could add the Four Corners Monument to our itinerary. We shall see if Lowell Observatory moves to phase three (general admission) before September 20.
Oliver attended five nights of VBS. Nadia and Ian chose to attend the color war event at youth group on Wednesday night instead of VBS. Last night Ian was one of eleven children chosen to "plaster the pastor" with paint as a reward for the children bringing in a little over $550 in the offering over the five nights. He had a blast spraying the pastor with paint!
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