I didn’t think this series would take me into June or July, but here we are.

As I write this, Virginia is on day two of Phase 3. We can dine inside restaurants, gather with 250 of our closest friends, and listen to music at indoor venues with 1,000 people.

My family and I won’t be doing any of those things, though. Because at the same time, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb.

We do enjoy the occasional drive-thru meal, a solo mission inside Target, and a rare visit with family, but it’s all done with a dose of worry. What if.

I’d love to say that I’ll look back on these days and feel some warmth, but I’ll remember — the fear, the anxiety, a sense of being trapped, a loss of time and experiences with family.

So these photos aren’t for me — they’re for Tucker. Because I hope he does remember only good things about this season.

In these photos, we build a giant fort, make friends with goats, get yet another quarantine haircut, and (finally) make a trip to my mom’s.

Laura Richards is a fine art lifestyle & documentary photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She specializes in authentic, feel-good photography that tells "the story of you" for decades. See what makes her different from other photographers in the Charlottesville area here.

Another week — or is it two weeks? A month, maybe? 

In this entry, I document a rainy afternoon in the play room, serious art projects, cereal box robot arms, a puddle-laden walk, and our first big family outing since February — strawberry-picking at Critzer Family Farm in Afton, Virginia. 

As always, my photos are made using only natural light, whether it be through a window, during golden hour, or in direct sunlight. In this series, I experimented with light coming in through our front door — one time around bedtime; another, in late afternoon. I'll note them below, so you can see the difference just a few hours makes.

Front door photo just before bedtime. 

Rainy afternoon in Tucker's play room. I loved playing around with the day's low light.

Front door photo in late afternoon. The light creates such cool rainbow splatters inside!

Breaking in the splash pad. We basically live at the beach now. 

Your kids stick scissors in their mouths too, right? 

Tucker's homemade cereal box robot arms. 

Empty boxes are the best!

Writing a letter to grandma, using stickers for stamps.

A family walk after the rain. Luckily, Tuck lives in his rain boots! 

Ready to pick strawberries! 

But first, this old tractor.

Working on my Mother's Day present! 

Laura Richards is a fine art lifestyle & documentary photographer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She specializes in authentic, feel-good photography that tells "the story of you" for decades. See what makes her different from other photographers in the Charlottesville area here.

Like many of you, I've lost track of the days.

The weekends carry no real distinction from weekdays. Mornings slide slowly into afternoons. Our backyard is starting to feel just a little smaller.

My first quarantine journal post documented days 1-10. This one documents moments between March 29 and April 14. To me, it feels like one long quarantine day — a day filled with fire pit dinners and deck lunches, hammock naps, a homemade sprinkler, video chats, nature walks, and an Easter egg hunt (or two or three). 

​We also celebrated Tucker's third birthday (so unbelievable!). It wasn't the party I'd imagined a few months ago, but it turned out to be such a special day, complete with a surprise visit from Albemarle County Fire Rescue. 

I didn't take too many photos from Easter or Tucker's birthday, because I was also filming the day, which definitely takes a lot more focus! Watch those films here. 

This was our very first fire in the pit Tyler built. Tucker's reaction (top left) was "Pee-yew! Hot, hot, hot!"

An 80-degree day in March calls for a run through the hose. 

Eating on the deck or over the fire pit might as well be a night out to a restaurant these days...

Tucker often walks up to the thermostat, hand on hip, and says, "Nice day out!"

Pretending to shop in his play room (guess I'm not the only one missing shopping trips).

We finally broke out the hammock, only to find out Tucker is obsessed! 

Post-nap walks.

Video chats with Grandma.

Building a bird nest, and then (unprompted) cleaning up the mess.

A nice outing and picnic to Walnut Creek Park in Charlottesville. 

Decorating paper eggs with shaving cream and food coloring.

Indoor Easter egg hunt. Turns out Tucker's a pro!

A beautiful Easter morning.

Tucker's third birthday! He had no idea a firetruck was about to come to his house!

We video-chatted each person, so they could see Tucker open their gifts.

Tucker's eggless brownie cake (I accidentally used all the eggs for Easter lunch, but this recipe turned out so good!)

I hope this is a short series...

The Saturday before day one. My view coming home from a photo session. I'm including it here because, apart from Tyler going to work and a couple of photo sessions for me, we had been self-quarantining for a few days at this point. And to me, this image represents so much of what we are experiencing right now. 

Day 2 of our "official" quarantine. (I didn't even realize it was St. Patrick's Day.) It doesn't look very different from a normal day, except Tyler is working from home. It's a challenge to keep Tucker away from Dada's "work house," but for the most part, he and I have been spending the day in his play room and enjoying the spring weather.

See that little string of pony beads on his easel? Tucker made "Christmas lights" for one of his favorite stuffed animals, a bird puppet. 

Day 4. I pulled out the chalkboard Easter eggs I was saving, so Tucker could use them for his bird. We learned about how baby birds hatch and get fed. I cleaned out a honey bottle; Tucker and I filled it with brown and yellow paper. He's feeding honey to his goat in the third photo. That evening, Tyler and Tucker had their first quarantine haircuts. 

Breakfast popsicles (I think. Probably.) I love the kitchen window image, because it represents what a peaceful moment looks like for me these days: spring-scented candle lit, window open, and Tucker happily playing outside while I get some things done inside.

Tucker skipped his nap that afternoon, so he spent some downtime watercoloring. He made one picture for Grandma, two for his cousin, and six for the trees and bushes in our yard.

We started having "tea time" with Tyler in the afternoons. Tucker likes to make the tea, but doesn't usually drink it. We got out some of Tyler's old photos; Tucker would hold them up and say, "Me!" Later, he made Tyler some cards out of construction paper and stickers (a lot of stickers).