April 2020- Week 4- Earth Day, Temple Quarry, Sewing Masks, Goodbye to Jonathan, April Videos

Wednesday I ran two miles and then after breakfast I took the kids on a walk to pick up trash to celebrate Earth Day!  I rained on us a bit at the beginning, but thankfully cleared up.  Kids had Zoom meetings and homework while I showered.  After lunch, more homework and piano practice, I started helping Sibber sew medical masks for Project Protect while the kids watched Relative Race.  Later in the week, both Ben and McKenna also learned and helped with the basics of mask sewing.  Unfortunately, my machine was being super dumb and I need to take it in to be repaired.  Adam and Mia came over for spaghetti night.  Thankfully, Alice took a cat nap *before dinner.  After baths and bedtime, McKenna found an audition song for the 5th and 6th grade play and I collaged my phone pictures.  

Thursday we gave Dan a hair cut.  Home work and Zoom and Bethany's dance on Zoom all commenced.  After lunch, McKenna had piano and Anna had LPM on Zoom.  I ran an errand to Walgreens.  I made one of my favorite chicken curry recipes that night but accidentally put in vanilla yogurt instead of plain.  Thankfully, it still tasted ok.  Dan played with the kids outside while I sewed more masks.  We received news that night that the contract which Utah Foster Care has had for 20+ years from the state was being awarded to someone else (The Adoption Exchange)!  This was shocking news to take in and meant that Utah Foster Care would not exist after July 1!  I sat in the office with Dan and listened to a work call with his admin team and then we talked with Dan's parents about it.  Dan received a priesthood blessing from his dad that night assuring us that everything would work out and maybe even be for the better!  

Friday I exercised and Dan went into the Murray office.  Ben and I watched a live stream of an interview with Astronaut Scott Kelly.  It was very interesting to hear him talk about what it's like to be so isolated (living in space) and how to handle the challenging times.  Adam and Sam brought us Arby's for lunch and I helped kids with homework and piano off and on.  I also sewed more masks.  We watched the last 2 Relative Race episodes of the season we were on then played outside and I captured Anna and Alice smooching.  I caught up on roommate Marco Polos.  When Dan got home, we talked and cried together on the porch for a bit.  It was an emotionally exhausting day for him and all his co-workers; he called a meeting with his entire team and broke the news. The magnitude of the news was really sinking in and it was hard to process with everyone, but very necessary.  We had pizza that night and I worked on the blog/blurb.  

Saturday morning morning snuggles turned into morning tickles!  I loved Dan's crisscross arm action.  And Alice was adorable rocking baby Mickey.  We had another outing where we told the kids we were going to "leave the cul de sac!"  We headed to the Temple Quarry Train in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  It was a very short paved walk but the kids could scramble on rocks and the dried up river bed was awesome.  Afterwards, we decided to drive all the way up the rest of the canyon and see Alta Ski resort.  It was super cool to see the avalanche tracks. When we got back home, Ben drew a cool chalk art robot on the driveway.  After lunch back at home, Dan told our families about his job situation.  We got some Crumble Cookies from the Reudter family sending us a little love to us during a stressful time.  I took Anna and Bethany to the Expressions Dance wave parade to say hi to their teachers.  It was so cute and fun and made me miss "normal" life.  I weeded the WHOLE yard in 1 hour!  I was so proud to be in the maintenance phase of the yard work and it was so fast!  Dan worked on organizing the garage more and sold the big heavy wood armoire.  After dinner I cleaned some and McKenna vacummed. McKenna and I also watched a cute show on Disney called "Sharpe's Grand Adventure."  Sharpe from High School Musical.  Dan worked on job stuff.  

Sunday during our home Sacrament meeting, the "Primary kids" sang and even Anna went up.  We documented Dan's awesome Sunday/Quarantine meeting fashion and Bethany snuggling Grandma.  We watched more Relative Race and then went for a walk.  Mia came too, and when we got back, the Rowe's brought over some beautiful flowers from their garden.  Adam helped Dan's parents with a Zoom meeting Mission Reunion with tons of their Brazilian missionaries!  They said they had 100 people on at one point!  They let each one say something so they were on for 4 hours!  Alice fell asleep at dinner again.  The girls set up their fairy garden and after dinner we cleaned up the basement.  I had my family conference call and we played Skyjo.

Monday I exercised, did laundry, McKenna and Ben had Zooms, and we worked with homework pretty off and on till 4pm.  Anna had dance and I talked with Dan outside while McKenna and Ben walked to piano.  After dinner we folded and watched more Relative Race then I helped the girls clean their bathroom.  After kids were in bed, I worked on Blurb and more Skyjo was played.  The local news ran a story about Utah Foster Care's contract not being renewed.

Tuesday Anna had two special visitors!  Ms. Vasher and Ms. Posell came! It was so fun to chat with them for a bit. I love that Ms. Vasher wasn't being too strict about getting assignments done but was more concerned for her students' mental health during this time of quarantine.  Ben had a math Zoom and Dan's parents brought home some cute gifts for all the kids to help them remember them while they're gone (a compass and some stickers, bookmarks, bubbles...).  I helped Ben with some school work outside for a change of scenery.  I worked on typing our Nelson News submission and Bethany and McKenna had Zooms for Let's Play Music and Backstage.  After kid were in bed that night I watched more of "Sharpe's Adventure" with McKenna.

Wednesday I exercised but stopped running for a week because of some foot pain.  The little girls watched lots of shows while big kids did homework.  We then played outside and I chatted with Meghan and Anna and McKenna had dance on Zoom.  I sewed some masks and listened to my book.  Grandma made a delicious bakes ziti for dinner and that night I gave Alice a hair trim before baths.  Dan tried a little sewing that night too.

Thursday Bethany had preschool and dance on Zoom.  After lunch, we went outside and watched the fighter jets from Hill Air Force Base fly over to honor all the front line medical workers!  It was so cool and great to see so many neighbors out in the circle.  Adam and Mia were here for a bit too.  Anna and McKenna had a class Zoom and FaceTime piano. I sewed three more masks and Anna had her last Let's Play Music.  Jonathan came over to play with Switch with the kids one last time before he moved to Maryland.  I curled McKenna's hair since we were videoing her audition song for the school play.  She sang "I Know It's Today" from Shrek.  Dan had a meeting with Beth Adair's work as a type of networking meeting/interview. 

That evening we had dinner at my parents' and celebrated Alice's (belated) birthday and said our goodbyes to Jonathan. :(  My mom made some cakes in the shapes of a letter A for Alice and letter P for "green Pastures" for Jonathan moving away.  She also gave Alice some cute new outfits.  It was so fun to be together!  Too bad it was right when Jonathan was moving away.  

April Videos:

Alice deep laugh, Saturday Easter morning, Anna ride a bike, Kids restaurant in basement, Dan sewing, Fly Over, Alice’s belated Bd at Thompson’s

April 2020- Week 3- Anna Rides a Bike!, Weeding/Mulching, Puzzle, Ellie's BD Parade, Alice Sleeping at Dinner, Kids' Restaurant Downstairs

Wednesday I woke up with a bad headache.  We worked on homework.  Ben and McKenna had Zoom meetings.  We had Chick Fil A for lunch and then I helped Anna with school stuff and all three had their extra curricular activities.  Adam and Mia came over for spaghetti night.  After dinner and baths we watched Relative Race while Dan did church stuff.  I unpacked a few more boxes and chatted with Dan's parents and then had a good heart-to-heart with Dan.  

Thursday morning just as I was about to start exercising we had another 4.2 magnitude after shock.  It was a longer quake than the past, long enough it made me think I should go find Dan.  But all was well.  Grandpa bought bagels for breakfast.  I worked with Ben and Anna on school and Bethany had a Zoom preschool meeting.  Dan ran and errand to Lowe's and when he FaceTimed me, I was cracking up about how tight his mask looked.  :) After lunch, Ben and Bethany painted and Dan took a trip to the dump with Sam and Adam to get mulch.  After dinner (where Alice fell asleep), Anna learned to ride a two wheeler bike!!  She had taught herself to balance without the pedals on her bike, so once we added the pedals back on, it was a piece of cake! We watched the Disney family sing along and then kids went to bed.  

Friday we did homework and Zoom meetings (do I sound like a broken record yet?).  I took a picture of Anna for a teacher appreciation thing.  Ben had a finish his explorer essay.  I weeded after lunch for a long time while Dan edged and used the blower.  Then Dan joined me weeding and we even weeded along the gully.  To keep the kids entertained I told them to name each weed as they threw it over the edge of the gully!  We had a pizza dinner and watched "Pocahontas."  After kids were in bed, I blogged and we worked more on a temple puzzle making LOTS of progress.  

Saturday I ran two miles outside.  After breakfast I went to grocery pick up and the van battery died again.  I realized it was dying whenever I turned the van on but not the engine.  A guy from O'Riley Auto Parts came and jumped me.  After lunch Dan and his dad went around looking at the sprinklers and I started weeding the gully flower bed again.  Dan had Alton Mortensen, Nick Paulson, and Jaron Southam come over and help us finish spreading mulch.  Laurie and Reed stopped by.  Dan and Cody left to get more mulch at the dump.  While I was waiting for them to get back, Jeff Jarvis came by and we chatted for a bit.  In all, we ended up using over 3 TONS of mulch!  My parents also stopped by to say hi.  It was so nice to have so much socializing in one day!   We had Zupas for dinner and Alice was falling asleep again.  So we thought if we got her down to walk around that would wake her up.  Instead, she walked right over to grandma and snuggled into her for a quick nap.  We watched "Prince of Egypt" after kids were in bed.  I felt SO SO happy that the yard work was "finished" and now I just have to maintain it! 

Sunday we had a normal morning getting ready for church at 11; Adam joined us.  I taught a lesson about the "natural man" and the "recipe" to becoming a SAINT!  We watched the King Benjamin Book of Mormon video and after lunch (Adam made Dan his famous RAMEN sandwich) we watched two Relative Race episodes.  We got to participate in a BD parade for Ellie Winegar turning 6!  We chatted for a bit with Jake and Abril afterwards.   Dan worked on more Bishop stuff and Dan's parents went to Mantua for dinner.  After kids were in bed, McKenna had a little break down where she cried and wished everything were back to "normal."  :(  So hard when everything catches up to you.  Once Dan's parents were back, we did some shopping online for new bedding for McKenna and Ben as well as new dishes.  Alice climbed out of her bed and came upstairs.  So we spent a while rocking her back to sleep.  

Monday I ran 2 miles and helped kids with school work.  I also did laundry and showered.  Kids played outside after lunch and we worked on organizing the garage.  We were able to make it so the van could park inside!  We moved some more stuff to the basement.  Anna had dance and I put the flour and sugar in my new kitchen containers.  The kids set up a restaurant in the basement complete with entertainment.  We also had a folding party.  After kids were in bed we had popcorn and apples which we have learned is Grandpa's favorite snack.  I had to rock Alice that night at 2:15am.  Her poor sleep habits were really getting old by this time! 

Tuesday I worked with Ben and Anna a lot on homework and piano.  It seemed like everyone had a hard time before lunch and were super grumpy. We ordered Texas Roadhouse for lunch.  Afterwards I went to the girls "restaurant" down stairs.  Ben had a Zoom with Taggart and Henry.  Unfortunately we were also having issues with the internet all day.  We were trying to switch over services and it was not working well.  I made garden chowder for dinner and Dan worked on the sprinklers while kids played outside. After kids were in bed, I worked on a Costco picture order.  

April 2020- Week 2- Closed on House, Picnic, Yard Work, Dye Eggs, Easter, Antelope Island, Ben Mohawk, Easter Sunday, Homework, Puzzle

Wednesday I exercised and helped Ben and Anna with homework.  Both Ben and McKenna had Zoom meetings with their classes.  After lunch McKenna babysat while Dan and I went with his parents to sign papers and close on the sale of this house.  Both Dan's mom and I cried, but probably for different reasons.  ;) We stopped by Lowe's and 5 Guys on the way home.  McKenna, Ben, and Anna all had their extracurricular activities virtually.  I weeded some more and Dan organized in the garage. Adam and Mia came over for Spaghetti night.  Alice did not nap due to climbing out of the pack n play.  

Thursday we worked on homework and a grocery order.  Anna had a class Zoom and Bethany had dance that Alice joined in. :) I did some more weeding and Dan practiced baseball with Ben.  

We had a picnic lunch in the back and Alice took a nap.  I ran an errand to the vet to pick up some medicine for Sadie and the van battery died again.  Dan worked on switching over utilities in our name for the new house.  McKenna had piano and Anna had Let's Play Music.  I finished weeding in the front and we grilled hot dogs for dinner while Dan's parents went to Adam's for dinner.  Dan had bishop stuff that night and I moved pictures to the hard drive.  Alice climbed out and had a hard time going to bed.  We watched some "Lost in Space."

Friday was Good Friday and a day of fasting and prayer for relief from the pandemic.  All three older kids had Zoom meetings and worked on homework.  I boiled eggs and went outside for more weeding.  Dan went with Ben and Jeramie West to the dump to get some mulch.  I weeded the front two circle beds and Mickelle came over to pick up Sadie's meds and hang out for a bit.  She also brought Alice a late BD present which was a large stuffed "Forky" from Toy Story 4.  Once Dan was back we spread mulch for an hour.  We found a goofy selfie smile from Alice.  Ben made a cool cardboard mask, and Anna had an awesome coloring page.  Doing all that yardwork was probably not the smartest thing to do while fasting, but we were making great progress!  

After dinner, we dyed Easter eggs and Mia joined us! The Tabernacle choir streamed a previously recorded concert of Handel's Messiah for Easter weekend!  Alice had no nap and went to bed great!  We watched more "Lost in Space" and did Easter prep.  

Saturday the Easter Bunny came and the kids hunted for candy and eggs and they all got new umbrellas!  

Grandma Sibber got us a basket as well! 

We packed lunches and got McDonald's for breakfast and then headed to Antelope Island.  We did a fun 2 mile hike called Dooly Knob Trail.  Unfortunately, there were SO MANY biting gnats!  There were so many I even had a bug in my teeth!  Surprisingly, the kids didn't complain very much.  We had lunch in the car on the way home and got back to the house around 2:30 and the kids played outside while Dan and I finished mulching.  

My dad and brother stopped by and I didn't realize how much I missed seeing them during this quarantine and I gave them big hugs!  Anna got a little Easter surprise from Dance Company and Dan and Ben went and got groceries.  We had pizza dinner and Dan gave Ben a mohawk haircut which I kind of liked! 

Sunday was Easter and we all got dressed up and even curled hair!  The kids sang "Gethsemane" and afterwards, we took pictures outside.  Alice loves her Grandpa! 

After lunch we napped and watched Relative Race, then we went for a walk around the temple!  I was so happy for two of my good friends, Amy and Erica, who delivered BOTH their babies the same day at LDS hospital!!  One boy and one girl! 

After a lovely Easter dinner, Grandma had made Easter cookies for us to frost and decorate.  Then we played Scrabble, had my conference call, caught up on Marco Polos, played Skyjo, and went to bed.  

Monday I exercised and we did laundry and homework.  After lunch, Ben did baseball practice on his own.  Anna had dance and after dinner I had a head ache and blogged while the kids played outside.  We folded laundry and watched Relative Race.  After kids were in bed, Dan and I worked on rearranging the basement a bit and played pool and ping pong.  It was a fun at home date night. :) 

By this time in quarantine we were all starting to feel like everyday was the same.  Lots of homework in the morning and playing outside in the afternoon.  I'm so thankful for nice weather during this pandemic.  I weeded some more and listened to my book, and Dan mowed and edged.  After dinner we worked on unpacking the upstairs book shelves and lighthouse hutch.  We also had another 4.2 magnitude aftershock.  We also worked on one of Grandma's temple puzzles.  When we went to bed that night, we were whispering and must have been too loud because Alice woke up, climbed out and scared us!  Unfortunately, it took her a while to fall back to sleep... like, she was up until 4:30am.  Meanwhile, Dan binge watched "Lost in Space."  Love him. :)