Feb. 2021- Week 1- Alice Fever, McKenna Spelling Bee, McKenna Jasmine in Aladdin!, Super Bowl

 Monday morning Alice was more whiny than normal.  While I showered and she watched shows, she started to feel warm/fevered.  So I left her home with Dan while I drove carpool and by the time we got home, she was asleep and totally had a fever. We gave her some meds and she cried a lot, but eventually the medicine kicked in and she ate some lunch and felt better.  I helped kids with homework and did laundry and about 4 hours later, Alice was back and feeling warm and fevered again.  She fell asleep on me and my mind started racing thinking she may have Covid and our Hawaii trip would be cancelled!  We called the pediatrician and they said to wait a few days before getting her tested for Covid to make sure the virus would be good and present.  Ben played with Henry.  After Alice took a second dose of medicine, she ate dinner fine and thankfully went to bed fine.  Other pictures from the day, Anna loving her two front teeth growing in and Alice loves gluing ripped paper into her new notebook.  

Tuesday I called the doctor and told them Alice was feeling and acting much better so they didn't need to see her, but we still scheduled a Covid test so we could find out sooner than later if we needed to reschedule our Hawaii trip.  I filled out all the "intent to enroll" all our kids for Legacy next year.  After school, Bethany took a little spill down the stairs and hurt her nose, so we snuggled for a bit.  After lunch and homework, Amy Hamblin stopped by to chat with McKenna.  Bethany had dance and McKenna had Aladdin rehearsal.  Ben also had rehearsal and I had a sore neck all day.  

Wednesday Dan helped move Aladdin set pieces after dropping off kids.  Bethany stayed home with a cold.  She did homework in the office with Dan and I took Alice to drop some food off at the school for the teacher's conferences lunch, then I took Alice to get Covid tested.  It was a pokey swab and she cried and said, "That was not a fun doctor."  After homework and piano Ben worked on his Middle Ages slides. He also got creative and made some cool perler bead designs and put his Lego Iron Man into a cool background! I did hair and make-up for McKenna for rehearsal.  After dinner we did baths and I worked on Blurb.  

Thursday we had 4 parent/teacher conference and the kids had a distance learning day.  Bethany had music and we also watched Cooper and Emmy for a bit.  Emmy loved climbing in the empty cupboards downstairs.  Anna had dance and McKenna went to a birthday party for a boy in her class names Paulo to Get Air!  Ben also rehearsal and we all ate dinner at different times.  After kids were in bed, I worked on cleaning out some emails and Alice's Covid test came back NEGATIVE!  We did some Hawaii trip prep that night.  

Friday morning McKenna participated in the school Spelling Bee!  She made it through three rounds with words like "exterior," "nursery," and she got out on round four with the word "regents."  She felt good about her performance and was kind of relived to get out.  Dan took her to his work and then out on a lunch date.  I helped kids with HW then the kids played in the snow.  McKenna had rehearsal and I stayed and watched and loved it!  We had pizza for dinner and then watched half of the penguins from Madagascar movie.  I worked on Blurb and Dan watched "Wanda Vision."  

Saturday Alice woke us up early.  I tried running a mile and my hip felt ok. Dan got a haircut, we picked up groceries and then went to visit William and Luna!  It was our first time meeting Luna and she is so sweet! 

We got home around 2 and the kids had a late lunch.  Dan and I went on a lunch date to Santorini's.  I got McKenna ready for her show and was able to take Bethany and Anna with me.  My parents met us there.  We saw lots of our family on Zoom watching McKenna perform that night too.  Each time I saw the play rehearsed it got better and better and the single performance McKenna got to do was even more polished.  They all did great!  We got a treat from Nielsen's and came home to find Alice watching "Moana" and Dan and Ben watching "Avengers: Age of Ultron."  I'm so proud of McKenna for sticking with it and doing this play even when she wanted to quit.  Things were so different this year with a new director and Covid restrictions, it was difficult to enjoy it.  Thankfully, she had many friends who also stuck with it! 

Sunday I was up at 5am with Alice.  Grrrr! We had Stake Conference and sadly the feed didn't work for many people for the first 30 minutes.  It was a great conference though with some unique things like a virtual children's choir and a virtual missionary choir with missionaries serving from our stake.  After lunch, I took the kids for a walk because it was sunny and 50* which was heavenly!  I watched my "Don't Miss This" video and had my family conference call.  Then my parents and Mickelle came over to watch the Super Bowl and eat snack food/appetizers for dinner.  After kids were in bed, we packed a little for Hawaii. 

February Part 1 videos: 

McKenna spelling bee, McKenna “Aladdin"

Jan. 2021- Week 4- Potty Training Attempt, Matching Girls, Haircuts, Baby Luna!, Lyla's Dog, Ben at Caleb's, Dan and Bethany Date

 Friday I woke up with a bit of a scratchy throat.  Not sore, just scratchy, but still not a great sign.  I drove Ben to his student council meeting.  I ran an errand to the library and then worked on a grocery order back in the school parking lot.  After homework and lunch, I made peanut butter cookies and felt like I was in the kitchen forever, but they were yummy!  Ben played at the Winegar's and Anna went to Desi's.  I decided to test the waters of potty training Alice.  She had 2 accidents and only one tiny tinkle in the potty, so I would not call it a success. It was fun to try things out though.  Dan and I went on a date that night with the Winegars to dinner at Orlando's Mexican Grill in Kaysville.  After kids were in bed, we had a (masked) friend game night with the Days and Chadwicks.  We played a game called Puns of Anarchy and True Colors.  

Saturday my throat was a little worse and I worried more and more I was infecting/had infected others with Covid, even though I really felt like it was just Bethany's cold that I caught.  Ben still had some homework to do and McKenna had rehearsal.  I did some clothes mending and patching.  Dan and Ben both got haircuts.  I tried Alice in underwear again for about an hour, then she asked for a diaper and I said yes.  Totally letting her call the shots.  After lunch, Dan and I worked on reorganizing the kitchen computer desk cupboards while we watched the first Jurassic Park movie and it snowed outside.  Dan picked up groceries and I did baths.  After dinner we cleaned the basement and watched some Studio C. McKenna went to hang out at the Winegar's and had a movie night.  I worked on making empanada filling for Sunday dinner. 

Sunday we had more snow and streamed church from home because of Bethany's and my cold.  We did a short primary lesson and Dan passed us the sacrament.  We had our Zoom meetings and after lunch I listened to "Don't Miss This." McKenna tried to do a "pageant" of some sort with her siblings but not everyone cooperated.  McKenna and Dan also had youth council meeting.  I let the kids play in the snow and my family did not have a conference call due to Jonathan going to the doctor to check on his leg giving out on him.  I had a brief visit from 2 members of the stake Relief Society asking if I would speak at the stake women's conference in May!  I said yes.  :)   After dinner, the kids wrote letters to the ladies at the Waikoloa home and Bethany wrote "Old Woman, I love you.  Love, Somebody."  I had a super runny nose by evening time.  

Monday I was very congested and woke up with an awful headache. I kept Bethany home from school one more day.  I worked on making pictures collages on my phone.  After homework, McKenna had rehearsal.  Ben and Anna played in the snow with Henry, Taggart, and Mabel.  The little girls watched shows.  I had my family conference call that night.  

Tuesday was a normal day and my congestion headache was gone, thankfully.  The three girls decided to match uniforms and side braids.  After homework, Ben and Anna played in the snow more.  Ben had rehearsal.  After kids were in bed, Dan had bishop stuff and met with Cody about Tanner's baptism.  

Wednesday I was starting to feel a little better, but had more of a cough this day.  McKenna had rehearsal and I worked on the Nelson News.  

Thursday I didn't sleep well the night before due to wind being noisy.  After school and homework, I took all the girls to get their hair trimmed.  We got word there that our new niece had been born!  Jake and Abril had a new baby girl named Luna!  I called Jonathan, Bethany had music, and Anna had dance.  Ben had rehearsal.  After dinner, my family decided to have another conference call to discuss some crazy stuff that happened in the stock market that day.  I still don't entirely understand it. :)  I worked on a grocery order once kids were in bed.  

Friday morning was normal with homework and a little cleaning.  Alice found a security camera we hadn't finished installing yet and it took this great shot of her!  Bethany made a nice little corner seat for her to color and be alone in.  After lunch, McKenna and I had a Zoom with Susie and Sophia Whitchurch to talk about Sophia's transition to South Davis Jr. High.  After that, McKenna pretty much made up her mind to attend there instead of staying at Legacy.  Dan and I went on a date to Plates and Pallets, Lowe's, and Costco.  Desi and Mabel came over for a movie night.  They watched the live action Aladdin.  Mabel also lost a tooth!  After little kids were in bed, we watched the Greatest Showman upstairs.  We ended up getting lots of snow that night! 

Saturday during my exercising, Alice was mad I said no to fruit snacks, so she pouted beside the treadmill.  After breakfast, Dan and Ben shoveled.  McKenna had rehearsal.  Arlee came here to play with Bethany.  Anna played in the snow with Desi and Mabel.  I replaced some kitchen chair pads.  Ben played at Caleb's house in Salt Lake. Dan took Bethany on a date to McDonald's as a reward for staying in her bed every night for a week.  I picked up McKenna and Lyla from rehearsal and took them to Target to shop for a birthday present for a boy in their class.  When we dropped Lyla off, we got to meet their new little dog and she totally snuggled up to McKenna!  Later that afternoon, we picked up groceries and the kids got to go in and pick out their Valentines to give out.  After dinner, we went through the house and wrote up a chore chart for each room for all of us to get involved in.  

Sunday we went to in person church.  I helped for 2 mins with the adult 5th Sunday lesson over Zoom talking about how the Come Follow Me manual works best in our family.  I had my conference call and listened to "Don't Miss This." After dinner and kids were in bed, we were able to join virtually Dan's parents' stake conference and see his dad give a talk.  

January Videos:  

“Helyellcome,” Ben’s Bd at Get Air, Ben presents and candles, Alice fights Ben with a sword!

Jan. 2021- Week 3- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Weekend at Mantua, Among Us, Inauguration, Trash Bag Fashion Show

 Friday we hurried through homework and packed up to leave by 12.  We got lunch on the way and made it to Mantua by 2.  It was our assigned weekend to check on the house so we decided to make it a weekend stay!  We got settled into the house unloading our stuff, unloading the dishes, changing light bulbs, and replacing batteries in smoke detectors that were beeping.  I also cleaned out the vacuum.  The kids played headbands (giving Alice the "sample questions" card to help her feel included :)) and worked on their diamond art.  Dan left to go get pizza for dinner and I started cleaning the top oven that had some gnarly stuff burned on the bottom.  Sadly, Dan called to say he was stuck in some snow after he had gone scouting out a location to go shooting.  I fed the kids a different dinner while our friend Bryce Coy and another local tried to get him unstuck, but in the end, we had to call a tow truck service.  The kids and I watched Studio C clips and then went to bed after Dan got home safe and sound!  Dan and I then watched "Wanda Vision."

Saturday after breakfast, McKenna and I left so I could take her to Aladdin rehearsal.  I then stopped by the house to get a few things we forgot, and went to Farmington Station to spend a Bath and Body Works gift card I got for Christmas.  I went back to the school parking lot and listened to "Don't Miss This" on my phone and tried to take a quick nap.  I went into the school and watched the last 20mins of rehearsal then drove back to Mantua by 3pm.  Dan had taken the kids on an outing to the frozen over Mantua Reservoir and Alice's leg fell in an ice fishing hole and she was so sad to be cold and wet.  We chilled, snuggled kids, took naps, and Ben and McKenna played Among Us.  We did baths and had our pizza dinner. Then we watched "War with Grandpa" which was pretty cute.  After kids were in bed, Dan and I went on a quick dessert date night into Brigham City where we got treats from Peach City and sat and ate them in the temple parking lot.  Back at Mantua, I worked on a grocery order and finished "Don't Miss This" while Dan watched Star Wars stuff.  

Sunday we streamed and watched church from Mantua, then Dan passed us the Sacrament.  Our Primary lesson was my virtual singing time video about "Family History."  We also participated in the Sunday School over Zoom.  Anna lost another tooth!  After lunch the girls played, Ben did his diamond painting, and I cleaned the kitchen some.  I had my family conference call and finished watching "The Other Side of Heaven" with McKenna.  Alice fell asleep on the front rocking chairs which did not look comfortable.  We were supposed to have dessert and hang out with our friends, the Coys, who live up in Mantua now, but some of their family got sick.  :(  Instead, we finished watching "Hook" and played Skyjo.  After kids were in bed, Dan watched more Star Wars and then we talked for a while.  

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the kids had no school.  I exercised using a youtube video while Dan played video games with Ben.  We did laundry and some cleaning then we drove around to see an ice sculpture, the cemetery, and the White family home.  We went back to the house to finish packing and cleaning and then went bowling in Brigham City where Alice ended up winning with a score of 113!  Ben and Dan tied at 112.  :)  My arm/elbow hurt so I had to bowl mostly granny style.  We picked up groceries on the way home and came home to a fresh blanket of snow.  After dinner we played "Among Us" in real life.  Later, I helped McKenna study for the spelling bee.  

Tuesday became my laundry day.  Homework was a little frustrating due to slow computers.  Ben went to Henry's and Anna went to Ellie's. Lyla came here to play.  We later ended up with Tanner, Cooper, and Rai here playing RC cars with Ben and Henry.  It had been a long time since we had so many kids over and I loved it.  They were all masked, but I'm so ready for Covid to be done so we can fill our home with friends and family safely!  The kids also played "Among Us" in real life.  After dinner we played games as a family, and after kids went to bed Dan watched more Star Wars stuff and I worked on Blurb.  

Wednesday was Inauguration Day!  Even with large security threats, everything went smoothly and I felt such relief knowing Donald Trump is out of office!  Also, the Bernie Sanders memes were so funny for several days following the event (he showed up to Dan's work Zoom call ;)).  I volunteered in Bethany's class.  The kids had piano and I took McKenna and Lyla to rehearsal.  I ran a few errands on the way home.  Grace came over to play.  *Bethany started feeling a little sick with a runny nose and deeper voice.  We did baths after dinner and Dan had a later work meeting.

Thursday Bethany stayed home with a cold and was a distance learner.  We had a normal day with school and homework for everyone else.  I tried frying some zucchini in the air fryer and it turned out delicious.  I called Jonathan and Bethany had music over Zoom.  Anna had dance and Ben had rehearsal.  After dinner, McKenna had YW and they did a "trash bag" fashion show.  Dan had a YM planning meeting here so I hung out in the basement.  

Jan.2021- Week 2- Decorating for Valentine's Day, Host Book Club, McKenna Field Journal, Dan Pickleball Champ with Youth

Friday McKenna had a Zoom student council meeting and Ben attended an in person meeting.  I also had the chance to help Brooklyn Ulmer out and drive her to her first day of training for a new job at Cold Stone.  Anna had her class Zoom meeting and got to do a spotlight for herself.  Ellie came over to play with Anna after that.  After lunch, McKenna played at Lia's and Bethany played at Hallie's.  Ben seemed to have a long day of homework unfortunately.  I worked on a grocery order and listened to Marco Polos.  We had my parents and Mickelle over for dinner and donuts that night to celebrate Ben's birthday!  Once kids were in bed, Dan and I watched "Tenet."  That's a tricky movie to understand.  

Saturday I walked and Dan gave himself a haircut.  I went with McKenna to her Aladdin rehearsal and helped with costuming.  It was greatly needed since the director was kind of thrown into this and seemed overwhelmed.  McKenna unfortunately felt like it was a bit of a waste of a rehearsal since they only worked on music she already knew.  While we were gone, Dan and Ben did Legos, and apparently the girls thought it was nice enough to have a picnic lunch outside.  :)  Later that afternoon, Dan went to the Remington's to help him work on one of our kitchen chairs fixing the cushion.  That evening, Dan and I went on a date to dinner and groceries.  We finished "Tenet" later.  

Sunday we were on time for church!  We did a home primary lesson and then our Zoom meetings.  After lunch I played a game with Ben and then watched "Don't Miss This" and Ben read a book snuggled up next to me.  Ben also finished his Gryffindor color by numbers.  I took a progress picture of Anna's head bruise she got on Ben's birthday.  On my family conference call, we talked a lot of politics in light of the recent attack on the Capitol.  After dinner, we played Skyjo.  

Monday I worked on stuff for my first virtual Primary singing time.  I did laundry and drove carpool like normal.  After lunch and homework I did some mending and listened to my book.  I helped Bethany make her All About Me poster for her spotlight week for her half birthday.  Ben played at the Johnson's with Henry Alexander there as well.  Emi Atkin came to play with Anna.  Anna lost a tooth right before dinner!  I recorded my Primary video that night.  

Tuesday I took Alice to Michael's to look for some Valentine's decorations.  After lunch and homework, Bethany had dance. I finished my book club book and cleaned.  Ben had rehearsal and I hosted book club!  We discussed Kylee Nelson's pick "Everything We Keep" about a girl's search for her missing fiance that she was told was dead.  It was a good book for the first half, and then took a turn for the inappropriate during the second half.  Still, it is always great to be with my friends again.  We also got word from Dan's parents that they were going to have to move to a new house since their landlord was selling the current house they were living in.  Kind of a stressful time for them.  

Wednesday was normal with school, piano, homework, McKenna's rehearsal and the three middle kids did art and then played outside for a bit.  After dinner and kids were in bed, I delivered copies of the Primary singing time handouts.  

Thursday morning was chill.  I listened to a podcast from Wendy Watson Nelson.  Ben had his Zoom novels meeting after lunch.  McKenna took some pictures outside for her field journal assignment and Ben helped. I called Jonathan and Bethany and Anna had music and dance.  I played playdoh with Alice while dinner cooked.  Ben had rehearsal and Dan and McKenna went to youth activities.  The YM had a pickleball tournament and Dan won!  I drove Backstage carpool home.  I helped Ben and Anna pack for our Mantua weekend.  

Jan. 2021- Week 1- Finished Puzzle, Ben's Birthday, Get Air, Anna Head Bonk

 Friday- New Year's Day- was a chill day.  I finished the peacock puzzle and worked on a grocery order and listened to my book.  Dan and Ben played with his circuit board.  McKenna worked on a to-do list of her own (she's SO self motivated) and the little girls played, listened to music and watched shows off and on.  McKenna also showed me her completed Book of Mormon reading chart from 2020!! She did it! She After lunch, Bethany did some homework and we played Color Brain.  Dan and Ben watched Captain America and I worked on Blurb. McKenna and Dan went to the Dollar store to get some stuff for YW.  After dinner, we played a new game called Kids Against Maturity. After kids were in bed I organized picture collages on my phone.  

Saturday I walked on the treadmill in the morning and listened to my book.  After breakfast, we put away Christmas decorations.  We attended Dylan's priesthood ordination in Alabama through Zoom. Dan and I went on a lunch date and went looking for some Valentine's decorations and I was disappointed nothing was out yet.  We finished cleaning that afternoon and then got everyone ready for church tomorrow.  

Saturday into Sunday I had a terrible night's sleep, in part due to Alice.  We streamed church at our new time, 9am.  I got a cute picture of Alice and Bethany matching. Since it was fast and testimony Sunday, where there was a pause in the meeting, McKenna got up to share her testimony!  I then did a small primary lesson with the kids.  Dan came home and passed us the Sacrament and then we had our Zoom meetings.  For lunch, we tried chicken nuggets in our new air fryer and the kids loved them!  I read and napped with Alice and then watched the "Don't Miss This" weekly video.  McKenna and Dan attended a YW presidency meeting and then she helped deliver a candy poster she designed for Becky Paulson who was just released as YW President.  For dinner that night, we had pork chops in the air fryer and they were pretty good, but a little dry.  Dan attended Russell's priesthood ordination.  We played Kids Against Maturity again and prepped to go back to school the next day.  *I felt really productive and spiritually fed this day.

Monday was a normal morning and after homework, the kids played with Henry, Brittana, Cooper, and Mabel. After dinner and kids to bed, Dan watched Star Wars stuff. 

Tuesday morning Alice had a weird episode where she threw a tantrum because I wouldn't let her in the bathroom while I showered, so she kicked the door over and over.  Then, she cried "Owie! Owie!" and wouldn't walk on her foot for some time!  Then, after food and some Tylenol, she was fine. So weird.  Swa stopped by that afternoon to bring over some shoes for me to try on.  I helped McKenna and Ben record a video for a book project of her.  We included some bloopers in the video as well (hence Ben's face).  :)  Ben played outside with Tanner.  After dinner, Ben went to his first High School Musical Rehearsal at Backstage.  (Not sure where Alice's silly face came from.)

Wednesday I volunteered in Bethany's class and homework and piano was normal.  The saddest news of the day was that a group of people, presumed to be Trump supporters, stormed our nation's capitol building to try to stop the certifying of the Electoral College votes to confirm Joe Biden as our new president.  McKenna had rehearsal, Ben played at Oliver's, and Bethany played at the Johnson's.  I started planning some stuff for Primary.  Anna decided to take her new scooter outside.  After dinner and bedtime, we prepped for Ben's birthday!

Thursday was Ben's 10th birthday!  I got a call after breakfast that Anna had bonked her head really hard at school on a bar on the playground and I needed to come get her.  She cried so loud and long on the way home since she tried really hard to hold it in while she was at school.  Once home, I gave her some meds and ice and let her rest.  I was really hoping we could still go through with our BD plans for Ben to to go to a trampoline park later in the day.  Once everyone one else was home, we went and got special juice and bread for lunch and the kids worked on homework.  Then we went to Get Air to have some fun!  It was so nice because there were really only about 10 other people there the whole time we were, so we jumped without our masks and still felt pretty Covid safe.  I wouldn't have been able to breath very well otherwise.  ;) Bethany had music and Anna had dance.  I called Jonathan for our weekly call.  We had ramen for dinner and Ben had rehearsal.  McKenna and Dan also had youth activities.  We skyped with my family for them to wish Ben a happy birthday, and then Ben finally opened presents right before bed. He was so patient.