Socially Distant but still Outside!

We had a pretty good week. The kids were ravenous eaters this week. Usually I cook every other day and we have leftovers in between. This week I had to cook every day because there just wasn't enough left for the next day! Not a bad problem to have.

We went on a field trip around the neighborhood this week. We stopped at the houses of people in the neighborhood that we missed or we thought could use some cheering up and decorated their sidewalk with chalk. It was a fun way to help spread happiness.

School was about the same as always except on Fridays when both the boy's teachers decided to give them an easy day! I hope this continues. Logan's teacher had them catch up on anything they missed and took one quiz. That's it!!! Dustin's teacher gave him all fun things to do (art, library, gym, etc)! So the kids all worked on Dustin's together then we called it a day.

On Friday since we didn't have a lot of school to worry about, the kids and I worked hard to get house work done so when Dave got home we could have fun! The boys made a fort/tent in the basement to sleep in. After dinner we had a fire in the back yard. The kids were huge helpers! They crumpled the paper and helped collect kindling and put it in the fire pit. We loved throwing logs on the fire and of course roasting marshmallows. We really have been needing some outside time and this was just the break we hoped for.

Saturday Dave and I worked in the yard a lot while the kids played in the yard. They discovered the water spigot and we had to talk about leaving the water on a lot. Saturday night we had a family movie night where we watched Matilda and drank hot chocolate milkshakes. The boys said they were so good they must be famous!

Sunday we had sacrament meeting and a lesson on loving and being kind to everyone. We set personal goals that would help us show our love to our family this week. We also discussed King Benjamine.

I was able to get 10 pairs of shorts hemmed for Brooklyn's summer wardrobe. She's now set for the warm weather that is supposed to be coming this week (in the 80's is forecasted). Also this week I sewed a new apron for myself. Two of  the three we have in the kitchen have holes in them and since the one that is left belongs to Dave it was time.

Sunday evening, after a delicious dinner of Korean beef, we went on a walk on the Jordan River Trail. The kids had a blast exploring all the little trails, nooks and crannies. They discovered a few houses made out of logs, tons of birds, baby ducks, bugs, and Brooklyn found a beaver's lodge. Getting out in nature was good for us all!

Brownies and Broken Things

We survived another week Socially Distancing. We played a lot of games this week. Mostly Uno and Go Fish, but we also fit in Twister, Clue, and Exploding Kittens. Dave was surprised to find out Brooklyn can play Uno and Go Fish without help. Logan quickly got the hang of Clue, and Dustin loved Twister.

Our Trampoline broke in 3 places this week. This was DEVASTATING!!! Big time. Two of the loops on the side lost their stitching, (which I thought I could probably fix) then when Dave was jumping with the boys Dave jumped right through, making a huge hole in the center of the tramp. So I ordered a replacement mat (they sent the wrong one and almost everyone is now sold out). I'm on my second order from a different company and am PRAYING this mat is the right size and arrives soon. For now I duct taped the hole in the mat as best I could and told the kids not to jump on that spot. Hopefully it will hold up until the replacement one arrives.

Dustin was mailed the Student of the Month award from his class. His teacher said she could tell he was working hard. Little does she know what a fight it is to get his work done every day. That's ok, he was very excited! He hates doing school on the computer, and I don't enjoy making him do it. The Governor announced we'll be doing this for the rest of the year though, so we'll suck it up.

We had several more aftershocks this week. I thought we were done with them, but we had a 4.2 and a 4.17! The first one was at night and it didn't wake up Brooklyn. So we just had to deal with two very scared boys that it took until 10pm to get to sleep. Two days later we had the second big one and it woke everyone up. Everyone was scared, so we did homeschool in my bed for the day. Everyone got a lot of snuggling in. Everyone was extra grumpy and clingy. We also had rain thrown in a few days this week which made it hard to get outside.

But we still were able to get out on our bikes and scooters most days. It's been good for us to practice our turning and going fast. My bike still needs a new tube, and I need to remember to look at what size it is so I can order one (or maybe try to find one at Walmart next time I go). But the kids aren't super fast, so my scooter keeps up pretty well with the kids and still gives me a work out.

Saturday Dave helped us all get the house cleaned back up. It was a MESS from such a tough week, and we're really happy to not live in a pig sty any more. We're hoping for no complications this week so we can keep it nice.

Sunday was a pretty casual one. We woke up late, I had Ward Council (electronically), and we did Sacrament meeting. Somehow the kids convinced us to have brownies for dinner (Dave and I also ate leftovers). The kids thought they were getting away with murder. We also did a family movie night where we watched the Goofy Movie.

I'm itching to get out of the house more! Salt Lake is slowly starting to open back up, and we are trying so hard to abide by the recommendations from the Government, but we are ready to go to parks again! And see friends! And I don't know how we will survive the summer without the splash pad or pool! So hopefully all our social distancing will pay off and we can do all these things soon.

Social Distancing: Day 32

Two weeks ago we had spring break. It was so needed! After day 1 I was left wishing the government would just cancel school for the remainder of the year. Homeschool has been so time consuming and stressful. But having the kids free to do whatever we want was excellent! We did crafts, we played outside, we had picnic lunches in the back yard. It was just a nice break from having to constantly be on the computer doing busy work.

The best part of our break was a trip to visit my parents! We got to visit with them, sew stuffed birds, feed the deer, hike to a frozen waterfall, watch conference, eat a million snacks and generally just relax. It was nice to get to see them and get away from the house.

Last week was a tough transition back to homeschool. After a week of freedom the kids really didn't want to get back to a schedule! There was a lot of complaining and crying but by Wednesday we got it pretty much back on track. We started picking up grab and go lunches at the school across the street, and that has been a nice break every day. It's also been a financial blessing since Dave took a pay cut.

We also fixed up the kids bikes this weekend! They have been going over to the school across the street daily to practice their skills. Hopefully Logan and Dustin will both learn to ride without training wheels this summer. I deconstructed an extra bike we found in our yard a few years ago (nobody ever came back to claim it even when we posted it on neighborhood websites) and reconstructed it as a balance bike so hopefully that will help as well.

I decided to interview the kids about this whole situation so we have a record of their thoughts and feelings through all this. I think I'll also have the boys keep a journal as another way to keep track of their feelings.

Logan

The day I heard about the virus

Who told me about it: Mom
What were my first thoughts: Strange
How I felt: Alarmed
Other things I remember: They told me we were going to do school from home

What My life is like right now

What my schooling is like right now: Very hard. I'm doing it at home from a computer
The person who is helping me cope: Sometimes Dustin, sometimes Mom
Right now I miss: Going to school
What I am hopeful for: That the virus will end!
What I don't want to forget: The fun I had with my family
What has changed in my life: School the most

What is awesome right now?
1. Get to wear PJ's more
2. Picnic Lunches
3. Spend more time with my family

What are some worries right now?
1. That Corona virus will be here for the rest of the school year
2. That I don't get to see my friends

Goals I can work on in my home and yard?
1. Play outside more
2. Working harder on school

Dustin

The day I heard about the virus

Who told me about it: Mom
What were my first thoughts: maybe it won't be so bad
How I felt: just ok
Other things I remember: school was canceled that day for me even though Logan had to go

What My life is like right now

What my schooling is like right now: computer school with Mom
The person who is helping me cope: Logan snuggles with me
Right now I miss: seeing my friends and the park
What I am hopeful for: That the virus will go away soon
What I don't want to forget: I got to be with my family a lot
What has changed in my life: We can't leave our house anymore

What is awesome right now?
1. No Church!!!
2. Picnic lunches

What are some worries right now?
1. That this will never end

Goals I can work on in my home and yard?
1. Ride my bike
2. Jump on the trampoline every day
3. Playing outside more

Brooklyn

The day I heard about the virus

Who told me about it: Mom
What were my first thoughts: I'm sad there are sick people
Other things I remember: the boys stopped going to school

What My life is like right now

The person who is helping me cope: Jesus
Right now I miss: Spending alone time with mom
What has changed in my life: those boys keep not going to school! I wish they would go back

What is awesome right now?
1. I get to play with the boys all the time

What are some worries right now?
1. sometimes they lock me out of their room
2. earthquakes scare me