Absolutely Awesome Eight: April in Quarantine

We spent the month of April complying with Governor Little's "Stay-At-Home" order. Yep, we stayed home (for the most part) and all non-essential businesses had to close their doors (unless they offered curbside or drive-thru services). It has been a unique opportunity to practice 'social distancing' and for the kids to continue with school online. Work slowed a little for Aaron but that doesn't mean he slowed....we all just changed gears!

Never knew I had it in me to spend hours and hours sitting on the floor sorting through seemingly endless LEGO pieces. But that's exactly what Quinn and I did for days/weeks. This huge undertaking gave Quinn a goal to focus on and I was his side-kicked for a lot of it. He has a real knack for putting things together but this undertaking still took a long time. It was the perfect COVID-19 project.

After sorting all the LEGOS into color piles/baskets, we would find the individual pieces for each set. And for those booklets that disappeared years ago, we looked and found a few online. Quinn put the sets together as we went. After building the sets, Quinn labeled bags for everything. The extra pieces have been organized into other containers that he keeps in his bedroom drawers. He worked tirelessly on this project and did the final organizing all by himself. Way to go Quinn!

Quinn set up a LEGO museum in his bedroom complete with labels above each set including the month/year of when they were received. He gave a few virtual tours to patient family members:). Eventually, he organized what he wanted on his closet shelves then took smaller sets apart and placed them in the labeled bags.

It would take a pandemic for my kids to sit down and work on puzzles. Some have enjoyed it!

7-layer dip - snack during Conference

We loved listening to President Nelson and the other speakers during this memorable 200th celebration of Joseph Smith's First Vision and the ongoing restoration of the Gospel throughout General Conference weekend. A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World: The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was released, a new Church symbol was introduced, several additional temples will be constructed (including Shanghai, China and Dubai), and our prophet led us in a sacred Hosannah Shout complete with singing "The Spirit of God". We were also invited to join in a day of prayer and fasting with people around the world on Good Friday, April 10.

Conference Weekend - April 4-5

Though still cold and windy, it was good to get out and walk around our property after conference.

Happened to notice lots of people on devices at the same time. They like sharing funny memes.

We have gotten a jump start on the yard work. And spent hours in it already. Darn voles did a number eating up entire sections of our lawn. The damage is extensive this year and we're trying once again to destroy the critters. The kids helped rake up 40 black garbage bags of dead grass (hauled to the dump). And that was before we rented a thatcher.

We updated our stairwell railing and bannister last fall. The hallway cupboard finally got my attention. It was transformed from the distressed glazed maple to white. Now it matches the area.

Anna and Elsie have wanted to take their built-in desks out and make their closets a 'normal' place to keep their clothes. Aaron had to sawzall the formica tops out then I patched and painted before hanging bars. They are happy with the change and now keep their clothes in their bedrooms.

Elsie's closet without the desktop.

The bridge expansion project was started last fall after the water was out of the canals and completed just before the water returned. The timing of this has been tricky but successful. No doubt this new bridge will stand through the Millennium or longer.

Tanner has been a diligent student and reached an exciting milestone in technically 'graduating' with his undergrad degree from BYU-I in Business Finance on April 9. Due to the pandemic, no graduation ceremony was held but that didn't keep him from celebrating. He is finishing up a few online credits along with taking some pre-req classes required for his graduate studies which start in August at Utah State University. He's pursuing dual degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources. He has worked three jobs - hiring/training tutors in the writing center on campus, TA for two different professors and cleaning the HCP office building. He will continue as a TA in the business department and is looking forward to starting an internship soon. We hope he will be able to travel to Washington D.C. before too long!

Worth the hassle to flip the hassle!

Tanner with good friend & fellow graduate, McKinley

A surprise DoorDash delivery of Crumbl Cookies made our day - yum!

Start of Anna's chalk art.

Easter Morning - April 12

Easter Sunday - we enjoyed our at-home church service together. The kids also colored eggs and had a great time with our indoor egg hunt. Aaron still fulfills his Bishop responsibilities via Zoom and phone calls mostly. As such, he's been around to make Sunday dinner this month - awesome!

Since we couldn't go out to eat at a restaurant to celebrate Tanner's graduation, we ventured from our home to IF the following week. We met Aaron at his office for a take-out dinner. Nice change of pace during this quarantine time. The kids had fun writing on Aaron's large white boards and chillin' in this cool vibe office space in the downtown area. Congrats Tanner!

Quinn - cooking eggs for dinner

One of the benefits of having everything cancelled means all of us are home most evenings. Each of the kids have been assigned a night to cook/clean up dinner. Some haven't been thrilled about this opportunity to expand their skill set. Let's just say we've had lots of pasta dishes and 'breakfasts' for dinner. Someone got creative enough to suggest roasting hotdogs. Tanner and I opted out of that meal - haha!

First M. family ZOOM call.

Harish, Bala, Sister Judd, Brinley

We were excited when Brinley sent this photo of Bala and Harish (April 19). Bala has been patiently waiting for the opportunity to get baptized but everything has been shut down for weeks. Finally, permission was granted for this to occur. Only 5 people were in the building for Bala's special baptism but others watched via technology.

Birthday boy turned 11 years old on April 22. First thing he wanted to do was open one present. Just what he wanted - more LEGOS! The rest of his day included getting a foot zone, watching a Harry Potter movie, riding his bike around the neighborhood twice (with triplets), having his birthday dinner, eating ice cream, receiving birthday wishes, opening gifts and watching a Star Wars movie with his Dad. Quinn said it was a pretty good birthday for being in quarantine - haha.

Tatertot casserole & watermelon

He loved getting money from grandparents.

After taking a hiatus from LEGOS for a few years, his interest has peaked again during COVID-19. Online shopping is all we've done (except for a few grocery store runs).

Quinn chose moose-tracks and cookie dough ice cream for his treat.

No surprise but Quinn got started right away on the police station set he received. It was an inconvenience for him to have to go to bed but he finished building the set the next morning.

Aaron and I have gotten out on our bikes a few times - including a challenging ride from the Broulim's in Driggs to the Targhee ski resort (April 24). Later that evening, I was invited to join a group planning to snowshoe to the top of Table Rock in the Tetons. I've always wanted to make that hike but I had just maxed out my legs on the mountain bike ride. Knowing I may not have the opportunity again any time soon, I quickly put things together to begin our 4:45am Saturday morning (April 25) adventure. In my mind, I figured these people were all crazy - and I was joining them!

Jeralyn, Heather, Jane

After driving an hour, we had to snowmobile 5 miles in to get to the trailhead. The ringleaders are serious about their play and had the most incredible gear - 8 snowmobiles, covered trailers, the whole get-up. I was just hoping the boots/items I borrowed from Jane would hold up well enough for me to endure the hike. I did have issues with my poles but everything else worked out.

Jeralyn, Jane, Heather

I didn't want to leave by 5am. They educated me. It was important to get as far as we could before the sun came out because softening snow would make the return trip more difficult.

We climbed 1000 ft. in the first half mile.

Jeralyn, Heather, Matt, Jane

The scenery was breathtaking and the weather was nearly perfect. Very rare to have sunshine and almost zero wind (except at very top). It was absolutely stunning! A side note: while in this open area, a small aircraft did a flyover - happened to be the brother of Kevin L. (he and Nephi organized our outing). Both are pilots. Kevin told his brother where we'd be and his timing was spot on.

There were nine in our group. Nephi, Jeralyn & Zac, Matt & Jane, Kevin & Julie with daughter, Aubrey and me. Aaron really wanted to come but he promised to take Quinn out for his birthday breakfast and fishing that day. What a guy! We also met two other couples from Twin Falls on the trail and they were fun to visit with. Aubrey and I were ahead of our group and with the others so we waited at the top for the photo op. Never did get a group shot. The final ascent was crazy. It was a vertical wall of rock covered with snow. Just a few feet from the top, one of my snowshoes actually fell off! I had to put it on my hand and claw my way to the top. Looking back, I almost can't believe what I did. I was reminded of Quinn's prayer the night before, "Please bless my Mom not to die":).

At the top of Table Rock.

Jane, Matt, Heather - on our return.

Coming down the mountain was almost comical. The hardened snow melted into a snow cone texture. We were spread out and I was alone for a portion but the tracks were easy enough to follow. After a few miles, I learned the best way down was on my behind whenever possible! Kevin L. is an orthopedic surgeon so we figured we were in good hands if we had any injuries. It was a relief to finally make it back to the snowmobiles. I believe we hiked straight up 4 miles and then straight down another 4. Took just over 6 hours. Nephi and Kevin made a goal to hike Table Rock once a month for the entire year (that's crazy). They are training for some extreme mountain climb this summer. Impressive.

Snowmobiling back to our cars.

Spending more time at home this month has allowed me to do a little sifting and sorting of stuff. As challenging as those early years of parenting were, part of me had a hard time letting go of all the job charts and incentive programs we utilized for over a decade. Some worked better than others but they all represent a deep desire to teach my children the value of hard work and personal responsibility. Interesting to note, Quinn hasn't experienced what the older kids have in this department. I suppose it goes with the territory of being the youngest! And parental burn-out is real.

Quinn received an Amazon gift card for his birthday.
Surprise - he ordered more LEGOS.

Mark, Joey, Jantzen, Mackay

The official end date of the "Stay-At-Home" order was April 30. Slowly, businesses will begin opening up again and the governor has a stage system for allowing us to resume "normal" life over the next few weeks and months. The children will not be returning to school until the fall, all sports seasons have been cancelled/postponed and life as we knew it has been changed in many ways. The kids were on the count-down for April 30 - and each of them made plans to be with friends again. Jantzen and Anna have had a few more liberties than the others since they can drive but all activities have been outside. Hiking with buddies, going to the sand dunes, Anna has gone running with Ainsley, etc. It felt good to finally get haircuts and make dental appointments! It's been an interesting and mostly joyful journey to take a step back and enjoy more family time together.