April Covid-19 Total Shut Down

 April has been a month of total lockdown.

This picture is a spahgetti dinner I tried with a sauce that was with garlic rather than traditional Italian flavors.  Jacob does not like Italian seasoning and thus does not ususally like spahgetti.  He will at least usually eat it, but this time he told us it was actually good.  Jason and I laughed knowing that it was probably due to lack of Italian seasoning.

Speaking of dinners....on the 4th I wrote the following note so I wouldn't forget:
"Tonight at dinner I was telling Jacob and Jason how much I loved them.  Then thinking about them I got a little teary eyed.
Jason said to Jacob, "Look at Mom, she's tearing up."  Then he countinued, "Just think what this would be like at Mylee's house--6 girls!"  Jacob shrugged and responded straight faced, "Flooded!" 
It was so funny!

 General Conference was different this year in that they didn't hold it in the Conference Center.  Because of Covid everyone needs to be socially distanced so they held it in a small auditorium.  It was still very good.

Covid brought home haircut for Jacob.  It didn't turn out too badly.  Not completely even, but good enough for being home bound.

 An orienteering company put together an orienteering map for Dimple Dell reservoir.  We went up on a Saturday afternoon and did the map.  Some flags were harder to find than others, but we did it!

The weather was really nice through April....nice, but no rain...so mixed blessings.  Great for being outside on lock down, but not good for water supply.
We tried a fire pit one night and it started to sprinkle.  We sent the picture to our friends the Catheys and Tom asked if Jacob and I were trying to socially distance while doing the firepit.  I responded I was just trying to socially distance from the smoke and smell that comes with it.

Here are some pictures from Easter Sunday.  Jacob still hunts for eggs and dinner was really good!

During this time I was going through some old pictures.  Ran across this one from around 1994.  Since I had lunch with April and Carla in March it was fun to pull this out.  

We have done a lot of Zoom calls.  Zoom Ward Council, Zoom Sunday School a couple of times a momth.  Those have been really good!  We also do Zoom SS with Joy and Mathew's family.

Since it was so nice, weather wise, Jacob began pulling out the tent to read.  From there we watched the new neighbors, across the streeet, redo their front and backyards.  They got a ton done in a short amount of time!

 My friend Marcia connected us with a guy who sells patio furniture at a discount.  We got this 11' umbrella and it is great to have!

A dinner outside

We had our valve box moved away from the house  into the grass area.  That was a job! 

Jacob had online school for the last 8 weeks.  Here is his work station.

Covid also has introduced the use of face masks.  I wear them to the grocery store (I don't really go anywhere else).  When I come home I take Lysol wipes and wipe down all the containers, wash the produce...It is a pain!!  I'm all paranoid about germs and how long it lasts on surfaces and what surfaces.  Ugh!

Jacob grabbing a snack.
 

 With homeschool has come math tutoring.  Jacob is very reisitant to help of most kinds from us.  So it was a rough go at times.











During this month I have walked with Marcia and Sherrie M-S.  Have gotten tons of miles in.  My shoes have worn out!




















We have very pretty views and sidewalk art abounds!

The official lock down started on Monday, March 16th.  2 days later we woke up at 7 a.m. to a 5.7 earthquake.  This month we had another rather large one too.

 Scouts has contiued online.

More looking back

 Jason was given an alotment to buy a new desk.  He got a sit stand desk and so we had to get his old one out.  He ended up cutting it up and made a side desk drawer to use since the new desk didn't have one.

First watermelon of the season.  Wasn't bad.

Mom's 81st birthday was on the 16th.  We wanted to go over and visit her, but the weather was too cold to sit outside.  So the next week we all went and sat on her lawn.  Had a fun time!



















When things shut down everyone was buying bottled water, toilet paper etc.  Store shelves were empty of some products.  Costco finally got a shipment in of toilet paper!

Family Zoom meeting

 Shut down has been OK, but boring.  It seems that things will open a little at the beginning of May.  That is good because this has shut down the economy--which is horrible!  People out of work, crude oil was selling for negative amounts because no one is driving.  Resturant business is hit the hardest, but are trying with curbside takeout.  It is so sad what it has done!  Airline industry is hit hard because no one is flying and it will be a while before it is back to normal.  We can't make any vacation plans because you have to worry about staying away from others.  :(

For the earth this has been a positive. Places that have had smog etc. are cleared up.

Karen brough donuts one morning.  Yum!

March and Covid-19

WHAT A MONTH!!  Nothing like anything in my lifetime so far.

March started out normally.  Here Jacob and Jason are playing Asphalt 8 and Jason won!  He had to have a picture to prove he had beaten Jacob.  So funny!

 Tired Dad looking at his phone and falling asleep.

 Early in the month we had begun to hear more about Covid19 and when I made my normal Costco run I purchased a few more items.  Carrying bottles down the stairs to the basement caused this dent.  A bottle slipped and rolled down the stairs hitting the wall.  Bummer!







I include this picture of the stool dad made for me as a Christmas gift in 2004.  It is funny to see that it gets moved around, pulled apart, sat in and on, as much as the one we had when I was a kid.

Sprayer wouldn't work.  Jason fixing it.  

The first weekend of the month, the 6th and 7th, Jacob went on a scout trip to Antelope Island. 

 Dinner out at Everest Curry Kitchen for my birthday.  Yummy stuff!

April Welham Moody, Carla Coleman and me

During January and February, I had stopped by Carla's 3 or 4 times, trying to catch her at home.   Never found her there.  Finally, on a Saturday at the end of February, she was home and answered the door.  We had a great visit as she told me that in May 2017, her then 17-year old son ended up in the hospital with a blood disease.  He was there from May 2017 until August of 2019!!  What an ordeal they were living through.
After seeing her we managed to get together for dinner one night to visit.  It was so fun!!

We have been considering cementing in the back side of the house.  Continuing the patio that already exists.  We need to move valve boxes and had this pipe right by the boxes that we didn't know what it was.  After some investigation I learned it is the clean out pipe for the sewer.

Blue Stakes markings for electric and cable wires

Then the day came....Wednesday March 12th.  It was announced that people needed to begin to stay home.  Covid19 had come from China, was hitting Europe hard and had landed in the U.S.  Social distancing was now a thing.

I was going to Costco anyway and found this line.  I'm glad I had stocked up on things a few weeks before.  Everyone was hoarding toilet paper!  Still hard to find even now!

So busy they had the guys from Tires at the cash registers

They closed most of the food court.  All seating was taken out.

Jacob's office

Friday, March 14th was the last day of school and the last day Jason was at work.  That night Jason brought home his computer, monitor etc.
Schools now were in soft closure....meaning that instruction would be done online.  After Jacob saw Jason bring his office stuff home, he set up his own work space in the dining room.  It has worked quite well.

Mom, Heidi, Malia, Joy and I went to lunch
for my birthday on the 6th.  Malia
brought these flowers that lasted 2 weeks.  

   
Since we couldn't get outside some days we did exercises inside.

One Saturday, Jason and I were talking a walk and went by Bevan's home.  Kathy and Bruce were out doing yard work and we asked what he used to edge his lawn.  It looked great!
Later that afternoon he texted me that he was coming over to help us edge out lawn!  It was so nice of him and it went relatively fast.  We need one of these.

That night I wondered if I was coming down with something.  I was.  Sunday, our ward had Sunday School over Zoom and after that I went to bed.  I was SOOO nervous about Covid19 with Jason in the house.  I so hoped I didn't have it!

This face captures the feeling of the day perfectly!

 The next day was Jacob's birthday and I didn't feel any better....stuffy head, tired.    Poor kid...what a 12th birthday!  He got Lucky Charms for breakfast, had to do school online, and dinner Jason fixed.   Jason did a good job with the garlic chicken recipe I had.  By that night I had a headache and didn't feel well.  Luckily by the next day I was beginning to feel better.

Looking all of my 56 years!

Mints 

New shorts

Knife set

How we read scriptures while I was sick

Jacob really wanted Splatoon 2 for his birthday.  It was $50 and the only thing he had asked for, but we wanted him to save for some of it.  Made the birthday really hard for all of us.  He ended up getting some birthday money and between that and his savings/spending he had his half of the money.  I had already bought it so we were able to pull it out of the closet.  It is hard to teach your children that they don't always get what they want and they need to save for some things!



























When I finally emerged from my bedroom on Thursday (Jason wanted to keep my quarantined until Sunday), things weren't too bad, but there was some cleaning to take care of.

Jason has also been growing out his beard since he works from home.  Here is his glamour shot.

Jacob finally got his birthday breakfast, Swedish pancakes with berries, on Saturday. 

Just goofing around while we're quarantined

Sunday I finally made his sloping birthday cake.  In order to keep it from sliding apart I put dowels in it.

Studio 5 asked for funny things kids said, so I submitted this one.

March is over and we are still in Stay-at-home mode until the end of April.  Can be kind of boring.

Thing that is a problem is the economy.  Businesses have shut down, airlines have nearly shut down.  You can still go to the store for groceries, and you can also get take out food, but most other things are not open. Our economy is hurting.  I hope it all bounces back!