March 2020

March began much like most of the other Marches in the last few years.  In the middle of March it changed quite dramatically with Covid-19 virus social distancing and earthquakes and aftershocks.

I began the month with an organization of storage boxes and getting rid of items I had kept all the way from my elementary days.  This all started because I could not find my teaching license and I searched through every box I had to eventually find it in a picture frame behind my BYU diploma. It was then that I knew I had to get all my stuff organized! So it began, and I found some fun gems in those boxes. Like our wedding pictures.  Anyone want 100 of our engagement pictures?  Too bad, because they are gone now. It was a fun walk down memory lane.

Timmy got really into a book series about dragons called Wings of Fire. He was even reading while eating, walking, talking, and he tried during music practice but that didn't work.

We visited Grandma Joyce and I am so glad we did just before everything shut down for Covid-19.

Farm view at the beginning of March with a goose on the roof.

Monopoly became the game of the month. For some reason the games go on for days!

Mark did lots of fly fishing.

I got my hair cut and liked it, so I took some selfies to remember how to cut it again.  It is good to document how I look and change through the years.  I have reached a point in my life now that I look at my added wrinkles and chubby cheeks only as evidence of great life experiences out in the sun, lots of smiles, and lots of enjoyment with my family eating delicious food.  I know having short hair is not as beautiful as my thick long flowing locks, but it sure gives me more time to spend doing things I care so much more about!

The last YW activity before all church gatherings were cancelled was car maintenance with Mark. He made it so fun and the girls learned so much and loved it!

And our last eat out before all dine in eating was cancelled was Korean BBQ.  So glad we got it in! I cannot believe how much calamari Timmy can eat!

Then the world turned upside down and everything was cancelled.  School was cancelled.  Church was cancelled. Sports were cancelled.  Music and orchestra were cancelled. Mark started working from home. There was no toilet paper to be found anywhere! So that weekend we decided to watch the Lord of the Rings movies.

I found where the chickens were laying their eggs.  Then I clipped their feathers to make them stay in their pen so they can learn to lay in the nesting boxes and not poop all over our yard!

The first week school was cancelled happened to also be our Spring Break.  Before the boys started online school and before it was illegal to recreate outside of our own county, I packed up the boys and the Scamp and headed to the desert!  Mark had to stay home and work, but he taught me all about pulling and setting up the Scamp for my first time taking it out alone. I was nervous and excited.

Luckily all went well on our trip and we had so much fun!  We found a great isolated spot outside of Canyonlands Needles District where the boys could play and explore to their hearts content.

I could not get the smile off my face that whole first evening.  I LOVE red rock country.  I love the dry air, the rocks, the lack of bugs, the beauty, the rock scrambling, the sand, the desert plants, and camping with my kids! We watched the sun set and built a perfect fire.

After a game of Monopoly Deals we settled down for a good night's rest.

The next morning I did some clean up and work at camp while the boys explored.

Then we headed into Canyonlands.  We hiked around Squaw Flats and found some really fun hikes and climbs.

As we were hiking along the top of the flat, Timmy was walking and tossing his orange in the air.  He missed catching it and it rolled into a deep slot canyon.  We were able to find our way down in there to get it out.

I took a lovely perfect rest in the sun while the boys tried to clamber to the top of various mushroom rocks.

I joined them to find our way to the top of the tallest one and it was so windy we had to lie down in order not to be blown off.

Back at camp there was more exploring and a hike through a wash.

30 seconds after we arrived back at camp that evening it started raining and didn't stop all night.  We hunkered down in our cozy Scamp and made dinner and dessert, read books, and studied the Book of Mormon. Then we had a nice warm (after changing batteries in the thermostat) dry night.

Little did we know that back at home on that day, March 18th, we were missing a once in a lifetime experience.  We had an earthquake!  Everything was fine at the house, but Mark was worried about the fish tank falling off the stand so he strapped it up.

We woke up Thursday morning to a very cold morning.  We were planning on driving and staying that night in Arches.  We stopped at Newspaper Rock and then finally hit a spot where we had phone service.  My phone blew up in texts from family and friends about the Earthquake.  I pulled over and called Mark.  We couldn't believe what we had missed at home in two days!  An earthquake and aftershocks had shaken Salt Lake Valley and Moab was shutting down because of Covid-19.  Our campsite in Arches had been cancelled.  It was very cold anyway so we just decided to head on home.

It was such a fun trip and I learned so much and I am really glad I went.  But it was nice to be safe at home with Mark again making pizzas!

We had to settle for recreating in our own backyard now.

Then distance learning began!  It was a really hard adjustment for Brian, but he is doing just great.

Timmy likes that he can speed through his work whenever he wants, wearing whatever he wants and sitting however he wants.

All our Airbnb guests cancelled because of Covid-19.  So we posted the apartment as a fully furnished rental.  We found an awesome month to month renter to move in right away.  So I had to get the place all deeply cleaned, and take out a lot of things and touch up all the walls with new paint.  It was a busy week.

It has been a bit of a challenge to find good active things for the boys (Timmy) to do. A kite worked for a bit.

Playing ball at the church is good too.

I am glad Mark can still take a break during the week to go fishing through all this!  He is super busy with work here at home.

We have come up with some new games to play.  This was a fun game making google say certain words.

We celebrated Brian's 12th birthday on March 28th so we could get a Saturday order of birthday Cafe Rio!

Nothing better than a tres leches birthday cake!

He got wireless earbuds for his birthday.

Timmy gave him two balloons.

And Mark got the family a set of laser tag guns!  All Brian had wanted for months before his birthday was to invite his closest friends to play laser tag.  That wasn't happening with the virus isolation so we did our best to provide a substitute.  It is so fun!

The next day was Sunday.  We had another wonderful Sacrament meeting as a family and then made pizzas again.

Sadly in the middle of the day on March 29th, Timmy developed a high fever.  As he stayed in bed Mark played another monopoly game with Brian.

Timmy had a fever up to 104 for two days. We all got some really mild cold symptoms too.  We do not know if we had the coronavirus or a cold.  I may never know, but we had to keep Timmy isolated as long as we could.

It has been and still is an interesting time in life. There is a list circulating on social media of things we don't want to forget during this time.  I'll include it here as part of our journal.

Just so I never forget..... April 2, 2020

-Gas prices were $1.89, $1.43 in some places
-School cancelled - yes cancelled
-Self-distancing measures on the rise.
-Tape on the floors at grocery stores and others to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other.
-Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.
-Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.
-Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
-Entire sports seasons cancelled. Like NBA, MLB, ALL sports!
-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled. Funerals limited to a specific number and being live streamed.
-No masses, churches are all closed. During Easter season.
-No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, now 10 or more, and even this is encouraged to be limited to immediate family.
-Don't socialize with anyone outside of your home.
-Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
-We are to distance from each other. Six feet!
-Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
-Panic buying sets in and we have no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towel no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer.
-Shelves are bare. Hard to find beef, eggs, milk. Sending one family member to shop.
-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
-Fines are established for breaking the rules.
-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
-Big industries help make more ventilators, & more masks for hospitals.
-Press conferences daily from the President and the governess. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
-Government incentives to stay home.
-Barely anyone on the roads.
-People wearing masks and gloves outside.
-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
-Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020.