Summer of the Plague

END OF THE YEAR
I surely never thought I'd live through a plague, but yet here we are: COVID-19. Our summer has been strange, to say the least. The kids never went back to school, so their last regular day was March 6th.

Collin graduated from elementary school, with a drive-thru parade on June 11th. Ethan graduated from kindergarten with a drive-thru parade in May. Katelyn graduated from preschool, with a virtual class party on Zoom. Brennan moved from 3rd to 4th grade with absolutely no closure. I can't say I'm sad that we missed all the May-cember events, but it did make the whole end-of-the-school-year anti-climatic.

SUMMER WEEKENDS
Our summer Saturdays were spent mostly at the lake. We've found our preference is Canyon Lake. We LOVED our one trip to Inks Lake, but it's hard to get reservations and it's 2 hours away. Canyon Lake is inexpensive ($10), close (45 mins) and works for both paddle boarding and the jet ski. We've had a ton of fun! We met friends there twice too.

We paid for a year membership to Six Flags before all this started, so as soon as we were able to we went there. Masks are required except for in the water park. We've only done the amusement park portion twice (once with the few rides that are open, and once for 40 minutes to see the 4th of July fireworks).

Wearing a mask when it is almost 100 degrees with 80% humidity is out-of-this-world awful. We had even more reservations to go to the water park, but honestly, I don't feel safe being around so many potential contagions without a mask, so we stopped going after 3 times.

For the 4th of July, we went to Six Flags and did the water park in the afternoon. Then we picked up pizza, came home and watched Hamilton and went back for the fireworks. It was perfect! It's awesome that we only live 10 minutes away.

 

On our way home from the Six Flags' fireworks, we stopped in the field near our home. It is between three firework stands and all fireworks are legal in our area. It was like a war-zone! The kids loved it and said many times how much better it was than the Six Flags show.  Haha.

One Friday evening in June, after the kids were already in bed, we learned that even though we had Six Flags reservations for the next day, we weren't going to be allowed to use the water park - just the amusement park. All of the sudden, Ryan said, "Let's go to the beach!" So we packed up the car, and when the kids got up the next morning, we got in the car and drove to Port Aransas (3 hours). We stopped at their Walmart for boogie boards and sand shovels, and it was a perfect, though LONG, day.

SUMMER DAYS
Week-days we did "Mom's school work" each morning (grade-level workbooks) and went to the pool just before lunch. I didn't want them eating in the pool area, so we came home at lunch time and ate and I read aloud the Chronicles of Narnia series. The kids listened/read their own books each afternoon. I love the routine I've gotten them into with workbooks, pool, read aloud and independent reading. I plan to do that again next summer.

Collin has been reading the Artemis Fowl series, and Brennan has been reading the Theodore Boone series. Ethan has listened to both of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory books, as well as all the Mouse and the Motorcycle series. He's working on the Andrew Clements' books now. Katelyn has been listening to the Whatever After series.

Usually in the summer, we spend at least one morning a week at the library for some kind of activity related to the Summer Reading Program. This year, you could sign up for a bag for each of your children filled with goodies and a free book, as well as a schedule of activities to do at home. The theme for this summer was traveling around the world (it was also supposed to be the Summer Olympics), so one morning each week I canceled our workbook time and we did one of the countries from the packet. I would mark the new country on a world map with a sticker, and then we'd watch 2 or 3 YouTube videos about the country. Sometimes we would even video chat with someone who had visited the country of the week: Jared & Charlotte (Switzerland & New Zealand), Rob (Kenya) and Grandma & Grandpa (Israel).

After learning a bit together, each of the kids then picked something they wanted to learn more in-depth about, with Ethan and Kate teaming up with Collin, Brennan or I. After 45 mins to an hour, each group or individual presented what they had learned. Here is Kate with the Great Wall of China.

Collin and Ethan showed us a golf ball that could float in water the same salinity as the Dead Sea (Israel). Brennan drew pictures and wrote facts about cow fighting (New Zealand) and Dome of the Rock (Israel). Collin made the Kenyan flag another week. We also made masks (Kenya) and cow bells (New Zealand).  Collin taught us the haka dance (New Zealand). Brennan and Kate set up an obstacle course in the backyard to represent the Olympic Games (Greece). Kate taught us yoga poses (India). It was great fun and helped to break up our weeks.

Our neighborhood pool is closed every Wednesday for cleaning, and since it's so hot here, there isn't much you can do unless you stay home or get wet. So one Wednesday I took the kids to the creek near their soccer fields. It's called Cibolo Nature Preserve. Brennan didn't like how dirty (mud and bugs) it was, so we didn't go back, but everyone else had a great time.

END OF THE SUMMER
We did have a slight reprieve in cases of illness at the beginning and middle of June. The Texas governor started opening restaurants and nonessential businesses (like shopping, movie theaters and salons), but there was a huge spike in cases by the beginning of July, and things had to start closing again. Masks were made mandatory everywhere by the middle of July, and that's supposed to keep our hospitals from overflowing and needless lives from being lost. Fingers crossed.

We are now wrapping up our summer "vacation," and we are making the big School Decision. Every mother is in full-sleepless turmoil. The choices here in Texas are: to send to full in-person learning with a mask all the time, to do full e-learning on a computer all day, or to withdraw and home school. After A LOT of angst, Ryan and I have to decided to enroll the kids in in-person school. I'll assure you I looked into each options for many hours, and this one gave me the most peace.

After we decided to send them, our county declared that all schools must do e-learning through Labor Day. Oddly, most of our school district is not in our county, therefore Collin will be able to attend his middle school right away on Aug 12th, but the "Littles" will all do computer learning at least for three weeks. CRAZY!

* UPDATE: We just received word from the District that their request to exempt our two elementary schools from mandatory e-learning through Labor Day was accepted, so all my kids will go to school on the 12th... right now. *

We are headed to South Padre Island for a beach vacation next week. I booked our oceanfront condo  almost a year ago, but of course, everything has changed since then. All county beaches are closed, but thankfully, our condo sits on the city-owned beach. No shade structures are allowed except umbrellas, so we bought an umbrella. We were going to do a bunch of museums and touristy things, but they are all closed, so I'm glad we can at least use the beach. The condo complex is enforcing mask-wearing, so we'll see what that means at their pool.

I am grateful for our health, and I'm grateful for our huge house. We have plenty of space to spread out when we get on each other's nerves. I am thankful Ryan has been working from home this whole time. About once per week, he sometimes takes the kids to the pool during his lunch break so I can get an hour of quiet. It's been life-saving. There's been a lot of Minecraft and arguing, and I'm ready for a reprieve.

And now on to more uncertainty...

COVID-19

I haven't posted in a long time. I missed two birthdays and Christmas, as well as a trip Katelyn and I took to San Diego in February. I'll have to catch up another time. Unfortunately, if I wait any longer to blog about the Coronavirus quarantine, I might forget something.

This last month has been unprecedented... really. Through all of January and February, we had been hearing on the news about the rapid spread overseas of a highly contagious upper respiratory disease which humans have no immunity to. When Kate and I went to California in February, some travelers were wearing masks, and I used hand sanitizer rather obsessively.

On March 9, the kids started Spring Break. We fully intended to return to classrooms after the week, but as the week progressed things started to change. By Friday, the schools had announced that school would be canceled the following week as well. That next Wednesday, the district put out a packet to be printed at home for "continuity of instruction," and was to be used for the rest of that week and the following one. At some point, the governor of Texas closed schools through May 4. And that's where we are right now. Many states have already canceled school for the rest of the school year, but Texas - and Boerne - have not done so... yet. I fully expect the kids to be home the rest of the year.

So, about school. So at the beginning, they had these packets and we were supposed to turn in our work "when the schools opened again." When they realized that wasn't going to happen, they created online assignments and submission. Basically, the boys would do 30 minutes per subject per day (lang arts, math, sci & soc stu). Then this week, the Specials teachers (computers, library, art, music & pe) wanted in on the action and the parents complained it was too much work, so they do math & lang arts on MWF and sci & soc stu on TuTh, with one special per day per week. Basically, my kids don't have nearly enough to do now, and I have to come up with ways to entertain them.

Life is so strange. The first week home, Ryan went to work each day, and Collin had taekwondo at the facility. By the end of that week though, all exercise facilities had been closed, so Collin started training via Zoom (video conferencing software). The following week all non-essential employees were instructed to work from home, and Ryan said he'd "give it a try." After a day of that, we were placed on "shelter in place" orders, and we were not permitted to leave our homes/neighborhoods except for groceries, doctor appointments or medication refills. All non-emergency surgeries, hair appointments, shopping, etc are canceled/closed. 

Before the "shelter in place" order, the boys were taking tennis lessons twice a week at the tennis courts in the neighborhood. A boy in Ryan's Sunday School class is on the high school team, and he offered to teach them for $20/hour. After the "shelter in place" order, I let the boys go play on the courts - since they could walk - but without their coach. Then, last week, the courts were suddenly chained and padlocked, as well as the basketball courts and playground. To be honest, my kids weren't allowed to play on the playground from the very beginning, before they wrapped it in yellow caution tape, but many kids still were.

Anyway, basically, every day or so we lose another activity or pleasure. Ryan says they are gradually taking away anything that causes any joy. For instance, at the beginning, everyone was saying that we should go to all the national and state parks, because nature is a great place to social distance. Then, they said we could go to the public parks, but all the bathrooms, amenities and workers would not be there. You would have to purchase all your permits and passes in advance. Then, this week they closed all national and state parks because they were overcrowded and dangerous to the spread of the disease.

Ok, why all the concern about the spread? Because there is no immunity, the disease is caught by everyone exposed to it. It lives on surfaces for up to 14 days, and a person can be contagious with no symptoms for 14 days. Older people and those with other health problems get deathly ill. In fact, most people have to be hospitalized and placed on a ventilator in order to survive. Unfortunately, most hospitals usually run at about 98% capacity and only have about 2 ventilators. So... this whole social distancing thing is all about "flattening the curve." Basically, we will probably all get the disease, with varying severity, but we can't all get it at once or the death rate will be astronomical. So, we sit hunkered down at home, day after day, waiting to get sick at a slower rate so the doctors can keep up. I guess it all started when an infected bat was sold and eaten at a live-animal, fresh-air market in Wuhan China. I know, it's insane!?

Ok, on to the grocery situation. Back over Spring Break, there was a run on the stores. The shelves were empty, the lines were long, and the crowds were insane. The store CEOs told us there was no need to panic and that there would always be stocked shelves, so we just ate what we had on hand. After a week or two of that, I need to get essentials, and I was able to schedule a grocery curbside pickup for a few days out. Not to bad. The next time we needed some essentials, I tried to order online, but the next pickup time was 2 weeks away. I placed the order, but knew I'd need stuff sooner. At some point, the rules changed so that shopping was only allowed to be one adult per family per time, and absolutely no children ever. I'm glad my kids are old enough to watch themselves so I can go while Ryan works! One morning, I got up early, put on a mask, and headed to HEB thirty minutes before opening. All the grocery carts were lined up in front of the building, and announcements were running on the PA system about social distancing, washing your hands, and not touching anything that you didn't plan to purchase. I waited in a long line outside until the store opened, and then they slowly let in the first 50 people. If you aren't at the front of the line, you don't get eggs, milk, bread or toilet paper, meat. And then there's the stuff you can't ever buy no matter what time of the day it is: yeast, Lysol wipes, bleach, hand soap and hand sanitizer. Once I got inside, it was like the apocalypse - everyone was in masks walking stiffly from item to item. No idle chatter or head nods. No polite "excuse me" or "thank you." Just getting business done, and getting out. Oh, and the sneeze guards! They have installed these tall, long plexiglass walls between the cashier/bagger and the shoppers. They slide your receipt through this precut hole in the wall. It left me on edge and anxious. I haven't been back since that day. But we do need milk, so I know I have to go sometime...

Church! Ok, so we went to Church the last time the first Sunday of Spring Break. It was weird that week because so many people were out of town. By the end of Spring Break, Church had been canceled world-wide, WORLD WIDE! Almost right away, our Bishop approved the weekly administration of the sacrament. So, each week we get dressed in church clothes and Ryan conducts. We have a song and prayer and then a sacrament hymn while Ryan breaks the bread. We have a white towel to cover the coffee table. Collin - who was ordained in January - passes us the bread and water. We use medicine dosing cups for the water. After the sacrament, we have some talks. Ryan assigns who and the topics. After the talks, we have a snack, then we start Sunday School/Primary. This is when we do our Come Follow Me lesson we would have ordinarily done in addition to church. The big boys did the lesson for Easter last week, but I usually do it.

General Conference was obviously different this year too. Last Fall, President Nelson said it was going to be a unique Conference as we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. Little did we know how unique it would be! They held the meeting in a small side room at the Conference Center. The only people in the room was the First Presidency, sitting in chairs spread across the front. Speakers must have sat outside the room in some kind of waiting area. All the music was either prerecorded (some in January/February before the quarantine when there were suspicions and some reused from old Conferences.) Obviously, everyone watched from their homes. Sunday morning's session was a solemn assembly where we celebrated Palm Sunday with the "hosanna shout" and waving of handkerchiefs. The Choir sang the Hosanna song, replayed from Oct 2000, when the Conference Center was dedicated. It was good, but oh so weird. 

Ethan and Katelyn were supposed to play spring-season soccer, which was supposed to start the week after Spring Break. The league is trying to do a Summer League instead, but I just submitted our request to withdrawal yesterday. It is too blasted hot in Texas in the summer. Another loss.

At this point, I'm planning for the kids not to return to school this year. I'm hoping they can all start Aug 12 in their new grades (C- 6th in middle school, B - 4th, E - 1st & K - Kinder). We have a camping trip scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, which if the state parks don't open back up, will be canceled. We also have a VRBO condo scheduled for the last week of July at South Padre Island. Right now all the beaches are closed, so I'll want to try to get a refund if that continues. We have another camping trip scheduled at a state park for Labor Day, and I sure hope that one happens. There are some murmurs from government about a slow-track return to normalcy that could begin as early as May 1st, but when China started their return this week, they had an uptick in cases and some people even contracted it for the second time! We'll see.

Whew. I wanted to record all of this for my future self, so there it all is. If you read this soon, I know it's the same where you are, but it's so weird and different from the usual, I wanted to have a record.

Meeting Dom - California w/ Katelyn

In January, my brother Jared called telling me that his wife, Charlotte, had a business trip the 2nd week of February. I'd been searching for a time to come visit my new nephew Dom, and this seemed like the perfect chance. The week before Collin was to be gone at school Outdoor Education Camp, and the week after Ryan was going to Japan with work, so Ryan was available to help with the boys, as long as a took Katelyn with me. So, it was planned!

Katelyn and I left on Monday evening for San Diego. Tuesday we spent the day home with Dom, including taking him out in the stroller for a walk and to the neighborhood park.

Wednesday we took him to daycare, and her and I hit the beach and McDonald's before picking him back up.

Thursday we kept him with us to go to a playground near the beach and chase the waves again.

Friday Charlotte was back home again, and Jared took a vacation day. My friend from BYU, Jennifer George Jones, stopped by, and we were able to chat about the old days and our families now.

That evening we headed to dinner and then back to the airport. Katelyn wanted to get a new key chain for her backpack, so we found this little pink, sparkly dolphin in the San Diego airport. Katelyn and I got home about 2am on Saturday.

Katelyn was pretty pleasant, since she was an only child and got everything she wanted. We had a great little Mommy & Me trip. She was absolutely amazing in the airports and on the airplane. I couldn't have asked for her to be more perfect.

I love my brother and his wife and cute baby. I love the beach. Dom is super chill and happy, and it was fun to have a little baby time during the day and for only a week. Haha. Go Vacations!

BRENNAN is NINE!

On Brennan's birthday, he had a waffle with sprinkles before school.

He wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for his cake, and I made it all from scratch. I was super excited about it, but then it didn't turn out to be that yummy after all. It was good but not to die for, ya know?

His gift from us this year was a little programmable robot called an Ozo-bot. It follows colored lines on paper. He has used one at school, and he really wanted one of his own for Christmas. I made him wait for his birthday, which he wasn't too happy about.

For his party, I decided he could do a low-key video game and movie birthday party. He invited two boys from school (Landry & Easton) and two boys from church (Asher & Rockwell). They came over on Friday night and played until Ryan brought home pizza. After pizza, they played until we made ice cream sundaes.

After treats, he opened presents (Pokemon cards, chess game, water balloons) and then they went back upstairs. Brennan was struggling with all the chaos and a bad storm was rolling in, so I had the parents come back a little early to pick up their kiddos. I regret not planning more for them to do, because I think they definitely got bored. Maybe he wasn't quite old enough for an free-style party.

Brennan has done fine with the move. I wouldn't say his life is any different here than it was in Colorado. He usually has one good buddy each year at school and that has stayed about the same. He still doesn't have any interest in sports or activities, so he spends a lot of time telling me he's bored and complaining about our family rules on screen time. He is crazy lazy, and Ryan and I are at wit's end to get him involved in something. He is still a very good doodler, and he loves to tell jokes. He is a great swimmer, and he's getting more into tennis and bike riding. Collin and Brennan are still the best of friends, and it may be hard for Brennan when Collin heads off to middle school next year.

Happy birthday, B! We love you!

Collin is ELEVEN!

For Collin's birthday this year, he chose to go to Sea World as a family to see all the Christmas events. We went in the afternoon so we could see the parade in the evening and the lights when it got dark. So, for lunch we had his cheesecake and sang.

He got two presents. First, he got a holder for all his taekwondo belts. We actually had to order two for them all to fit, and Ryan screwed them together to make one long one. It's on his wall now. His other present was two tickets to the TransSiberian Orchestra Christmas concert, which was being held on Monday.

On our way to Sea World on Saturday, we had an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yum!

When we arrived, we headed to the Pets Ahoy! show because Kate and I saw it last fall, and the boys hadn't. When we got inside, Ethan started complaining how cold he was and curled up in a ball in his seat and started to fall asleep. As we headed out of the auditorium, Ethan got really still, and then threw up all over the brick patio. He'd had Hawaiian Punch at Texas Roadhouse, and there were streams of red running down the path to the drain. I tried to make a wall so the masses of people coming out wouldn't step in it while Ryan tried to find an employee to clean it up. He found someone finally, and Ethan was too weak to walk, so Ryan carried him back to the car. So, uh, happy bday, Col... Part of being in a family, I suppose.

After keeping Ethan home from Church on Christmas Sunday, we drove to Sea World on Monday. Ryan met us at a nearby gas station, and he took Collin to his concert, and I took the other three kids to Sea World. I really wanted to see the Christmas Lights and all the special shows for the Holidays!

In January, Collin was ordained a deacon. He has passed the sacrament a couple times. He is still learning the procedure, but he's been doing a great job. In March, Ryan and I went with him to do baptisms at the temple on a Saturday evening. It is always nice to have some one-on-one time with Collin, who is so easy-going that he sometimes gets lost in the chaos.

Our move has been the hardest on Collin. He loved the outdoors, hiking and backpacking with Ryan. He also had a good buddy he left behind, Jayden. He had to leave his taekwondo school, and though he's adjusted and still got his black belt in December, he definitely preferred the climate at the old school better. As far as piano, I wasn't able to find a teacher who would teach him privately, so he's in a group class doing things he learned years ago. And, in a huge misunderstanding, he was placed in the wrong 5th grade homeroom at school and was left out of all gifted classes for the first quarter of school. In October, they accepted him into a pull-out accelerated class, but it isn't really enough. He's definitely looking forward to middle school next year, where we plans to take Honors Math and Science.

Happy birthday, Ca-Ca! We love you, and I'm so glad you are part of our family!

Thanksgiving w/ Nana & Papa

The kids got an entire week for Thanksgiving off school, and we sure did fill it up with tons of fun.

On Saturday, Collin, Brennan and I all ran Ryan's company's 2-mile Turkey Trot. I started running a year ago (Nov 1, 2018), and I finally made it up to 2-miles, even though with the hills I did have to walk some. Collin was fastest, with a time of about 22 mins. Brennan and I finished together in about 23 minutes. Next year our goal is to beat our times from this year. We aren't fast, but at least we did it.

Nana & Papa arrived on Monday. The morning was filled with cleaning, the afternoon was filled with airport driving, and in the evening they were able to go and cheer for our Collin at one of his final practices before he tests for his black belt.

Tuesday morning I took Ethan & Brennan into the doctor for their well-checks, and we went and saw Frozen 2 in the afternoon. I was really pleased with the show, and Kate was super fun in her Elsa costume with her Anna dolly.

Wednesday we went to Six Flags in the afternoon/evening. Ryan took off a half-day. He and his parents rode a bunch of roller coasters. Ethan & Katelyn even did the Roadrunner! We rode the Christmas train, the ferris wheel a couple times, did bumper cars and some other kiddie rides. They have a bunch of Christmas concerts going on right now too, so we saw several sing/dance routines, the Looney Tunes, lighting up of the Holiday Tree, and a live nativity with camels and sheep. It was surprisingly well-done. They have "snow machines" all over the park that blow out tiny bubbles to land in your hair and jacket. I was certainly not complaining about the 55 degree temps! We had a ton of fun and grabbed donuts and hot chocolate afterwards.

Thursday was the Macy's Parade, cooking, eating and doing dishes. You know the drill. I had done so much preparation on Tuesday and Wednesday though, that after dinner, I talked the adults into helping me decorate for Christmas. I'm super excited about my new decorations!

Friday was raining and cold. Nana & Papa kept the kids in the morning so Ryan and I could go do sealings in the temple. We had planned in the evening to go down to the Riverwalk for the Christmas Light Boat parade, but we watched it on tv instead.

Saturday we cleaned the church in the morning, cheered the Buckeyes to a win against Xichigan, purchased and picked up a new piece of furniture for the office and went to the Boerne Dickens Christmas Festival. It was a warm 82 degrees, and I even wore shorts and a tshirt (me on Nov 30!).

Sunday was Church and the final dress rehearsal for Ryan's Messiah concert. His parents were able to go and listen, which was nice for them.

Monday Ryan took off work, and after getting the boys on the bus and Kate dropped off at preschool, we headed to the Missions. We enjoyed looking around, and even got quite a great explanation from one of the volunteer park rangers. Lastly, we did the Alamo and ate lunch at the Iron Cactus on the Riverwalk. We then booked it back to preschool! It was a jam-packed fun day. Ryan even FINALLY got the trampoline set-up in the backyard while I mowed the lawn (on Dec 2nd! Think I'll ever get used to this Texas weather?).

Tuesday we cleaned up and Kate and I took Nana & Papa back to the airport. And that was our fun-filled week!

Now real life December begins - Messiah performances, Black Belt practices and pretest and test, 5th grade musical, piano recital, Ward Christmas party, Collin's birthday, our 16th anniversary and Christmas. Here we go!

Halloween '19

This year we did full "purchased" costumes. Ryan was in Germany for work the week before, and we all know that Halloween is his thing. Life is so busy now. I just feel like I'm hanging on for the ride. It's so crazy, and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon.

We went to a Ward Trunk-or-Treat the weekend before, the kids wore their costumes to school and went Trick-or-Treating on Thursday, and we went to a Taekwondo trunk-or-treat the day after Halloween. It was "cold" (by Texas-standards, lol), so many kids didn't come around the neighborhood. Our kids were totally fine though. Must be that Colorado/Illinois blood!

Collin (10) as Draco Malfoy

Brennan (8) as Harry Potter

Ethan (6) as Albus Dumbledore

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardy

Katelyn (4) as Elsa

Found "her people" at the ward party, lol

I'm getting better at french-braiding her hair

She has been surprisingly patient with me

And last but not least, a blast from the past...
Mr & Mrs 80s

Happy Halloween!