Things you take for granted

During this Covid-19 situation, I have learned that there are a lot of things I take for granted:

-Kids will be able to go to school
-There will be kindergarten graduations
-Kids can sign each other's year books
-School plays which have been rehearsed and prepared will take place
-Kids get to hug their teachers good-bye one more time
-Kids will see their friends and have play dates
-Teenagers will go to prom
-Seniors will get to graduate with their friends
-Senior year of sports will happen, and be the best year yet
-Kids can go outside and play with their friends
-Kids have sports
-Open gyms
-Open pools
-Open parks and playgrounds
-The Olympics will happen
-Sports will be on TV
-There will always be another race to race
-We can hop on a plane and travel anywhere we want
-Planning trips
-Driving out to Utah to see family
-National Parks are always open
-Ski resorts are open during ski season
-National Monuments are open
-Hiking trails are open
-Libraries are open
-Children museums are open
-Zoos are open
-Movie theaters are open
-Disneyland is open
-We can go to concerts
-We can go to the circus
-We can go to shows
-Going to church each week
-Preparing Sunday lessons
-Seeing ward members and connecting every Sunday
-Young Womens activities during the week will happen
-Craft stores, and other "non-essential" businesses are open
-Stores have regular business hours and are always open
-Restaurants are open for in-house seating
-Walking into stores without waiting in a queue outside to control inside numbers
-Having the food you want in stock, without seeing empty shelves
-Not being suspicious of the person in the aisle with you who either is/is not wearing a mask
-Lining up for check-out without standing in the taped safety zones
-Checking out without have the cashier behind a plexi-glass shield
-Touching anything without worrying about every disease that I just picked up
-Leisurely walking through stores and browsing
-Grocery shopping being the one trip a week that takes me somewhere besides home
-Being able to get a hair cut
-Always having medicine to help if we get sick
-Washing hands is simply expected
-Not having to stay six-feet apart from everyone at all times
-Not having to wear a mask outside in public
-Not having to watch the news daily to see what stay-at-home orders have been enacted and which lifted
-Not having to watch for a daily death toll
-Jeremy will go to work and bring home a paycheck
-Planning for life...

Inside/Outside moments

Last week we had gorgeous weather.  It was warm, felt like spring, and we spent a lot of time outside in the yard.  Jeremy is trying to fix some weird little problems with our grass and he recruited Cambrie to help haul dirt and spread it around the yard.  Hopefully that soil with some seeding will help the backyard issues we have.  

He also was feeling ambitious and dug up some of the front landscaping rocks in order to put down grass.  It makes no sense for us to have those rocks right up next to the sidewalk.  He taught Cambrie how to install sprinklers, and now all that's left is finding the right sod to go down.  

Unfortunately, Easter Sunday and Monday brought about five inches of snow.  I'm so over snow.  It was really cold too so we couldn't even go outside to play.  I think the boys are starting to lose it.  What do you think?  

I managed to finish another round of masks, taking my total up to 210.  The gal delivering them has delivered 11,000 of them to various health and city departments so far.

Daxton was able to Zoom with his class.  You could see that he was happy to see his friends, but I think he also really enjoys just being at home with the rest of us.  

His teachers are trying to keep as many traditions alive as they can.  This photo is apparently for a Mother's Day gift of some kind.  I just like his smile.  I also like remembering just how short their little arms are as babies/toddlers.  They barely reach above their heads :)  

One of his assignments was a painting project.  They painted these lions, then if they wanted, they could turn them into masks.  They did this all on their own and they they wore them for hours that morning.  

While McKenzie was practicing her piano the boys danced to the music.  It felt like I was watching some type of choreographed spooky play.

Kelton has loved spending more time with Jeremy.  Yesterday he had the whole day planned out with wrestling time, Lego time, Wii time, and board game time, just one right after the other.  It was fun for me watching the two of them play all day.

Easter festivities

Easter, unsurprisingly, was a little bit different this year.  Honestly, I've been trying to keep stress levels and expectations down for me during all of this just so we can make it to the end.  Because of that, I didn't stress about doing a bunch of special Easter things.  I was grateful then, when my mom took a lot of the thinking out of it and sent us the supplies to make panoramic sugar eggs.  I remember my mom had one as a decoration growing up, but I had never made one before.  It wasn't that difficult to do, but there were definitely ways I could have improved my egg construction.  The kids thought the different activity was a lot of fun and they had fun making the little scenes inside.  

After her more traditional egg, Cambrie used some of the broken remnants to make a Baby Yoda in a little bassinet.  

The Easter Bunny left another scavenger hunt and the kids were running up and down the stairs looking for all of their clues.  

They finally found their baskets in the crawl space.  

Daxton went right to work eating his chocolates.  It was hard convincing him not to eat his entire egg in one bite!  

Even though we had nowhere to go (not even a walk outside with the snow), we all dressed up anyway.  The girls and I decided to pull out my England hats and wear those during the day.  I think this might be one of my favorite pictures with my girls.  

We finished up our day by having family church and watching movie clips from the church about Christ.  In a lot of ways the first Easter wasn't anything like people were expecting, just like now.  Life isn't going according to plan, but having trust in the Savior that he knows what he's doing, even if it's painful and confusing, makes all the difference.  Happy Easter!

Day in, day out

At this point in the quarantine the days are all starting to blend together.  We try to hit a couple of key points each day: play outside, do school, have some creative time, and try to keep things as low stress as possible.  Here are some more highlights from our days here at home:

Kelton and Daxton put on a bunny puppet show.

I cleaned out my swim bag and found A LOT of caps hiding in there.

This was Kelton's first time doing Zoom with his class.  It was show and tell and he was so happy to see his friends.

  

Building forts

The Governor of Colorado has now requested that everyone wear masks outside in public now.  I never thought that I would look around Colorado and feel like I was in Hong Kong.  As I went to pick up a mouse for Salazar, I felt like I was robbing the place instead of just buying a fuzzy mouse.

Today's science lesson: watching a snake eat a mouse.

I can't believe that Easter is this week.  It is absolutely the last thing on my mind.  Leesa is sending some Easter outfits for the kids, and the boys were pretty excited about their hats.

This looks like a summer day, not a Tuesday activity when they would normally be in school.

Yup, scripture time was going well.  Just bury the daddy in stuffed animals.

Leesa sent some foam Easter crafts for the kids to play with.  They made a lot of things and they are making the whole house feel festive.

Even though Cambrie is really bummed about now seeing her friends, she has a lot more time right now to read and do her art projects.  She loves that.

More relaxed mornings mean more yummy breakfasts.  I've had time to make blueberry pancakes, muffins, scones, German pancakes, waffles, and crepes.  

Just my afternoon view: working on masks while watching the kids run around in the backyard.  I'm so grateful for the backyard.

Cambrie trying really hard not to smile for me, even though she can't help but smile at seeing her class on Zoom.

One morning McKenzie had an inspired thought to make these bunny jars with the boys. 

Even Bob is getting his exercise. 

I agree ducks, I agree.  I'm done too.

Grandma Johnson's funeral

With the quarantine in place we weren't able to have typical funeral for my Grandma.  Thankfully we had the technology to at least participate in the funeral from here at home.  Trent was able to set up a Zoom meeting with anyone who wanted to attend, and we could watch the funeral home proceedings, listen to the talks, and listen to the musical numbers.  It was a bit strange being removed from the event, and especially seeing everyone in attendance (the ten that were legally allowed), wearing face masks. 

 We were even able to witness the internment at the cemetery.  While this wasn't what any of us really wanted, I'm glad that we were at least able to celebrate the life of this wonderful woman together.

Grandma Johnson

There are very few people whom I would use the words, "angelic" and "Christlike" to describe them and not feel like I was exaggerating.  My Grandma Johnson was one of them.  She just passed away yesterday from complications of a stroke, and I have spent the last week really thinking about her and remembering her.  I have no complaints about my Grandma.  Every memory I can conjure up is a peaceful, happy memory.  She was a presence of peace and serenity that just colors every memory I have of Logan, USU, and Lake Powell with love.  

I am really sorry she's gone, because the world was a more lovely place with her here.  However, I didn't like to see her struggling as her body shut down, and I would much rather have her be at peace in heaven with a Savior that she loved, and an eternal companion who couldn't wait for her to join him.  I know my Grandpa Johnson was right there waiting for his sweetheart.  

I'm grateful for Jay, for being another love in my Grandma's life for the last nine years.  He took care of her and treated her so well.  I'm convinced that he is one of the reasons my Grandma lived so much longer after my Grandpa died ten years ago.  And those are years I'm so grateful for, but I'm really happy my Grandma and Grandpa are back together again.  

I really hope that one day, I can have just a small bit of love in me that my Grandma just radiated with every breath, smile, and hug.  I think that the hardest part of having her go though, is that because of this virus, we can't even have a funeral.  Each visit to Logan for the last two or three years I have visited my Grandma and said good-bye to her like it was going to be my last time.  I knew she was failing, and I knew that I was going to be far away.  And even though I was able to video chat with her on Sunday, which was a huge blessing, it still would have been nice to be able to gather with my family and remember her together.  They are trying to pull together a video feed of some sort for her funeral on Friday, but it's not going to be the same.  She was an amazing matriarch of the Johnson family, and I wish we could all be there together to say good-bye to an incredible woman.  

I wrote a letter to be put with other letters from my cousins remembering her.  Instead of trying to recreate it (I'm struggling) I'm going going to copy and paste it here:

March 20, 2020

     I can honestly say that every single memory of my Grandma was a pleasant one.  Every time I saw her, she would give me a great big hug and make me feel like I was one of the most important people in her world.  During my teenage years, that was such a comfort.  She was patient, she was kind, and probably one of the most angelic women I have ever met.  I have a lot of simple memories of Grandma that I want to share. 

     I don’t know what made her magnets so magical, but somehow, they could keep me entertained through an entire hour of sacrament meeting.

     Her candy drawer was always full when we visited.  But the treat I looked for and coveted the most, was her homemade fruit leather.  I’ve been on a hunt to find something that compares, but I just can’t.

     She was always so happy to see us when we dressed up as little girls and showed her our fancy outfits, complete with huge clip-on earrings.

     As one of the younger grandchildren, I watched her work on the crocheted blankets for my older cousins and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to have one of my own.  A blanket where I could cuddle up in and immediately feel my Grandma’s love for me.

     She always smelled like roses.  It’s a smell I can’t really describe but whenever I smell it now, I immediately think of her and am so grateful for the memory.

     I loved hearing her sing.  She never needed much of an excuse to sing, and she had such a sweet voice.  I especially loved when Sheri, Teri, and Maureen would sing with her.  There was so much love in their songs.  I loved when we would sing at Lake Powell or Bear Lake, because they made the rest of us sound really good!

     When I attended school at USU, I was able to do my laundry at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world because I was able to visit them every week.  And every time I visited; I was treated to a delicious dinner.  I can’t think of roast and potatoes, freshly baked rolls, fresh green beans, or a lemon cake without thinking of her.  They spoiled me during those years, always sending me home with zucchini from the garden and a loaf of homemade bread.

     She always looked at my Grandpa with so much love in her eyes.  It felt like she was a new bride adoring her husband, even after fifty years of marriage.

     Probably one of my absolute favorite memories of her though, is her love of playing games.  After dinners we would clear off the kitchen table and play games.  Games like Lucky Duck, Razzle Dazzle, Sinister Seven, King’s Corner, and of course, Zilch.  I loved watching her get out her yellow pad of paper to keep score, and her huge bag of dice, because it meant it was time for some smiles.  She always played the slow and steady game, never risking too much on a single roll.  However, on those rare occasions when she risked it and had a good roll, she would clap her hands and throw them both up in the air in surprise and celebration.  When we weren’t playing around her kitchen table, we were playing at Lake Powell.  I don’t think Grandma ever turned us down when we wanted to play Zilch.  She pulled out her blue snack tin and we munched on peanuts and M&M’s for hours while we played. 

     My Grandma Johnson was a pretty spectacular and special lady.  I was truly blessed to have her as an example in my life.  Love you Grandma.

Love,

Annette Johnson Rogers