Covid-19: Rock Flower Garden 🌸

My mom sent me a picture of a rock garden as a suggestion if the kids are getting bored.  It was so adorable we wanted to make one!   We went on a few rock gathering adventures and then lined up our flowers on the deck. 

The kids have spend the last couple weeks painting them and arranging them just right. 

Morgan took the lead and seemed to enjoy having a project.   She does have an eye for design/decorating. 

It looks especially amazing from the deck! 

 I love it 🌸 🌺 💕 

Covid-19: Week 10, Moving to Yellow!

Last week, during week 9 since the soft-closures of school began, we moved from red to orange.  Then just one week later, we moved to YELLOW! That means we still have social distancing restrictions, but things are starting to open up.  The kids can start signing up for rec sports and we can make reservations to swim at Cherry Hill. 🍒 💦    Here’s a list of the guidelines for what it means to be at yellow (just for kicks and giggles when we look back on this time down the road.)

I saw this article on KSL this week.  At first I thought it was satire, but nope- totally real.  Can you image if we sent our kids to school in these hats 😂😂😂

Covid-19: Meet Bailey 🐶💗

I’m not a dog-lover... AT ALL.  Esp the last few years. The thought of having a dog sends me to a very dark place.   This was all true, until Bailey entered the picture.  Now I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!   He’s perfect!  

As a side note: seeing Grandpa with a puppy is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!  He hasn't thought or talked about much else since he decided to get him.  

He’s a fluffy, soft bundle of perfection.

Miles hasn’t been to get a haircut since Covid started.  Things are getting real in the shaggy dept. 😂

To say Meg is terrified of dogs would be a gross understatement!   He watched Bailey from the top of the couch, or from behind me or dad.  Once the other kids wore Bailey out and she knew he was settled, she ventured over to pet him.  This moment lasted about 2 seconds, but it was a huge step for her.  Bailey is going to be so good at hopefully helping her get past her anxiety with dogs.  🤞🤞

Ivy on the other hand has no fear.  She loves being chased and nibbled on! 😂🤣😂. We are going to love this new adventure! Thanks for getting a puppy Grandma and Grandpa! You made their dreams come  as true as they can with me as their dog-denying-mom.  

Covid-19: Ivy’s Preschool Graduation

Ivy graduated preschool! 🎓 She’s officially ready for kindergarten!  Her graduation was held via a zoom call and it was adorable!

Mike was just as cute as Ivy and did all the songs and dances with her. 😍

This picture of Ivy and Mike is one of my all time favorite pictures!  Look at Ivy’s face 😍😍 She loves her daddy!

Such a cute class!  I can’t flip the picture in this program.  🙄

Covid-19: Last week of home-school!! 🥳

I can’t believe we are done with home-school!!  Yippee 😁 and what a relief!  

Will ended the year with his Wax Museum Biography report.  He choose to do his report on LeBron James and since the class couldn’t have a wax museum at school, they recorded themselves giving their speech and posted it online for their classmates to watch!  Will did awesome.  Here’s a picture (the video is saved in our home library...  I can’t post it for some reason.) 

Meg loves doing school work! Every day I would have to take pictures of Meg's completed work in Math, Language, and Literature and email it to her teacher.  It was kind of a pain.  Glad that's over.
The older kids would submit all their work online.  It all was a big hassle at first, but by week 9 we had it all down!   

Her teacher dropped off these cute pinwheels at every classmates house.  Mrs Thompson is so sweet! 

She gave the kids each a Flat Mrs T for them to take pictures with like they do with Flat Stanley.  Meg shared a root beer with Flat Mrs T. 😂

3-D shapes with marshmallows.

A science experiment with a volcano was our last project!  Let’s celebrate!!!  

Covid-19: PUPPIES 🐶

During this strange time of being stuck at home for who knows how long, we’ve seen many neighbors get a puppy.  My kids have been relentless in begging us to get one too.   I have to admit, we almost caved a few times...  Then all the pressure lifted when Grandma and Grandpa announced they were getting a puppy!  I could not have asked for a better solution to our dilemma about if we should get one.  This was perfect 😂😂

Grandma and Grandpa let me go with them when they picked out their puppy.  They got 2nd choice of the litter, and ended up with the cutest one of the bunch!  

Meet Bailey 💕 a mini-goldendoodle born on March 28, 2020.  The kids are going to die when they bring him home in a couple of weeks!!   Can’t wait!!  😍😍😍

Covid-19: Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day was nice! We still are having home church, which was one of my favorite gifts 😜.

I woke up and was brought a wonderful breakfast in bed; Hootin’ Annie, fruit salad and chocolate milk 🤤.

The day was sweet and I didn’t have to lift a finger all day (unless I wanted to 😉).  The women in our ward had a special delivery from the Elders Quorum... they brought us chocolates while wearing gloves and masks 😷.  Happy Corona Mother’s Day! 

I really love being a mom to these people.  🥰

It was a beautiful day and my hummingbirds put on a great show during dinner battling over who gets to drink out of our feeder.  Always a good time!  💕

Covid-19: Don’t forget your mask 😷

It’s kind of creepy to walk around stores with everyone in disguises...  This guy is esp sketch.

Some of us look better in masks than others. 😉

The girls are esp cute in them!!  😷 💜

Grandma Dehner sent us a envelope full of fun fabric masks!   We love them!!  

Covid-19: Turing 40!

The morning of my 40th Birthday, I woke up to this amazing breakfast!  Nice job Mike! 😍

Then Mike and my brother Mike took down our hideous gold chandelier and put up this beauty!  I’ve been dreaming of changing it out since we moved in. The day finally came and I love it!  

I was sent this picture of Mike and Miles doing some birthday shopping the night before.  So cute! But I think Miles needs a lesson on the proper way to wear a face mask 😷. 

This card came...  It was so bitter-sweet.   Our beloved Aunt Jody passed away in March so this took me by surprise.  She’s never missed a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas since Mike and I have been married.  Always so thoughtful!  It was tender to get one last card from her with her handwriting on the envelope. You can read the words Uncle Tom wrote on the card.  

Exciting things are happing in the world...  Yesterday, Monday May 4th, our state started opening back up.  We are taking baby steps, but now, a few people at a time can go in and eat at certain restaurants.   Mike took me out on a birthday dinner date to 5 Guys. It was fun to get out and eat at a table that wasn’t in our kitchen.  

Then we heard Cherry Hill opened for mini golf so we let the kids use their season passes and off we went! They were thrilled to get out for something “non-essential”.  Grandma heard we were going so she whipped up some face masks for us.  

We used the face masks to get in, and then we didn’t use them while we golfed.  We figured it was okay since we were outside.  🤷‍♀️. It’s kind of stuffy to wear them after awhile. When we were done we dropped the clubs into a huge bucket of sanitizer and that was it.   I have a feeling mini-golf may be our thing this summer.   Fingers crossed Cherry Hill can open their water park, but who knows. 🤞🤞. For now it’s fun to have something to do. 

How cute is Ivy in her mask! 😷 💕

Loving my new chandelier!  New doorknobs, hinges, banister and paint to come! 🤗🤗

What a great birthday!   I had kind friends stop by with treats throughout the day and I felt so loved! Kristen brought me a Philly cheesesteak sub from Vito’s like she has for like 5 years now, Lori visited with some amazing hand soap, the Dukes came with Swig and cookies, Jane brought delicious Kneader’s bread, and Rachel brought bath salt!    I think I’m going to like this decade of life!  40’s rock already!  (How cute is this ginormous cookie Peggy Petersen made me!!!)   I love our neighborhood!