Don't sit on my hair! Well, I didn't know you were going to scream about it.

My kids are pros at blaming each other for everything.  One day I heard Hallee and Caitlyn fighting.  Hallee was sitting on Caitlyn's hair and instead of saying sorry she said, "well I didn't know you were going to scream about it." 

Tuesday was a rough day.  Governor Herbert announced that Utah Schools would remain closed for the rest of the school year.  We figured it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier.  They kids are all so sad.  They are all dying to get back to school. I felt like something in me snapped and I just couldn't do the stay at home thing anymore.  When this started they were saying we need to stay at home to slow the spread so the hospitals wouldn't be over crowded.  Very few states have hospitals over crowded and some people still want to shut everything down for several more months.  In fact some medical staff are being laid off because there is no work for them. Every life is valuable and I'm happy to do my part to help save lives, but I don't think all of the lives we are losing because of this shutdown are being taken into account.  So many people are out of work, which also means they are out of insurance.  All surgery's are on hold.  Domestic violence has increased.  The last straw was when my friend and neighbor attempted suicide.  She has had mental health struggles for a while, but both her and her psychiatrist were surprised by this.  She just kind of snapped one day and it is due in large part to the quarantine.  I realized at that point I needed to reassess. We have been home for a month now and it is taking it's toll on our mental health. The numbers in Utah are low.  Again, every life is valuable, but we cannot completely stop illness and death.  Those are a part of life and are not fully in our control. I'm afraid the lasting affects of this shut down will be worse every day.  From what I understand the virus will still have to run it's course when we all go back to normal (hopefully at a lower rate).  I don't think we can completely shut down the virus, it has to runs its course and I'm happy to do my part, but I don't think avoiding our family is necessary anymore and I don't think it is in our best interest as far as our mental health goes.  My heart breaks for all of the people who have lost their jobs.  This is a scary time.  I agree that we still need to take precautions and be wise, but I don't think keeping everything shut down and all of us locked in our house is the answer.  I don't know all the answers, but I do believe everyone needs to make the best decisions for themselves, while being as considerate of other people as they can be.  I feel like that announcement was my last straw.  I have done well keeping it together until that day.  I needed a good cry, but the next day was better.  Some days you just need to be sad and that's okay.

That day also happened to be the day that it took us 1 hour and 25 minutes to get through one of Hallee's math tests.  Every time she got one wrong it was knock her down 20%.  I started helping her and it took me a minute to figure it out and remember how to do it and then we would make silly mistakes.  Luckily I was texting Tiff and she said something about Wyatt being able to teach Math and I realized that he should be helping Hallee.  He took over and I did some deep breathing!  I needed to get out of the house so bad, but I didn't want to come home to the test either. Wyatt helped her out and finally that was finished.

After that and the stinky announcement from the Governor we headed to the skate park.  We needed some fresh air and exercise. 

We had fun trying new tricks and burning off energy.

Wyatt was practicing his big jumps at the top of the hill.

He did some really high ones.

Hallee was showing me how she can lean on her scooter.

And stick her foot out while she rides.

Wyatt asked if this could be his 10-year-old picture if he smiled.

We tried that a few times.  After fresh air exercise and a soda I felt better and kept it together until Keith got home and then I took time to cry and feel sad.

Hallee and Wyatt set up this tent for a couple of days.  The first day they did a tent challenge to see who could stay in the longest.  I made them come out for dinner, so they tied with 3 hours each. They played games, watched shows and had a great time in there.

Hallee was dying for Keith to come in when he got home.

They brought sleeping bags, stuffed animals, snacks and water into the tent.

Wyatt and Hallee do P.E. online and one activity was for them to list six different exercises and then spin a dice to see which one they would do.  They did them up and down the stairs.

Hallee has been doing her ballet classes once a week.  She really doesn't love doing them at home.

Caitlyn and Hallee have been painting.  I love the name plate that Caitlyn made for Jackson.

Hallee has been busy making up science experiments.  I told her it was fine, but not to make a big mess.  She said, "don't worry mom, Science isn't messy."  She is so cute.

Mel gave Hallee dolls and a bunk bed.  She has had so much fun with them.

She wanted me to play with her yesterday and I kept telling her I would and I never got to it.  Today I knew I had to do it this morning or the same thing would happen.  I've never been great at playing pretend with the kids, but we had a lot of fun today.  Even in this slow time it seems hard for me to put away distractions and be really present with the kids.  I need to work on that.

There was a couple of memes I wanted to add about conference.  I like this one because it's funny, but it also shows what conference looked like this time.  It is so strange to see them sitting six feet apart and all of the empty chairs. 

They unveiled a new logo for the church.  I thought this was hilarious.  The Angel Moroni on the Salt Lake Temple lost his trumpet during the earthquake.  People are so clever.