Quarantine Life

How are we doing with quarantine?  I feel like this picture sums it up pretty well!  We all have breakdowns and frustrations, but we try to have fun in the middle of it.  They keep extending the stay-at-home orders.  School is now canceled until May 1st, but I'll be surprised if they don't cancel the rest of the year.  Each extension brings a wave of anxiety and hopelessness.  We are three weeks in and it feels like it has been a lot longer.  It's strange for me because I really don't hate everything being closed and canceled, my introvert side is loving it and getting a much needed recharge.  The constant social interactions and expectations really are exhausting for me.  At the same time it feels really hard and overwhelming.  I miss my quiet days at home alone.  I miss my family and friends.  I miss feeling normal and seeing stocked shelves at the grocery store.  I miss watching my kids play sports and their other activities.  I'm tired of the constant panic, stress and worry about the virus and the economy.   I hate seeing my kids struggle and feel sad about missing school and missing their friends and cousins.  I'm so grateful that Keith's job and income have not been affected, that would add a whole new layer of stress that I'm grateful we aren't dealing with. My anxiety is heightened with the unknown and uncontrollable. We just have to take it one day at a time.

The kids have been having fun with the rip rider.  They love to ride really fast and then turn and spin. 

Wyatt decided that he loves cup stacking.  We had all of these cups that our neighbor sold us from a storage unit that they owned. Wyatt used his money to order some real stacking cups and switched to those when they came. 

Jonah begged for a haircut and I finally gave in and gave him one. 

Caitlyn wanted to play a live game of clue one night.  We all got papers and one of them said guilty.  She assigned us all characters and told stories to help us figure out who it was.  One of the things we are struggling with is the fact that everyone wants to do something different and no one has a good attitude about doing something that they didn't chose.  We are working on this, but it is making quarantine a bit difficult.  Usually once we start an activity everyone ends up having fun.  The kids all ending up liking Caitlyn's game.  

Hallee wanted a haircut so I cut her hair the other day.  I cut off a couple of inches, it's so nice and healthy now. 

Hallee's dance teachers have done videos for the kids.  Hallee was excited to do it one day, but the video kept having problems.  She said doing dance at home is not fun! 

We have had some nice weather which helps so much.  Hallee and Wyatt have been playing in the back yard together.  One afternoon I sat on the deck and read a book while they played.  It was a nice afternoon. 

Caitlyn loves when someone will play tennis with her.

The kids wanted to make a pyramid one night, I guess Jackson wanted to join in too.

Most of the missionaries in our ward have come home because of COVID-19.  After they pick them up from the neighborhood they will drive them around the neighborhood and people go out and wave to them.  One night it was after 10 PM and it was so cold. 

Hallee felt sad for a couple of days.  She didn't even want to get on her zoom call with her class one day because she said it made her too sad.  Poor girl.  The last week has been much better for her.  I think the sunshine and fresh air helped her mood a lot.  She has had so much fun playing in the back yard.

We charged the jeep so she could ride that around the back yard. 

She made a home up in the tree house.  She has a chair up there and all sorts of other things that she likes to use for her pretend play.  She put a bucket on a rope so she can pull them up to her house. 

Hallee has been doing some art projects, she was excited to show me these posters she made for her room.  I love that she wrote, "I am a strong girl."  "I can fly high."  I hope she never loses her self confidence.  I love hearing her compliment and praise herself.  She is amazing and I hope she always knows it.

Caitlyn likes to sit on her ripstick and ride it instead of stand.

I ordered our blog books from last year and they made it here in a couple of days.  Jonah loves to read the blog books.  I'm so glad we have these, I can't believe how much I have forgotten as I read through them.