The new normal

I keep hanging on to the thought that I want things to go back to normal.  I want the kids to be able to go to school every day and talk to their friends and not be expected to wear masks and be six feet away from people.  I want the consistency of school days and schedules. I want my quiet days at home to catch my breath after a very long 6 moths of everyone at home all the time.  I want to be able to go to the temple again.  I want to get on social media and not be bombarded with propaganda and hate.  I want to be able to watch NBA games without it being political.  I want my kids to be able to go to Young Men, Young Women, seminary and primary and learn from other people besides their parents.  I want my kids to be able to have experiences and not be taught that we need to fear everything and everyone.  I want my nieces and nephews to be able to go to college and have a wonderful college experience where they meet new people and are free to go to gatherings and do all of the socializing that is so important as they transition into adulthood. I want people to be able to have funerals and weddings and be able to mourn and celebrate with others. I want everyone to be free to go to church and gather and worship together.  I want to be able to travel and see new places.  I want things to go back to what they were before Covid-19.   I really hope that some day soon we will be able to get back to normal life, but for now things are so strange and so frustrating.

I am so grateful that Caitlyn got to start Tennis this summer.   She started her matches a couple of weeks ago.  She loves her uniform this year.  She looks so cute in it, we also got her some new tennis court shoes, I didn't even know those were a thing.

I love watching Caitlyn play.  She loves tennis and she loves being a part of the team.  It is crazy hot, so that is hard, but she is just so happy to be playing.

We were anxious to see Tiff and her kids when we got home from Arizona.  They came over the next day to play.  The kids wanted to turn on water in the back yard.  They had a great time playing together.  We love living so close to them!

Hallee and Wyatt had fun playing in the water after Tiff and the kids left.

Hallee was so excited (and a little nervous) for school.  She has been playing school a lot these past few weeks.  Hallee has had a rough time lately.  One day she seemed really sad and when I asked her what was wrong she said, "do you ever just feel sad for no reason?"  Wyatt was in the car and said, "welcome to my life."  It made me so sad to hear both of my kids say this because I know very well what it's like to feel sad for no reason.  Hallee has always been a very happy child, so this is new and strange.  She had a few days after that where she said she felt sad for no reason and I could really see it on her face and in her behavior.  I really think this Covid-19 situation has just taken it's toll on her.  She is tired of being home, she wants to be at school and busy doing fun activities and spending time with her friends.  The last couple of days have seemed a little better, so I'm hoping this won't be a new normal thing for her.

Kyle and Paige are getting married next month so they got an apartment that Paige is staying in. Kyle is sleeping at our house until the wedding.  We don't see him a lot, but we love having him around.  Jonah kept wanting to wait up for him at night, but I would make him go to bed.  One night Kyle planned a "bro night" with Jonah.  He got here early that evening and they spent the night playing video games together.  Jonah loved it. 

Hallee has been enjoying watching drawing videos.  She is a great artist.

Finding this note on my door made my day.  Being a mom is so hard!  I feel like I'm constantly disappointing and annoying my kids, especially my teenagers.  Hallee's cute notes mean so much to me.

Hallee was so cute playing school with her stuffed animals.

It is so hot every day! It's way too hot to be outside, so I'm always looking for things we can do besides electronics.  I was happy that Wyatt and Hallee wanted to play Monopoly one day.

Hallee was playing robbers one day.  I don't know how she kept all of those hot clothes on!

I am so grateful for Keith.  By the time he gets home I'm in desperate need of some alone time.  He is such an involved father and always finding ways to spend time with the kids.  Hallee was so excited to play shopkins with dad!

Cailtyn left for a tennis match in St. George yesterday. She was so excited to go, she had so much fun last year.  I was shocked they let them go.  I'm not sure why they can't go to school full time, but an over night trip is fine.  Oh well, I'm just grateful she got to go.

Today Hallee and I went shopping.  We ran to Michael's to get some melty beads, but we ended up getting a lot more.  They had some good clearance items and we had fun buying a few things for the house.  Wyatt and Hallee have been having fun making the melty beads.  I'm always happy when they find an activity that they enjoy!

We bought this bow tie for Jackson.  Wyatt likes it, Jackson, not so much!