March

March started out as any other normal month, but then ended in an unprecedented way. One evening we found ourselves a little bored and feeling goofy. We dared the kids to all wear their matching pjs with signs taped to their shirts that read "I love my parents". And if they did it, they each got $20 to buy something they NEED. We got a lot of good laughs and funny looks from others. But it was a fun night!

Dallin turned EIGHT! He was so excited to finally get to be baptized. 

 David and I took donuts to his class at lunch time. I think I have a picture of Dallin and Case every year on his birthday. 

He got a huge lego set for his birthday and woke up very early the next morning before school to work on it. He could not wait to get this set started. I was doing my morning scripture study before getting the kids up for school. 

The big day finally arrived. He was baptized on April 7th by his dad. It was a special day with many friends and family there. And he looked most adorable in his new suit!

Aliza continues to do volleyball. I believe this was the game I wasn't able to make it to. 

Charlotte had her birthday and turned 11. Grandma Bean was in town visiting for both birthdays this month. We made her get up extra early to open presents before school. 

 And her teacher sent this sweet message about Charlotte. 

Just two days later we got an email telling us that school would be closed for the next 2 weeks due to COVID-19. Then a few days later it was extended until April 13th, so 4 weeks. Then ultimately the rest of the academic school year was canceled....along with EVERYTHING else. We were essentially not to go anywhere non-essential. 

I began to worry how we were going to pass ALL our time. Dallin and Charlotte immediately wanted to spend their birthday money on the biggest Lego sets they could find. I was sure Dallin's set would take him and couple of weeks to put together, but he finished that thing in just a few days. 

This was only part of it... there were 10 more bags to use. 

After one week of "social distancing", I was feeling ready for a little outside contact. I offered to deliver eggs to all our neighbors. We stood in the cul-de-sac and shared how our week had gone and it felt like the best 10 minutes ever. 

We've also been introduced to on-line meetings through ZOOM. This was one of Charlotte's first Zoom meetings with her class. And so far, we've completed 11 puzzles! 

Dallin having a zoom with some of his friends. 

At this point we still just needed to get out of the house. We headed down to Farmington to the High Bridge Trail to ride our bikes along the old railroad bed. It was a perfect day. 

Same bench, seven years apart. 

We've also had to adjust to home church. At first it kind of felt like we were "playing church", but now it has become one of my favorite things. We each take turns giving talks each week and the kids are learning how to conduct the music. And David preparing and passing the sacrament to us is so special. 

We've also had several Zooms with the Bean side of the family, which has been so neat to catch up with everyone "face to face". 

The kids decided to set up the office so that they each have a spot to do online school which is supposed to start after "spring break" on April 13th. Until then, they've had some optional assignment to work on. I'm just trying to keep some sort of schedule going here or else we'll all end up on our devices wasting the day away. We've tried to get up and do Come Follow Me as a family everyday morning. Then we've taken a walk and come back to work on school work for a few hours before having the rest of the day as free time. 

We've all started to get cabin fever and go a little stir crazy. At one point I saw this boy climbing the walls! No really, I think he was getting something off the roof. I don't really know what the story was. 

Possibly the last bubble bath pictures I'll ever have of this kid. He's sure adorable and always wants a lot of bubbles. 

One nice thing about this quarantine, is no early morning seminary! Instead, it's on Zoom at 8pm every night. 

After week two, we may have broken the rules and got together with the Sorensons to go kayaking at Beaver Creek. We aren't supposed to gather in groups of more than 10. But we figured since we were outside and we mostly kept our distance, we'd be okay. We ALL needed it. And without crew practice, Carmen was dying to be out on the water. 

Another lesson we've had to learn is how to nurse a chicken back to health. A fox attacked our poor chickens and killed one and injured another one. We put her in the garage, certain she'd be dead in the morning. But she wasn't! Carmen and I researched how to take care of her wounds and slowly nursed her back to health. She did become pretty attached to Carmen and we named her "SCAR-lett". 

Lastly, we did some pretty intense driveway chalk art! They spent days doing this, until it rained and all washed away.