WORK and PLAY and RUNNING and HIKING and SCHOOL and LEARNING.

That’s what our quarantine week has been. We went outside in Randy’s parents backyard and got to see them for the first time in a month which was great.

I finally got all my computer files organized and that was HUGE.

We had to postpone our Disneyland trip and that was sad, I’m not sure we’ll even get to go but we’ll see I guess!

Today we are saying BYE BYE to the pacifier. We’ll see how that goes.

It’s a crazy time, but we are happy and healthy and feeling so blessed.

Oh my goodness it’s been a crazy time! My sister has been home from her mission for 2 weeks so we are less quarantine strict which is great! We had a great week leading up to Easter with a fun activity each night. We made Palms on Palm Sunday, Monday we talked about the temple, Tuesday we took a hike and talked about Jesus teaching in parables, Wednesday we talked about forgiveness, Thursday we made unleavened bread and talked about the Last Supper and the Atonement and I washed Graham’s feet (which was the absolute sweetest moment ever. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much Christ loves my sweet son and me and I couldn’t stop crying), Good Friday we fasted and talked about Christ suffering on the cross, Saturday Randy shared about his missionary work and we talked about Christ ministering in the Spirit World.

We also went hiking a couple times, went to Antelope Island, colored Easter eggs, did some outdoor egg hunts and enjoyed lots of time together. I also made a DELICIOUS charcuterie board and some AMAZING lamb and am SUPER proud of myself.

Easter Sunday was amazing. Graham woke up and was THRILLED to see bubbles, a bike, books, candy, and a T-ball set. He was SO excited and was a natural with the baseball. He’s getting more excited about his balance bike too!

The egg hunt was funny, he just wanted to open the eggs and eat every piece of candy inside! But he did a great job finding them. We made resurrection rolls and had a beautiful Sunday service. I have eggs that hold all the symbols and elements of Easter and we talked about all the things that made Easter special. We talked about how much Jesus loves us, and how we can be with him again because of what he did. It was beautiful.

We had a great dinner and played in the backyard with my family.

We have spent this week working, Randy is getting ready to finish school. Graham has his Zoom music class which is fun, and we jump on the tramp and take walks. He’s been loving playing with his pom-poms in the kitchen, coloring, and of course flying Buzz and Woody around all the time.

He is SO sweet. The other day he was sitting in his high chair he said “Mom, hug please?” And I stood up to give him a hug and in his tiny voice he said “I wuv you.” and my heart BURST. We had a beautiful Easter and are doing well with all the corona crazy. We’re trying to be sensible and positive so we can get back to normal life as fast as we can.

We are so lucky. We are doing well. Life is OK even with all this crazy.

Thursday night we went on a fun hike and took some cute pictures. Hiking is a great way for us to get out of the house but avoid being around too many people.

Friday was all work and jumping on the trampoline and movies. We are getting into a more steady daily routine and I’m very grateful.

Saturday and Sunday = CONFERENCE. We started the day with pancakes and homemade syrup that turned out incredible, if I do say so myself. We set up the big Mac monitor (thanks Dad!) to watch conference and Graham wanted to sit down and listen to the singing which melted my heart. The choir started singing “He is risen…” and Graham GASPS and turns to me and says JESUS. I just about started crying right there. It was so precious and sweet. Conference was absolutely beautiful. It wasn’t always easy to listen with a crazy toddler not wanting to sit still, but I just felt so happy and at peace. It’s been so easy to feel anxious and scared but the messages were all about peace and hope and that’s what God brings.

Sunday we made muffins and watched more conference and then made delicious stroganoff since we couldn’t be with my family. It was a great, relaxed, calm day. Saturday night Graham started to have a fever. Sunday he had a fever all day which was no fun. We texted the doctor who told us if it wasn’t gone by Tuesday we should probably go get him tested for flu and COVID. That made my mama heart pretty anxious.

Monday Graham’s fever wasn’t quite gone, but he had no other symptoms. We had a lazy day in the house watching lots of movies since he wasn’t feeling great. Thankfully by evening his fever broke and we texted our doctor, who confirmed it was probably a viral infection and that he is OK! Thank heavens!

Tuesday we took another hike and got LOST. It was a littles stressful for a while not knowing quite how to get back to our car. Luckily we got onto the mountain face and could see the area where our car was, and at least could have gotten to the highway and walked down there if we needed to hahaha. We still had fun and vowed to go back and get on the right trail sometime soon! We got a little HEART ATTACK on our front door from my family which was so fun because we haven’t been able to hang out with them.

Wednesday was busy with our landlord installing a brand new sink for us! It’s DEEP and amazing and I’m so excited! Randy has been going to teach Zoom classes for his gym students and it’s nice for him to get out for a bit. They are very safe and clean to ensure nobody gets sick by going to teach the kids over video, which I’m grateful for.

Thursday: We’ll probably go on another hike today, play with new crafts, I’ll shop for Graham’s birthday presents online and we’ll get through another day of this coronavirus craziness.

Friday March 27: My sister is home! We go sit in my parent’s back yard while my family sits on the porch and we visit. It’s really, really hard not to go give my sister a huge hug. She seems good and happy—it was really hard for her to leave Brazil and it’s really hard to have no idea what’s coming, but she’s doing really well with it all. We talk and visit and Graham swings and it’s nice to be together, even though we’re far apart. We go for a drive-by of one of her friends who also just got home from his mission and shout as we wave out the window.

Saturday: We eat chocolate chip waffles and have a dance party, then go feed ducks and run down the trail. It’s hard to fill up all the hours but it’s also really fun. We got Graham some new little toys and he loves playing with them and finding new things to do. We watch Toy Story before bed, and the fact that Graham loves it SO much is Randy’s favorite thing in the universe. We get a new dishwasher thanks to our amazing landlord and Randy helps him install it as carefully and socially-distanced as possible while I work on a website for a client.

Sunday: We have church in our house and it goes well, Graham does a good job of listening and loves the fun activities we try to do to make it more fun. We make big delicious meals and read books in the afternoon. We go visit my family in the back yard again. Graham doesn’t understand why he can’t play with his cousin or why Grandma can’t hold him, which is really hard. The neighborhood has a surprise drive-by for my sister and some other missionaries who just came home and it’s SO fun. I hang out the window and wave and scream while Graham laughs from his seat.

Monday: Back to the grind. I work and head to the grocery store to get some produce and other staples. I buy some things for my family since they can’t go to the store and drop it off on their porch. We make a delicious pasta dinner and Graham LOVES it. We go for a long walk and read lots of stories and work on counting, which Graham can totally do, he just doesn’t like to perform on-demand.

Tuesday: More work, more school, Graham is having a hard time napping and going to bed which is SO strange. He is usually the BEST sleeper alive. We spend the day singing songs and putting cars and toys down the slide. The days blend together, it’s so easy to forget which day is next and what is happening.

Wednesday: APRIL FOOLS. Graham eats blue eggs and we go and get Fiiz drinks for my family. My mom wipes down the cups and we play in the back yard while they sit on the porch. It’s a bit colder and I’m praying for more warm weather so we can continue outside, distanced visits. Graham LOVES helping me vacuum and mop and we spend the morning cleaning. We go outside and jump on the trampoline and dig in the dirt. Naps are still somewhat of a battle for some reason, and I research a 2 year old sleep regression. That plus all the strangeness of our new lives must be putting him in a funk. But that’s OK.

Thursday: We work and do school and deal with cold weather. It’s a more indoor day and we try new crafts, order Easter egg dyeing kits, and I fight off feeling like this is going to last forever. I’m SO excited for general conference coming up and hope to get peace and understanding with it. Only time will tell I suppose.

I am SO grateful for amazing employers right now. I’ve been assured many times that they are not having hiring freezes, they are not planning lay offs, and that things are OK. Randy got an email from EY that his job offer is in tact, that they are working out his start date for the fall, and it is all OK. We are SO lucky. And I absolutely won’t take that for granted.