All because of a virus. A coronavirus. Named Covid-19. A virus that is spreading rapidly throughout the world infecting people and killing people. Today, there are over 1,400,000 infected worldwide, there have been over 80,000 deaths worldwide, (over 13,000 in the US alone), and the United States seems to be the most affected country.
It all started in China. I think near the end of 2019. There is a lot of speculation so I don't know the exact facts-I don't think anyone knows for absolute sure at this point. But it sounds like it started at a food market in Wuhan, China. People who were at the market ended up getting sick, most likely from exposure to an infected animal there at the market. The market was closed on January 1, 2020. But the damage had been done. Those who were infected started quickly infecting other people. The virus is obviously very contagious. People from China then visited other countries, infecting people along the way and spreading the disease all over the world in a matter of a couple months. The main symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. So those with respiratory problems will have a harder time fighting it. People with respiratory issues and senior citizens are most at risk, however, it can affect anyone. And some people might be asymptomatic, meaning they have the virus but have no symptoms the entire course of the virus. And some people are pre-symptomatic, meaning they have very mild symptoms to the point where they don't really even realize they have it until it gets worse. It is spread through droplets-so coughing, sneezing, people who tend to spit when they talk, clearing your throat with your mouth open, even breathing can produce droplets in the air. I read this in an article: "If you’re standing right next to someone who is infected and they’re talking to you, or, say, if you’re in a room full of singers who are projecting their voices in an enclosed space, there are going to be droplets in the air, and yes, you could inhale them." So doctors are telling us to stay home as much as possible. Only leave if it's necessary to avoid the virus from spreading. We've been told to keep a distance of 6 feet between people outside of our homes, and it's been highly recommended to now wear a face mask whenever you do leave your home.
Fast food chains and restaurants are open for the most part. But for takeout only. All restaurants have closed off their seating so that people can only grab food and go. Many restaurants are offering curbside pick up only so you don't even go into the restaurant. Some restaurants are closed completely. Chris had I have been doing a date night once a week where we've been going out to get dinner (takeout) and then eat it in the car, either in the parking lot, or once we drove to a cliffside and watched the ocean while we ate. We went to In and Out two weeks ago and it was so crazy because the drive-thru line was insanely long and the rest of the parking lot was completely dead. It's crazy because about 3 weeks earlier, Chris and I went to that same parking lot, same night of the week (Saturday), but a different restaurant ( ), and you couldn't even find a parking spot. The difference was shocking.
The government has basically shut down the economy. Many people are working from home but many just aren't working period. Like all of those people who work at those places I mentioned earlier that have closed (theme parks, libraries, small shops, big shops, theaters, clothing stores, salons, etc.) So there are going to be a lot of suffering businesses. Because of this, the President came out with a stimulus package. A $2 trillion relief fund that all Americans will receive. And also a certain amount that he's giving small businesses. Chris works at Chase bank and he went from going to work at 9ish to about 4:00 Monday through Friday before the virus, to now working at home from 8:00am to 8:00pm and working on the weekends as well. At first I was so confused why he was working so much all of the sudden. In his 10 years working at the bank, he has NEVER worked this much. But he told me it's because all of the businesses everywhere need loans to help themselves during this crazy pandemic, which means bankers like Chris working overtime to help these businesses get their loans as quickly as possible. Which means he's on the phone constantly, writing over 100 emails daily, trying to make things happen. It's crazy and it's a lot but we are so grateful he has a good, secure job.
So what does our life at home look like? Well, once they announced that schools would be closing (on March 13th), we took it easy at home that first week. We just kind of hung out and relaxed. The girls played with their toys a bunch and Mason read a lot and played with Ashton on the tablet. I know some families started homeschooling right away. With Ashton needing a lot of attention, I didn't know how I'd be able to help all three kids with school work while keeping Ashton busy. So forget it. We are relaxing! We played some rounds of Monopoly. That was fun. Mason killed us. There was no church any time soon so we continued to....relax. No need to get dressed, no need to put on makeup, no need to do much at all, lol! You might say we were a little lazy. Chris was still going to work at this point. That first weekend we went to the desert in the motorhome with Russ and Darcy's family, the Stinson's, and the Mathis's. It was nice to get away and have what felt like a little normalcy. Today the desert is shut down. You can't even get out there anymore. Week 2 rolled around with an announcement of not knowing when school would start up again so the schools posted websites of learning activities the kids could do at home on the computer. I realized I needed to get it together and get some kind of a routine going. So once week 2 came, I was ready. We started a rotation. One kid would play the piano for 15 minutes, one kid would play with Ashton, and one kid would be with me in my room homeschooling. When the piano player's time was up, they would join the other playing with Ashton until the one homeschooling was done. And then we'd rotate until everyone did all 3 stations. It worked great. It took some time so we'd take a break between one of the rotations and eat lunch and then get back at it. I added a morning exercise to our routine that second week. We'd start the morning with stretching, push ups and sit ups. (Mason has a deal with Grandpa Tanner that he does push ups and practice basketball drills at home during this quarantine since their basketball practices have been put on hold. Chris or I does the basketball drills with him in the evening.) Once our rotations were done, the kids could have time to play or do whatever they wanted. Later, we'd go on a bike ride down a couple blocks where the kids could ride on a little dirt track in the neighborhood with little dips that are fun to ride on. I also started having the kids take some time each day to practice typing. Why not? Might as well learn a new helpful skill. That's been fun for them-something new. We had a cool experience that second Sunday of no church. We had our own little family sacrament meeting. Chris blessed the bread and water and Mason passed it out to us. So that was cool. At first I was going to the grocery store a couple times a week but I'm now only going once a week. Since my parents are over 65, they shouldn't be going out in public much so we've been bringing groceries to them. I put them in their garage, we say hi from a few feet away and they wipe everything down with clorox wipes.
Annie's teacher started doing class meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so that they could connect as a class. Mrs. Mitchell started doing Flipgrids where the kids can go to an app and watch short videos of each other answering a questions like "What have you been up to?" or "Show us your talent". Annie loves it so we started one with a group of her friends and Paige started one with a group of her friends also. Mason goes online to Google Hangouts now and then and chats with his buddies from school. It's nice the kids can still connect with their friends. Mandatory school is going to start on April 13th. Mason will use our laptop, and the girls were able to both borrow laptops from the school. We bought headphones on Amazon so we are ready for that to start next week.
Our week 3 went the same as week 2 and now we're here on week 4 and it's our spring break so we're taking a break from homeschooling but we're still continuing our morning exercises and then doing rotations with one person on the piano, one person typing, and one person playing with Ashton. Then hangout time afterwards. We've been watching some fun movies in the evenings. I had all the kids watch a movie from my childhood, Pollyanna, and they LOVED it! I rated it a 10, Chris gave it a 10, Mason gave it an 8, Annie gave it a 9 and Paige gave it an 8. We also watched The Ugly Dachsund (another movie from my childhood). I gave it another 10 (maybe I'm easy to please? Or maybe it's just because I love watching movies from when I was a kid?), Chris gave it an 8, Mason gave it an 8 1/2, Annie gave it a 9, and Paige gave it a 10. Ashton just plays on my phone while we're watching the movie. I'll have to think of some more good ones to show them. I've also been reading Anne of Green Gables to the girls and Harry Potter to Mason at night and we've been loving that.
Last Sunday was General Conference. I made french toast with cream cheese and fresh strawberry syrup. SO yummy. And bacon. The prophet announced 6 months ago to not miss it and that it would be an unforgettable conference. Little did he know HOW unforgettable it would be considering the state of the entire world right now. Oh I haven't mentioned that all missionaries outside the US have been sent home to their families. Crazy. The whole conference was good and uplifting and focused on the Restoration of the church. But our family agreed that the end was the most special. The prophet led us in a "Hosanna Shout" and then we all sang The Spirit of God while the choir sang a special part in the background. We all felt the spirit and it was very cool. Next Sunday is Easter Sunday and we'll be at home once again. It'll be fun though spending Easter all day at home.
Paige's birthday was April 3rd, right in the middle of this quarantine! I think she still had a good birthday though. She wanted to open her gifts first thing. She got a big Our Generation horse, A new Our generation doll, and then some little things like a yo yo, walkie talkies, barbie clothes, notebook with gel pens, bath bombs, bracelet making kit, and a hat. I made omelets and fresh juice for breakfast, Paige's choice, but then she realized after her first bite that she doesn't really like omelets, lol. Chris, Mason, and I loved them. We went on a family bike ride, and Chris even took some time off from his non stop work to join us. And then for lunch we piled in the car with a picnic lunch, drove over to the bluff over looking Ponto, and crammed in the back with the trunk open, and ate lunchables, blackberries, cucumbers, caprisuns, Milano cookies, and watched the ocean while we ate. After that, Paige and Annie were excited to play with the new toys and later we played with sidewalk chalk outside. We also decorated cupcakes and played Monopoly. The game went too long so we never actually finished. But let's be serious, I probably would have won. Paige got outside visits from Grandma and Grandpa Carr who gave her a hummingbird feeder, and later Grandma and Grandpa Tanner stopped by for a visit and gave her $20 and two decorative giraffes, her favorite animal. She requested ribs for dinner so we smoked those in the Traeger and they were delicious! Overall, a fun day to celebrate our favorite 7 year old.
The kids have been so positive during all of this craziness. I think we have a good balance of being productive and having down time. That first week I felt so bad for the kids because it was SO sudden to not be going to school and not seeing their friends and teachers. And then no activities at all like gymnastics and play practice and piano lessons and church, etc. They've handled it all so well. But then last night, after all of the kids were supposed to be in bed, Paige came in because she couldn't sleep and Annie came in soon after and poor Annie broke down. She buried her face in my shoulder and cried while asking when life was going to get back to normal. It broke my heart. She misses school. She misses her friends. She's sad her play (Aladdin) is cancelled that they had worked so hard on. She misses her after school activities. She misses normal LIFE. I told her to hang in there and know that life WILL BE NORMAL AGAIN. But we have to be patient. So here were are. Hanging in there and making the best of this crazy, insane, unbelievable situation that we have found ourselves in.
WEEK 1 PICS:
Kiddos playing a round of Monopoly outside.
Mason showing us his winnings after he won another round of Monopoly.
Annie had us all do a boat challenge. Boys against girls. Boys won...BARELY.
I showed the kids how to make a homemade pot pie. They did great! Here's Annie chopping up the chicken to be cooked.
Paige holding the pie crust.
Putting the pie crust into the dish.
Yummmmmmmm! Look at that goodness.
Ready to put in the oven!
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