COVID Day 85 – Friday, June 5

The kids are getting used to sleeping in – which I suppose is a direct result of staying up later than normal.  I don’t mind. I’m not a morning person myself.

This morning I booked us flights for a trip to Florida in December.  We are hoping to go on a cruise with a group of friends. This would be our first time traveling with other families and I’m really excited about it.  The ship will be brand new (first sailing is in November) and FULL of fun activities.  Fingers crossed it doesn’t get cancelled.  Everything is fully refundable so we’ll just wait and see.

Drew had a fun class call this morning where his teacher asked all the kids to run and grab something for their heads and something that makes them happy.  Drew ran up to his room and grabbed my favorite hat – my sister Robyn gave it to Jason when he was little and it’s adorable.  Drew also grabbed a phone (insert eye roll) – I could just hear the disappointment in his teachers response when he told the class that a phone is his “fun thing that makes him happy”.  

I made waffles for lunch.  Drew sliced all the strawberries and Katie helped with some of the cooking.  I used a healthy recipe with flaxseed, whole wheat and wheat germ, but when you add Nutella and whipping cream it was basically dessert.

JK&D did a few small chores then got to play the wii until K&D had piano lessons. I worked on cleaning up my office and filing a bunch of papers I’ve let stack up for many, many months.  What I really need to do is go through everything we have filed and get rid of what we no longer need to keep, but that’s a big task and one which I’d prefer to do with Justin.  Justin’s been working long hours and it he doesn’t think that will let up through July.  That’s one negative about working from home – work is always there. 

Meanwhile Abigail was living her best life in Sunriver with her friends…

And Carly was off hammocking this afternoon with her friends…

Justin and I went on a bike ride in the evening.  As we were getting the bikes out of the garage I was dreading the ride because I know in the end I’ll have to bike up that dang hill home.  I enjoy biking and I definitely want there to be hills that push me and make me stronger, but that hill is just miserable. I survived and enjoyed most of it. After a quick shower I ate a bit of the roasted cauliflower and homemade French fries Justin had made and then met up with some lady friends for another firepit catch-up session. 

• June 5: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 23,442 with 1,153 deaths.  We were approved today to move to phase 1.5 which allows social gatherings with five or fewer people outside the household, limited restaurant dining (25% indoor, 50% outdoor), in-store retail up to 15% occupancy and other professional services (hair, nails, etc…)

COVID Day 84 – Thursday, June 4

Katie and I dropped Abigail off at the park to meet up with her group of friends to head to Sunriver this morning.  I gotta be honest I’m a bit jealous.  I LOVE Sunriver and a trip, pretty much anywhere, sounds amazing right now.  She’s going to have SO much fun.

Katie and I were off to Fred Meyer so Katie could redeem her $20 reward from winning our puzzle competition on Sunday.  She had done her research ahead of time and had written down all the things she wanted to purchase with her winnings and had added it all up so we were much quicker than I expected.  As far as I can remember this was Katie’s first time in a store since COVID began and her first time wearing a mask.  Her mask is the first mask Carly made and is too big for Katie’s so it kept slipping down. 

We also picked up a free donut at Krispy Kreme for National Doughnut Day.  Yum!

Both Katie and Drew had virtual calls today.  Drew’s was for a small math group and he ended up having a one-on-one lesson with his teacher. He was happy about that and didn’t want to wait a half hour to meet up with other kids in the next group.  To be honest I don’t know how much online instruction Jason and Carly are getting – thankfully, they are responsible enough that they are able to do their schoolwork independently.  Katie is also very good at knowing when she has calls and doesn’t need any help getting her school work done either.

Jason convinced Katie to join him on a bike ride around Lake Alice this afternoon so he could cross that off and gain some electronics time.  We also need to do a bit better with chores around here.  The kids don’t do much aside from dishes most days. Carly made a yummy batch of chocolate chip cookie bars and then got a last minute request to babysit for an hour or so for a family in the neighborhood.  I hooked Carly up with the family in mid-January and she’s babysat for them often – unfortunately, they are moving this weekend so that sugar-family will be no longer.

This afternoon Carly found out that Bellevue College would be all online in the fall – major bummer! But not a surprise.

After an easy dinner of tostadas we watched High School Musical 2 with JKD.  

• June 4: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 22,993 with 1,149 deaths.  

COVID Day 83 – Wednesday, June 3

I woke up this morning to see on Facebook that our neighborhood park had been vandalized last night.  I don’t understand how damaging property is helping anything.  Will violence bring an end to violence?  I was surprised to see some of the comments from people in the neighborhood condoning it.

I spent some time catching up on blogging this morning while Drew was on a class call. His daily homework is so minimal which I’m grateful for but also concerned about.  Each week the elementary teachers send out an engagement plan for the week, broken down my subject and day.  We only pay attention to reading, writing and math – we skip over the science, art, PE, music, coding, etc…  I figure Katie and Drew are pretty active=P.E. take piano lessons=music and science… I’ve never liked science (ha!)  Anyhow, his homework takes 10-15 minutes a day.  That’s it.  I’ve gotta believe he’d be learning more at school – hopefully the kids can return to in-person instruction in the fall.  Bless those teachers hearts that return and have to play catch-up after nearly six months off.

Abigail borrowed my camera this morning to take pictures of Carly and her friend Chloe.

We started a new puzzle today and while Abigail and I were working on it Jason stood up from the couch in the family room where he was reading, walked towards us and fainted.  I just heard him hit the ground and when I ran around the corner he was lying flat on his back convulsing.  I called Justin down from upstairs and by the time he got downstairs Jason was no longer convulsing but was still pretty out of it.  We was able to answer my questions and stand up to move to the couch.  It had scared him as much as me.  He does have a history of fainting – probably a couple times a year – most have been while standing on risers for choir.  As far as we know this is the first time he has convulsed.  After he was up and back to his normal behaviors I did a little google search and read about convulsive syncope which while scary doesn’t seem to be anything we need to reach out to our doctor about.  Of course we’ll keep a close eye on him, and he’s already drinking a lot more water so hopefully this was a first and last.  

Abigail reminded me that Carly fainted or nearly fainted in the shower last week. We were all in the bonus room and heard a loud bang while she was showering.  She said she felt light headed so who knows what actually happened in there.  What is it with these kids? 

I spent a huge portion of the afternoon puzzling...

We finished this 550 piece puzzle today

AND this 550 piece puzzle that Abigail accidently borrowed

JK&D had some time on the wii.  Justin and I decided to go “out” for dinner and let the kids fend for themselves. Our local place, Infusion, is no longer honoring our BOGO deal on take-out but they did give us a 20% discount and that was worth it to me.  In order to get my exercise we walked down and ate in a little grassy part of a nearby parking lot and walked home.  It was yummy.

Stayed up until nearly 2am binge watching a show on Netflix.  It was worth it.  Abigail was up that late as well finishing up her homework for the week before heading to Sunriver tomorrow morning.

• June 3: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 22,729 with 1,138 deaths.  King County submitted application to move into a modified phase 1 – hopefully we’ll know if a few days if we can begin opening up.

COVID Day 82 – Tuesday, June 2

These last few days have been heavy.  In addition to all the concerns from the COVID pandemic we are facing massive protests, vandalism and looting across the country.  Seattle and Bellevue were hit heavily on Saturday and Sunday night and even Auburn had to issue a curfew due to looting at the shopping center there.  It seems the protests in regard to the murder of George Floyd have mainly been peaceful, at least in Washington, but unfortunately others have seen this as an opportunity to wreak havoc.  The entire situation has been confusing and unsettling. We’ve talked about it with our kids and Abigail and Carly are of course being bombarded with it on social media. Today was deemed #blackouttuesday to bring to awareness to racism and as a call for change.  I spent some time today listening and thinking about my own biases and how best to teach my family to celebrate the differences of humanity by “seeing color”.

I did some baking today to try to use up some rye flour and molasses I’ve had laying around for years – once again, I had issues with my yeast not rising as it should so it wasn’t a smashing success, but we love baked goods around here so it will not go to waste.

The kids had very little homework today so they wanted to be on electronics a lot.  JK&D had to do some chores first. 

At around 1:30pm we got a call that our bikes were ready to be picked up.  Jason was willing to go if it was just him and Katie going down, but Katie wanted me to go with them and Drew wanted to go with anyone that would let him.  Unfortunately that meant Jason stayed behind and KD & I ventured down to get the bikes.  Katie and I walked down to the ridge and Drew rode his bike, stopping often to wait for us to catch up.  We rode around the YMCA after we got the bikes and then when it started to rain we ventured home.  Katie and Drew decided to walk their bikes up death hill and I went up the longer, but slightly less steep parkway.  I sure hate that hill, but I can do it without stopping or dying so I consider that a win.  I met K&D at the top of their hill and then we rode home together.

Carly was babysitting this afternoon and also registered for her fall classes at Bellevue College.  Like Abigail she will spend the next two years at BC completing both her high school diploma requirements and an associate degree. She was able to get friends in all her classes – fingers crossed that classes are held in-person and she that she doesn’t end up online for the year.

Abigail got a fun, musical card from my Mom…

It was my turn to make dinner tonight and to use up some corn tortillas, corn and enchilada sauce I made some stacked roasted vegetable enchiladas.  Most of us thought they were good.  Jason would only eat one serving.  Katie refused to eat it at all and Drew only ate so he could have more rye bread.  Not very often my kids are picky eaters so I guess I should be grateful.  The rest of us ate it all – Justin and I really liked it.

Jason and Justin had church meetings/commitments tonight so KD & I worked on a puzzle before they called it a night.

• June 2: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 22,484 with 1,135 deaths.  

COVID Day 81 – Monday, June 1

I was able to fit in some quiet scripture study this morning in my comfy chair in my bedroom before Justin needed to come in and get to work on his monitors.  We’re having some pretty slow mornings.  Abigail is heading out of town on Thursday so she’s trying to get a bunch of stuff done before she leaves.  Getting her graduation announcements sent out was one of those. I spent some time this morning addressing the announcements to families on our Christmas card list and then Abigail spent hours in the afternoon addressing the rest.  We purchased 100 announcements which is more than I’ve ever sent out for Christmas cards, but Abigail has accumulated a lot of friends from school, EFY’s and her HEFY Africa trip.

We’re in the middle of refinancing our mortgage since the rates are so low and needed to get a document notarized so I walked down the ridge, Justin ran down and then after we got it signed we walked home.  Nice to cross of a task and exercise at the same time.  I spent some time in my hammock before getting cleaned up.  I really dislike the “outdoor” smell we get when we spend much time outside.  I feel like I need to shower even if I don’t get sweaty.  

Abigail made tortilla soup today for dinner – Carly was babysitting (her third of four gigs in a week’s time).  Justin was able to cut the boys hair which was overdue.  We’re leaving Drew’s hair long on top just to try something new. Jason is buzzcut – always.  

Tonight we watched High School Musical as a family (less Carly) – I don’t remember watching it before but that seems impossible (it was released in 2006 and continues to be a popular tween/teen movie).  If I have it’d been a long while.  It was strange for me though because the lead actor – who is clean cut, the quintessential dreamy teenage boy recently starred in a documentary where is plays Ted Bundy.  So it was very conflicting for me – creepy or cute?

Justin and I talked about doing something after the kids went to bed but instead took some time to clean up downstairs which felt much better than vegging in front of a show or something.  It feels so much better to start the day with a clean kitchen and not having stuff scattered all over the floors.

• June 1: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 22,157 with 1,129 deaths.  

COVID Day 80 – Sunday, May 31

Jason was sleeping in this morning (Abigail and Carly were as well, but that’s the norm) so we delayed sacrament until after he woke up.  While we waited, Justin and I worked on the puzzle with Katie and Drew.  Justin was asked to take the sacrament to a new, single sister in our ward at 11:30 so didn’t have enough time after sacrament to have our CFM lesson.  While Justin was gone, KD & I raced to finish the puzzle before he got back – we did and then moved onto Legos.

Carly prepared paninis for lunch and Drew got to be the waiter and walk around the house taking everyone’s orders.  They were very good.

Jason come up with a fun idea for a puzzle competition.  Everyone would complete the same 300 piece puzzle and we would award prizes for the two fastest puzzle-makers.  First prize would get $20 to spend at the grocery store and second prize would get $10 to spend at the grocery store.  If Justin or I are first we get awarded two hours of family game time and for second place we get one hour of family game time.  Carly was the only one reluctant to participate but I think she has a really good chance of winning a prize.  We decided I should go last – everyone thinks I’ll take first place, but I’m not so sure about that.  Justin bet that I would end up beating his time by half.  Everyone else’s name was put in a hat to figure out the order.  Justin was up first, then Abigail, Katie, Drew, Jason, Carly then me.

Justin finished in 1:24:42

Then Abigail finished in 1:10:58

Just as Katie started Justin and I headed out on a walk.  I figured if we were gone about an hour we’d get home before she finished the puzzle.  

I was SHOCKED when Abigail called and reported that Katie had finished in 38 minutes! This was after it had taken both Justin and Abigail over an hour.  Talk about pressure!  Jason and I felt it after that killer performance.

Drew started strong but after an hour I asked if he wanted some help and he gladly accepted. Since I hadn’t had my turn yet Justin and Katie helped Drew finish in 1:36:40.  Jason completed the puzzle in 1:01:34

And then Carly in 1:21:21 

It was after 10pm when it was finally my turn to perform and the pressure was ridiculously high.  Even just turning over all the pieces seemed to take too long.  I felt like I was doing well, but knew I wasn’t fast enough. Justin and Abigail came down after 40 minutes and told me I’d lost my chance at first place and taunted me with a losing picture. 

At that point I knew I could pull off a second place finish but was still mind-blown how Katie could’ve finished so quickly.  It’s important to note that both Katie and Jason have done this puzzle before.  Not recently, but they had an advantage already being familiar with it.  The rest of us weren’t allowed to even look at it before it was our turn to put it together.  Even without Jason winning a prize he declared that it needed to be a monthly tradition.  If our teenage boy actually suggests a fun activity to do as a family I feel like we need to jump on it.  In the future the puzzle will be new to everyone and the order of participation completely random.  It was such a fun activity and I’m so glad Jason thought of it!

• May 31: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 21,977 with 1,124 deaths.  Our stay-at-home order officially ended tonight at midnight.

COVID Day 79 – Saturday, May 30

I woke up this morning to thunder and lightning. I opened my blinds then climbed back in bed to enjoy the summer storm.  I was just talking to some friends yesterday while a friend in Georgia was having a thunderstorm and had lightning strike in her backyard splitting a tree and dropping two squirrels down to the ground fried to a crisp – too close for comfort, but we all agreed we enjoy a good summer storm.  We don’t get many around here so it was cool to wake up to a storm brewing in our neck of the woods.

This morning we finally ventured out to Chick-fil-A in Bellevue to redeem some of our free breakfast sandwiches – we’ve talked about it for months so I was glad it was able to work out this morning. Chick-fil-A was busy (open for drive-thru only) but it was yummy.  Since we were out we stopped at Costco and Fred Meyer to pick up groceries.  Running errands is a bummer for the kids because they have to wait in the car while we shop since we want to limit our exposure to others.  Abigail came in to the store to buy some candy for her and Carly.

As we were finishing up Carly suggested we use her BOGO free punch card at Jamba Juice so we stopped in there and bought 4 large smoothies – split 8 ways to enjoy.  Even at half off it was $15 of smoothies – expensive, but a fun treat and I was grateful for Carly for letting us use her discount.

The rain continued ALL DAY – Justin worked at getting the garage organized a bit.  Drew asked me to come help him find some Legos and we started a new puzzle.  I was excited to cook up the pizza dough I prepared earlier in the week.  Since we hadn’t eaten lunch we were ready to eat around 4pm so I pulled it out of the fridge to get started.  Oops, turns out that it now needed to sit on the counter for a minimum of two hours – after 12 hours on the counter on Day 1 and 2-4 days in the fridge – now even more time.  So we waited and boy were we ready for that pizza!  I made enough dough for eight small pizzas so everyone made their own.  Even with our double ovens it took quite a while to rotate eight pizza through, but everyone thought they tasted great.  Not sure it’s worth all the time this particular recipe takes, but it was fun to try.

After dinner everyone, except Carly, watched a cheesy made for Disney+ movie.  

• May 30: Confirmed cases in Washington state – 21,702 with 1,118 deaths.  

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