Field trip Fridays

As soon as school-from-home started up on April, I declared Fridays "field trip Fridays." We haven't gone nuts, but we have taken time every week to get out of the house and spend some time together doing something out of the ordinary.

Week 1: Cemetery scavenger hunt

I had never been to the Grant Cemetery before, but a friend of mine had said that it was beautiful. So I put together a little generic cemetery scavenger hunt, we split up into teams (Rebekah and Ana, Miri, Winnie and me), and we explored the cemetery.

 Winnie hugging the dog statue at the cemetery.

One of the 10 crosses we were tasked with finding.

Week 2: Kite flying

Seth had this Friday off, so we all headed over to the church field and successfully flew several kites. Peach also successfully said hello to anyone else who showed up in the field.

 Ana steering her kite with her toes.

Seth flying the kite he deemed "Charlie Brown." 

Miriam chilling with Peach.

Week 3: Sweet sips and a drive

We actually had this field trip on a Thursday since we spent all day Friday taking out three trees in our yard (more on that to come). I took the girls to Soda Tsunami to pick out flavored pops, and we drove around the foothills looking at all the ritzy houses. ("Will our house be as big as this one when the remodel is done?" "Nope. Not even close.")

Week 4: North Menan Butte

The last time we hiked this, I was carrying a baby in a pouch. The girls didn't remember it at all, so we managed to find a spot in the parking lot and followed the trail to the top and along the rim.

 Winnie Miri, Ana, Bekah and Peach at a cave on the top. Miriam got a little worried about the height and steepness of the trail toward the end, but all she needed was to hold her mama's hand and get a little encouragement.

 Group selfie from the top to send to Seth.

 Climbing back up along the rim after checking out the wind bowl.

 Winnie the mountain goat.

Another cool cave on the way back down.

Week 5: Snake River

We live about a mile from a public access point on the Snake River, so while Rebekah went on one of her drives for driver's education (which finally was allowed on May 1!), I took the younger three and the dog down to the banks to check it out.

The girls found a crawdad claw, and Winnie needed a picture taken with it.

Spring break

We weren't going to go anywhere during spring break. Bekah was supposed to get home from San Diego the Sunday at the start of the break, and we were supposed to attend a family reunion in Stone on the Saturday at the end of the break, so we were just going to hang around at home.

Then coronavirus reared its ugly head. Everything was canceled, so I contacted Grandma Hendricks to see if we could spend the week at her cabin in Island Park for some safely socially distant good times.

We skied at Harriman Park twice, went sledding once, played in the snow outside the cabin, drank hot chocolate, played board games, played Wii games, played computer games, read books and did crosswords and Sudokus. The only unfortunate events we experienced were getting stuck in the driveway on the way in (even with four-wheel drive) which resulted in enormous bruises on my legs from operating the snowblower, some broken windows on the back porch from the snow falling in on them (Seth and I cleared all the snow, cleaned up the glass and nailed cardboard over the windows), and clogged drains on the afternoon of our last day.

I think it was the longest stretch we've ever stayed in the cabin. (Seth had to work and joined us on Thursday afternoon.) And honestly, it was a wonderful week together as a family.

Miriam and Bekah doing the dishes. We had a rotation going for the whole week. 

Ana, Andrea, Miri, Winnie and Bekah cross-country skiing at Harriman State Park. We went around the Ranch Loop and River Trail loop. 

Winnie writing in her diary in the loft of the cabin. 

Rebekah reading on her Kindle. 

 Miriam reading on her Nook.

 Ana painting.

 Andrea reading Call of the Wild to the girls.

 Winnie and Miriam eating snowflakes while sledding near the cabin.

Ana, Bekah, Winnie and Miriam cross-country skiing at Harriman a second time. We skied around the Ranch Loop and River Trail again, and added the John Muir trail to our run. 

Miriam opening presents on her birthday. She turned 10 and received a Harry Potter color-changing mug. 

 Seth doing "heavy, heavy hangover" to Miriam with her big present. I don't know if the girls had ever heard that one before.

Reaching for her present. 

Opening a LEGO Elves set. She saved up for and paid for half of it. 

Winnie borrowing her great-great-grandpa's scriptures in the cabin while we read the Book of Mormon together.

Quarantine and COVID-19

First it was the band trip.

Bekah texted from school on Thursday, March 12:

(11:33 a.m.) "Okay so right now all the Cali kids are gathered in the little theater for a meeting."

(11:35 a.m.) "Everyone is talking about how it's coronavirus."

(11:35 a.m.) "Cancelled."

She had been going to school at 6:45 a.m. three days a week to practice with the California band, the group of kids who paid $800 to ride a bus to San Diego and play at SeaWorld and the zoo.

Then Seth came home and announced his work trip to Hoover Dam had also been cancelled.

And Bekah received an email saying her Idaho Falls Youth Symphony rehearsal was cancelled.

Up until that point, coronavirus was a real but distant thing--something that mattered in the global scheme of things, but something that didn't affect our day-to-day life.

Next it was Primary Activities and church. 

The Church released a statement the afternoon Rebekah received the bad news about their trip. It called for the immediate temporary suspension of all church gatherings, meetings and activities. The email arrived in my inbox at 5:22 p.m. Miriam and Winnie had a scheduled Primary Activity at 5:30 p.m.

As the member of the Primary presidency over girls' activities, I received a text from one of the leaders: "Hey! Do you think we need to cancel tonight's activity?"

After consulting with Seth (he is the member of the bishopric over Primary), the answer was yes. The Church had specified that ALL gatherings were to be immediately suspended.


Idaho announces it has its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 13 in Ada County.


Seth didn't have work on Friday, March 13, and the girls were off of school for district PLC meetings, so we took the two older girls to do baptisms for the dead at the temple. We thought there might be a lot of kids there since there was no school for District 93, but we went straight into the font area and were home about an hour after we had left.

That evening, the Church announced that no proxy temple work would be performed in temples after Saturday, March 14.

Much to Rebekah's dismay, the BYU-Idaho jazz festival (Saturday, March 14) was cancelled.

We had our first at-home church that Sunday, March 15. Bekah, Ana and Miri each accompanied one of the songs on the piano for our meeting. Seth blessed the sacrament. The girls had been assigned a section of the Primary's "Come, Follow Me" lesson to teach.

Then it was school and all school activities.

Despite us staying home for church, no edict had been given by the state to discontinue public schooling, so the girls all went to school on Monday, March 16. Miriam went to GATE. I helped out with the book fair at Fairview and took the final group photo I needed for the yearbook. Bekah had her fencing club party at Bonneville. Ana had her musical rehearsal at Rocky Mountain. Nobody knew it might be the last day the kids would be in school for the 2019-2020 school year. But then the district sent an email to every parent with children attending school. It included this:

"The national and local situation with the COVID-19 outbreak changes rapidly and continually. Today, President Trump announced new guidelines advising people to not gather socially in groups of ten or more. In response to this announcement, we are strongly encouraging parents to keep their children home from school tomorrow. On Wednesday schools will be closed for students."

The girls stayed home with me for the rest of the week, but I ran Bekah and Ana to their schools so they could get their binders, gym clothes and other personal items out of their lockers. Seth was also asked to work from home starting on Tuesday, March 17.

At that time, the district intended to have students return to schools after spring break (March 23-27). But in the meantime, Ana and the 60 other middle school students who had been staying after school until 5:30 every evening had to call off their musical rehearsals. Spring sports were put on hold. No clubs, meetings or gatherings were to be held.

More news from the district: Instead of having students return on March 30, the district said that spring break would be extended through March 31, and students would be strongly encouraged to stay at home and opt in to online learning. Then they had to modify that statement and say that NO students would be allowed back in schools, and EVERYONE would have to participate in "home-centered, school-supported online learning" at least through April 20.

And now it's a statewide stay-home order.

We were staying at Grandma's cabin in Island Park during our originally scheduled spring break when Governor Brad Little issued a statewide stay-home order and signed an extreme emergency declaration. We were already isolated at the cabin, but the order brought the seriousness of this pandemic home.

Rebekah's driving instructor, who had hoped to schedule lessons with her, texts and says he must postpone all driving instruction until the order is lifted.


Idaho reports its first deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday, March 26.


Usually we celebrate the girls' birthdays by inviting all the grandparents and all the local cousins, aunts and uncles over for a birthday dinner. We have cake. We open presents. We visit.

Instead, Miriam celebrated her 10th birthday (Friday, March 27) at the cabin with only our immediate family. She opened her presents at the cabin. Seth smashed an oversized candle into a cupcake and lit it so we could sing "Happy Birthday." Miriam chose "Muppets: Most Wanted" for our family movie party that night.


Bonneville county reports its first confirmed case of COVID-19 that same day.


The plumbing in the cabin had developed a clog by the time we were ready to leave on Saturday, so I ran the girls to the nearest gas station to use the bathroom before our drive home while Seth stayed behind to winterize the cabin.

"Don't touch anything you don't have to. Stay six feet away from anybody else in the store. Don't touch your face. Use hand sanitizer before you get back in the car."

For now, that's our life. The girls haven't left our house since getting back from the cabin on Saturday, March 28, besides to pick up scriptures from the seminary building (Rebekah) and to drop off a birthday present to a best friend (Miriam). I went grocery shopping yesterday, then came home and washed my hands thoroughly before putting the food away. Seth and I went to Beehive Federal Credit Union to sign on the mortgage we're taking out for our addition and remodel. We made an appointment, then waited outside the locked doors of the building until someone let us in. We didn't shake hands with the loan officer.

Bekah had a remote piano lesson yesterday. The three younger girls had remote dance lessons. We set the laptop up on a music stand so their teachers could see and hear them.

Tomorrow the girls will start their remote learning with the school district. We have two desktop computers, two laptops, three sets of headphones and one hearing aid streamer ready for their use.

We don't know when we'll go back to school. We don't know when we'll go back to church. We don't know when we'll go back to work. But we're doing our best to follow the state mandate and hopefully slow the spread of the virus until doctors and scientists can work out a way to fight it.

(Borrowing from a meme:) We're not stuck at home. We're safe at home.

Blessings

(Written March 17)

May 2005

I am eight months pregnant with our first daughter. I teach Photo I, Photo II, Journalism I, newspaper production and English 11 at Bonneville High School.

One bespectacled blonde student in my photo class asks, "Will you be returning to teach next year?"

"No," I tell her and the class. "I'm going to stay home with the baby."

Another kid, a vocal needler named Brad, incredulously declares, "You got a college degree and a job just to throw it all away for a baby? Man, kids are such a waste."

"Is that how your parents feel about having you?" I ask with a smile.


March 2020

Spring break starts early and will end late. Our evenings are free--an incredible change of pace from just the week before. We stay at home instead of attending dance class, musical practice, youth symphony rehearsals, youth activities, Primary activities, church.

The district announces that, starting April 1, all classes will be available online, and students are strongly encouraged to opt for remote learning rather than returning to their classrooms. Rebekah matter-of-factly states that she doesn't understand how her four band classes would work in an online setting. Ana mourns for her musical, her lack of social interaction, the teachers she has grown to love and will no longer see on a daily basis. Miriam and Winnie more simply state that they feel sad they won't get to see their friends.

My heads is whirling as I check the news this morning, just liked I've checked for updates every morning for the last week or two. So much has changed in such a short amount of time. Our carefully scheduled lives are now much more flexible, but we have nowhere to go.

And yet, I can't help but feel blessed. We will be okay. We are making adjustments every day. We are dealing with something completely unprecedented. But we will be okay.

Besides the material things--food and food storage, a home, books, games, a yard to play in, water--I feel very blessed to be in a situation that enables me to support my children and husband through this time. Despite renewing my Idaho teacher certification every five years, I have yet to return to a classroom of my own.
With Winnie in school full time, this is the first year when I feel like I could have picked up a job--full- or part-time. In fact, I was offered a teaching job at my kids' elementary school last spring. And the principal had previously told me that, if I was ever looking for a job, she would find a position for me. Back before we'd had all our girls, I had assumed I'd at least start subbing at the elementary school as soon as our girls were attending full-time.

But none of it felt right. So now when our children will be staying at home and participating in online school, I can be here with them. I have no obligations to contracts, time cards or salaried positions.

I am a stay-at-home mom. Whereas before the pandemic I used my time to work on our home, volunteer in school, run errands, etc., now I will be my kids' supervisor, tutor and facilitator.

It will take time to adjust. It will be difficult for all of us. But we can do it.

Now more than ever I appreciate the emphasis the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints places on home and family. Family is the central unit, and it is an important part of God's plan. My purpose is to help my children, my husband, myself and those around me to draw closer to Christ and receive eternal life. I feel that these tumultuous times have helped me to see and understand that even better than before.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that working moms are not fulfilling their purpose. I'm not saying that I'm better than others because of our decision for me to stay home. I'm not saying that my path and my choice are right for everyone. I don't know or understand anyone else's circumstances completely. I'm happy to acknowledge that.

What I am saying is that the Lord has guided me in my decisions. He has led the way for our family to do what is best for us.

My kids are not a waste; they are among my greatest blessings. My degree and my former job (despite its lack of longevity) helped shape me into the person I am today. I am grateful for all the experiences I've had, and I'm sure I will look back at this scary and uncertain time and think the same thing.

I feel blessed.

Gem State band

Rebekah auditioned for and made the Gem State Band. She was supposed to perform with the rest of the band during the previously mentioned week of snow and drifting in January. Because students weren't able to make it to Gem State rehearsals in Blackfoot, they rescheduled for Tuesday, February 11.

Bekah spent the day in rehearsals again, then performed on her euphonium. Again, the performance was very impressive. Seth and I attended the concert that  night in Blackfoot. Aunt Jessica baby-sat Miriam and Winnie. Ana got a ride to her youth activity. All returned safely for bed that night.

Headed onto the stage with her euphonium and music.

 All I could see of her while she was playing. (Look for the bell of her euphonium, and you'll see her blonde hair behind it.)

 Smiling after the performance.

Honor Society and choir concert

Our night on Monday, February 10 was full of craziness. Analee was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at Rocky Mountain Middle School, and then we made a mad dash to the Hillcrest Performing Arts Center to watch Ana and Miriam perform with the Bonneville choirs. Ana made honor society because of her amazing grades (of course). Ana and Miri were in the concert because they had participated in a choir clinic the Saturday before. Both the induction and the concert had to be the same night because we weren't crazy enough already.

 Ana headed to her assigned seat in the auditorium.

 Receiving her certificate and shaking hands with advisers.

 Miriam singing "The Voice that I Hear" and "Homeward Bound."

Ana singing at the concert.

Rebekah at all-state band

Rebekah qualified to play trombone in the all-state band, so she boarded a bus with the three other Bonneville band members who made it on Wednesday, January 29 and headed to Nampa.

Bekah spent more than two days in rehearsals; all the practice culminated in a concert at Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday, February 1. Seth and I drove to Nampa on Friday, went to a session at the Boise Temple, checked out their D.I. and said hello to my brother and his family in Meridian. That way, we were set to check out Goodwill, Idaho Youth Ranch and D.I. in Meridian before seeing Rebekah's concert on Saturday. My parents were also able to attend.

 Andrea tallying yearbook surveys in the foyer while waiting for my parents to arrive.

The entire all-state band warming up on stage.

 All I could see of Rebekah from the front of the auditorium. See her little blond head and the temple piece of her blue eyeglasses? 

 Check out two o'clock, and you'll see Rebekah's head. It was absolutely impossible to see her from where we were sitting.

Good thing Grandpa sneaked onto the stage during warm-ups so we could actually see her face.

Rebekah leaving the stage with her music, trombone and two mutes following the concert.

We may not have been able to see her, but we certainly heard her (and the rest of the band). We were very impressed by their performance.

Bekah rode home with us and napped part of the way. 

Yule Ball

Poor Rebekah missed out on the Idaho Falls Public Library's Yule Ball this year because she made all-state band. Her group left the same day as the ball (Wednesday, January 29), so we adopted Aunt Jessica to come with us. Our group ended up winning third place in the family costumes contest, so now we have a cool Harry Potter wand that lights up (besides all the cool memories of drink butterbeer, dancing, making wands, etc.).

 Winnie as Dolores Umbridge. 

 Andrea as Rita Skeeter.

Miriam as Nymphadora Tonks. 

 Ana as the golden snitch.

Let's take a minute to appreciate Ana's costume, shall we? She wanted to be a snitch, but the only gold metallic clothes we could find at D.I. was this pair of 2XL leggings. 

I'm no seamstress, so I must say that I'm pretty darn impressed with myself for being able to transform that pair of leggings into Ana's snitch dress. Let's see the side-by-side, shall we?

Her wings are various silver tulle and ribbon I found at thrift stores.

Seth as the biggest Dobby you've ever seen. 

Aunt Jessica (as Ginny Weasley) with Winnie, Ana, Miri and Albus.

Tonks chasing Umbridge through the library.

Seth helping the snitch to fly.


Forbidden love: Rita Skeeter and Dobby.

Targhee

We made a trip to Grand Targhee on Saturday, January 25. With the fog and snow, visibility was low. Winnie stayed with Grandma Susan. Bekah's feet were hurting her (we have since found out she has bunionettes and the start of bunions), so she went on the runs that were easy enough that she could just point her skis downhill and go. Seth went up Dreamcatcher once, thought he would die, then stuck to the easy runs. Miriam experienced the bunny hill and magic carpet several times and then braved several runs accessible to Shoshone. Ana showed us all the green runs she had discovered last year. I managed to keep all parts of my body intact.

 Bekah, Ana, Seth, Andrea and Miriam at the top of Shoshone.

 Andrea at lunchtime. We tried to sit as close to the outdoor fire pit as possible.

 Seth pulling a face.

 Rebekah.

 Ana.

Miriam and her peach ring.

Snow days

These kids have been a little spoiled with the number of snow days they've had so far this year. In fact, the week of January 13, they only had school for 1 1/2 days because of the snow and drifting. But we made the most of it.

Ana and Winnie in the ditch. The girls braved the weather to dig tunnels through the snow that drifted and completely filled the ditch. 

Ana playing Settlers of Catan with me while Miriam plays with her dolls. 

We also made a trip to the library, had some hot chocolate, worked on driver's ed (Bekah) and borrowed Seth's truck to go grocery shopping since it has four-wheel drive.