Life Lately

We had a glorious two weeks with Natalie here. She is such a joy to be around and we are still going through "Aunt Nattie" withdrawals.

 We got to celebrate her Birthday

 She and the kids made homemade kites and flew them on a warm, blustery day.

 The older three had to show her "dead tree" and it's wonderful climbing opportunities. And they even played a great game of soccer that day. 

 It was nice having someone else around to take pictures of us. Our own personal photographer.

Tanner and Natalie whipped out a bench as well! 

They also woke up early one morning and visited some Church History sites in Missouri. Their favorite was Adam-ondi-Ahman at sunrise. They were able to walk around and even found the foundation of a home. 

 Mariah was able to go to an activity with the girls her age at church. They even made her a bracelet on the day that she missed. They were all so proud of their St. Patrick's Day bows. 

Brittany and Baydon's family came down one weekend and we had a great time. Brittany, Natalie and I got a good workout in and Eliza even joined us towards the end. 

 We had the Hilton's famous sushi that night for dinner. 

The next morning we had our first in home Sacrament meeting. Tanner and Baydon blessed and passed the Sacrament and we then had a little Testimony meeting followed up with a primary lesson. 

This was during the prelude music. Right after this picture was taken Eliza burst into tears. I don't think she knew how to handle the changes and solemnity that day. I understand though, this COVID-19 has made me want to bawl a few times too.  

The next day we took Natalie to the airport and Brittany and I decided to brave Costco. It could have been crazier, but I was surprised with how busy it was on a Monday. And there was almost no meat...Iowans want to make sure they never run out of meat apparently. We then ate Pizza outside on the little patch of grass in front of the car because they had taken out all the tables and chairs. I went to Walmart on the way home too and once again, no meat. So we might be having more than "meatless Mondays". 

Because we homeschool, there hasn't been too much of an adjustment for the kids. They have been doing the usual with a few changes. They now have piano through Zoom and all their other activities have been cancelled, but I'm happy to see that they have been happy to just be together. I'm so grateful that they are friends. I'm more stir crazy than anyone else but the kids keep me busy enough to not feel too sorry for myself. We are blessed with a home and food to eat and that Tanner still is working and making money. We're just praying that everyone can get healthy sooner than later.