More Chalk Drawings!!

Jenna made this cute chalk drawing in our driveway. They are learning all about Geometry in school -- triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, rhombuses... So I took a picture and sent it to her teacher, Mrs. Sparks, to show that Jenna was applying what she was learning in school!

Also, Jaiden and Emily did this one (not Josh, in spite of his note!) 

Day of Fasting and Prayer

Today we all joined in fasting and prayer for relief from the devastating effects of Covid-19. I have a strong testimony of both fasting and prayer and was honored to have our family participate in such a cause! It is awe inspiring to see not only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints participating in a day of fasting and prayer, but people from all denominations joining together.

Today was our third Sunday of "Stay-at-Home Church." It was my turn to give the lesson and with General Conference coming up this weekend I decided to focus on the restoration and how we can receive personal revelation like Joseph Smith did. We had a wonderful spirit filled discussion. We then had sacrament meeting with our family. Again, I am so grateful for a Prophet of God and am grateful for the Priesthood in my home!

After church we skyped with Janika and Brandon to catch up with them. Janika and Brandon are now working from home. They are grateful that they still have their jobs! Brandon will be graduating  from USU in May, but the graduation ceremony is being postponed until August. However, Janika and Brandon have a cruise to Europe planned that week and so Brandon won't be able to "walk" for graduation. 

The Relief Society Presidency stopped by and dropped off some cupcakes and we visited outside -- six feet apart. I was happy to update them on the wedding and on Jared's missionary service. Our RS President's missionary is still in Peru on lock down. They are hoping he can return home in a couple of weeks.

Seeing all of the missionaries returning this week has brought mixed feelings of sadness and joy -- sadness that their service is being cut short and that God's work seems to be temporarily halted, but joy in seeing so many glorious reunions posted all over social media as family members are finally able to see and hug their missionaries! Here is a picture that was posted on social media of a flight filled with missionaries. There were also many awe inspiring pictures and videos of missionaries flying home and singing "Called to Serve" in different languages. God is in charge and has a plan for all of us -- including these amazing missionaries!

After fasting today we had a delicious feast of marinated chicken, steak, green salad, fruit salad, tater tots (just for fun), cottage cheese, tomato salad and apple crisp and vanilla ice-cream for dessert! Jenna and Josh played soccer and made chalk drawings outside and then we all played "Balderdash" (I won, ha ha!) and the girls and I watched "I Can Only Imagine," a movie I have been wanting to see for ages! It was a glorious day!

Senior Ball Answer -- Janelle

Janelle answered her date for Senior Ball! It is not looking like Senior Ball will happen, but I think they will go out on a date instead, if some of the social distancing measures are lifted by then.

Arrowhead Teacher Parade!!

Today the teachers and staff at Arrowhead had a car parade around the local neighborhoods. They decorated their cars and hocked their horns while students and families cheered them on. It was so fun!!

Arrowhead Principal, Mrs. Heki

Fun Chalk Drawings!!

The kids had so much fun making these cool chalk drawings today!!

Intepreter Workshop

Rick and I attended a medical interpreter workshop this morning over Zoom. There were about twenty participants. It was so fun to actually visit with other adults for a while -- even if it was over technology! The workshop was great too!

Online School!!

We have had two days of online school so far! It went pretty well. Jase and Ellen did their schooling at our house also since their Wifi is not hooked up yet and so they don't have internet. The older three didn't need any help with theirs. I spent a good hour or two helping Jenna with her math today. It was actually pretty fun and I think she enjoyed the one on one attention. The kids might get bored with this after a while though! They are already going crazy not being able to see all of their friends. I miss being able to work on my computer since the kids are using them all for their school work!

Jenna showing off her new haircut and the cute outfit she got from her cousin, Rella! 

Jaiden is running for Student Council!!

 

Clay Creations and Sudoku

Some of the activities the kids have been doing during this time of social distancing is Sudoku puzzles and cool creations out of clay (check out the detail on Jenna's creations)!!

 
The kids were introduced to Sudoku games at Grandma and Grandpa's house and have been doing lots of them the past several days! They are really good at them -- especially Josh!!

Other fun activities have consisted of playing soccer and pickle ball! 

Jase and Ellen's Honeymoon!!

Jase and Ellen had a good time on their honeymoon and were glad they had the opportunity to go, but it was stressful too because of the constantly changing mandates and instructions relating to Covid-19 and travel restrictions and so forth. They wondered what to do about their honeymoon, but Mexico wasn't a high risk area, in fact I believe the US was at a higher risk than Mexico was, so they decided to go ahead. Jase texted when they left and said that the airport was crowded and it was pretty much "business as usual."

They left early Sunday morning on March 15th. It took all day to arrive in Cancun and then they had to board a ferry and then a taxi to get to their all inclusive resort (Sunscape Sabor) in Cozumel. I was worried about them and couldn't relax until they were safely at the resort where they would be staying. They said that they enjoyed being right on the beach and really enjoyed the excursions! However the excursions required them to travel back to Cancun (or close by) which involved quite a bit of time taking a taxi and a ferry. They had to wake up very early in order to make it there on time and the ferry often only left once an hour, which made timing difficult. They said that the excursions were wonderful and definitely worth it, but the traveling back and forth was taxing. When they arrived back at their resort after an excursion they took a nap -- for several hours -- that is how exhausted they were!

They were also not impressed with the food and were really frustrated that the dining was not always open when they said they would be. They said that the resort was half empty -- most likely due to people cancelling their trips because of Covid-19. They said that the dining places had signs posted with the hours they would be open but Jase and Ellen said that they showed up several times during the posted hours only to find the place closed! So that was disappointing and frustrating! The resort had advertised 24 access to eating establishments, but that was not the case at all! They wished that the resort would have at least changed the signs to accurately reflect when their restaurants and dining area would be open so that they could plan accordingly instead of showing up hungry with no place to eat!

We were really worried when we started seeing the travel advisories warning everyone who lived outside of the United States to return home as soon as possible. There were also threats of possible border closures. We prayed for their safe return and asked our families to pray also. They were able to change their flight plans to Saturday, instead of Sunday, and had several flight cancellations and changes, but were eventually able to make it safely back to Salt Lake Saturday night! They stayed at a hotel in South Jordan Saturday night and headed back to St. George on Sunday.

They had dinner with us and opened up all of the gifts that had arrived while they were gone. They showed us their pictures and told us all about their trip. We asked them if they were glad that they had gone ahead with their honeymoon in spite of all of the challenges and they said, "Yes!" They were grateful that they could get married in the temple and have a reception before everything shut down! And they were able that they were able to celebrate together on their honeymoon!