People in person

When the restrictions relaxed enough, we had our first Richards family dinner in months.  I admit I got a little teary-eyed on the way to Draper to Bart and Collette's house. (I got teary-eyed on a Zoom call with my Relief Society and book group, too. It's so great to see people I miss so much)

It was Bart's birthday, and here are the Richards (only missing Jeff in Arizona).

And the cousins were so happy to see each other again. 

Our kids love playing there, with all the space and playset and trampoline.

And we got to meet the newest Richards baby, Theodore. He looks so much like my babies did.

Playing

I have been so proud of these boys playing together these days. There are still lots of squabbles and fights and yelling, but a lot more cooperation and imagination. 

Lately they've worked out a cops and robbers game on bikes.

Then one day they found these floaties and made up some sort of game about them.

Lately the boys have been hammering a lot in the backyard. First Ben came in and asked for a glue gun, then a nail gun, but that was a nope from me. So the hammer and nails it was for his project.  I think it was supposed to be a short track to ride a skateboard down, like a roller coaster. But it keeps breaking.

Millie continues to dress/undress multiple times a day. One day I gave her pigtail braids while she dressed up like Anna from Frozen and she was so pleased.

Most of the time she wears the weirdest combination of things.

Quarantine recommendations

I know some people have the time to read and watch lots while stuck at home. I am still very busy with work and school, but have had some time to compile a list of recent recommendations for you, my limited blog readers.


Books
Thank goodness for e-books from the library when we can't go get physical books yet!


Peter and the Starcatchers
Peter and the Shadow Thieves
etc
We finished Harry Potter after more than a year of reading out loud at night and needed something else. This series has been recommended to me before, and I finally got the e-books checked out from the library. Lots of adventure! Andrew is enthralled.

The 39 Clues
This series has been also fun to read with Andrew; hoping he'll take it up and read it on his own.


Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
This was our book group selection for April. I loved it from the first chapter. I could picture the English village so clearly. He reminded me a little of Ove from A Man Called Ove.


The Summer Before the War
Same author as Pettigrew. It is about World War 1. It reminds me a lot of Rilla of Ingleside, the last in the Anne of Green Gables series, but with longer sections of dialogue. I enjoyed the sadness of it, if that makes sense.


Lost Roses
WW1 era again, but seeing more perspective of Russia, mixed with some Paris and NY. The lives of women intersecting through their trials.


The Boy on the Wooden Box
WWII -- one of the people saved by Schindler's list tells his story. I couldn't put it down.

Caroline
Told from the perspective of Laura Ingalls' ma during their time in Little House on the Prairie. I can't imagine having a baby like that, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.


Shows/movies

Emma (2020)
It should have been in theaters but could not be. I streamed it online. The first time through I was a little shocked by two bum scenes (seemed unnecessary), but overall I really liked the cinematography, the quirkiness, the music selections, and much of the acting. Quite different from the sweet 1996 version and bouncy 2009 version.

The Fighting Preacher
Our friends lent us their DVD and we watched it twice with all the kids. A husband and wife called on a church mission to the Smith Farm House almost exactly 100 years ago. The First Vision was 200 years ago. I am so glad I got to go see this whole area in March and wish my children could go some day.

Belgravia
I miss Downton Abbey and this 6-episode show filled the void for me. Music and costumes and scenery are perfection. Victorian times. I watched it weekly on Epix on our cable tv package.

The English Game
Loved this 6-episode series on Netflix. Period costume drama + sports! My worlds collide. I watched it on my phone while sewing masks and may watch it again.

The Last Dance
JB watched this on ESPN and I feel bad I didn't watch more with him. It could have been something to share. And I while I think Michael Jordan was the greatest, the 97 and 98 losses to the Bulls were so painful. And that was the beginning of my time as a Jazz fan, having moved to Utah in spring 1997 to go to BYU. JB grew up a Jazz fan.


Loopers
This I did watch with JB on demand and we really enjoyed it. The story of golf caddies through the years.

Horatio Hornblower, Christy, Berkely Square
My neighbor lent me her DVDs of these TV series and I have liked them a lot so far. I watched many at the cabin when I was off work. "Horatio Hornblower" I watch with Ben while folding laundry. Such action! It was quite the production for A&E.

The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Count of Monte Cristo and Sneakers were good for movie nights with the big boys (if you can find them. I had them on demand).  Also while sewing masks I tried an episode or two of Virgin River on Netflix but couldn't get into it, and a couple Hallmark movies I couldn't remember the names of if I tried. Kind of duds but nice background noise.



Podcasts

Ingles Insights
I listened to this with JB at night at the cabin. I have more saved on my phone and I think he's listening, too and enjoying them.

Office Ladies
Backstories of The Office and chat from Angela and Pam.  Lots of advertisements though.

Zooming

Millie's preschool started zoom sessions twice a week. She was so excited to see her beloved Miss Mindy again that she dressed up.

Now she tries to wear her swimsuit. It includes the high school students who were in that child development class and they sing songs and even played bug bingo. 

She asks for her Zoom every time one of her brothers has a video class call....and they have plenty. I set iphone alarms for all of them.

Here's James on one of his calls. He's telling his classmates about his lost tooth.

We don't make all their video calls. One day we did not have enough devices (or bandwidth) when I also had to be on one for work. Sometimes it's sometimes too much, or it is a review that Andrew insists he doesn't need. But it is nice to see their teachers and classmates. 

Lost tooth lessons

James had a loose front tooth for ages. He wiggled and waggled and whined and worried.

"It will NEVER come out," he sobbed to me a few times.

We tried to cajole it out a couple times, promising surely this time it would come loose.

To him it felt like forever, but I think it was about a week.

Finally, I Googled (with my fourth child!): "How to remove a loose tooth."

The advice: if there's any bleeding, it's not ready yet. Use a paper towel or dry cloth to grab it without slipping. If it doesn't come out easily, wait another day.

I read this to him, and he agreed to wait another day. 

The next day, he told me his tooth should come out. And it finally did. 

This has become an object lesson for him that we've reminded him about a few times since then. At 6 years old, hyperbole and a lack of perspective rule the day -- "I'm NEVER going to finish this math level," "I'm NEVER going to figure this out..." etc. We talk about how it felt like his tooth would never come out. But it did. When it was time.

Sewing masks for #ProjectProtect

This week I sewed 100 masks to give to front line workers in Utah.

I’ve often known that saying yes to something, even a good thing, can mean saying no to other things. In this case, free time, family peace, sleep, laundry, other projects, and so on.

I wake up at 3:30 AM and work full-time.  We have to do intense schooling of our five children who are home from school during the pandemic. Plus cooking and cleaning and everything else (thankfully I have a husband who does so much for our home, even while also working from home).

But I also often think about whether I am using my time and talents in the right way. And Tuesday morning, when I read there was still a need for more volunteers to make masks, I couldn’t shake the feeling I could help, too.

I signed up online at projectprotect.health.  I picked up the materials on Tuesday afternoon, in a well-executed drive-through system at the Murray Deseret Industries.

The bag was full of blue material already cut out, and a bundle of strips of the same blue. The instruction sheet explained how to line up the notches on the sides, where to sew, turn it inside out, fold it, pin the sides, sew again, then pin the strips on and sew those. Several steps for each mask.

Thankfully my mother-in-law, who gave me my sewing machine, had great advice. She too, has been sewing masks for Project Protect. She advised me on the best way to make an assembly line by doing the same step several times in a row. And she told me the best ways my children could help.

And help they did. The littler ones pushed the pedal when I said “go!’ and let up when I said “stop!” (sometimes hearing me say “stop stop STOP!” as the thread ran away). They also cut thread and pulled out pins. The bigger ones even took a turn sewing the seams by following the lines.

We talked about what the masks would be used for and why. About doctors and nurses and their work right now. About pandemics and viruses and diseases. And helpers and service. And why mom was bent over the sewing machine saying “I’ll come up in just a minute!”

When I was alone, I had a show on in the background. I will always think of that blue material if I ever watch “The English Game” or “Emma” again.  

On Saturday at noon I returned 100 ready masks.  The two littlest came along for the ride as I returned the bag by the deadline.  Again going through the drive-through system at DI, following the signs and the women (wearing their own cloth masks) waving me through.

I rolled down the window, handed over the bag, heard a muffled “thank you so much!” and that was it. I had to move for the next minivan.

As I drove away, I passed a sign saying, “Your front line health care workers thank you!” And I started to cry. My emotions have been close to the surface these past few weeks anyway. But I couldn’t help release more tears.

I thought of those doctors and nurses, putting on one of my masks with slightly crooked seams that little hands helped me push through the sewing machine. What would they face that day? Who would they be able to help because of my small favor?

I thought of the women standing in the sun for hours, directing the traffic at DI locations around Utah. I thought of the organizers of this massive project. And of the thousands of other people who were sewing masks in their own homes. What did their homes look like this week? And every week of this five-week endeavor?

I thought of the critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My church. Critics who say the church doesn’t do enough or give enough or donate enough. Do those critics know of the thousands of church members who constantly give of their time and talents for free, without saying a word about it?

Then I thought, did I even do enough? Should I do more? But how can I do more? Isn’t this something for someone else in a different season of life, without a full-time job and five young children? Shouldn’t other people be doing something? Why can't this be over?

I hesitate to even share this. I don’t want to appear like I want attention for my service. But I do think it changed me for the better. I want my children to serve and give and love and learn as they grow, so I must show them how.

Above all, I want this pandemic to end. And if saying yes to this project helped in any small way toward that end, it was worth it.

Water, rocks and critters

We played a lot in water over the last week. Mostly in the creek below the cabin. And also in the bathtub.

The water was cold, but that did not stop the adventurers. The best thing I brought down with us was the beach toys of buckets and shovels. They played with dirt, sand, rocks and sticks all week (but also begged for plenty of time with electronics).

 On Thursday, Ben was with Millie a few yards away when he saw a snake on the bank. He picked her up and ran so fast back to us. 

I texted out a picture of the snake to a few people and word came back it was a harmless garter or gopher snake. We were still a little terrified/fascinated .... especially when it swam across the creek to the other side. 

The boys loved spotting lizards (my brother Joe says they are blue belly lizards, also known as the Western Fence species). They were all around the cabin. The boys stayed on this rock "talking" to them in the crevices for an hour or so. James even willingly did his reading on the rock out loud to the lizards.

One afternoon we went down the road to Wide Hollow Reservoir.

The boys tried to dunk each other in a foot of water.

We all tried skipping rocks. James couldn't get one to skip at all and was sad. I think Andrew maybe made it once. There are some beautiful rocks of all colors there. I really want to go back with more water toys next time and stay longer.

We also made S'mores one night..

We drove back Saturday morning so the boys could get all their lawns mowed. We are so grateful for the opportunity to spend a week making memories. Hopefully we can do it again soon!

Escalante hiking

On Monday, we didn't have pressing Zoom/video class calls, so we went in the morning to Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. It took about an hour to drive down Hole in the Rock Road, and we talked about the pioneers who went that way and how hard it was for them.

Most of the hike was flat through this red sand on the way to and from the canyon, but I was scared on a steep part, and very glad JB carried Millie safely up and down. Max helped talk me through where to put my feet. Max and Ben also helped guide the little boys.

It was around 4.5 miles round trip, but Millie and I didn't do the middle part, through the slot canyon itself. There was a big climb to get inside and I just figured she and I could rest and wait for the boys and dad to do the loop.

They said it got tight inside but it was really cool.

For the last mile or so this tired girlie got a ride in my arms and fell asleep.

By the way we saw two missionaries on the hike. It was their P day but they still wore their name tags. On the way back west on Hole in the Rock Road we stopped at Devil's Garden. It's a cool place to explore the rocks and formations.

I think I could do it again -- and try to go into the slot canyon next time, but not with a 3 year old.  Last time we did Lower Calf Creek Falls. Next time we go down, there's another hike we want to try that crosses the Escalante River.

Escalante

We are back from a week in Escalante, in Southern Utah, where we hiked, played, watched movies, played games, ate great cooking, and did schoolwork remotely.

I took the week off work. We didn't have a spring break back in March (we kept doing schoolwork), and everyone seemed to need a break at least from our house. It was amazing how much I could help the boys with their schoolwork when I didn't have to worry about my own deadlines and work! Yes, working full-time at my radio reporting job is keeping me from being a teacher to multiple children full-time.

JB's timer on his phone took this picture for us on our first day.

Millie wore that hat and dress much of the week, she's so funny in this stage.

The weather was beautiful. It was a little warm sleeping at night but fans and open windows worked wonders.

We played lots of table tennis, fooseball, Apples to Apples, Clue, and chess (well, Millie carried around the pieces and called them her princesses).

I watched some shows -- amazing how when you take vacation you have time for these kinds of things -- I borrowed some series from my neighbor to watch: Christy and Berkeley Square, and also caught up on Belgravia and When Calls the Heart.  I also read a lot, and finished Peter and the Starcatchers with the boys at night.  We watched movies together, too: Hoosiers, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Cars, Kung Fu Panda and others, and read scriptures together in the big room.

JB made some great meals for us -- smoked pork, tri-tip, breakfast burritos and lots of things that he planned ahead to bring it all down in our packed mini-van.

I'll blog next about the hikes and stuff.