So Now What?

Blogging about each day of our COVID-19 quarantine was a very helpful coping mechanism for me. Maybe at some point it will be of interest to me to look back and see how things progressed during this time because it definitely feels like a hinge point in history. There is a definitive "before" and "after." But now what? 

I got into a great habit of a daily journaling that I kind of don't want to get out of but at the same time the blog isn't where I want to do it...and also...SNORE. But my kids consult this blog regularly for pictures and family stories and to win arguments...LOL... so I think I will continue to update our activities and goings-on but not in a daily format. Monthly? Twice a month? Who knows? But I am grateful that I made a record of this time. Both for family history purposes and for my own mental health. I wish I could say that COVID was over and I wish that our lives were totally back to normal but who knows when that will happen or even IF it will happen. Ergo...the blog moves on.

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 396-401

Day 396: 4-13-21 (Tuesday)

Today was a pretty chill day. Not much to report. Both girls are home and busily engaged in their homework. Bryn had track practice and is beyond thrilled to be back! She has her first meet on Saturday. Just adding sports back into her life has improved her countenance by A LOT! There is much less sad tortoise around here. LOL.

Day 397: 4-14-21 (Wednesday)

We found out that Bryn will go back to school FULL TIME on April 28th. Good! Tyler also got a very cryptic phone call from our friend Chris who also happens to be a counselor in the Stake Presidency. He wants to come over tomorrow afternoon to talk to Tyler. Are we nervous? Oh heck yes.

Day 398: 4-15-21 (Thursday)

Tyler found out that he won't be going back to the office now until SEPTEMBER!! That seems absolutely ridiculous especially with vaccines available. At least try a hybrid schedule or something.

So...our friend Chris came over this afternoon. He extended a call to Tyler to be the first counselor in the bishopric. I don't think the word SHOCK describes it adequately. Tyler hasn't even been at church in almost 400 days. Next Sunday was going to be his first Sunday back at church and now he's rolling in as the 1st counselor!?! Craziness. You know how I keep saying that I feel like I am in a parallel universe? Yeah. Further proof! He will be great though and I think it is such an incredible growth opportunity for him. 

Tonight was also vendor night. My booth was down to bare bones. I have sold so much. I am grateful and stressed. But I got it all filled back up again with furniture and smalls and it's looking pretty. Whew.

Day 399: 4-16-21 (Friday)

I finally got notified that I qualify to be vaccinated in WA State. Good grief.

Today we went suit shopping and bought Tyler his first suit since his mission. LOL. That was a pretty hilarious event! We found him a very nice gray suit and even were able to scheduled an appointment to get it tailored in time for church on Sunday. Miraculous! The store where we bought the suit hemmed the pants but suits look SO MUCH nicer when they are tailored. We have a guy near us who does a fantastic job! We were grateful that he could squeeze Tyler in!

Ailey took her driving test and passed! She is official! Unfortunately, I have no photo. But... this has been LONG in coming!! She requested dinner from Zips to celebrate. It is so nice to have a third driver in the house again!! Especially as Bryn has track practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we are in CDA on Thursdays.

Tyler and I did a dark park walk for our date night. It was so pretty. Lots of stars.

Day 400: 4-17-21 (Saturday)

Today is Day 400 of COVID quarantine. Let that sink in. 400 DAYS.

I woke up early to watch the funeral of Prince Philip. I really miss my mom. The royals were one of our "things." We loved watching all of their special events and talking about them. She would have totally been up early watching this while on the phone with me. :(

Tyler got his suit back from the tailor and it looks fantastic!

Bryn had her first track meet and she did awesome! It is really exciting being back in the stands and cheering her on aka screaming my lungs out

Her relay team got 1st place in the 4x400 and she came in 2nd in the 200. So fun! 

Day 401: 4-18-21 (Sunday)

The Johnsons are officially out of quarantine. Life still isn't normal. Ailey and Bryn still aren't in school full-time. Tyler still isn't back in the office. None of our children have been vaccinated yet. But...we are back in the world. Tyler is back in the world. That is HUGE. He went back to church today. He was also sustained and set apart as a member of our new bishopric. He spent all day hugging people and shaking hands so let's hope Moderna does its thing. 

Today was a really special day for our family. Reilly and Hunter came to church with us and were there for Tyler's setting apart. Kameron, Judie, and Joel watched the livestream. The whole day was very emotional and spiritual. The outgoing bishop and bishopric (who we absolutely loved) all spoke and then the new incoming bishopric spoke. Tyler did a great job of just speaking off the cuff...nothing prepared. This is going to be such a great experience for him. Challenging but a really good one. Plus I don't think you could find anyone in that meeting who was more grateful to be there that day than Tyler.

Also being a part of the meeting (after sacrament meeting) where the Stake Presidency sets apart the new bishopric was an extremely neat experience. It is definitely one that I will never forget. I know that Kameron really missed being a part of it. Tyler stayed late as he was being trained and meeting with people. 

Kam made a modification to our family picture. Ha ha!

The girls and I came home from church and we made a special dinner. We recreated yet another Joanna Gaines meal to celebrate Tyler's special day. On her show she did a big brunch episode and Tyler requested that we try a few of those recipes. We made the Hash Brown Casserole and the French Toast Crunch. It was fun cooking in the kitchen with my girls. Both recipes were good!  (We also made buttermilk syrup and had strawberries and cream.) The Hash Brown Casserole is like a cross between Quiche Lorraine and Funeral Potatoes. In our family we are big quiche fans and (in our humble opinion) we have perfected it and we have also perfected our version of Funeral Potatoes. So we came to the conclusion that we like them separate. But we still liked the casserole. We really liked the French Toast Crunch. It requires a lot of steps, which was time consuming, but this was a really good recipe that we will definitely make again for special occasions. It is like next level French Toast.

After dinner the girls and I headed out to the Youth Emotional Resiliency Class at the stake center. Tonight's class was: Real Life Finances. This time the youth split up but didn't break into small groups so I didn't need to moderate my group of kids. The older kids met in the cultural hall and listened to a guest speaker and I got to stay in the chapel with Bryn and listen to the guest speaker for the younger kids. It was once again a packed house. 

While the kids were eating their refreshments another crazy windstorm hit. Tyler said that the power flickered at our house but didn't go out. They sent the kids home ASAP. The power did end up going out at the stake center later that night. There were some trees down again but the storm wasn't as destructive as previous storms. What is even happening? Why are we constantly having all of these destructive windstorms? We are already at 3 just this year!!

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 391-395

Day 391: 4-8-21 (Thursday)

Tyler and I both did fine with our vaccinations throughout the night. We didn't even have any issues with sleeping on our arms like we did the last time. The nurse gave us our shots up higher this time and it was perfect. I woke up at 6am with my teeth chattering and feeling achy. But no fever. I turned on the electric blanket on our bed and went back to sleep. I woke up again at about 8:30 am and took some Tylenol and it worked great! I was prepared for two days of feeling crappy but my symptoms were pretty minimal. I was a little achy, had a headache, and was tired for most of the day but that was about it. Tyler had even fewer symptoms. He was a little tired and had a sore arm but that was it. He worked all day and even had online meetings! We were super relieved. We tried to just take it as easy as possible and by the end of the night we were both still feeling okay.

It also snowed today. Twice. Morning and afternoon. The perfect day for Bryn to start track! LOL! I snuggled up and read for most of the day.

Day 392: 4-9-21 (Friday)

So here's the million dollar question: Are we still in quarantine? Yes, for two more weeks while we wait for our immunity to fully kick in. We are feeling back to normal today! Not that we were ever feeling really bad but the achiness and even the sore arms are gone. Our energy levels are still a little low but so far so good!

There was sunshine today! Outside and in my soul! LOL. I'm sure it is weird to literally note the days that are sunny but here in the PNW they are always noticed and noted. The only time I forget and just assume that it will be sunny is mid-July through September. Other than that a beautiful sunny day is noticed and appreciated. Also... I can't tell you what a relief it is to be vaccinated. It's HUGE. The worry for Tyler was overwhelming.

Prince Philip died today. He was 99 years old.

Day 393: 4-10-21 (Saturday)

Today is Bryn's 12th Birthday!! Woohoo!! This is her 2nd COVID quarantine birthday which seems unreal and unfair. Luckily things are much more opened up than last year. She planned a fun day for herself! It started off with dragging us out of bed at 6:30am to drive north to her favorite donut shop for gigis. They sell out fast. They are donuts stuffed with eggs, cheese, sausage, and country gravy. My family loves them. I do not. They also have the coldest chocolate milk in town. That alone is worth the drive!

Gruesome Gigi not pictured. That was snarfed down in record time! LOL.

We returned home and climbed back into our beds and slept for another hour or two. After that we got up and headed out for Bryn's Birthday Extravaganza. She wanted to go downtown and hangout. Something that she (and we) have only done once since COVID began. Her first stop...the downtown mall.

She wanted a day of shopping... Bath and Body Works for good smelling lotions and potions...all the stores...and her favorite...the Nike Store. There she picked out all kinds of running clothes and new running shoes. She was in HEAVEN! Unbeknownst to her at this time was that Reilly and Hunter had stopped in the day before and found her another pair of running shoes and a color coordinated running outfit too. She nearly lost her mind when she saw that waiting for her at home!!

We also got to hang out at the Valley Mall. We went into nearly every store, shopped, and had lunch. Then it was onto Old Navy. After that it was the sporting goods store to get her a new bike helmet. Then it was back downtown for more fun and the piece de la resistance... Lime Scooters! This was was our first foray into riding lime scooters. Kameron is a fan and Bryn had been dying to try them. Perfect timing with that new helmet. I was also equipped with antibacterial wipes to wipe those suckers down. Then the fun began!!

You guys!! They are SO FUN! We started out with one but very quickly needed more! Nobody wanted to share. LOL. We had an absolute blast zipping around all over on those things!! Why haven't we done this sooner?!

Everyone very quickly got the hang of them and we had the best time! Tyler and I are going to have some Lime Scooter Date Nights and Reilly was like, "We are coming too!!" So fun!! You feel like a 10 year old again just having the time of your life. We loved it!!

We had the greatest time!! Great idea Bryn!!

Then it was back home for Bryn's Birthday Dinner and Presents:

She requested take out from the Olive Garden and Strawberry Cheesecake for her birthday dinner. 

There was a *slight* mix up with the breadstick order!! Ha ha!!

Bryn's secret admirer had stopped by too! This kid could give grown men ideas about *romance*. LOL!

This kid is the best and hopefully by her next birthday we can have the big shindig that she so richly deserves!!!

Day 394: 4-11-21 (Sunday)

Today the girls and I attended church in person and Tyler livestreamed while he waits for that immunity to really *kick in*. It was the first time since COVID that our ward has had in person Relief Society. It was nice to be in person once again but weird to be back in RS. My stints there have been very brief.

Tonight at 6pm I attended the Youth Resiliency Course Training. The first class kicked off at 7pm. The topic was: Healthy Thinking Patterns. Ailey and Bryn both attended. The turnout was huge. Way more kids showed up than anticipated. Most of the kids from our stake were all there. We initially had all of the kids meet in the chapel and then the kids 11-15 stayed there and listened to the guest speaker. The youth 16-18 moved to the cultural hall where they were divided up onto groups of 6 with one youth facilitator and one adult moderator per table. I randomly got assigned to Ailey's group. The youth facilitator for our group is my friend's daughter, Lily, who is a senior and has been trained to lead the group. She did a great job! It was interesting! 

Day 395: 4-12-21 (Monday)

Chaos has erupted again in Minneapolis due to the Derek Chauvin trial and yet another police shooting. :( This morning I received multiple calls and texts from people checking on Kameron. He isn't great about keeping people informed of his exact location so many were understandably concerned. Luckily he is about an hour and a half away from downtown Minneapolis. He sent out a group text after I messaged him this morning. He is on lockdown and has a very strict curfew...no grocery shopping...no nothing. One of his bestfriends on the mission lives about three blocks from where the shooting took place and heard the gunshots. Terrifying. We video chatted with Kam and got the scoop on things there. The advice sent out from their mission president to the missionaries this morning was: "Be smart." 

Kirk and I talked to our attorney today. Tyler and I also had two different technicians come out for work on our lawn. One aerated and fertilized it. The other technician came to work on our sprinkler system. A productive day on all fronts.

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 386-390

Day 386: 4-3-21 (Saturday)

Today is Holy Saturday.

It is also 4-3-2-1

But best of all... it is General Conference! We watched both sessions and it was awesome! Sister Joy D. Jones was FIRE! I loved her talk. The second session...my favorite Elder Jeffery R. Holland was amazing! The whole day was fantastic! In between sessions we listened to the performance of Handel's Messiah. Beautiful!

Brynnie taking a mid-session snooze while listening to the beautiful music!

It was so cozy!

After Conference we went to the park with the girls and Beverly. The weather was perfect. No coats!! Tyler listened on his headphones to the Priesthood Session. I listened with him to the talk by President Nelson and loved it! It was kind of momentous that simultaneously my father, my husband, and my son were all tuned in live to the Priesthood session from 3 different cities. Crazy.

We talked to Judie and Joel today. They had their 2nd dose of Moderna. They had no major side effects. They were just tired and achy for about a day. That's good. It's crazy how random it is for everyone.

Day 387: 4-4-21 (Sunday)

Easter and Resurrection Sunday!!

We had a wonderful, meaningful, and spiritual Easter! We had a message from Kam early this morning and we talked to Reilly. Hopefully this is the last holiday that we have to spent apart from her.

The girls received new luggage for our upcoming travels! Reilly and Hunter came over yesterday and we were able to give them their Easter surprises. Kam got his Easter gift on time but we got a notice that his care package won't arrive until tomorrow. Bummer.

Tyler received some new luggage too (and some candy.) He loves the Cadbury Mini Eggs. The Cadbury Cream Eggs are my favorites! 

Tyler gave me these BEAUTIFUL sugar Easter Eggs. I have wanted these since I was a little girl! They are large too. Over 8 inches tall. One of my fellow vendors was selling them and I was so excited to find them!

I used to beg my mom to get me one of these sugar eggs for Easter but it never happened. Somehow I equated these with the Church (and seem to recall that my mother did too) ergo I never received one. I asked Tyler how in the world I would have connected these eggs with Utah church people. He said that the Relief Society used to make them and maybe that was what put my mom off of them. But they aren't an LDS thing. It's weird how we can connect unrelated things in our minds. 

We made crepes for our Easter/Conference breakfast and they were divine! My favorite filling is lemon curd, whipped cream, and strawberries. So good! We also had Nutella. Also good! Bryn's secret admirer struck again. There was a stuffed animal that looked like a blue peep and a note that said: "Bryn, you are one of the sweetest peeps I know!!! Your Secret Admirer." LOL. 

We had another fantastic 2nd day of General Conference! There were so many great talks and it was so perfect for Easter. In between sessions we played the Rob Gardiner Lamb of God video. That music is so powerful! Then we had a DELICIOUS Easter Feast! We had some traditional foods and some non-traditional and it was fantastic! 

Our menu:

Mississippi Roast (Tyler)

Quinoa (Tyler)

My Mom's Killer Mashed Potatoes (Me)

Homemade Rolls (Ailey)

Deviled Eggs (Bryn)

Jello Beans (Ailey)

Granny's Lemon Bars (Ailey)

Green Punch (Me)

Then we FINALLY started watching THE CHOSEN. People have been raving about it all year and even Kameron got to watch Season 1 on Christmas Day on his mission and has been begging us to watch it. Well...everyone was right. It is really good! We had such a great Easter this year...even if it was the first year we didn't dye Easter Eggs. Times they are a changin' as the kids get older.

I also got asked to be a group facilitator for our stake's 7 week Emotional Resiliency Life Skills Course for the youth. This is a pilot project that the Church is doing in various stakes. My dad is just finishing up the adult course in his stake. The course for the adults is a little different than the one for the youth.

The topics for the youth are: 

Healthy Thinking Patterns

Real Life Finances

Managing Stress and Anxiety

Career Prep

Understanding Sadness and Depression

Our Body and Emotions/Building Healthy Relationships

Providing Strength to Others

This isn't technically a calling. Names were recommended to be facilitators/moderators. I was like "I wonder who recommended me for this?" and Bryn piped up with "Anyone who knows you!" LOL. Too true. Stuff like this is my jam! Guess what lucky teens get to participate?! It should be interesting.

Day 388: 4-5-21 (Monday)

Spring Break is going strong. Sleeping in and staying up late! We did a bunch of yard work today. Woohoo. Nothing says fun spring break like yard work but it felt great (to me!) to be out working in the yard. It is finally starting to come alive. Pansies! Daffodils! I also put away all of our Easter décor.

We video chatted with Kameron today. His new companion is from good old Rexburg, Idaho. Kam says he is a little different but much easier to get along with. Apparently this kid LOVES to clean and organize. Like SUPER DEEP CLEANING. Kameron can NOT relate! In Kam's words... "He is Mom on steroids!" It was really fun to hear his insights on General Conference. He had notes and everything and was super enthusiastic! Such a change! LOL. It was really good to talk and laugh with him. I sure love that kid!

Gonzaga was in the NCAA Finals and lost to Baylor tonight. Sadness. They had a great season. Proud of our Zags!

Day 389: 4-6-21 (Tuesday)

We did more yard work today! LOL. Yes, there has been some mighty complaining around here DESPITE the fact that we will be taking a trip in just a couple of weeks. We aren't too sympathetic to their complaints. We finally took the girls to Chik-fil-a as a treat! We also got all of the details about Bryn's track season. She starts on THURSDAY and she is stoked!

Our governor is now saying that we may return to Phase 2. Are you kidding me?!

Day 390: 4-7-21 (Wednesday)

We are vaccinated!! 

Tyler and I got our second Moderna shot today. THANK GOODNESS. It wasn't without some excitement though. After we got our shots and were sitting there waiting our allotted 15 minutes to make sure that we didn't keel over... someone actually did! It was extremely traumatizing to all of us sitting there! Two teenage boys were there with their dad and had just gotten their second doses. All of the sudden one of the teenagers started having a seizure. His brother was like, "Knock it off! That's not funny!" But then the dad started calling for help and while the kid was seizing two EpiPens (clearly some health issues here) fell out of his pocket. The nurses called for the rapid response team which was not that rapid. They got him down on the ground and were bringing him around. The doctor came and checked him out. He didn't have a reaction to the immunization. He had a vasovagal syncope which is a kind of seizure that can happen when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers...like the sight of blood, needles, extreme emotional distress etc...it causes your blood pressure and your heart rate to drop suddenly. You faint and have a seizure like episode. We are unfortunately familiar with these because they happen to Reilly with needles. It has happened to her twice. Both times were when she was getting an IV. It is disturbing to see even though you know it isn't anything serious. BUT...IT IS 10,000 TIMES MORE DISTURBING...when you are waiting to see that you don't...you know...drop dead...after your immunization! Good grief. The kid was fine and was back to his normal self by the time our 15 minutes were up. I would say that it took me a good hour to bring MY heart rate back to normal!! 

On a happier note... we stopped and got take out on the way home. We didn't know if/when we would start to feel crappy so we wanted some food on hand for the next two days and decided to eat early. We also had plenty of things for the girls to make should they need to nurse us back to health. We were prepared. We were told to stay SUPER hydrated. Before and after the immunization. So we were guzzling down the Gatorade and water like crazy...all day and all night. We ended up having an 80's movie marathon with the girls: Back to the Future and Pretty in Pink. We both felt fine all night!

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 381-385

Day 381: 3-29-21 (Monday)

Today is Holy Monday. Jesus Cleansed the Temple.

Bryn only goes to school half day this entire week or should I say for the two days that she does go to school. It is Parent/Teacher Conference. Conferences will be held online this year. We heard that 5th and 6th graders *might* go back to school full-time in April. I sure hope so.

We were able to video chat with Kameron today for an hour. He's waiting to find out if he will be transferred. He is really hoping that his companion will be the one to go. They are teaching a lot of people right now that he would like to continue teaching.

I got the nicest surprise in the mail today. I got a very sweet and thoughtful card from Tyler's mom. She had written some very nice things that meant a great deal to me. I will save that card. It was unexpected and out of the blue and very special. 

Tyler and I went shopping for Easter things for the kids. I discovered caffeinated sparkling water!

Game changer! 

Day 382: 3-30-21 (Tuesday)

Today is Holy Tuesday.

It is sunny once again! Thank goodness! Not much to report today. Ailey scheduled her driving test.

There are a few more cases of COVID at the high school and a family in our ward has it. :(

I think that the next room in our house that we are tackling will be the bathroom. We need new flooring and a new vanity. Tyler and I went tonight to look around and see what's available. We found some great options.

Day 383: 3-31-21 (Wednesday)

Silent Wednesday. Kind of apropos that we are still waiting to hear if Kam is getting transferred.

Today is another half day for Bryn due to parent/teacher conferences. She is out at 1pm. I feel like we are barely in school as is...and with half days and Spring Break coming up... it feels like we are just getting further behind.

We got some great news! Kirk, Meki, and Kaiya all got their first doses of the vaccine. They got the Pfizer. Our Governor said today that everyone over the age of 16 can be vaccinated after April 15th. Meanwhile people in Tyler's category are STILL waiting. I talked to my friend Marianne today and she told me that she got the crazy COVID arm too! Luckily I had warned her about it!!

Reilly had a big scare today. Someone broke into their storage unit in their apartment complex and stole things. She thought she had lost the luggage that my mom gave her for her graduation and all of her special ornaments. She was sobbing. Tyler had her look around all the storage units and see if someone dumped them. She found her luggage crammed into a corner and she found all of her ornaments in a bin in her closet! THANK GOODNESS she never put them in the storage unit! It is sentimental things like these that matter!

Nightly chats with these two are never dull! It seems like every night we all end up piled on the bed talking and laughing. A gift from COVID quarantine for sure!

Tonight we also tried these. Weird and not in a good way. Well... two liked them and two of us did not. 

Day 384: 4-1-21 (Thursday)

Today is Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday.

We found out this morning that Kam is staying in Princeton and his companion got transferred. Sweet! Kam's new companion is from Rexburg, Idaho. We hurried and sent off his Easter care package to him and expressed it. We couldn't send it until we knew where he was going to be.

Tyler got contacted by WA State today to say that he FINALLY qualifies to receive the vaccine. What utter @#$% !! 

Ailey danced at half-time at the football game tonight and they got new sparkly sequined outfits! Woohoo! Fancy!

Day 385: 4-2-21 (Friday)

Today is Good Friday.

Spring Break has officially begun for the Johnson girls. We aren't going anywhere since we aren't fully vaccinated yet. That will happen on Wednesday! So we are having a bit of a low-key Spring Break.

Tyler took the day off and ran the girls to CDA to get our favorite donuts early this morning! How's that for some festivity!! We got some for tomorrow morning too. We can eat them while we watch General Conference. I cannot wait for General Conference!

We went to the park as a family and brought Beverly. It felt great to be out in the sunshine. We had our parent/teacher conference with Bryn's teacher via a Teams video chat. Bryn is doing great and a pleasure to have in class. Great!

Tyler and I had a really fun date night! We had a lakeside picnic in CDA. We got the best Mexican food from a new-to-us place that we discovered on a bike ride then we split a shake from Roger's for our dessert. We had so much fun!

One thing that COVID has given us is a lot of outside dates and I love them! I am here for all the hikes, bike rides, walks, picnics, boating, exploring... I love it all!

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 376-380

Day 376: 3-24-21 (Wednesday)

Another crappy rainy day...having decorated for Easter helps. Time keeps marching on even when COVID doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

The company that Tyler works for said today that all of their employees who live in Idaho can get vaccinated through their office but not the employees that live in Washington? WTH is our state doing? We haven't moved at all to a new phase with new groups of people eligible to be vaccinated and we were the first state with a case of COVID!! Most other states are now open to anyone who wants a vaccine can get one. Meanwhile in WA State we still have heart patients, diabetics, and all kinds of other people who have health conditions that put them at high risk that are STILL WAITING!! Tyler is the ministering brother to a woman who is a professor at Gonzaga and she still doesn't qualify to get the vaccine because the eligibility for our state was only for teachers of daycare/preschool/school through grade 12... not college professors. This is complete BS. 

Day 377: 3-25-21 (Thursday)

Today's is Beverly's 2nd Birthday! 

She got a special dinner and everything! LOL.

Another kid at Ailey's school tested positive for COVID. Can we just get our family vaccinated already? After my rant yesterday, WA State moved to Phase 1B of Tier 2 AND Tyler STILL wouldn't have qualified to be vaccinated and I definitely would not have. Governor Inslee is GARBAGE!

I think I need one of these hoodies.

Today I was crazy busy prepping for vendor night. While doing so I was listening to the best audiobook...Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. Perfection! It has an awesome Spotify playlist too.

Tonight we ate Greek food lakeside after vendor night. It was pretty fabulous!

Day 378: 3-26-21 (Friday)

Finally we have a Friday with both girls in school. We had an early morning message from Kam with an email from his mission president saying that with COVID cases still on the rise in MN and WI they are planning to have all of the missionaries vaccinated (good!) but they aren't sure what that timeline will look like. 

Today I caught up with a good friend of mine via a day of texting and it did my heart a world of good!

I will never take lunch dates, hang outs, and girls nights for granted again!!

Ailey's dance team performed at half-time for our high school's first football game. It is a little weird to be watching HS football in March...and it was COLD...but it felt good to be back in the stands cheering.

It was also nice to have some time with Ailey by herself. We had a little Sonic date afterwards with her. She is getting so grown up. I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that next year she will be a Senior.

Blurry... but I love the feeling that this picture conveys.

Beverly Cleary died today. Sadness. She brought so much joy to my life and to my kids. We are big fans! One of the best things we did on a trip to Oregon was to go and see the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden, Klickitat Street, the school, and the neighborhood that her books were based on. It was a fun adventure!

Day 379: 3-27-21 (Saturday)

Today was a total work day around here. Tyler and I tackled the dreaded garage once more. Look what we found in an old journal of mine in some junk that we were sorting through:

This was from a journal when I was in college. It was written 6 months BEFORE I met Tyler! How crazy! And Kameron with a K too. His exact name. It's so bizarre because Kameron wasn't even in our top names when I was pregnant with him. We decided on it after having a rather special experience after his ultrasound and we didn't decide on his middle name until we were in the delivery room after he was born. We had another middle name that we were going to use but then I just told Tyler to pick whatever name he wanted as the middle name. I guess Kam's name was meant to be!

Beverly had a grooming appointment today and got the royal treatment as a birthday treat!! They said she was a little angel. LOL. We also ran out to the lake house to check on it. Good news! The ice has gone out. It does my heart good to see open water once more.

Look what Ailey learned to make in her ProStart class at school! She has perfected hollandaise sauce and it is FABULOUS! She made us the most delicious Eggs Benedict for dinner!

Day 380: 3-28-21 (Sunday)

Holy Week has begun. I love observing Holy Week. Today is Palm Sunday. The girls went to our ward. I attended another ward conference (the last of them) and Tyler watched the livestream.

There was another big windstorm headed our way today...ugh. Destructive wind speeds were predicted again. During sacrament meeting everyone's phones went off with the Amber Alert sound to warn us all about the coming windstorm. That was unsettling. We Spokanites have PTSD. All anyone could talk about at church was how nervous and worried they were. Should everyone be sent home? What should we do? Prayers were said. It was a whole THING.

The girls were at home with Tyler before the storm hit. I ended up driving home when it started kicking up. Tyler had everything prepped and ready in case the power went out. He had even precooked our Sunday dinner!! When I got home we ate our dinner early and headed down to our family room in the basement for the worst part of the storm. We have several giant Ponderosa Pines and Blue Spruces that we really don't want to take out our house! Thankfully we didn't lose power and the winds weren't nearly as bad as predicted. We had our FHE downstairs and then watched a movie as a family.

Kameron messaged us this morning about the state painting of Minnesota. It is called Grace. It represents "Survival in the midst of hardship." He was very excited about that since this painting has hung at my grandparents house my entire life. He asked who had it now. I do. My mom gave it to me when she revamped the lake house and said, "Here, take this. You're the only one in our family who is into praying." Okaaayyy. I totally forgot that I had inherited it but Tyler remembered and brought it up out of storage so that we could send a picture to Kam. It makes that picture even more meaningful to our family. I need to hang it up.