COVID-19 Quarantine: Day 166-170

Day 166: 8-26-20 (Wednesday)

Today is National Dog Day and Miss Beverly Beatrice Beauchamp deserves some recognition! LOL. I am so glad that I was convinced that it was time to get a dog again. Bev brings so much unconditional love and joy into our lives. A pet really does enrich a home!

Today I had a good chatty phone call with my friend Kata. I LOVE those! Texting is nice but a good phone call is a great way to catch up with a good friend who I rarely see these days even though she only lives about 10 minutes away. It felt very 1990s! LOL.

Ailey finally had some kind of mutual activity. It was a combined YM/YW. They went on a hike. Parents did all the drop offs/pick ups. (The trailhead is only about 5 mins from our house.) They had to wear masks and stagger their start times but she had fun. Our girls need to be able to socialize again. So does their mother!!

Some of my sisters were out at the lake and doing drawings for my mother's belongings. We have divided up most of the valuable and sentimental items. Now it is just the remnants. The leftover detritus of a life. It would be helpful if we could all agree on what is trash/goodwill but that would just be too easy right? So four hours later after various FaceTime phone calls some of it got done.

Day 167: 8-27-20 (Thursday)

The drawings continued for part of today. Ugh... pare down when you get older. Don't hang on to so much *stuff*. We managed to keep interactions civil both days...not hard on my part... but seems more difficult on the part of others. Too bad it won't last.

We got an email from Kameron's Mission President saying:

Dear Parents, 

As you may know, there was an unfortunate outbreak of public violence in Central Minneapolis last evening (Thursday, August 26). You may have seen recent reports and images in various media sources that could raise your concern for the well-being and safety of those in Minneapolis. With this in mind, I want you to know that ALL of our missionaries are safe and sound. In fact, almost all of our missionaries were not even aware of the unrest. In taking a position of abundant caution, they are instructed to adhere to every local safety protocol and I am monitoring the situation closely.  I understand the concerns you may feel for your beloved children and wanted to alleviate any unnecessary concern you may have.  Please feel free to contact me or the office staff with any questions or concerns.  Please know of my gratitude and admiration for our devoted missionaries.  You have every reason to be proud of their consecrated efforts. 

I, of course, follow the news in Minneapolis so I knew the latest happenings and I knew that Kam wasn't in that area so I wasn't too worried but...STILL...

Tonight was vendor night at the store. I brought in a bunch of new things. I am really enjoying my Thursday nights puttering around in my booth and making little vignettes. It is calming, creative, and enjoyable. It is nice to interact with fellow vendors and friends too. I will take all the socializing I can get! Tyler and I grabbed Greek take out for dinner and ate it lakeside. A pleasant end to the day!

Day 168: 8-28-20 (Friday)

Today was a busy day. Lots of errands. Being creative and busier is definitely helping with my mood these days. I finished up a large piece of furniture to take to the store. I did a porch visit with one of my primary kids who is getting baptized tomorrow and dropped off a birthday treat for another primary kid.

The girls and I did some shopping. We need to get their rooms ready for online school. Bryn needed a dedicated "study area". We found a cute little desk and chair for her room. We found a cute blush throw blanket for Ailey's room that will look cute with her new bedding. We still need to get their back-to-school supplies. It is so weird not to do a big back-to-school clothes shopping extravaganza.

Tonight was date night.  Nothing too thrilling. We went thrifting. Tyler's favorite...Not. He stayed in the car most of the time. This is the first time that I have been in a thrift store since March. We got Hawaiian take out for dinner and then it was onto Hobby Lobby and Lowe's. Yep, not Tyler's favorite date night on record. He didn't mind the Lowe's part since it was to get things that he needed. So while not a romantic night it was a productive one. I have a Fall Open House at the store coming up and I needed some fall foliage. We also FaceTimed with Reilly for quite a bit of it too which was nice.

Day 169: 8-29-20 (Saturday)

Today was a pretty typical Saturday of projects and errands. The bright spot was that Reilly was babysitting Emerson so she brought him over for a bit. He is the cutest little guy. We were able to get in lots of baby snuggles and cuddles. Reilly regularly babysits Emmy and he is also a regular visitor at our house so he is part of our little quarantine tribe and we love it!

Tyler felt like cooking tonight. Yes, please continue with this vibe! I am enjoying many dinners made by him. He wanted to try to try a new recipe. He made Paula Deen's Pork Chops. They were delicious!

Tonight we had a baptism to "sort of" attend aka we watched it on Zoom in the parking lot of the stake center. Bryn came with us. The guidelines for baptisms in our stake are: you can have up to 16 people attend and they must wear masks. There is no singing. Everyone else can watch over Zoom in the parking lot and can then congratulate the person who has gotten baptized when they come out of the church while social distancing.

While we were there *watching* the baptism carload after carload of missionary trios pulled into the parking lot. It must have been a district meeting or something. We saw this big group of elders outside the stake center talking, laughing, and joking around. We were riveted. It was like getting a small peek into what Kam's life is like now. While a musical number was being played on the piano at the baptism; I looked over at the elders and saw them all starting to lower themselves to the ground. I asked Tyler what they were doing and he said they were praying. I watched these young men who are sacrificing two years of their lives to share the love of Jesus Christ with the world kneel down and humbly pray on the lawn of the stake center. It brought tears to my eyes. It was pretty powerful to witness. Shortly after that the sister missionaries started arriving and they grabbed chairs and headed out to the parking lot to have their meeting while social distancing. They all looked so happy and joyous.

Day 170: 8-30-20 (Sunday)

This morning I had ward council. It is still held over Zoom. I much prefer it this way! We used to meet in person at 7 am! Yeah, I'll take a Zoom meeting! Today was also Home Church. I am actually quite surprised at how nice this has been and at how much the spirit is felt during our home meeting. I also like that we can do it at whatever time we like.

The weather was nice so we decided to put the bikes in the suburban and go for a bike ride. We drove about an hour away and got on the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes again but from a different direction. This time we were closer to Kellogg, Idaho.

We did a 16 mile ride. We saw heron, pheasants (many other birds too), and a giant beaver dam. It was a hot ride but pretty! This part of the trail goes along the Coeur d' Alene River and through a bunch of wetlands and some smaller chain lakes.

The Coeur d' Alene River

A beaver dam out in the lily pads.

Blue Heron. I love these birds so much!

An abandoned house along the trail.

I love finding these and thinking about who used to live here and the stories this house could tell. When I was in elementary school and we lived in Springville, Utah there was an abandoned house that we loved! Our neighbors and good friends, the Ropers, and I would bike to this abandoned house all the time in the summer. We called it "Baby Blue Eyes" house. I don't remember if we made that name up and the sad tale that went along with it or if it was a local legend but I do know that we were obsessed with it. In my memory the house caught on fire a long long time ago and everyone was killed along with a baby who had startling blue eyes and was beloved by everyone who knew her. Hence the place was haunted by "Baby Blue Eyes". We did all of the things that we weren't supposed to do. (Our parents would have killed us if they knew!) We went in all the time and looked at all of the old half burned vintage things inside. We used to try to freak each other out and would dare each other to go upstairs to the alleged site of the baby nursery. The stairs were falling apart and I am surprised that we made it upstairs once let alone many times. We would swear that we could hear a baby crying. It was our favorite place to play Truth or Dare. On one trip to Baby Blue Eyes house Leesa and I dared Brad to go upstairs and stay for 5 minutes. We timed him. He had us running screaming from the house when he came down the stairs with a burned baby bottle in his hands!! Needless to say... abandoned houses are interesting to me. LOL.

Cave Lake

We had SUCH a good time and I had about 4 hours of being up in the mountains and out of cell service. A nice respite especially since as we drove down the canyon and Fourth of July Pass toward Coeur d' Alene I got about 15 unpleasant texts from siblings. It was nice while it lasted! I will take my pockets of peace and serenity when I can and this was definitely one!

COVID-19 Quarantine: Days 161-165

Day 161: 8-21-20 (Friday)

Today was a delight of relaxation and fun! Tyler and I started off our morning with paddleboarding and kayaking. The water was glass. It was so beautiful. We paddled from the Lower lake to the lily pads, through the channel, and on to the Upper lake. Our lake is actually two lakes connected by a channel hence the name Twin Lakes.

It was warm and sunny but you could see signs of autumn. The bushes are starting to turn colors. I am 100 % not ready for autumn. I don't love it on a good year but with the one year anniversary of my mom's death rapidly approaching and no end in sight for quarantine; it sounds down right depressing. Getting outside and doing things has been the saving grace of quarantine for me. Being stuck in the house sounds horrid. Being cozy has no allure this year. We have done nothing but be cozy since mid-March.

We spent the rest of the day swimming, napping, and enjoying the water. There is nothing better than an afternoon nap at the lake.

I also picked the last of the raspberries. Sad. It's a good thing the McIntosh apple tree is producing! I've been eating an apple a day this entire week. They are delicious.

Day 162: 8-22-20 (Saturday)

Photo Cred: Reilly

Today we had so much fun! Reilly ended up coming out by herself. Of course we enjoy Hunter; but it is always nice getting her to ourselves once in a while. We spent the day boating, tubing, and swimming in Grandma's cove. They even did some synchronized swimming. LOL.

That night Reilly made her famous tuna melts for dinner. You might think, "How good could a tuna melt be?" If you have ever had Reilly's you would know. They are out of this world!! So good! We ask her to make them for us all the time. I also made my Grandma Ellersick's Peanut Butter Rice Krispy cookies which I have improved upon and perfected if I do say so myself! It was a hilarious night of laughing and hanging out with the lovely Johnson sisters!!

Day 163: 8-23-20 (Sunday)

Today was our last day at the lake. Tyler and I headed out early to paddleboard and kayak. It was another perfect day for both.

After that we did our usual deep clean and yard work: mowing and weed whacking. We got things done pretty quickly so that we could enjoy the rest of the day before we had to head home.

I found out that my family's parrot died. We got Maxwell Alexander Ferdinand the Bird (his full name) when I was eleven years old. He lived to be 37. When I was growing up every time the phone would ring or the doorbell would ring Maxwell would yell, "KRISTIN!!!!" It was hilarious. He actually had quite a large vocabulary. He could also cry like a baby and laugh like a deranged maniac. He loved to dance to music. When my parents divorced my stepdad got custody of Max. I hated it. Kirk and Jordin used to visit Max and see him a couple of times a year. He never stopped screeching "Kristin!" which I love! Maxwell's demise actually hit me and Kirk pretty hard. Our childhood is LONG over...our Mom is gone...now even our family's longest living pet is gone. I hope Mom and Maxwell are hanging out in heaven.

We swam and enjoyed the water. We pulled the boat out at dusk, got take out for dinner, and then headed home. We really enjoyed our week but it felt SO GOOD to be home! I know I say that every time but it really does!

Day 164: 8-24-20 (Monday)

Today was a crazy catch up day. Tyler helped Reilly and Hunter with a car repair situation. Hunter's truck was in the shop so Tyler picked Reilly up from work and drove her to the mechanic's where they met Hunter who had driven Reilly's car to work. They were able to get Hunter's truck repaired and Reilly and Tyler were able to have some good daddy/daughter time together.

I worked on my business, did tons of laundry, deep cleaned our house, and worked in the yard. We ended up having to drive back out to the lake to look for our lawn mower charger only to find it later at our house in Beverly's bag of all places! While we were driving we were able to video chat with Kam and the girls. Again, I LOVE technology! He is doing good! Still doing lots of service and teaching discussions over video chat.

They had a big meeting with the Mission President who told them that there will no longer be tracting even after COVID is over. This is so hard for Tyler to comprehend. His mission to North Carolina was all tracting and street contacting with the occasional member referral. Things have had to change for awhile. Tracting just isn't as effective anymore. It's kind of crazy though because 90% of Kameron's online MTC training was all about tracting! It's good that youth his age are super techy because that is most of what they will be doing! Facebook and FB Messenger have proven statistically to be very effective ways of introducing people to the gospel and teaching them. Kameron said that they are learning all kinds of ways to use social media as a missionary tool. Interesting.

Day 165: 8-25-20 (Tuesday)

Today was kind of a blur. There has been so much going on none of which I want to talk about and so many emotional landmines to maneuver through with siblings. It is relentless. My Aunt Bonnie texted me today to see if I was available to talk tonight. I was. She talked to both Tyler and I. It was much needed. I miss having a supportive family. I miss having a mom to love and nurture me. It was so comforting to talk to her about some of the hard things that are going on in my life and to feel loved and nurtured. Just to hear someone other than my own family (and Kirk's) say, "I love you!" brought tears to my eyes. I've missed that and I am grateful for it.

Email from Elder Johnson #5

Group Email: 8-17-20

1000 Bottles of Hot Sauce on the Wall....

What is up partay peopleeeeee? I hope all is well with y'all. Miss ya like crazy but I'll get through it....:( 😂😂 Anyway, sooo remember when I talked about those sick lighting storms? Sooo we had another one...and I got pictures so imma attach dems below so you can understand. 

Anyway! This week's been pretty good! Got some service in, I led a couple of lessons, and had a zoom mission tour so all In all banger week.

We had quite a few zoom lessons which are pretty cool...if you like that sort of thing. Idk I'm pretty neutral on it but sometimes we're like... yo we need to leave this dang apartment or somebody gonna die...not actually die...but I mean never say never. 

Anywayyy mission tour! Basically a mission tour is some higher ups in our church (area 70 if you know what that means;) usually come to the mission and talk to us and train us on what they feel we could be educated more on. This was the same idea but over zoom. It was 4 hours long but it was gooood stuff. Lots of really good training. Just long tbh. Lil quote I liked from it goes like this, "Don't define yourself because of your weakness, we are shown our weaknesses so that we may take them and make them strong and improve ourselves." I love that. A lot of us get down on ourselves for being weak in certain areas but it's meant to help us grow and become better, faster, and stronger then we were before. 

We got some service in as well. We helped 2 peeps move. Super fun actually. One of them was a quick move cause they didn't have a ton of stuff but what she did have shocked us tbh. Bottles on bottles on bottles on bottles of hot sauce. We were just like holy fetch that's soooooo much hot sauce. For numbers sake my comps and I guess roughly 1000 bottles? Probably a little more. I dunno it was a lot. Super nice lady though. She gave us Pepsi which was banger. 

A few more things and then I'll wrap up. My district is seriously the coolest dudes ever. I love'em to death. I gave a talk in church on Sunday on hope. I'd say it went pretty okay. Not the worst experience ever but we're moving forward. I seriously love being a missionary. Loving every minute of it. 

Also I got a pet bird. His name is Dwight. I'll attach some pics of him too. He just shows up in the morning and at night and chills right next to the sliding glass window when I'm sitting next to it on the inside. He came by this morning with his buddy so that was epic. Anyway take care y'all. I love ya. Be safe and don't get the rona and remember... Hope is dope. Catch ya on the flippity flop. 

-Elder Johnson

COVID-19 Quarantine: Day 156-160

Day 156: 8-16-20 (Sunday)

We had home church today. This was our week off from attending church. We only go the 2nd and 4th Sunday. I kind of like rotating. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if that part lasted. LOL. I really do look forward to Sundays and enjoy them now. They are a rest day which I have finally come to appreciate.

We did a Sunday drive back out to Hayden Lake again to the other side of the lake to check out a different boat launch. We had a nice family dinner and then got things ready to go out to the lake tomorrow.

Day 157: 8-17-20 (Monday)

Tyler and I drove out to the lake early this morning, dropped off kayaks and paddleboards, launched the boat, came back home, got the girls and Beverly and the rest of our stuff, and then headed back out to stay at the lake for the next week. Tyler can work from here which is nice. It was a 103 degrees when we got here. We are in another heat wave. It will be nice to be near water this week. We were out here for the last heat wave too. That worked out nicely. We enjoyed the water all day.

Kam sent out his group email and one to our family. They are so enjoyable! Then we also got to video chat with him later tonight. Technology is amazing. We were able to connect as a family with Kam in Minnesota, Reilly in Spokane, Tyler, the girls, and I out on the dock. I love it! I don't know how I would survive this mission without video chatting and occasionally FB messaging in addition to his weekly emails. He says that he loves being a missionary and is having a blast on the mission so that is good! He is having all kinds of interesting experiences...some positive and some negative, meeting all kinds of interesting people, forging some good friendships, learning a lot about himself, serving others, and growing spiritually. As a parent I am so grateful for this despite really missing his cute face! I know I sometimes sound melodramatic but I didn't grow up in an LDS family. I never watched a brother go off on a mission or anything like that and I just never knew what it felt like to have a close family member leave for two years to serve a mission. It's been an adjustment. But it really helps when I see him enjoying the process, growing, maturing, and becoming more selfless.

The sunset was crazy spectacular too! Kam is my kid who always texts me pictures of sunsets. He loves them! While we were talking to him the sunset looked absolutely unreal! We literally had to stop talking and just marvel!

Doesn't that sunset look unbelievable? We don't have any fires up our way either. People from our area were posting pictures of the sunset on social media all night. So GORGEOUS!

Day 158: 8-18-20 (Tuesday)

I slept like a rock last night. This doesn't often happen for me. I don't have trouble falling asleep but I do have trouble staying asleep. 3 am usually wakes me up in a panic either real or imagined. But not last night! This morning I got up, grabbed my journals and scriptures, and headed out to the dock for my morning routine. It was so calm and tranquil. I felt super peaceful and grounded. This last year hasn't given me many of those moments. It was nice. I savored it.

The girls slept in so Tyler and I jumped in the boat and went for morning boat ride just the two of us! We toured the lake and then just floated and hung out on the water. It is nice that the girls are big enough to do their own thing and we could do ours too.

Today was mostly a day of relaxation. Swimming, boating, and reading on the dock. My favorite kind of day! I helped Bryn practice her dives. It reminded me of learning to dive off the same dock with my grandparents.



It is crazy how fast time goes. Today as I was floating around on my pink floatie; I looked at the water, the dock, the trees, the sky. I could have been any age: 8, 18, 28, 38, or 48. It was a weird but not unpleasant sensation. I've had many years at this place and on this lake. I am deeply grateful for them but I also know that this time is wrapping up and I am at peace with it.

We made mini-ice cream sandwiches for dessert. It's the little things in life right?

Day 159: 8-19-20 (Wednesday)

Today was a lovely relaxing day! We got some much needed things done this morning. We met with an appraiser to appraise the lake property. Kirk and I needed to have a 2nd one done due to issues and *involvement* of a sibling in the last one. It was nice to get that done despite having to pay for it ourselves. We have had to wait for weeks. Appraisers are so booked right now. After that was over we were able to enjoy the water and the sunshine.

I have taken over a room on the sleeping porch of Lilac Lodge. This is the room we call "The Honey-Mooner" because it has a door. I have used this for my morning routine of scriptures, prayer, journaling, goal-tracking etc. I have also done some afternoon reading and napping in here undisturbed. It's been a delight. You get the best of both worlds of being both outside and inside. Three of the walls are screens so I can see and hear the water but yet I am comfortably reclining on the bed. This is a perk of it just being our family here. Multiple unused bedrooms.

It has been lovely!!

Sometimes people find me and that is okay too!

Photo Cred: Reilly

Reilly and Hunter came out after work to play and have dinner with us. Hunter has started a new job. He is working for an HVAC company. After he is there for a year they will train him to be an HVAC technician. Needless to say Tyler was very happy to hear this. I hope Hunter likes it and sticks with it. It would actually be a good fit for him.

Hunter was exhausted and took a long nap. LOL.

Photo Cred: Reilly

Tyler, the girls, and I had fun boating and tubing until dark. We tried to see if we could go to the upper lake. We could get under the bridge and through the lily pads but the channel looked too risky. Too shallow.

The Channel that goes from the lower lake to the upper lake.
Photo Cred: Reilly

It was absolutely beautiful!

Day 160: 8-20-20 (Thursday)

Today started out much cooler and overcast. It actually felt really nice. Tyler and I spent the morning watering the yard and working on cleaning out one of the garages. Bags and bags of old nasty clothes. I have no idea why these were being saved. Tyler had a work meeting and then we ran into Spokane to check on the house and to water the plants. The sun came out this afternoon. The girls were able to get in a swim.

Mermaids made an appearance!

Our girls have had more fun with that mermaid tale than any other water toy that we have ever purchased!! They have all loved it!

It was also vendor night at Midtown Market. My big secretary desk sold the other day so I needed to do some serious rearranging and bring in another large furniture piece. Tyler came into town with me and we grabbed some dinner. We had a nice mini-date before heading back to the lake!