Visitors!

Sean and Rachelle brought their boys over to play for the evening. We aren't allowing people in the house, but have felt ok letting the kids play outside and visiting. Of course we had to break out the s'mores while they were here!

 

Play, Play, Play!

These 4 continue to handle Covid like champs. Luckily they can play together all day long!

 

Bunnies!!!

So I go kinda crazy when it comes to post holiday stuffed animals. Having a hobby that includes sewing miniature dance costumes for little stuffed animals makes me hyper sensitive to any and all sales that include the little stuffed creatures. As luck has it...there are always lots and lots of bunnies left over from Easter every year. And once in a while we hit the jackpot and they are the perfect size for the little costumes that I make. So I bought all that I could find at 3 different Walmarts. And while I was looking for those bunnies, I ran across these tiny little Easter animals that looked like perfect gifts for my girls to give to their friends. And since those were only 9 cents a piece, I bought all of those too! I may have a problem...

Scotland Yard

The kids have played SO many games that it was time to teach them some new ones. I got out Scotland Yard and taught it to them. They loved it! I'm constantly surprised how these kids are able to learn and have fun playing these adult games, but they do!

Outside Fun

The girls continue playing every chance they get. For the circumstances, I've actually been quite impressed with how well these 4 girls have done being with each other all day everyday. They are constantly making up new games, dancing, and finding new ways to pass the time. 

The Taming of the Chinchilla

Brynlee has been spending more and more time with her chinchilla and finally she has been able to hold her and carry her around a little bit. It's fun to watch them together. Brynlee is definitely a caretaker at heart.

Zoom Dance Class

Our dance studio put videos online that all the dancers could watch and dance to. They decided to do a zoom class for each level. We happened to have church keys so we headed over so the girls could dance and tumble in a space big enough to feel somewhat normal. We spent all afternoon there and the girls loved it. 

Baptism Posters

While we are getting the house ready to sell we have found lots of things that are hard to take with us. These posters were signed at Brayden and Brooklyn's baptisms by the people that came. We took pictures so we could always remember them!

The Last Dance

This made me cry. I was cleaning up the craft room and I found Brooklyn's board. None of us were prepared for Covid. It started off by having school cancelled for 2 weeks and just snowballed from there. We continue to hold out hope that some part of the dance season will be salvageable, but it's not looking good. It broke my heart to see the moments where my kids are trying to understand what's going on. Brooklyn didn't know that her last dance competition would be her last one. The last time she would get to dance her solo and team routines on a stage. Everyone has lost something they love...my girls are no different.

Diamond Art Painting

For Easter all of the girls got diamond art paintings. I let them pick out the ones they wanted a few weeks ago and they've been eagerly waiting ever since. Now they have been working on them round the clock and we can't wait to see what they look like when they are done!

Drive-by Monday - Sidewalk Chalk!

One of the sad effects from Covid is how hard it is to find certain things...one of which is sidewalk chalk. It's sold out everywhere! My girls did the best they could with what we had left. It was warm enough that the girls wanted to go around the neighborhood on their hover boards looking at all the different chalk arts people did. It was another great family night!

Easter

I didn't realize how much I would miss not being able to go to church on Easter Sunday, however our Easter this year was memorable and one of the more sacred experiences we've had together as a family. We woke up and did our traditional Easter egg hunt with the kids. The nice thing about doing an egg hunt while you are getting ready to move is that there are plenty of places for the Easter bunny to hide eggs. (Sidetone...Josh and I were at Walmart last night and I ended up negotiating with the manager there to buy their Ninja Turtle arcade game. We got it out to the parking lot only to realize that we wouldn't be able to fit it in the car like we had hoped. So I left Josh standing in the middle of the parking lot with the arcade game in the rain while I ran home to get the van. We bought it for the new house, but bc it happened to be Easter we decided to give it to them Easter morning  so they could play it and let us sleep in longer. It worked. And they loved it!)

We headed over to the Ericson's house for lunch and sacrament meeting. I had each of my kids prepare a short talk on the different ways we can "Hear Him." They did the following:

Brayden - "Hear Him by Removing Distractions"

Brielle - "Hear Him through Service"

Brynlee - "Hear Him through the Scriptures"

Shantelle - "Hear Him by Remembering Him"

Brooklyn - "Hear Him through Forgiveness"

Britney - "Hear Him through Prayer"

Josh - "Hear Him through Worship"

I also had my kids sing a musical number titled "To Be His Child." As a mother I couldn't have been more proud of my kids. It touched all of us to watch these innocent and sweet kids bear their testimonies through word and song. I'll always remember how it felt to share that experience with them today. Because of Him...