Tad turned 4 and requested an Octonauts birthday party. We put crepe paper seaweed on the walls, made penguin (Peso) cupcakes, created an obstacle course to rescue the animals, and went fishing in the living room.
We had our ultrasound and found out that we're having another BOY! Here is the video of us telling the kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaPcee23mTQ&feature=youtu.be
CORONAVIRUS hit in full force this month and school was cancelled. Thrive sales spiked and I worked 80-90 hours per week for most of March, April, and May. Kyle started helping at Thrive at night by doing inventory from 8pm - 12am (or 2am sometimes...). March and April ended up being the highest sales months in company history. Not only did our customer sales boom, but so did the demand from every contract manufacturing client.
We started doing church at home, which I actually really love. It gives the kids a chance to participate more -- everyone is involved, makes the sacrament more intimate, allows us to cater the lessons and do hands-on activities as a family, forces us to plan ahead and prepare, etc. Alexa even put together a nursery for the littles :). Tad loves to lead the music, and Alexa and Tyler have even played violin a couple of times for our family sacrament meeting. One week we dressed up and acted out the story of Abinadi and King Noah. The costumes and drama applied to the story were equally hilarious.
Kyle got the kids some new toys for quarantine, including a wiggle car that the littles ride around the house on, as well as a climbing dome in the backyard. We also got new baby chicks, Alexa is seen below pretending one is her parrot. Alexa and Tyler started reading Harry Potter and we promised them that after they finish each book we can watch the movie. I did sewing lessons with Alexa, Tyler, and Tad and they each made a pillow case.
Virtual schooling has been somewhat of a bust, but every morning they do chores, practice music, read out loud, and do simple things like math worksheets. The rest of the day is spent playing. Alexa has become pen pals with Peggy, her cousins, and Jason Budge. We had virtual YW activities on Zoom in April, which included a yoga class, how to do family history work, and hair braiding. Otherwise, it's kind of nice that everything is cancelled. I don't mind! Anne is amazing and has made over 1,000 masks to donate during quarantine! We have had some really fun Sweeny virtual game nights and we also started doing Swingle family virtual church together. On top of COVID, Utah had a 5.7 earthquake this month which just made people more panicked. You can't buy toilet paper, Clorox wipes, or hand sanitizer in any stores. And basics like flour, sugar, rice, etc. are gone as well.
Mom: Everything is cancelled because of coronavirus.
Tad: Yay, are chores cancelled, too?!
We talked to the kids in July about how coronavirus impacted them. Alexa said she's used to being around tons of people and misses that. She definitely had a harder time not being in school because she misses the social interaction with teachers and friends. Our little extrovert suffered. She also said she didn't think she would have a good birthday because she couldn't be with all her friends, but that she still had lots of fun. Yay.
Tyler said he's still made we couldn't go to the big LEGO store at the Mall of America (closed) due to COVID (and also probably because of the black lives matter riots in Minneapolis). He didn't have as hard of a time leaving school behind, he was happy to be home and play.
Quarantine has made me grateful that we have multiple children so they have someone to play with, as well as the fact that we have had nice weather and have a big back yard to play in. We have done a good amount of trampoline time. We also went fishing and have done lots of hiking, and Kyle and the kids built a fire pit in the back yard. We are very blessed to have good health, an abundance of resources, and each other.
Comments
Post a Comment