Megan's Baptism

Megan chose to get baptized.  I let her choose weather she gets baptized with just our little family and the grandparents now or wait until the whole family can come...she didn't want to wait.
We were able to live stream the baptism to all of our extended family through Zoom.  It worked really well and was such a nice experience for everyone involved.
We went over to the church about 9:30 to get pictures, get Tony and Megan changed, and make sure the laptop was all set up for the streaming.  The font was still filling up and the kids thought that was super cool.
Tyler played the piano and I led the music.  I said the opening prayer and then Tony gave a short talk.  After the talk Tony got into the water and Megan went in on her side.  The water was really hot so they had to add cold water.  Then she was baptized.
I took her back to help her change and I asked her how she felt.  She said she felt different and good with the biggest smile on her face.  She was so happy.  Then she got the gift of the holy ghost.  She was so happy.  Tyler played the closing song and then Josh was suppose to say the closing pray...he got really nervous and couldn't do it.  So Tyler said the closing prayer and it was super sweet.
My parents had a couple presents for Tyler and Megan and then they left.  We went home and got changed and then went to Margie and Lloyd's house to have lunch for Megan's birthday.  She picked Texas Roadhouse.  Tony and Lloyd picked it up to go and we ate it at Margie's house.  It was super yummy and the perfect way to end the celebration of Megan.  We love her so much and are so proud of her!

Hair Cuts

I went to my friends house and had her cut the girls hair.  She has a salon in the back of her house so we weren't too close for germs.  They both got a lot of hair cut off.  Megan was the most drastic with all the hair cut off.  They both look super cute and they love their hair cuts.

 

It's Great to be Eight! Megan's Birthday!!!

Instead of cake or cupcakes for Megan's birthday, she wanted to have dough nuts.  So I went to Reams and picked her up a good verity.  

We waited until Tony got home from work to open presents and eat the dough nuts.  Even though we didn't get to go out to eat or have a party (darn Covid) I think she still had a fun birthday.  Megan is such a tough girl.  She is strong and competitive.  She still loves to dance and do tumbling.  She is sensitive and loving.  She loves doing stuff with her siblings.  We are lucky to have her in our family.

Tyler got Braces

One of Tyler's rubber bands came out of his molars yesterday afternoon.  When I called the orthodontist to see if they wanted me to bring him in to replace it, they told me that they would like him to come in that day at 5:00 to get his hardware put in.
They said that the governor had told all dentist and doctor offices to close the next day except for emergencies.  So we couldn't wait until Monday anymore.  It was now or more then a month away.  So it was, once again, a lot sooner then we thought but it was good timing.  If we are stuck in our house for six plus weeks he might as well have the braces doing their work.
Tyler was pretty nervous at first, but he did a good job.  It was a long appointment.  It didn't hurt him last night but he did wake up to some pain.  They said to expect the first three days to be the hardest and then he should start feeling better.  I am glad we were able to get this going and add to the excitement of being home bound.

Fun at the Dentist

Today the kids had their check-up and cleaning appointments at the dentist.  I called ahead to make sure they still wanted to see us and they did.
They had a screening in the lobby of the building once we entered.  They asked us if we had been out of the country in the last 30 days or been around anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19.  Luckily we said no to both.  Then they checked all of our temperatures and gave us wrist bands to show we passed their tests.
The kids all did good with their cleanings.  Megan needed some sealants on her new molars and had some little cavities on her back teeth so they said they could do that right after our appointment.  Since they were already doing stuff they pulled her other little front tooth that was taking too long to come out.
Allie did super good with her check up and cleaning.  Since she has teeth coming in behind her bottom front teeth he wanted to just pull the baby teeth to give the new teeth room to grow.  So after Megan had her dental work done it was Allie's turn.  They were both excited to have their teeth pulled and had cute little boxes for their teeth.  They both did really good with their procedures and I was super glad about that.
Tyler and Josh have little cavities starting but they don't want to work on them for a couple months.  He wants Tyler's molars to grow in more before he does the work and figured Josh could wait too.  We asked the dentist about Tyler needing braces and he went next door and asked the orthodontist to come take a look.  The orthodontist said it was perfect timing for Tyler to get braces.  So while we were waiting to have Allie and Megan's dental work done Tony took Tyler next door to make an appointment.  They had an opening right then so they got the process started.  They took his pictures, got some x-rays, and put in some spacers on his back teeth.  They told Tony how much money it was going to be...ouch...a lot of money.  But he will love it when it is all done.  His teeth don't look too bad so I hope that it wont take too long.  We weren't planning on starting braces but I am glad we were able to do it while the girls got their teeth fixed.  Perfect timing.

Dinseyland Day

I decided I wanted to do a Disneyland Day at home to make up for missing our week at Disneyland.
We invited grandma over (because it's just not Disneyland with grandma) and she and grandpa came over after lunch.
I decorated the front room in all things Disney.  I got out our popcorn buckets, stuffed Mickey and Minnie's, I had a pin exchange table, got out our autograph books, and other souvenirs that we have gotten in the past.

We all had on our Disney shirts and Tyler and I wore our Disney hats.  We all sat down on the couch and Tony started the fun with a YouTube video of driving into the parking garage.  Then we "rode" the tram.  Then our first ride was Pirates, then Haunted Mountain, the Splash Mountain.
Then it was snack time, so I made some popcorn.  We always eat popcorn at Disneyland.  Then we "rode" a couple more rides before the kids were ready for their treat.  Mickey ice cream's on a stick for everyone!  We then "rode" a couple more rides before watching the fireworks show.  It was the perfect way to end our Disneyland Day.  It was silly and fun and we had a good time as a family.  It wasn't the same as going, but I think we all had a good time!  Even without hugging Mickey.

Field Trip to Grandma Kim's

Grandma Kim got duckies!  We love duckies.  So we took a field trip to grandma's house.  We were mindful about our germs and their germs and tried to wash our hands often.  We all washed our hands after holding the cute duckies so that worked out perfect.
While we were there Grandma asked Megan if she wanted her birthday gift now or later.  Of course Megan picked now.  She loved grandma's gift of a church bag with coloring books, color pencils, reading books, and a dress.
The kids loved playing outside and jumping on the trampoline.  The kids needed some crazy exercise time so it was perfect.  The sun was out and it felt so nice.  It was a little cold, but sunny.
The kids also enjoyed some soda and then Megan and Allie planted a flower seed in some dirt and got to take it home.  We didn't stay too long but we all had a good time getting out of the house and doing fun things.

More Homeschooling Adventures

On the fourth day of homeschooling we had a home economics lesson and learned about making cookies.  I used a new recipe that I got from a friend on-line.  I had asked for peoples favorite chocolate chip recipe and I got a lot of responses.
The recipe we decided to use was...okay.  I will not be using it again.  The kids liked it.  It made a lot of cookies.  We passed most of them out to our neighbors and friends.  I made sure to tell them that it was a new recipe that I was trying out.
The kids have been doing a good job getting their school work done.  I was able to pick up all their school work and crome books from the school.  I was already having the kids do different programs on-line so we were a step ahead.
I try to have the kids do a verity of things throughout the day.  We have school time, play time, chore time, eat time, go outside time, etc.  So far it seems to work but I may need to get more organized for next week.  I guess we will see.

The House was a Shakin'

We woke up this morning to a 5.7 magnitude earthquake out of Magna.  Their have been over 80 aftershocks already.  We have felt at least 10 of them.  Two aftershocks were pretty big.  One was like 4.5 magnitude aftershock.
The boys were already awake this morning and in the front room when it started.  Tony and I and the girls were still in bed sleeping.  We jumped out of bed and told everyone to get dressed with shoes in case we needed to leave.  The kids listened and did what they were asked.
We then turned on the news and watched in awe at the craziness of a large earthquake.  Luckily their was no damage to our home.  Only a few things fell off the shelves and nothing was broken.  The news said no one was seriously hurt so that was really good.  There were old buildings that had some damage but nothing terrible.  The Salt Lake temple is currently under construction to make the temple earthquake proof for the future.  The only thing that seemed to happy to it is that the trumpet fell out of the hand of the angle Moroni.  What does that mean?

The main good thing about the earthquake is that it gave us a break from worrying about Covid-19.
More and more people are testing positive.  We have been staying home and limiting our involvement with other people.  We are trying to do our part to stay virus-free and stop the spread.  These are crazy times that we are living in and we are still shocked that this is happening.  We are in good spirits for the most part and staying positive.  We know our Heavenly Father is mindful of us and love us.  We will only get stronger from this crazy time in our lives.  Heaven help us.
The kids did pretty good after the earthquake until bedtime.  They are shaken up and wondering if it is finally over, but we have had some good discussions about trials and the blessings of Heavenly Father.
Allie really started stressing about an hour before bedtime.  She was shaking so bad and asking me to sleep with her.  She did not want to be alone.  I had her snuggle me and she feel asleep for about 15 minutes and then woke up not wanting to go back to sleep.  After family prayer I was able to tuck her in and she fell asleep.
That is when Tyler started freaking out.  He did not want to go downstairs to sleep.  He was so worried that we would have another earthquake and then he would be trapped downstairs.  Even after talking about all the different scenarios of what could happen and how he would handle it, he still didn't want to go to bed.  So we told the boys they could sleep on the girls floor.  Well about a half an hour after we thought they were asleep Tyler woke up screaming because he thought he felt an aftershock.  He did not.  He did wake up Allie.  So after that we had Tyler sleep on the couch and Allie ended up in bed with Tony and I.  It was heartbreaking to see both of them struggling with going to sleep. Heaven help us all.

Home Schoooling Fun

We were told that the teachers needed Monday and Tuesday to get things ready for the kids to learn online. 
Tyler already knows how to get on and do school work on Canvas and the other three have a few online programs that they know how to do from home.  So I have been having them do those things and reading for their school work.
On Tuesday we saw some neighbors and friends walking back from the school with to-go school lunches so we decided to get some too.  We walked over to the school and picked up the lunches and then came home.  It was nice and sunny so the kids wanted to eat outside.  They enjoyed their yummy lunch on the picnic table.  I was amazed at what a great meal they gave the kids.  Tyler loves salads so he'll have a salad for four days.  I hope they keep that up during this "dismissal". 
Megan also lost a tooth this day.  It was finally super wiggly. She did not want me to pull it out, she wanted to wiggle it out herself and that is what she did.  It didn't even bleed very much.  She is very brave and very happy to get another dollar from the tooth fairy.
These kids are doing a great job rolling with the punches that have been this week of craziness.  I am proud of them and us for doing what we can to help prevent the spread of this virus!

COVID-19

Covid-19, also known as the corona virus is in full swing here in Utah and the USA.  We have been asked to stay home as much as possible.  School has been dismissed for two weeks to help kids stay home to avoid the spread.
We were suppose to leave for California on Friday but they announced on Thursday that they would close Disneyland on Saturday. So we canceled our hotels and stayed home.  Which is good because I was feeling really uneasy about going with the virus spreading like it was.
You can no longer eat in restaurants (take out, drive thru, or curb side pickup only).  No movie, gyms, sports, dance, recreation places...they are all closed.  We've been asked to work from home if possible.  The economy is struggling and many people are loosing their jobs.
But grocery stores and open.  Hospitals and clinics are open.  Their is plenty of food at the stores.  Many people have been hoarding toilet paper and bottles of water.  But the water is good and clean.  Since I like to be super organized we were already pretty well stocked on supplies.
Even though for now things are temporarily closed we don't really know how long it is going to last.  My guess is much longer then two weeks.  The government is trying to slow the spread of the virus so that hospitals are not overwhelmed with sick people.
But out of all this crazy is good.  Max brought the kids some Mickey ice creams and popcycles for Tyler's birthday.  Our friend and neighbor (and fellow Disney lover) Kim brought the kids Mickey suckers, markers, and an art activity.  And my sweet 2nd councilor came and chalked our sidewalk with a sweet message.  Their is always good with the bad.  We are thankful for our blessings and will try to stay positive.