March 2020

A quick trip up to St. George to start Spring break was just what we needed The kids had a great time with grandma and grandpa Benham, so much that they slept almost the entire 6 hours in the car ride back home. Now I am ready to send the kids back to school so I can recuperate from our week of fun.

The time has finally come, time to sell Kyle's car. Kyle had this Nissan Maxima when we were dating, the first years of our married life in Provo, UT, then in Enid, OK, and our first time around in AZ. We sold it to Brady while we were in Japan, but Kyle quickly bought it back from him upon our return to the states a few years ago. The time has finally come where its reliability was not strong and it continually required mechanical work. I am beyond happy to see this car go. It was a stick shift which always gave me anxiety to drive, but Kyle on the other hand has some unexplained emotional attachment to this car. He was sad to see it go, but also realized it was time. Goodybye white Nissasn, thanks for all the jerks and stalls that come along with a stick shift :) 

Just when I thought the kids might be able to go back to school after spring break the school announced they were shutting down for the remainder of the school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am speechless. I didn't think this would ever be a thing. Its only March, there are still 3 months left of this school year. We were instructed to pick up the kids schools supplies that the teachers packet up into bags as well as  packets of worksheets for the kids to work on through the school driveline. It's official, the pandemic has officially exploded and everything has come to a halted stop.

In fact the school is not the only thing that shut down, our entire nation, no the entire world shut down. Dance was canceled, grocery stores were only open for drive up/pick up, we were instructed to stay shut up in our homes for weeks and weeks in hope this virus would pass. It is a very contagious virus and is new so we do not have a vaccine and it spreads rapidly. Right now there are so many uncertainties that we don't know how to fight this virus and its cause numerous deaths. 

If I am being completely honest I am a little afraid. I am afraid for my kids, I am afraid of what the future will look like now, I am afraid that things will never be the same. All the uncertainty is uneasy, and I just hope and pray life will go back to normal sometime soon. We are not even allowed to attend church and have been instructed by the prophet to hold church and the sacrament within our homes. What do I tell my kids that are so confused and full of questions? I do not want to scare them, and I too don't know what is going on.

It's not quite warm enough yet to go swimming so we have been trying to pass the quarantine time of being stuck at home by enjoying the backyard. We have done lots of chalk art, bike rides, playing soccer, picnics, watching TV, and trying to have a little school/church lesson every day to keep up with the kid's academics and spiritual growth. Its only been two weeks but we are going crazy being cooped up in the house. I miss teaching my ballet students, and the kids miss structure. Kyle still has to attend work (national security doesn't stop due to a pandemic), but they are doing a lot of extra precautions such as social distancing and mandated mask wearing to help prevent further spread of the virus. I honestly don't know how much all these precautionary measures are helping cause the death toll is still on the rise and there is no sign that this quarantine will be lifted any time soon. 

March 2020 will forever be remembered as the month the world shut down. School as canceled, and lives were put on hold. We are under attack by an unknown virus that is highly contagious and has an extremely high death count. 2020 is not shaping out to be the year we all thought it would be. I just pray that all my family and friends are healthy, happy and well. I cannot believe I am living through such a historic time in our history.