Two Weeks and Then Some

Two weeks to slow the spread turned into several weeks of staying home and trying to figure out what to do. No school, no church, no activities. Everything was closed - restaurants, theaters, stores - so there was nowhere to go. Although it was a no no, I had no problem letting Noah hang out with friends. What else was there to do?

The kids didn't have any assignments from school other than some generic activities so every once in awhile we took a picture, in this case Noah practicing his trumpet, and sent it in to a teacher to get credit.

We ordered Noah some clay to help keep the creative juices flowing. At least Amazon was still operating!

We made and served dinner at the Welcome One shelter. Thank goodness we were still allowed to do that!

We continued to have church at home.

Played lots of games!

Adjusted our lunch dates - pick up instead of dining in and eating it at the church instead of at home so we could have a little time to ourselves.

Worked on art.

Ate a lot of goodies!

Watched General Conference and did the Hosannah shout.

Got some sun.

Hung out with Cleo.

And basically just hung out. Cleo's expression sums up March into April.

A Special Visit

Mom and Dad came out mid-March to visit Johns Hopkins to find out more about a trial drug for Dad's cancer and whether he was eligible to participate. Of course we were thrilled to have them stay with us for a few days. Their visit just happened to coincide with the Covid "Slow the Spread" announcement.

Clearly it had been a long day for everyone!

Cleo is always thrilled to have new people to lay on.

The Friday night they were here, we went out to eat at Red Robin. No wait time and the restaurant was pretty empty. The fear was beginning to spread and people were unwilling to go out to public places. We, however, did not care and enjoyed having the place almost to ourselves. We also did not have church to go to on Sunday but dressed up for our own little sacrament at home.

We also had a very festive St. Patrick's Day celebration the night before they went home! Green for everyone!!

Unfortunately a few days after their visit we found out that Johns Hopkins would not be doing the trial drug treatment due to Covid closures. I was so angry and saddened for my dad!!! Little did I know that that was just the beginning of the closures and lockdowns that would affect us for quite some time.

Seminary Olympics - Closing Ceremony

All church activities had been cancelled as well to "slow the spread" but I got permission from the Stake President to have one last day of seminary. The kids still had school that day so I figured why not? Some parents didn't agree with it and wouldn't allow their kids to attend so we were small in numbers but I really wanted to have our Olympics Closing Ceremony. The kids who were there were so excited to receive all their medals and awards.

All of the kids walked away with several medals but there was one who superceded everyone - Jack!! He received the most medals in the class, having earned them for individual as well as for team events. Skyler was so funny: "We're not worthy!"

And Grace put out the flame officially ending one my all time favorite seminary activities!

How March Started...

The beginning of March started out great, just like any other month. We had been hearing reports of a new illness in China for about the last month or so called Covid and the rumblings about it were starting to become louder. However, at the beginning of March we had no idea how much Covid was going to change everything! I attended the play "Seusical the Musical" at Patterson Mill to support several of my seminary students who were involved in the production. Abi, who was a greeter and selling flowers;

Emma;

Lydia;

and Emily playing in the band.

They all did a fabulous job!

We had to put Cleo in time out...

but for the most part she's pretty dang good.

A sushi lunch with my favorite guy...

and seminary birthday celebrations and fun.

On Thursday, March 12 we received the news - all schools in Harford County would be closing after Friday, March 13th for two weeks to slow the spread of Covid!!!

Wicked

I have wanted to see the musical Wicked ever since it first came out and it finally came to Baltimore! However, what was supposed to be a date with David turned into a mother/daughter date when David had to go out of town for work. Savannah and I got sushi for dinner before heading into Baltimore.

The beautiful Hippodrome theater.  I loved all the green!

Savannah and I were both so excited!

Not going to lie - although we both liked the show, neither one of us loved it. I'm not sure why everyone is crazy about it and I probably won't ever see it again. But it definitely was a fun, special night with my cute girl.