July 2020

Our July was really fun.  We were able to visit lots of family over the 3 week trip.

We traveled up to Adam's house for the 4th of July. 

We had such a fun time with his family on the lake.  The girls are getting used to playing in the lake, rather than pool water this summer.  It can be a little uneasy as a parent, as my girls are not strong swimmers yet.  

We LOVED being pulled together as a family.  Kate didn't mind going with her cousins.  Jane preferred mom and dad by her side.

Adam always has the greatest parties.  He went over the top with fireworks this year.  

My girls loved being in his pool.

After visiting Adam, me and the girls drove to Utah for 2.5 weeks of vacation.  

Our first stop was to visit Rachel and her family before they headed back to California the next morning.  We hung out at Renae's house, swam, and played dress up with more cousins.  It was so fun to see Rachel's new baby Victoria.  My girls loved holding the baby.

After visiting the Zentz and Izu's, we traveled to grandma and grandpa Koplin's house.  The girls really enjoy getting spoiled there. 

One day we went on a hike/bike at Highland Glen Park with grandma and grandpa, Kim, Norah, and Zander. 

Ezra, McCartney, and Daphne came over to play with us a lot.  Kate and Jane even had a sleep over at Linsey's house.  

We hung out at the pool.  We loved that Utah county hardly acknowledge the pandemic!  

Jane had a birthday party at the pool with all of her cousins.  

Jane got her ears pierced. 

We went to see Frozen Jr. with grandma and grandpa Ahlborn.  It was just as cute as the one we saw in Texas. 

I was able to go mountain biking and road biking with Becky.  The weather and scenery were gorgeous!

On our trip back to Texas, we climbed Wilson's arch.  

We also visited our friends who recently moved to El Paso.  The girls met their new puppy!

Our trip was a great break from the crazy problems going on in the world.  It was nice for the girls to just enjoy time with family and friends.

 

June 2020

Finally!

We were able to leave the area.  

I took the girls to Galveston for a little fun with my friend Jennifer.

We played at the pool...

...took selfies...

...swam in the ocean...

...built sand castles in the sand...  

...and put on a dance recital.

All while Bryan built a shed in the backyard because the Army's travel restrictions.  

 

May 2020

"Stay at Home" orders continue until the end of May.  

Thank goodness the weather was AWESOME the entire month.  We did schoolwork in the morning and played outside all afternoon.  

I finished my BIG evidence-based research project at the end of April and graduated with my Masters in Nursing Education May 15th.  Of course, no graduation happened, so it was a little anticlimactic.  But yay! I graduated!!

Other happenings:

We made bird seed molds to hang on the trees.  Messiest project ever!

  

We were able to go to the library and checked out A LOT of books.  My kids were happy to finally be somewhere other than our house. 

We made crystals and lots of other science experiences thanks to my mom gifting us some goodies from Amazon. 

We played in the pool and had fancy drinks.  

I learned some new hair-dos. 

The kids played in my treadmills box for hours and hours. 

We put on make-up and learned to paint nails. 

We learned how to wear face masks.  

Kate had a piano recital in front of the family and teacher only.  The last two months of piano lessons were by Skype.  Which meant, I had to teach Kate or sit right beside her the entire lesson.  It really tested my patience. 

We went on a 3 mile hike at Colorado Bend State Park.

We tried on all our new dance costumes! 

It was unfortunate the girl's dance recital was cancelled.  We had previously ordered their outfits, which was not cheap.  Luckily, we were able to have a 3 separate recitals.  One for grandma and grandpa Ahlborn when they came to visit in May.  One for Jennifer and Ryan in Galveston in June.  And one for grandma and grandpa Koplin with our cousins whose recitals were cancelled as well.  

Jane's last day of Pre-K.  Her teacher was amazing throughout the virtual integration.  We had story time every morning on Zoom.  She sent out extra attachments with east, fun, and busy activities. And she wrote Jane a special letter in the mail.  

Kate's last day of 1st grade.  Unfortunately, her teacher dropped the ball over the last 2 months of virtual schooling.  The class had Zoom meetings about twice a week.  I did not feel like she was very involved.  Luckily, I was the awesome mom who made Kate read and write and complete all her school work.  Some days, we would be at the table for hours because Kate was easily distracted and wanted to do Jane's school work.  It was tough, but we made it! 

Hallelujah!   

Yay! 

Now lets go back to school in the fall please!

 

April 2020

The month of "Stay at Home" orders.

I continued to work on my Masters degree, while teaching and keeping up with all the zoom meetings for my Pre-K and 1st grade children.  

Such an unusual time, however, it gave me the opportunity to really hang out with my children.  We played board games, watched movies together, built forts with blankets, and enjoyed our front yard.  

My neighbor, Brittany, became my saving grace and a really great friend.  I feel so blessed we were able to endure this together.  

Kate drew this picture over Zoom with her teacher and classmates.  

We had lots of time to play dress-up.

We celebrated Easter, but it just wasn't as fun.  No Easter egg hunts in the community and we didn't buy special dresses to go to church in.  Bryan made sure to get us plenty of good candy.  I don't think the girls will even remember this weird time- just the fun times they were able to have with mom and dad. 

Cinnamon rolls for Easter breakfast- lots of sugar rushes coming our way!

We all did a virtual Blue Bell run for ice cream too! Bryan completed 1/2 marathon, Rebekah 10K, Kate and Jane 1 mile.

I learned a lot of fitness techniques with Brittany, a very educated crossfit coach.  The kids would play for hours and hours in the front yard and we would get in a good workout while they played. 

Kate really enjoyed all the extra time doing arts and crafts. 

 

March 2020

 Spring Break 2020

Taos, New Mexico

Bryan and I got 3 glorious days of skiing to ourselves.  

Kate and Jane did two days of ski school.  Kate did great.  Jane survived. 

 

Kate lost another tooth. She is really good at loosing them in different states.  I think she lost one in Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, and now New Mexico. 

 The mountains are my happy place. 

 A bridge above the Rio Grande.

Taking a bath in a hot spring on the Rio Grande river.

And then COVID-19 happened on March 13, 2020.  Social distancing began March 19, 2020.  Stay at home orders March 23, 2020. No school until April 7 or possibly all year.  I became a school teacher for a pre-K and 1st grader.  I also had school of my own.  In fact, I was completing a project with the emergency department with my hospital.  The rest of the month was really difficult.  It is a good thing we had fun at the beginning of the month. 

2000 piece puzzle completed. 

It's a good thing we bought the essentials before the grocery stores shelves were empty. 

 I took the girls for some hikes at Dana Peak park because it is a social distancing activity that gets all of us out of the house.  This particular day was St. Patrick's Day.  

 Jane attempting to Zoom with her dance class.  The first week was pretty rough. 

I have gotten pretty good with coming up with ideas to keep the girls minds enlightened.  This is the milk, food coloring, and dish soap experiment.