Richins

It’s been a good week, full of all the emotions- happy sad, lonely, no alone enough, frustrated, excited, calm, disappointed, connected, laughing, stressed, crying, tired- we have had it all. We have gone to work and tried staying home. We have tried to avoid the grocery store and tried going to get supplies with mixed success. We haven’t found a great system or schedule for getting school done yet but we keep working and adjusting. I saw sign on the internet that said we weren't home schooling we were quarantine schooling and I definitely agree. This is not what I would have home school look like and it's a lot different than in the classroom school. Everyone is trying hard though. The kids are mainly in charge of getting their work done but sometimes they need help, especially the younger three. Before we got to the end of our two week school closure the state extended it to May 1st. Lilly definitely shed tears. Turns out we all miss school like we have known it. We miss pe...

We are trying to adjust to this new life style. Trying to do the social distancing and online school thing. Trying to be patient and kind with one another and not go completely bonkers.  The few things that have stayed the same are Glen’s  job. So far he still needs to go in to the school. My work, Evelyn still needs help and company. She’s confused by all my kids being with me every day.  School is still happening but in a much different form. Lilly still have voice lessons but that it. Evelyn wasn’t around for it but heard her family talk of the flu pandemic of 1918-1919.  It’s been kind of comforting having that connection and knowing Roberta made it through that one. I am glad she didn’t have to make it through another. We are hoping our attempts at social distancing help flatten the curve and help the older people in our lives stay healthy and safe. The kids really want to play with friends but so far we have limited it to cousins. Lilly and her friends are d...

Yesterday the kids and I were woken up by a 5.7 earthquake just after 7 am. It was not the way we expecting to start the first day of at home learning for school. The districts and teachers had Monday and Tuesday to figure out how to move things online so students could still learn during our soft closure of schools. Lots of kids were trying to do their part and work on school work online and it overwhelmed the servers of one of the computer monitoring companies our district uses.  Needless to say it was an interesting morning with a few meltdowns from being scared from the earthquake and technology not working like it was expected too.  The plus side is everyone but Glen was home and we were all safe. We have no damage to our property and there were no lives lost in the state due to the earthquake. Evelyn isn’t a fan of earthquakes but her and her old little house fared just fine.  Glen got to come home after only a few hours at work and still got paid for the da...

There was so much going on this week. Larry and Janene went to Arizona to visit the Malupo’s and Aunt Bert, Larry’s sister. We got to check on the house and cat for them and then pick them up from the airport. I got the picture below from them while they were gone. There were parent teacher conferences at the elementary which meant helping with dinner on Wednesday for the teachers (I was in charge of dessert and drinks) and helping with book fair set up and counting money afterwards.  The play Lilly is in was opening this week on Friday and I had volunteered to help with costumes. I was hoping that meant helping over the last several weeks with making, fitting or purchasing them. It ended up being ask to make a major costume a week ago that the costume lady had some suggestions for but was really up to me to figure out and make happen for as little money as fast as possible. Ugh.  I have been madly cutting and sewing to try and get it done.   Wednesday was...

March showed up with snow and cold. Luckily it warmed up and melted in a day or two and showed signs of spring actually coming before it cooled of and rained at the end of the week. It was a bit of a rough week. There is a lot going on and things didn’t really go as I planned the first couple days this week and I didn’t handle it well. I was not as nice to my most important people as I could have been. It took most of the week to work through it. It has left a not great feel on the week. The bright spots seem more worth remembering. They are- Beth telling her cousin, “ Well guess what? Me and my mom are best buds so there.”  My neighbor bringing over the favor from the Relief Society activity I was suppose to take a salad too and attended but didn’t have a salad ready when it was time for it and I decided I just really needed to be home.  Evelyn’s nurse, Arla. She’s just a great person and loves Evelyn with alll her quirks. She helps us out so much with her visits twice...