Quarantine 2020

Little did we know that Purim for Peter and Elliott's birthday would be some of our last days at school.  Very quickly the COVID-19 virus that started in China spread throughout the world, and was soon found in the United States and in our own Irvine.  Within a matter of about a week the schools were closed, Nana and Papa and many other missionaries were sent home from their missions, and Daddy was assigned to work from home.  So much change was hard to stay on top of.  Doctors appointments, music lessons, and sports were all cancelled and we had to hurry to stock up on food and supplies before stores were closed.  In addition, the church closed all temples and meeting houses and cancelled all services and activities. Throughout it all we tried to keep things very normal for the kids. 

We spent time building lots of forts,

baking lots of yummy things.

including Challah for Shabbat.

We made sure to spend time outside every day riding bikes and scooters and playing on the fields near our house.

Peter loved looking for ladybugs!

While some days Elliott joined Mommy just sitting in the warm sun knitting.

The boys flew kites,

and stomped in rain puddles.

Lots of time was spent riding bikes,

and with a little help, before we knew it Peter was riding a two-wheel bike with no training wheels! This meant longer and more fun bike rides for all the boys.

And of course, there was plenty of goofing around.

After a few weeks, life returned in a digital way.  Peter started doing preschool online with his teachers and classmates for 30 min everyday, the boys started EDL (Emergency Distance Learning) from home computers where their teachers sent them assignments daily and were able to connect with their classmates and teachers online as well.  And we even found ways for music lessons to continue from home using technology.  Things are hardly bake to normal, many foods and cleaning supplies are still hard to find.  Everyone is told to wear masks out in public, and things are still very uncertain.  But we are grateful to be home and healthy with our little family and for all of the people working hard to care for the sick and hopefully find an answer to this horrible virus.