AJ started private swim lessons with friend and neighbor Aliya in February. AJ loves the water so we knew we needed to get him swimming before summer. Lessons were on Monday afternoons at the Sports Academy and he looked forward to each one.
On Thursday March 5th I checked Jenna and Korinne out of school and we hit the matinee performance of the Broadway hit "Dear Evan Hansen" which was in town for 2 weeks in SLC. Tickets were really hard to get so when I got to the front of the virtual ticket line and saw that the only tickets available were in the middle of an afternoon on a school day I had 30 seconds to make a decision. I threw caution to the wind and bought the tickets and then surprised Jenna and Korinne with the news. Needless to say they were absolutely thrilled! School, shmool, right?
Two days later we were in SLC again to see "Strictly Ballroom" at the Hale Center Theater. The 3 of us got season tickets to HTC for Christmas, but this was the show we were most excited to see. It did not disappoint! We loved it so much that as we left the theater we were already trying to figure out how we could see it again.
It was absolutely hilarious and the ballroom dancing was top notch!
The big question on all of our minds at the beginning of March was where would Britton get called on his mission?! His papers were in and we were waiting eagerly for his call to arrive. Pre-season soccer games were underway and on Tuesday, March 10th at about 4:30 p.m. Britton was already in Spanish Fork for a soccer game when the e-mail arrived that his mission call was ready.
He arrived home around 11 p.m. that night and the immediate family gathered in the family room so Britton could open his call. He was thrilled to be called to the PERU LIMA CENTRAL MISSION, where he would speak Spanish and leave for the MTC on July 15th! He decided not to tell anyone he had opened it and have an opening party with his friends the next night, March 11th at 7 p.m.
This picture was taken after a lot of kids had already left, but Adam decided to round up everyone that was still there for a picture.
The house was absolutely packed! Britton was one of the first in his graduating class to get his mission call, so the excitement was tangible. We didn't know it then, but this was the last big friend gathering these kids would would have for months. It was also the first and last mission call opening party most of them would attend this year. The rest of Britton's friends opened their calls with only their families and maybe 1 or 2 friends in attendance because of COVID-19 gathering restrictions.
While Britton was at the house opening his mission call for friends and extended family Jenna and I were at BYU for Ballroom Nationals. We arrived around 9 a.m on Wednesday, March 11th and Jenna was getting ready to compete in her open competitions when I found a seat at the Marriott Center and glanced at my phone while waiting for her event to start. This is where I found out that the Corona Virus or COVID-19 had officially been declared a Pandemic by the World Health Organization.
Jenna and her Rhythm dance partner Aiden.
By the time Jenna was done with her event the announcements were already being made, college campuses were closing, graduations were being canceled, the NBA was shutting down until further notice. Rumors were swirling that schools would be closing very soon. We went to see the movie "Emma" in a theater at Thanksgiving Point and then went out to the car and Facetimed with everyone at home while Britton opened his mission call for friends and family. The next day we went back for Jenna's final event which was the Standard open with her partner Kade.
The competition was supposed to go on for another 2 days, but since Jenna was there as an individual dancer and not part of a team she didn't have any more events. We found out after we left on Thursday, March 12th that the final 2 days of competition had been canceled and everyone was told to go home immediately and begin their quarantine.
Britton had a pre-season soccer game that afternoon in Odgen so Jenna and I rushed back so we could watch him play one last time. The writing was on the wall and we knew it was only a matter of time before all high school sports were canceled.
Jenna in full ballroom make-up at the soccer game.
During the game we heard some parents behind us say, "Well, church just got canceled!" and at the end of the game an announcement was made that all soccer games would be suspended for at least 2 weeks. I think all of us knew there was a very real possibility that this would be the last game of the season. They never made it out of pre-season and since Britton is a senior it meant that he was going to miss out on his very last soccer season in high school.
The next morning I went to the grocery store along with everyone else on the planet to stock up before the quarantine. The shelves were bare. We were able to get most everything we needed but toilet paper, hand sanitizer, pasta, pasta sauce, eggs, flour, oil and many more items were completely gone.
By Friday, March 13th the Governor of Utah announced that all schools would be closed until further notice and that everyone was supposed to "Stay Home and Stay Safe." The school districts were given 2 days to figure out how to do all of their teaching online and home-school would start for all students on Wednesday, March, 18th.
Britton's friends were never far away, they figured out ways to gather virtually pretty quickly. You can see that Britton has his homework open on the right and about 20 friends chatting on a zoom call on the left.
Jameson and AJ did well with home-school for about 2 days and then the novelty wore off. It has been a battle every since.
Fortunately the 3 oldest kids were completely self sufficient, because all of my energy was used up by the time I had finished with the boys for the day. Our main obstacle was that we needed 5 computers at once and only had 3. I finally went and checked out a Chromebook from the school so there would be less fighting with the boys.
Fortunately for me I was able to still go on bike rides with my friend Abby during the thick of the quarantine. It was social distancing at its finest. I might have died without this outlet during a very crazy and stressful time.
We didn't leave our house for several weeks. Yes, there was too much screen time going on with the kids, but they also amused themselves with things around the house. This basket of 60 tennis balls provided hours of entertainment for all 3 of the boys.
Britton is mid throw with Jameson holding the target. The kids also played with legos and did puzzles. Britton decided to use the time to learn how to play the ukulele and see if he could grow a beard.
The high school student council elections went online. Jenna was running for the Executive Council and the video that she made for a assembly was posted online instead.
All voting was done online through the students personal accounts so each student could log in to their account and cast their vote. On Friday, March 27th Jenna was very nervous as she awaited the news. She was told she would find out by 10:00 a.m., but when 10:00 came and went she was beside herself. Then she got an e-mail giving her the link for a zoom call at 11:00 a.m. She looked at me and said, "I can't wait another 30 minutes to find out!". I went upstairs and told Britton about the e-mail and he got excited and asked, "Did she get a link to a zoom call in the email?" When I said yes he did a fist pump and said "Yes! The zoom meeting is a congratulatory meeting. It means she got it!" Because Britton was on the Exec Council this year he had the inside information on how the candidates would find out. Jenna could breath a little easier for the last 30 minutes thanks to Britton, but she was still relieved when it was confirmed. She was appointed to be the Exec Council member overseeing service for the 2020-2021 school year. Congrats Jenna!
It's not quite the same as a school assembly, but Zoom meetings have been the norm throughout the quarantine.
One of the funniest things about quarantine has been all of the memes going around social media. I tried to save a bunch of them to remember this unique time in the history of the world.