April went by surprisingly fast considering we spent the whole of it locked up in quarantine. Luckily we have gotten into a pretty good rhythm of school in the morning and play the rest of the day, so it works out and the days pass quick enough. I was documenting our quarantine weeks for a while, but there are too many to count now and with Ohio continuing our Stay at Home order until the end of the May, it looks like it will just be business as usual for the Monsen family.
Here are our snippets of April-
The month started off strong with a weekend of General Conference! We may have gotten a little stir crazy at the end (with all the being home all the time and stuff), but it was just the boost we needed to get through the month of quarantine ahead.
The weather has been up and down, but a lot of up days has made it so the kids can play outside and lots of walks with Mae.
My friend, Dawn, had her 40th birthday at the beginning of the month, so I invited a few friends to meet at the high school parking lot for a socially distanced birthday get together for her.
She was supposed to have a getaway and go to The Netherlands to celebrate, but she let this measly get together suffice for now. COVID-19 don't care if it's your 40th birthday!
At least Mae has a big smile on her face being all cooped up!
Eve checking out the "popcorn" popping on our tree in our backyard!
I was scheduled to get my tooth pulled on April 3 at my dentist's office, but they shut down at the end of March. I was hoping I could wait until COVID-19 blew over a little more, but I started feeling my tooth that has had some problems and didn't want to even risk it turning into an emergency of any kind. So I went and got it pulled April 8 at the oral surgeon and it was easy peasy and I don't have to worry about it anymore!
We invited a few friends and joined many saints in the worldwide fast President Nelson called for on Good Friday. We participated as a family and it was such great way to feel like we were taking action during this unusual time.
It has taken some time to see this come to fruition for me. Life is not normal yet, but maybe the fact that April passed quickly and we have fallen into a new normal is an answer for me. I continue to hope and pray that caregivers have been protected and have hope as the economy slowly begins to open back up over the coming months.
We have tried LOTS and lots of desserts. Baking is a quarantine escape.
Eve got dressed up and left a sweet message for me on my birthday.
Come Follow Me covered King Benjamin and his address so we pitched our tents around the tower...
...and tortured our little brother.
Lots of crafts!
Thad has been getting good use out of his bike he got for his birthday.
He also had to build a LEGO diorama for one of his classes and this was some Native Americans attacking some white settlers. I kinda loved it.
Eve and I snuck an afternoon nap in mid-week cuz...Why NOT?!? Quarantine is quite flexible.
Brian has been getting lots of miles in and checked out the new walking bridge in downtown Dublin-
We can't wait to all go try it out soon!
Dad has also included Mae in some of his miles and she loves it!
LEGO Masters, temple edition:
Wes' Primary teacher, Sister Paskett, is pretty amazing and continues to hold a 20 minute Zoom call each Sunday at 11:30 a.m. It is usually only Wes and Gus, but he loves joining and I love having teachers and leaders that care so much about our kids.
Not sure what is going on here...
I do know what is going on here: Eve is the cutest!
She later left the same sweet pretzel message for dad. I love her.
Mae officially got blocked from all the stair cases. She has been blocked in the family room for quite a while, but the front stair gates finally came and she is no longer allowed to sneak upstairs...unless we all forget to lock the gate, of course, which happens more often than you think.
I found this cord thing on Brian's dresser and it has been a huge hit. I will never buy baby toys.
Lots of snuggles with this gal make every day better. She looks a little uncomfortable in the pic, but I assure you that is her settling in and so happy to be on mama's lap!
She can also get about anything she wants from dad, so she finds him in his office or tugs on his legs and her hearts desires are fulfilled.
We finished Harry Potter and watched the movie and it was super fun! Eve, Mae and I had a photo shoot during one of the last readings-
They are loving Art For Kids Hub on YouTube and drew these pictures of Sonic characters to enter a contest-
We did our second round of quarantine haircuts and I couldn't convince Thad to leave his party in the back-
So now he's just business in front and back.
And this is what most of our mornings look like and there is just no way I can complain about it. Life has slowed down and it won't last forever. These four are our world and I'm so grateful to be stuck at home, happy and healthy, with their beautiful faces!
