2020 :: week 14

March 29

On Sunday we celebrated my Grandpa Crane's 115th birthday. My family never lived near my grandparents, so I didn't know him very well when he passed away when I was thirteen in 1996. Over the past few Sundays I have spent time reading from our family histories and this Sunday I spent time reading his. I learned that he caught the Spanish Flu in 1918 while in Salt Lake City for General Conference and was quarantined for several weeks after. His father passed away when he was twelve and soon after that he left formal education to became a rancher and sheep herder, first working for family members before branching out on his own. He married my grandma when he was thirty-four and my dad, the youngest of their ten children was born when he was fifty. I looked in our Crane Cookbook and found a recipe for a Sour Cream Chocolate Cake that was one of his favorites. We made it for dessert in his honor. I miss the camaraderie and fellowship that I feel when we meet with our ward, but I have enjoyed the extra time to delve into family history.

March 30

Monday marked our first official day of "Virtual Learning" and it was a little underwhelming. I went to the school in the morning to pick up Lauren's ipad. All three of our children's teachers (even Elliott's preschool teacher!) have been so great about sending lesson plans and supplemental activities. Unfortunately, the entire student population trying to access the network and the same time caused the VPN to crash. The kids were able to check-in, but not actually do much school work on Monday. We took a walk to the school sign to get out picture taken with the sign. We were able to walk through the grounds, but noticed the next day when out for a walk that the district had chained the fences. Apparently people were ignoring the signs to stay off the playground equipment and so the district took things to the next level.

March 31

When I picked up our weekly grocery haul over the weekend I picked up a box of toothpicks. We had a lot of mini-marshmallows left over from a Valentine minute-to-win-it games and we paired the two items to build "snack structures." We talked about how triangles are stronger than squares and which marshmallows worked better (we had some fresh and some dried out). Lauren got really into it and spent hours building. She is pictured here with her rocket, but I liked the thinking cap she made best.

April 1

This week will probably go down as the most gorgeous week of the year. We went for several walks throughout the week. On Wednesday I went for three walks, including an evening walk with Miles before putting him to bed. I'm not sure what type of bushes are behind Miles but they are so fragrant. I look forward to passing them each time I walk go out.

April 2

Thursday was our friend Max's birthday, and we joined in a parade of friends driving by his house at 11:30 that morning. While we were driving home we saw the Ules playing outside so we stopped and said hi from the window. They gave us some window markers and as soon as we got home the kids started coloring. It was fun to see each child's personality come out with their doodles. Will's were sports themed, Lauren's were friendly, and Elliott wrote words he knows how to spell. As our life has slowed down, it is easier to appreciate simple joys.

April 3

Friday was the first day that "John school" (as the kids have started calling our distance learning) went according to plan. We got up, had breakfast, went for a very short walk (it got cold and was only about 35 degrees) and then got down to business with their daily tasks.

April 4

On Saturday afternoon we continued our quest to improve our yard. Earlier in the week I ordered 4 cubic yards of pulverized topsoil to help even out the erosion our yard has experienced over the past few years. Next week we are going to seed and sod. Tony and I are learning as we go, and my dad has been so helpful with this entire process. Last summer he helped us kill the vines, weeds and overgrowth. Over the fall, winter and spring he would come over when he could to help us clean everything up. He fixed our wobbly fence and installed simple sprinklers in our backyard to make watering easier. He told me where to order soil and buy sod and will pick up the sod for us in his truck next week. You are never to old to need your parents.