Independence Day 2020 - Covid-19 Style

Our Independence Day Celebration was definitely different than we had hoped. We would have loved to have a nice backyard party with our extended family. We even hoped to reserve a spot at the pool, since it is now open with many of safety rules in place. Instead, we spent the holiday weekend at home, because I have Covid-19.

About two weeks ago, Max's family got tested for Covid-19. They felt fine, but since they had plans to visit grandparents in New York, they got tested. Max's test came back positive for the virus. Since Evan and Preston had played with Max, we all got tested too. They called us the day after our test, to let us know that Evan tested positive for Covid-19. We were really surprised, especially since the rest of us tested negative.

After the call, we remembered that Evan had felt super tired about a week prior to the test. He had laid around all day and slept in the following day. He also complained of a little headache, but it wasn't bad and he felt better after some Tylenol. We just figured that he was exhausted because he had stayed up very late and gotten up super early. He never had symptoms that we typically associate with the virus, such as coughing, difficulty breathing, or a high fever. When we spoke to a nurse later on, she explained that those were likely his only symptoms, but that we should be extra diligent with hand washing and cleaning. She also suggested Evan try to isolate within the house as much as possible. He wasn't sad about the isolation, because he just spent his days playing Fortnite. He was actually pretty happy! The only thing that was a major bummer, was that we told not to leave our property. We were on super lock down, so we would not spread the virus.

After doing a lot of research, looking at guidelines, and speaking with more healthcare workers, we decided that we could test again last week. It had been well over 10 days since Evan's symptoms and we all felt great. I was excited the next day, when I learned that Evan no longer tested positive for Covid. Carl and Preston also tested negative and I figured my negative result would be posted soon too. Unfortunately, I received a call that I tested positive for Covid. I was SO sad, because I really thought we would all be well and that we could be out of our big lock down. I was really hoping we could spend the holiday weekend celebrating with our family.

Even though we had to make major changes to our plans, we did make the most of our weekend! Carl and I worked hard to build the new playhouse and the boys love it. Preston's favorite parts are the monkey bars and clubhouse. Evan loves to climb all over the top. Of course, that is not how it is supposed to be used, but he sure has a lot of fun!

We spent lots of time enjoying our backyard pool. Bonnie Mom and Grandpa dropped off a delicious dinner for us and we enjoyed eating together on our patio. Ron was also very kind to us and dropped off some fireworks for us. We did the fireworks at the end of our driveway and Max's family sat in their yard and enjoyed them too.

Overall, I am feeling good. I did end up with some fatigue, but I was able to take a big nap, as well as sleep in. I do have some allergy symptoms, such as a stuffy nose and some sinus pressure. Those are relieved with allergy medicine and are improving. I have had the same allergy issues on and off since March, so they may not be related to the virus anyway. I don't have a fever, headache, cough etc. I did feel a bit dizzy and out of breath while helping with the playhouse, but it was very hot outside and I was working really hard. I am uncertain if that was related to the virus either. I did also have loss of taste and smell. At the time, I attributed it to the allergy symptoms. I suppose it could be from the virus.

The really odd thing about all of this is that if it weren't for Max testing positive for Covid-19, we would have never known either of us had the virus. We would have just thought we were tired from the activities we had been doing. I am glad to know we have it though, because we can keep from spreading it to people we would normally see, like Bonnie Mom, Grandpa, Grammy and Granddaddy.

This virus is really odd. It kills many of the people that get infected. In the United States, we have had over 132,000 people die from Covid-19. There have been over 534,000 Covid-19  deaths worldwide. It also makes lots of people become VERY sick. Some of us are lucky and barely get sick. Other people get the virus and never have any symptoms at all.

Carl and Preston will be tested again later this week. I will be surprised if they don't test positive for the virus, since they were near me a great deal before I learned I had the virus. If they do, I am hopeful that they will have mild or no symptoms.

Although nothing else went as planned, I did start the holiday weekend off exactly as planned, by watching Hamilton! I have been so excited for the movie, since I learned it would be released on Disney+ on July 3rd. It was released at 3:00 a.m. EST. I did manage to sleep in until about 7:30, but then I made my way downstairs to enjoy the show! It was AMAZING! I loved seeing Hamilton in the theater last summer and I had hoped to see it again next spring. Of course, the pandemic has stopped all live theater, and no one knows when it will be safe to resume. This movie is amazing and it is the perfect way for me to enjoy the show until I can see it in the theater again.

The new playhouse is a hit! Preston loved supervising and testing things out as they were added.

I am incredibly grateful for this sweet little family of mine. It was so much fun to hang out and celebrate together. It wasn't like we ever planned, but we definitely had a good time!

Summer Activities During a Pandemic

In our state, things have continued to slowly re-open, with many new rules and reduced capacities. We are still at home most of the time, as we don't feel safe eating inside restaurants, going to amusement parks, etc. Carl is still working at home and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The school board and JCPS staff are still making decisions about school and whether it will be possible to go to safely go to school in the school buildings this fall. They have already moved the start of any school until the end of August, to allow more time to make decisions and plan for how to make things work best for the students and staff.

Carl and I have had plenty of time to take care of our little garden, since are at home most of the time. This week was really exciting, because we have lots of things growing! We have peppers, strawberries, kale, and tomatoes!

We spend a lot of time in our backyard. This beautiful butterfly flew all around us as we were swimming.

We all love the pool! It is my favorite way to spend a sunny afternoon. 

We have spent a lot of time fishing. Preston loves to catch anything, but Evan is thrilled to catch the big fish!

We have enjoyed watching lots of movies and shows together. Preston had an especially fun night watching in his new shark costume! He is quite the character!

While hiking, we found some Queen Anne's Lace. I remembered picking it as a child and my mom putting it in water with food coloring added. I repeated this little experiment with the boys. Preston thought it would be fun to do it again and try different food colors.

Evan lost two teeth in less than a week!

We planned to repair the damage to our play house, but it turned out to have a lot more damage than we anticipated. We decided it was best to disassemble it, because it just wasn't safe. We weren't ready to be without one though, so we ordered a new one! We are hoping that it arrives soon. They boys are excited to have a new play house with monkey bars!

Several weeks ago, Preston did my makeup. Carl decided to give it a try as well! The fist picture was is his first try. I thought it was actually a wonderful first attempt, although the eye makeup is a bit different on each eye. He was determined to do a better job, so the next day, he read about how to apply eye make up. He tried again and did an amazing job!

Evan also wanted to have some fun, so he painted my nails! I think he did quite well for his first attempt!

Preston is a big fan of relaxing and watching his favorite shows and movies. I often find him in his little nook that he creates on the couch. He is quite happy watching shows in his nook with his blanket and pretzels. 

Carl has always been very good at cooking. He has had more time to be creative with his cooking lately and he has created delicious tofu tacos. They are an Asian and Mexican blend of flavors. Tofu tacos have become one of my favorite meals!

Father's Day Celebrations

We were able to celebrate Father's Day with all of our family! We still didn't gather in large groups and we were outside most all of the time. We were grateful for warm, sunny weather, which made being outside enjoyable. 

I am so grateful that the boys have such wonderful grandfathers, who love them very much. Granddaddy is always up for fun and adventure and loves spending time with the boys. Grandpa is very proud of all the things they boys accomplish and is always telling people about their achievements and skills. 

I am especially grateful that Evan and Preston have an amazing dad. Carl works hard, but he makes sure to spend lots of quality time with the boys. He truly enjoys hanging out with them and they do all sorts of fun things together. They play games, swim, fish, hike, enjoy movies, etc. He loves them so much. I really don't think that they could have a better dad. He is also an amazing husband. I am grateful to have a such a wonderful family. I love them all so much!

Start of Summer 2020

Over the last few weeks, our state has started to re-open places like doctor offices and dentist offices, for non-emergency things such as well visits and cleanings. There are lots of new rules when you go to the doctor or dentist. You wait in your car until they call you in and your have your temperature checked at the door. You wear a mask, unless they are checking your throat or cleaning your teeth. Other things, like hair salons and restaurants, are also starting to re-open. It is a slow process and there are lots of restrictions. Right now, restaurants are only open at 33% of their regular capacity. You don't wear a mask while at your table, but they request that you wear a mask when moving about the restaurant. Gyms are also re-opening, with special restrictions, including decreased capacity. 

The boys and I have visited the dentist for a cleaning and check up. Carl, Evan, and I have been to the doctor for check ups. The visits were not super exciting, but it felt good to be a little bit back to normal. We have done some exciting things, such as eating lunch outside at Captain's Quarters. It was the first time we had eaten at a restaurant since March 13th! We also got to attend Daniel's baptism and celebrate his second birthday. The boys are excited to play with friends again. Preston is also attending karate class at the gym. 

We have spent a lot of time in our little backyard pool. We have also spent a lot of time in the woods and at local parks. It definitely isn't the summer we had planned, but we are making the most of it! While I am sad that there is still the threat of corona virus and lots of places are still not open, I do feel like this has made us much more appreciative of life's small pleasures. I also love the extra family time we have, since we aren't rushing around.

Evan wasn't even shed hunting, but he found two sheds in the woods while playing!

Preston and Evan enjoyed going to Hounz Lane Park. They caught lots of crayfish and some minnows. Evan also caught a snapping turtle!

We were so excited to attend Daniel's baptism and birthday celebration. It was wonderful to get to be together.

We went hiking down to Harrods Creek and Evan caught a really big rat snake!

The boys enjoyed catching minnows and crayfish, as well as a toad! We also saw a pretty butterfly.

Evan found another snake on our hike back to the car!

I have always been good at finding four leaf clovers. Evan seems to have inherited my ability to easily spot them as well. All of these four leaf clovers came from searching for just one morning!

Preston has found several turtles around our neighborhood. He is always so excited!

We are really enjoying our little piece of the Chancey Garden. We were able to successfully grow almost everything that was given to us from the school garden. We also added some of our own tomatoes and strawberries.