A March to Remember -2020!

 March started out as a terrific month.  In between snow storms, we had a lot of rain and we could occasionally see the ground.  We were encouraged that spring was really on its way.
On March 4th, we hosted a gathering with many of our dear missionary friends who served in Independence with us.  We are kind of central to folks who travel from Idaho, Wyoming and the SL and Utah County area of Utah.  We had a fantastic potluck lunch and lots of visiting.

Two of our sisters who have lost their husbands since returning from their missions were able to join us.  Since it was Gary Lovell's birthday, we sang to him in heaven.  Carolee loved it.

I made a Missouri memory quilt for VaLynne Stoddard who drove by herself from Wyoming to be with us.

Friday evening we were invited to meet Craig and Linda Burton for dinner in Murray.  Of course, we stopped by our Murray apartment to say a quick hello to Jen, Taylor and the kids.

It's been several years since we had an opportunity to have a good visit with our former cabin partners, the Burtons.  They are very busy with Craig's recent call as the President of the Jordan River Temple.  It was so good to catch up and hear about each other's families.

 In between snow storms, we try to pick up the branches left in the snow when Dale Smith, our friend and aborist, pruned our trees on the one nice day this winter.  Many branches were frozen deep in the snow.  We got AJ to help us a little one afternoon.

 On Saturday, we attended Jameson's last basketball game of the season.  He poses below with his team.

 We invited Jen and Taylor to visit us for a day or two along with the pickup they are driving.
We wanted to clean up all the branches and haul them to the dump along with some broken outdoor furniture in the barn.  We ended up doing quite a bit of yard/barn work in a couple of days.

 It was especially fun to dig up the carrots that had wintered over in the garden due to early, consistent snowfall.  They weren't frozen or ruined.  They were actually delicious.

 Preston loved the mower even though he doesn't look happy in this photo  He kept climbing up on it.

 We made and decorated shamrock sugar cookies with the kids.  They enjoyed the creative process.

 Britton received his mission call and a huge crowd of friends came over to celebrate and congratulate him.  He is scheduled to leave for the Lima Peru Central mission on July 15, 2020.

 The very next day the State of Utah announced that all schools would be closed temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic. We were told to stay home and stay safe.  All large group gatherings were cancelled and that included church services.  We are to hold worship services in our homes each Sunday.  Our prophet had prepared us for such circumstances with the Come Follow Me program of home centered study.  The Lord does indeed communicate with our prophet.  This is certainly evidence that He knows what is coming.  When I went to the temple on Friday morning, the 13th, I had no idea it would be months before I could return to that sacred place I love so much!
Saturday, Steve and I went to several stores to watch the throngs of people buying up toilet paper, bleach, cleaning supplies, etc.  It was our entertainment for the evening.  We found it quite funny.

 Sunday we had our annual St. Patrick's day dinner with Campbells.  We always love eating corn beef and cabbage.

Monday morning, Steve started his in house confinement by cleaning out this cupboard in our office.  

Tuesday we met with Heather and Aaron on their way home from Moab as they evaluated a townhouse in Logan they were considering purchasing.  That day the governor of Utah announced the closure of all dining inside of restaurants.  Starting Wednesday, restaurants may only serve take-out food or delivered food.

We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant just because we could.  Heather and Aaron decided not to purchase the townhouse which turned out to be a wise choice.

Wednesday we felt an earthquake in Cache Valley that was centered near Magna in the SL valley.  It turned out to be 5.7 on the richter scale. As we drove to SL for a planned a birthday brunch celebration with my siblings in honor of Steve and Cathy's birthdays, the radio stations were all covering the earthquake.  There was some damage including the angel Moroni on the SL Temple, but miraculously there wasn't anyone killed or seriously hurt.  What a blessing!  It was good to be with my siblings one more time as we began this coronavirus lockdown.  We shared brunch and a prayer together. The earthquake on top of the pandemic has people "shaking" in their boots from fear.

 Cathy displays the quilt I made for her.  She told me her favorite colors were taupe and teal so that was the basis for this design.  I love you, Cathy!