Seven Unique Weeks!

One would think that with most of the world locked down and told to stay-at-home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, that we would have plenty of time to post our activities on our blogs.  I'm not sure why that activity keeps getting postponed in favor of other options, but perhaps it feels that we are not really doing anything too significant.  I don't  have an answer.  I do know that Steve and I have enjoyed spending a good portion of most days working in our yard and helping it to become a place of beauty and tranquility.  We love having blooming flowers, well-groomed green grass and the promise of yummy fruits and veggies grown in our own soil.

We have also focused on organizing parts of our home and barn.  Steve's barn is much more functional and he is in the process of refinishing his second dining table.  The first was our old round pine table.  It turned out beautiful.  Now he is working on our even older cherry table which we purchased 2nd hand when we lived in Connecticut.

We have enjoyed the sweet Spirit we feel as we partake of the sacrament in our home each Sunday and listen to Tyler and Taylor, two BYU religion professors teach us Come Follow Me Lessons on Book of Mormon Central.  We learn so much and appreciate the truths taught in the Book of Mormon even more each week.
The first week of May as we transitioned to  "yellow" in Utah which meant things were starting to open up.  The state asked for a million masks to protect citizens and healthcare workers.  I was given a couple of days to make 40 so I diligently worked on that.  It was good that they provided the materials as I guess there has been a big shortage of elastic.  I also finished a quilt I was making for my friend Monti who is undergoing cancer treatments.  It was fun to create a special quilt from her favorite colors.

With the easing of travel restrictions, we drove to St. George to spend a couple of days visiting Taylor and Jen and their kids.  They still had their zoom school classes each morning, but we were able to take walks, play outside and even go swimming once in their condo pool.

We returned to Providence on Thursday to continue our yard work, etc.
Adam was the main chef for Mother's Day and he spoiled us with homemade rolls and salmon.  Steve cooked corn on the cob, cut watermelon and made a salad.  Thanks guys for the yummy dinner.
Tanner moved into our basement bedroom the week of May 11th.  Taylor had to go through his boxes which have been stored in that closet for years.  It was a big transition for all involved but a good opportunity to sort and organize once again.

It is sad that Tanner has to do his DC internship remotely, but since that is the case for now, he decided to move to Logan and prepare for his graduate work in the fall.  In addition to his internship, he is finishing up some classes for his graduation from BYU-I and doing on-line work for professors there as well.  He has kept very busy. This week he helped a future classmate and his wife move into their Logan apartment in the 90 degree heat.  He is a good guy, always willing to help us and others around him.
Taylor's family has been back and forth between Logan, Murray and St. George.  We enjoy each opportunity we get to spend time with Will, June and Preston.  Preston is very verbal and totally entertaining.  He loves to be with Tanner and seeks him out as a playmate.

Marcum's got a Goldendoodle dog which has been a huge transition for them.  We got to see her when they picked her up from South Jordan.  She's a cutie but puppies create a lot of work for their new family.  Good luck Marcums.

On Sunday, May 17th, we dressed up and went to our church building for the first time since March.  We were allowed to observe Britton's ordination to the melchezidek priesthood.  Of course, Steve assisted Adam and Bishop Peck in performing the ordination.  We honor Britton for his righteous choices and hope that the situation will ease soon so he can serve his mission. We had a BBQ that afternoon and included our friend Hayden, from our mission.

Shawn set up a fun GoToMeeting call for Tiffany on her birthday, May 20th.  All of her siblings were able to get on the call so it was fun to chat with everyone on honor of her special day.  The next day we had a birthday treat for Adam and saved our pizza party in his honor for Friday night.

The next Saturday morning, Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, we woke up to snow on the ground.  Brrh!  I was out cutting lilacs and iris with my boots on as our plan was to drive to Idaho and decorate family graves.  Tanner came along with us and we first went to the Blackfoot cemetery where we decorated Steve's parents' graves, Bill and June Price.

 Then we drove to Idaho Falls, where we met up with my sister Jackie at the cemetery where my parents, Bob and Aloha Kerr are buried.  We also decorated the infant graves of my sister, Cathy's baby, Jared Michael Stringham, and my brother, Greg's baby, Robert Elton Kerr.

 I finally got to give Jackie her birthday quilt with the school teacher motif for the best school teacher in the world!

Then we drove with Jackie as our guide to the Rexburg cemetery to decorate the Spori graves and then to the River View Cemetery in St. Anthony to decorate the graves of my grandparents, Annie and Robert Kerr and great grandparents, MJ and Ella Rebecca Kerr.  We loved putting flowers on their graves and honoring the gospel legacy they have given us.

We enjoyed spending the weekend with Heather's family, including their new dog.  We helped plant some flower pots and their garden.  We like to help a little with projects when we can.

On the 27th I hosted our first in person bookclub in several months on the front lawn of our Murray house.  We sort of social distanced and enjoyed a beautiful evening of friendship and laughter.

The next night, we attended Britton's virtual high school graduation by watching it on the computer at their dining room table.  It turned out surprisingly well but it is sad that the class of 2020 missed out on all of the traditional celebratory elements of completing their high school experience.  Britton moves forward with a smile.  They had a photo shoot by appointment a couple of days before the virtual ceremony.

Here we are watching the virtual graduation!

 We honored our graduates at Sunday dinner.  Tanner graduated from college, Britton from high school, Korinne from middle school and AJ from preschool.  AJ wouldn't cooperate with a photo.

Taylor arranged for us to purchase a couple of ebikes.  He and his friend, Tyler, assembled them for us too.  That was fantastic.  We are gradually get used to riding them and are really enjoying the experience of riding them around our foothills.  Without the assistance of the power, we would not be able to ride in our neighborhood.  We have added riding bikes to our daily routine--we walk twice daily and ride at least once.  We want to keep healthy and in good shape when the opportunity opens up for us to travel again.  I took my first spill tonight after trying to go up the hill in the wrong gear.  I was protected with my helmet and a jacket so I am fine.  We still like the bikes a lot and I am learning.

We were finally able to have a meal in a restaurant with our friends, Doug and Jan Adams on May 29th. We were scheduled to meet them for lunch way back in March when suddenly everything was shut down and cancelled.

One of the best things about this whole lockdown experience has been Liberty's willingness to zoom with us three mornings each week to lead us in an exercise class.  It has been so good for me physically and mentally to work out with Libbie, Heather and Hilary.  Libbie is always so upbeat and encouraging.  She makes this challenge less painful and more fun.  Happy birthday to Libbie on May 30th!
In addition to yard work, we have been painting doors and frames and moving some furniture.  It has been nice to have Tanner's assistance.

June started out with an opportunity to babysit Will, June and Preston while their parents went cycling in Park City and on Tuesday the 2nd, Taylor had surgery there to remove the plate and screws that were inserted a couple of years ago after a bad cycling accident.  They traveled back to Providence for a couple of days of recuperation.

 The cousins have a good time together--eating, playing, jumping on the tramp.

 All the kids loved watching the robin eggs hatch from a nest under our deck.  This is the most quiet and still I have ever seen AJ.

June wanted to get her haircut.  It turned out so cute when our friend Tonya went after her long locks.

We had been waiting a long time to host a gathering with our senior missionary friends from Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.  We picked June 4th since things had opened up and 26 of our friends gathered in our back yard for potluck lunch.  Steve smoked 6 racks of pork ribs and everyone else contributed lots of yummy food.  It was so nice to visit with friends again that people were reluctant to leave.  The last of the group left 5 hours later.  The Daniels from eastern Utah traveled 3.5 hours each way which was the farthest.

Heather, Aaron and Quinn traveled down on Friday the 5th to visit with Taylor's family and check out some new construction homes in our area including a couple with built-in gyms.  It was fun to have the siblings together.  Saturday when the families left, it felt kind of empty.  On Sunday Campbell's hosted us for an amazing pot roast dinner.  We got caught in a hail storm on our walk.

On June 8th, we made a trip to Salt Lake and Provo.  We had errands in Murray area plus Steve had to check out a window that had leaked during a severe rainstorm at our Murray house.  As part of Ann Kerr Tanner's 90th birthday celebration, family members are doing a variety of things to help her celebrate for 90 days.  Our plan was to take Ann and Harvey to dinner on the 8th but since there has been a big uptick in covid-19 cases in Cache Valley, we didn't dare get too close.  We opted to bring them dinner from Café Rio and deliver it with our masks on.  We stopped by to visit my sister, Cathy, for a few minutes and were lucky to also see Sunny and her kids who were visiting from California and Sidney's family and her new baby girl, Cece.  We wore masks and kept our distance but it was fun to see them.
The rest of the week was spent doing yard work, taking dinner to my cancer fighting friend and closing a townhome sold to a young couple in Providence. Here is Steve caulking the Murray window.

P.S.  We loved watching the historic launch of the SpaceEx on May 30, 2020 with the first American Astronauts from American soil since the conclusion of the space shuttle program in 2011.  We also watched the docking at the space station the next day.  It was so awesome!