34-36 - Witte Covid Memories

Quarantine Day 34:
We had a lovely Home Church day, went on a walk, sat on the porch, talked with some friends (from distance) and then decided our goal this week would be to try new cookies every day! So, today we made Dark Chocolate Pistachio W/sea salt and sat down and watched the coolest live fireside with John Byetheway, Meg Johnson, and Hank Smith. It just barely started and we were a tad underdressed. πŸ˜‚
Oh well, the kids are loving it. Happy Sunday!





Quarantine Day 35:
Dogs vs. Cats my friend gave us a bunch of 100 pieces puzzles so we decided to make it a competition until dinnertime. We timed them and then let them work. It was 5 hands vs. 4 hands. πŸ˜‚ They LOVED this. They asked to do it again. How long do you think it took them to do a 100 piece puzzle? Who do you think won?
*GIRLS 22:27
Most Agreeable Child: Bridget. She has taken all of these challenges without complaints that she doesn't have an arm to use. She just tries her best to contribute. Poor Gal.

Quarantine Day 36:
We had to get a pipe for the sprinklers so we went to Culver for #takeouttuesday while we walked in the rocks we saw the weirdest creature. It is called a rock chuck.  It scared the girls so much we didn't walk the greenbelt as planned. πŸ˜‚
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MAC is everyone. We had a pretty great day. To celebrate we are going to eat dinner outside and stay up till sunset. It is an amazing 🀸🏻‍♀🌞 day! 63° but it feels like 85°. WE LOVE IT.

The days are long sometimes, but doable.

27-33 - Covid 19 Update


Quarantine Day 27:
Our Easter Sunday didn't go as planned. We got up did our Sunday Service at home, and quickly changed so we could plant trees. We also went on a lovely drive.
I looked in the fridge to pull everything out for our ham feast and realized that the child I asked to pull out the ham 2 days ago had pulled out the Pork shoulder. πŸ˜‚ And instead of it being defrosted it was still semi frozen. So...Nathan, the rock star said "I'll make buns and we will just have sloppy joes" so we did! πŸ˜‚ Then we had funnel cakes for dessert because we will be having our Easter feast tomorrow night!
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This was a good lesson for the kids. Neither one of us were mad. Neither one of us freaked out. We just did something else. This quarantine has made us more chill. I think it has to do with our schedules being clear. No where to go, no pressure to have everything done in time. I'd still call this a win even though we didn't get my favorite #wittematchingsundays picture. *sigh* #wittecovidmemories. The only redeeming part of this Easter was Grandmas surprise basket!! 😍
Worm Hunting!





Quarantine Day 28:
We wrapped up the garage (this is before), finished planting trees and peas, and started working on another project for the backyard. Everyone did their school work and Lucas got to talk with his cousin, Noah which he loved. As much as 13-14 years olds "talk" πŸ˜‚
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MAC was Bridget. She can't do much with a broken arm but everything we ask her to do, she does with a smile. Well, a "whatever" smile. πŸ˜‚



Quarantine Day 29:
Today was the first day I declared "I am kidded out, go outside!" The kids weren't being crazy, I just needed a break. So for #takeouttuesday we drove to Scotty's and got shakes and fries. We listened to loud music and laughed. It was good for us. Today was the older two kiddos first mutual in a few weeks. Bishop Prince is on the screen. It was nice to "see people."
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MAC was Lucas. He took an online training class with me about combatting/diffusing student behavior. Then he tried to use it on his brother. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I felt like he really listened and used the techniques. Lucas also installed gutters with his Dad today and didn't freak out that he was being directed by someone who assumed he knew what he was doing. Sigh.






Quarantine Day 30:
Today we went to our class meetings and then played games for most of the afternoon. We found out just minutes ago we aren't going back to school for the rest of the year. The kids were so sad. I am so sad. But, I get it. *
We talked about our little library and how we wished we had a game exchange where we could trade our favorites for the weekend for someone else's favorites. This is what we are playing a lot of lately. 😍
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MAC - Juliet! She has flipped a switch in the online school dept. She absolutely hates not being in class, but she gets all of her work done for the week in one day so she doesn't have to think about it again. πŸ˜‚





Quarantine Day 31:
We had a chill day, painted some flowers, had our lawn aerated, and then started working on the deck of the new family fort. The kids are loving this extra time with their Dad and the crisp spring air. πŸ˜‚
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MAC Juliet. She came up with the perfect design for this family fort. πŸ˜‚
She has been working hard outside and making sure she doesn't get anymore wood in her eye by wearing protective eyewear. These kids. So hilarious. Also a shout out to our neighbor, Klay who let us use his truck to pick up the wood. We couldn't have done this without ya!




Quarantine Day 32:
Our lovely Primary posted a RAK for siblings today and I asked my kids to chose one thing, and do it secretly for someone else in the house by tomorrow. They thought that was pretty fun. For snack today I went to grab PB and forgot about the time I ordered a bigger jar of PB from walmart and the substitution was 5 boxes of individual cups. πŸ˜‚ oh quarantine shopping. What a thrill.
We did Matzos and Apples with PB, Nutella, and Jelly dippers. *
MAC is Lucas he spent the better half of this afternoon washing all of his and Masons bedding and then remaking the beds and it wasn't part of his RAK. Then went out to help with the fort. What a kid.





While cleaning out the garage last week, the children found this lovely image of their mother in the 6th grade. Luckily, my mini me is also in 6th grade. We are very different people at this age. I was taking pictures for the yearbook, in show choir, a competitive synchronized swimmer and competitive soccer player. I was extremely tall for my age and wore a size 10 in women's shoes. I was a straight A student and didn't have time for "friends" I had them, but not like Bridget. I was also obsessed with my handwriting and calligraphy.
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Bridget takes pictures, loves volleyball, has a million friends, wears a size 8.5 in women's shoes, average tall in height (5'2) and is super social. School is somewhere on her list of priorities but not the top. Haha.
She has excellent penmanship and prides herself on it.
She is a good mix of her dad and I in the personality department, and she is my most independent child. If I left her in the world for a day, she would be totally fine. 🀣 Sometimes I think that is what she would like. Sometimes that is something I would like. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ 





Quarantine Day 33:
Our original plans for the "fort" were very elaborate and when we started calculating who wasn't going to be able to go to college, Juliet chimes in and says "too bad we can't just buy another shed and use that as a clubhouse." Nathans face was 😳 and so, we decided to call around and check on sheds and in a weird turn of events we got this one for a deal. The last one! And wouldn't you know it...it matches the one we bought last year! πŸ˜‚ The kids were dying to build it and went too fast and built it backwards so Nathan had to take it apart and do it again. He wasn't too mad about it and the kids all had a hand in building it twice. Oh the memories. Now they are deciding how to furnish it. We are going to use it for bikes in the winter, so it is "dual purpose" 😎
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Most Agreeable Child: Scarlett. That girl drilled and screwed and helped Nathan ALL day. We spent most of the day 9-445 outside today and it felt so good. 61° felt amazing. Poor Scarlett got sunburned.






The days have been so good.  It doesn't "feel" like we are trapped at home. LOL
We haven't been "shopping" in 3 weeks. I'm glad we have enough supplies to eat through and not feel desperate.  







Thirty-Eight

Quarantine Day 26:
Happy Birthday to Me! The kids were super pumped to make my favorite cake ever (Lemon) and we had long sandwiches for lunch/dinner. I had an amazing day full of messages, Marco polos, drop-bys 6ft apart, and so many texts. The best part of the day was that my kids worked in the garage for 4 hours so I could complete the school yearbook in complete silence. 
It was like I got to leave the house without actually leaving. πŸ˜‚
I got to hear from friends I haven't spoken to for months and I loved it so much. Talking on the phone is something I miss from my early child rearing years, you know before texting was a thing. πŸ˜‰

MAC today was Nathan for sending me flowers when he knows I usually hate them, but today it was exactly what I asked for. Also for somehow keeping the kids on task in the cold garage for so long. It was wonderful. *****
Thank you to everyone who reached out to me today. I have a great group of friends and people here in Idaho and around the USA. I really feel blessed for that! Thank you for making #quarantinebirthday suck a little less. 😍😘.




Matilda. LOL

It is weird to be almost 40. But, I love my life, I'm pretty healthy, and I love my job.
My kids are perfect ages 13, 12, 11, 9, 8 and Nathan and I have been married for 15+ years. That is pretty good.  We live in a great area, a beautiful house, have money in the bank, and have big plans for the next 15 years.  I feel blessed.

When my parents were 38 - I was graduating High School, and moving to Colorado for College.
When my parents were 38, they were both on their 2nd marriages, and not living their best life.  I guess my Dad was, but his health was about to take a turn for the worse.  It is weird to think back at where their lives were at my current age.  

I hope when my kids are 38 I am still alive, their Dad is still alive and they are closer to where I am than where my parents were.  I hope when my kids are in their 30s they are still friends and still talk to each other like my sister and I do.  Here's hoping! Fingers Crossed.


19-25 Witte Covid Memories

Quarantine Day 19:
Usually for GC we eat through our 96 hour kits, change the clothes, and make lists to rebuy supplies. But, we decided that this GC we wouldn't do that because replacing the food items would be difficult during the covid19 food shortage. πŸ˜‚ *instead we cleaned out the pantry (it was full to the brim) and washed the walls, the counters, the window, and inside the fridge. Then we would play "chopped" in between sessions. This was great fun and they are so full from lunch we aren't doing treats for the 2nd Sat. session. πŸ˜‚
Nathan made Cinnamon Rolls, they were pretty good. Made the Idaho way with potatoes. Mmmm.





My favorite part of this pantry is the tiered shelves and my special floors.  They were very expensive and I wanted them so badly.  Our flooring gal, searched far and wide for all the planks, and now we see them in so many "famous" kitchens. LOL  I feel fancy everytime I walk in there. Silly I know. HAHA It is the little things I guess.  


Quarantine Day 20:
Our awesome Primary dropped this off to everyone for conference. I hope this becomes tradition. My kids including my new lefty (Bridget) and my young man (Lucas) enjoyed this while listening. We loved the Hosanna shout, we loved getting dressed for church and hearing from someone other than people who live in this house. πŸ˜‚
I hate soup, but Nathan has been asking for soups (must be all the random snow we have been getting) This one was zuppa toscana and was really quite good.


Quarantine Day 21:
It is killing me to not be in the library, so we built one for our neighborhood.
We stocked it, planted it, and registered it. It was a great team project and checked off some "goals." They have some plans to make 4 more for our adjoining neighborhoods. All a little different. This one matches our house. πŸ˜‚ *
MAC is Mason who got ALL of his schoolwork done BEFORE he met with his teacher, and then "made sure to stay out of everyone's way" (his words) while they were doing their work. Good job, Buddy.




Juliet has been doing all sorts of fun at school.  She has even won a few rounds of Kahoot.

Scarlett got a treat from our Ministering Family - now it is a big joke...



Quarantine Day 22:
Today we did school, we did Take out Tuesday to Panda Express, and we did yard work. We leveled some things, we rocked the flower beds, we pulled weeds, and when I say "we" I mean these 6 because I was reading a new book and could not put it down. πŸ˜‚
*MAC is Mason again. He worked his little tail off in the yard with his dad. He is meant to live a life full of people and yardwork. He just loves to work outside. He is really hoping for the grand prize. (Whoever gets the most MACs during the week gets a breakfast car date on saturday with Dad- this changes everyweek)
SUN!!!


Quarantine Day 23:
The sun was shining the birds were chirping and the horns were honking. Our Primary Activity Day leaders had a cute little parade and we loved it. It was nice to "see people" Juliet said. Juliet also talked our ears off about what would make a fine choice for a husband and what she is looking for in a man. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ we weren't out there for very long, but long enough to have this conversation. *
MAC was Scarlett. She was the MVP on her class call today and got everything done including her chores today without complaint. Her shoulder is super sore but you would never know it with how happy she has been.



Mason and Caleb have been trying so hard to not play. Awww.



Quarantine Day 24:
Dessert for dinner. We have been doing yard work since 3pm. So at 650 we told them s'mores and hose water for dinner. πŸ˜‚ we planned on just doing s'mores for after dinner but when you are working on the perfect hot spring day, time gets past you. I'm going to miss this open field when they build homes back here. *sniff*
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MAC is Mason. He cleaned all the trash and worked so hard with his daddy I have been so proud of him!!



Quarantine Day 25:
What a day we had. We participated in the World Fast, tried a new soup, picked up 2 boxes of prime meat, and Juliet had an eye kerfuffle and is now on a prescription. πŸ˜… because on fridays is when we decide we need to seek medical attention. We then watched TrollsWorld Tour. It was adorable and so are these siblings on #nationalsiblingsday . πŸ€ͺ
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MAC was Bridget. She has been a pill lately messing with her siblings, but today she was decent. Then, when we least expected it, she did a really nice thing for every sibling. It was sweet.