Sojourn to Utah: March 2020

This trip didn't go how I imagined it would. Between having to cancel practically everything and an earthquake it was different, but thankfully we got to spend lots of time with family which is the real reason we go anyway.

March 12

We left Lubbock around 2:30. Dan had his MBNE for Major Organ System Physiology that morning and Hayley had preschool so we had lunch, finished loading things up, and then hit the road. We stopped in Fort Sumner so I could feed Paige and that was about the time that everything was going crazy with COVID-19. The NBA postponed everything and The Church was making a few announcements. I wondered if we should have turned around but I am glad we didn't. I drove us to Alburquerque where we got dinner from Chick-Fil-A and took it to a park that was close by so we could eat it there and let the girls run around a little. (And yes I made sure we wiped off and sanitized our hands before eating and after playing.) We left there around 8:30. Dan drove us through the night, only stopping for gas in Durango and then we made it to Kaysville around 6:30 AM.

March 13

We didn't tell the girls we were going to Utah. Hayley thought we were just going to Alburquerque for dinner and to play at the park and then turn around and go home. I think that was the last time we will be able to trick her, haha, but we shall see. So they woke up as we were driving on the street that leads to my parents. They were so excited! It was a fun surprise. I was hoping they would go back to sleep once we got there but nope. I fed Paige and was pleasantly surprised she made it from Alburquerque to Kaysville without needing to eat. I was a little worried we would have to stop in Spanish Fork or something. My Dad was up so he watched the girls after I got them breakfast so I could sleep. Matt, Andrea, and Beau came up in the late afternoon and we just hung out.

March 14

I was supposed to co-teach a HIGH Fitness class this morning but Paige did not sleep very well, our room was cold down in the basement, and since I didn't sleep very well in the car on the way here I decided to stay home and sleep in because my body was pretty tired. Super bummed that I didn't get to teach any of the classes I was planning on. We took family photos this evening. The original plan was to do them at the Bountiful Temple, so we met Allie there, but it was super windy and that made it a little chilly so we ended up going back to my parent's house and doing them there. We had dinner after and talked until it was time to go to bed.

March 15
We had our first at-home. Church experience at Paul and Becky's this morning. I am so grateful we are able to still partake of the Sacrament and renew our covenants. Paul planned our Church lesson and wanted to talk about Jacob 5, even though it was a week early. Each of the adults shared a couple experiences from our missions and it was cool to hear about them. Dan and Paul have shared experiences here and there but I don't know much about Becky's mission. The girls did pretty well and they had a coloring activity when we were done with our discussion. We ate lunch with them and then headed back to my parents to put the girls down for naps and spend more time with Matt and Andrea while they were in Kaysville. Dan and I went for a motorcycle ride after Matt and Andrea left. It was a great social distancing activity.

March 16
We spent the day at my parents and then went to Paul and Becky's for dinner. We played some games after dinner and then went home so we could get the girls in bed at a reasonable hour.

March 17
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Nikkole brought her Nintendo Switch over on Sunday and left it for us to use so Hayley has been enjoying Mario Kart. My Mom and I took Hayley and Evelyn next door to play on the neighbor's swingset (they don't have any little kids, it is for their granddaughter when she comes so it hadn't been used recently). It was fun to get outside and see the sun. Tonight I went to a friend's house and did HIGH Fitness on the driveway. We all stayed 6 feet apart and had a lax group workout. It was good for me to forget the world for a little bit.

March 18
Today started how I never want a day to start, or end or occur during any part of the day, again. Evelyn came down to our bedroom around 4:00 AM and I woke up a little before 7:00 and figured I would go sleep with Hayley so I could hear Paige in the room next door if she woke up. As I was about to fall back asleep I heard what I thought was a huge gust of wind, but it was an earthquake. The room started shaking and all I could think was that I needed to get to Paige because I didn't want anything to happen to her. My Dad was awake and I yelled, "What is happening?" And he yelled back, "Earthquake." Hayley woke up as I made it to the door frame and I told her to stay there. I made it to the next room's door frame, grabbed Paige, back to the door frame, and when I finally made it back to Hayley's room door frame the earthquake ended. I felt like I was walking on a boat that was rocking back and forth. I was dizzy and had a headache for the rest of the day. There was no going to back to sleep after that. My anxiety was already super high from all the COVID-19 stuff going on and now this?! I asked for a blessing that afternoon to help calm me down. Luckily we only felt 2 aftershocks and they weren't too bad.
Mike and Nikkole were over all day because Mike didn't have to go to work because of the earthquake. We had fun doing stuff with them and watched Jumanji 2 tonight.

March 19
I did not sleep well last night. My headache continued into the night and was pretty bad from around 1:00-3:00 AM. I was grateful that it was gone when I woke up. I honestly can't remember anything significant about this day and I didn't take any pictures ha.

March 20
We played some more Mario Kart this morning and then headed to Paul and Becky's house. Dan and I got to go for a cruise in Becky's mustang while the girls were napping, or supposed to be. They woke up while we were gone. That was fun. Becky got out some craft stuff that Hayley had fun using. She has really liked making Forky's (from Toy Story 4) lately so she made a bunch of those and some little monsters. We ate dinner, played Ticket to Ride and then went home to get the girls to bed.

March 21
We were originally planning on going home today but since Dan's school got canceled we decided to stay a little longer. Dan went shooting this morning at Antelope Island so after nap time we headed over to Paul and Becky's again. The girls played in the bounce house before the sun went down and it got chilly. We ordered Cafe Rio takeout for dinner and played another round of Ticket to Ride. Grandma Becky surprised Hayley and Evelyn with some new Anna and Elsa jammy dresses that they love and wore home.

March 22
We had at-home Church with my parents today. Mike and Nikkole and Matt and Andrea were going to join us but poor little Luke got hand foot mouth from somewhere and since it's contagious everyone just stayed home. My Mom gave us a lesson on Jacob 5. She put little tags with our names on them on a globe where we served our missions. We had a delicious dinner afterward, played outside after naptime, and just relaxed. We played Monikers after dinner and then went to bed.

March 23
We hung out at my parents this morning and afternoon and then had dinner at Paul and Becky's.

March 24
We hung out at my parents all day today. The girls have had fun playing with the barbies and toys at Grandmas. She surprised them with some new dress-ups to take home. My Mom made us a delicious last dinner, white chili soup per my request.

March 25
We packed up all our stuff this morning and headed to Paul and Becky's after breakfast to say goodbye. We were there for about an hour and when we got back to my parents we had lunch, said goodbye, and hit the road. It's always hard to say goodbye and leave. Especially during a pandemic when who knows what could happen or when we will see them again. We were on the road around 1:30. We stopped in Spanish Fork to get gas and I fed Paige. I drove us to Monticello where we all ate dinner in a church parking lot. I made us sandwiches so we didn't have to stop anywhere or interact with anyone ha. The girls ran around a little bit, but we ate in the car because it was windy and that made it pretty chilly. Then Dan drove us the rest of the way home through the night. We stopped in Shiprock and Albuquerque for gas and made it to Lubbock around 7:30 AM.

I am so grateful we could make our trip to Utah when we did. I don't think we would have gone even a few days later. It was great to see our families! Definitely a bummer we had to cancel so many plans but we still had lots of fun.

I still can't believe this is real sometimes. I feel like I have lived two separate lives: one where we went out and did things without thinking twice about it and another where I don't want to interact with anyone or leave the house and I sanitize everything that comes inside it. My anxiety has been on a huge rollercoaster through all of this. I go from one extreme of total panic and chaos to the other extreme of calm and feeling like everything is good. It has taken a toll on me a little bit but I am mostly in a good place now that we are back home in our little bubble.

I hate all the unknowns that surround this virus but I am so grateful for what I do know, and that is that God is in charge and He is bigger than this quarantine. I was scrolling through some of my old notes/thoughts that I have saved in my phone and this one really stuck out to me, "Now is the time prepare, not the time to receive all our blessings." These are the last days. And while I have questioned God for sending me here at this time, wondering why He thought I could handle all this, I know the blessings that are promised me if I live the life He has shown and taught me to live. During a pandemic is not the time I will receive all these blessings, but it is a time for me to prepare to meet Him. Eternal perspective.

To those who read this, I hope it finds you happy and healthy. We can do hard things and we will get through this!

Paige: Five Months

Paige is showing her personality more and more and it has been fun to see it come out. Since we decided to stay in Utah longer than we originally planned I don't have her letter P with us for her photo (and it has been hard for me to get over it because my track record has been flawless with each girl and just like that it's ruined ha).

Paige is close to being able to sit up by herself. She can for a few seconds at a time. She really likes to sit up. Whenever she is laying down she is often lifting up her head, doing her crunches, we assume because she wants to get up or to try and see something. I tell her to relax but she doesn't for very long. She has the best baby abs ever.
Paige has had cereal only once and most of it ended up on her bib. We figured we would wait 'til we got back from Utah to be more consistent with giving it to her. And then with all the panic/bulk buying going on, I am glad I can still nurse her and not worry about baby food yet.
Paige is in her 6-month clothes and size two diapers. We tried using up the last of our size one diapers but she kept having blowouts so there went that idea. She is our rolly baby and I love it! Her eyes seem to keep changing colors to me. Sometimes they look blue, other times hazel, and occasionally they have even looked gray. Every once in a while I feel like I can see a ginge tinge in her hair too. It's slowly getting a little longer.
When her binky falls out she uses two of her fingers in its place to help soothe her. If I am around I take them out and put her binky back in. It will be easier to take a binky away one day but I can't really do much about her fingers.
Paige sounds like she has a stuffy nose 90% of the time. Poor little girl. But she is always happy, and I mean always. She is my happiness. She is extremely content too. I can put her just about anywhere and she doesn't make a fuss. I do hold her and love on her when I can but it's nice she is so content when I need to do other things. Oh, she is the best baby!
I was a little worried we were going to have a rough 4-month sleep regression but she has handled it surprisingly well. She hasn't always gone down for a nap or to bed as easy as before but it has been nothing like what I experienced with Hayley and Evelyn. I have tried to be better at putting Paige down before she is out completely to help her figure out how to self soothe to sleep and I think that has been a big help. She sleeps in her crib all the time now and it hasn't seemed to phase her. She still sleeps through the night, I haven't ever had to go in in the middle of the night.
Now that she is awake more I have started putting her in clothes and not leaving her in pajamas all day ha. It has been fun to pull out the clothes Hayley and Evelyn wore and compare them in photos. I love my girls! I do think Paige looks more like Hayley than Evelyn.
Paige still gets smothered by her sisters, but she takes it all like a champ. I mean she doesn't know any different and won't even remember it but it amazes me how younger children survive their older siblings ha.
Paige drools a lot. I had to get out the drool bibs. I am pretty sure Hayley and Evelyn started drooling around 4 months as well so it wasn't a surprise. She loves to put anything and everything in her mouth. She also likes to look at herself in the mirror.
Paige did AMAZING on our drive to Utah. I only had to feed her twice on our 16-hour road trip. I fed her in Fort Sumner and then again when we stopped in Albuquerque. She made it through the entire night. I was a little worried we'd need to stop in Spanish Fork but she made it to Kaysville!
Paige is the perfect addition to our family. She has been the best blessing and I am so grateful that she is here!

 

Playing with Daddy's beard.

She kept looking back at me and reaching up to touch my face while I was holding her.

Wearing Hayley's build-a-bear's dress.

First time trying cereal.

We love our Harris cousins!