Quarantine Continues

So quarantine life continues with no end in sight!  Masks are required to pretty much go anywhere.

Even Annie is feeling stuck inside!

I did a huge shop at Costco to stock up and avoid numerous trips to the store.

I tried the new Instagram craze of whipped coffee..pretty tasty!

Always looking for a change of scenery to work.  All of my co-workers are now working from home too.

 Soccer practices have been cancelled so Allie does "virtual" practices on Zoom with her coach and teammates.

GOHS delivered these "2020 Graduate" signs to all of the seniors since graduation will likely be cancelled.

 KWU orientation was done virtually with the academic advisor and fellow freshman.

Papa is sporting a new slicked-back look since he can't get a haircut.

Nights are spent in the backyard watching sunsets and making s'mores.

And the pups are loving all of the extra cuddles.  When will this end??

Coronavirus Quarantine

Taylor flew home on Saturday, March 14th after spending a week in Ft. Lauderdale for her spring break.  The Coronavirus was quickly creating havoc around the world as the number of infected was increasing and  schools/businesses were closing.  There was an unsettling feel as to how long this would last and how many would be effected. 

On Sunday, as we sat at what would end up being our last outing, Gov. Newsom announced the closures of bars/restaurants/social gatherings.  Recommendations for keeping 6 feet apart and limiting outings became the new normal over the next few weeks.

Taylor started online school for the rest of the semester, the remainder of Allison's senior year will be online as well and all of our travel plans have been canceled...so sad!

We have done lots of puzzles and watched lots of movies!

Annie has cherished all of the extra cuddles.

The girls cleaned out their rooms and reminisced on all of their soccer successes!

I got desperate and attempted to take off my overgrown gel nails...what a mess!

I have spotted lots of cute rocks on my daily walks!

Taylor and I did a mother/daughter cocktail hour via Zoom since we couldn't be in Kansas for Mom's weekend.

Allie started a little business called Knots By Allie and is making some cute wall decor for friends.  Taylor helped her create this cute Instagram page.

Toilet paper has become nearly impossible to find and we are now required to wear masks when we leave the house. Matt has battled some sort of sickness so stayed home for 2 weeks, got tested for Coronavirus (came back negative!) and barely left the playroom the whole time he has been home.

My work continues "as usual" and we are adjusting to this new sense of normal.   Still not sure how long it will last, but happy we are all under one roof, relatively healthy and have secure jobs!

There have been quite a few silver linings in all of this.  GOHS is so sad for all of its seniors and what they will miss out on with online school, so they have paid to have these yard signs placed in every senior students' yard!  

The elementary school teachers put on a parade last Saturday and came in a caravan down each street within our boundaries. We stood in the driveway and waved to most of the girls' elementary teachers.  It really was the sweetest sense of community!

Taylor's 1st grade teacher Mrs. Williams

 Allison's 1st grade teacher Mrs. Skinner

Allison's 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Falciano

Allison's 5th grade teacher Mrs. McBride

Sure hoping we return to "normal" soon, but we will certainly be talking about these unprecedented times for years to come!

Separation Anxiety

So this is Annie's new way of showing us she doesn't like when we leave her alone!

She somehow got the zipper open on the couch pillow and completely shredded it's contents without damaging the pillowcase. She seems pretty proud of her work, but I think she will have to be crated from now on when we have to leave her alone.  Crazy girl!

Pechanga Wine Festival

Poppy gave us tickets to the Pechanga Wine Festival!  I'm not a huge wine fan, but we sampled a few 

and ate our way through the stations.  A chocolate fountain,

 charcuterie cones, street tacos, meats and cheeses

and so many desserts!  We all loved the Nitro Cold Brew Floats with Hazelnut Foam!

Blake Shelton

Tami and I surprised the girls with Blake Shelton concert tickets!

He performed at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, along with Lauren  Alaina, The Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson and Trace Atkins.

The girls looked so cute in their new cowboy boots and we had the best time!  Such a great show!

Midnight Satellites

Kodi Lee won America's Got Talent last fall and we were at the finale to witness it!  He continues to perform once in a while with Midnight Satellites hear locally.

Tonight they played at Lorimar Winery in front of a packed crowd!

We didn't wait in line to get a picture with Kodi after, but we did get a picture with Rex, one of the bands guitarist who we often see at local venues.

Matt Turns 49

Happy 49th Birthday Matt!  I'm glad we could at least celebrate with a La Cocina dinner and some gifts after your work day.  I can't believe next year will be the big 5-0!

GOHS Soccer Banquet 2020

Tonight marked our 7th and final GOHS Soccer Banquet!  The seniors were all set up at the head table

and reunited with their framed photo.

Love the Settle girls!

All of the Varsity seniors!

 Coach Mark presented Allison with the "All League 1st Team Award", which means she was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the league.  A huge accomplishment and well-deserved after so many clutch saves this season.  Her high school career has come to an end, but she has grown so much and will be more than ready to prove herself at KWU!