March Newsletter & Slideshow

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March 2020
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: So…. March 2020! Kind of a lot of crazysauce going on! COVID-19 has turned out to be a pretty famous gal. She is ALL the news, social media, etc seem to be talking about these days. She has forced the closure of schools, churches, parks, athletic events, concerts. Basically, events & many activities have come to a screeching halt because of the fear that she might be there. But life hasn’t come to a screeching halt. We go on, with more gratitude in our hearts and trust in our great Creator and Savior. They knew all this would happen and we feel so watched over as we’ve been able to get the food we need (although we’ve gone through a #10 can of wheat that we’ve hand-ground) and toilet paper. It’s surreal to go to the grocery store and see all the empty shelves. Feels very apocalyptic. But we are sto thankful for our prophet’s words of hope, encouragement and peace. We know that Heavenly Father sees us, knows us, and loves us. We are so thankful for his guiding hand! Right now, Jason is working from home most of the time, the girls are doing their school online, at home. And we are supposed to stay inside our homes, except to go for walks, hikes, etc or go to the doctor or the grocery store. So, life has really slowed! It’s been hard, but it’s been good. We have all been faced with the reality that there is not a never-ending supply of goods in the world. We are grateful for what we have. We are grateful to be together. We are interested to see what the future will bring. We know there will be at least another month of homeschool. We know that economically, things have been extremely rough and we are facing a recession, if not a depression. We will move forward with faith and hope and continue to check on family and friends and share what we have, for we are richly blessed. One thing that did happen despite the craziness, was Noelle & Kezia’s ballet performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. No one was able to make it, but we LOVED watching it and they both did a fantastic job!

JASON : Jason went to a meeting in Ogden the 2nd week in March. He stayed in Farmington, which was a bit stressful because Davis County had the first incidence of the Coronavirus. We were all very thankful when he made it home safely - and without sickness. While he was up there, he took off half a day to go watch McKinley’s state performance at the U of U. He enjoyed watching them and they did absolutely fantastic. Afterwards, they ate at the City Creek mall together. Which also happened to have an incidence of COVID-19, which they found out about later. Jason likes to work from home & be near his family. It’s hard when he has meetings, though, so Noelle made a really cute sign for him telling people to keep out. 

HEIDI: Heidi turned 41 this month & got a fitness watch, and a silk pillowcase and eye mask. :) She loved spending time with her family that day, and in the evening, Jason surprised her with a Polynesian dance performance at SUU. It was really cool! It has been a major adjustment having all the girls home all day. She can’t go to the gym (closed) or Grifols (put on hold for 2 months because she got a live vaccine for MMR). It’s been quite a change of routine! But she does enjoy having her girls home and knowing everyone is safe. The beginning of the month was busy with fielding Airbnb stuff for the St. George place. By the end of the month, we had almost all cancellations. She was kept busy at the SUU downstairs, though, with all the girls leaving early, finding a new couple to rent to, and selling all the furniture that was in there. Heidi also helped out all week the week that Jason was gone to Ogden with backstage for the ballet. That was an exhausting week! But she’s had a lot of downtime to recover :)

McKINLEY: -McKinley went to state for orchestra at the U of U on March 11th. Dad even left his meeting in Ogden so he could go cheer her on. It was a long day (7am to about midnight), but they did so good! They a 1, which is the highest score you can get! They got it on their performance & their sight reading. Way to go McKinley & CMS Orchestra!
-McKinley had a skiing field trip at the beginning on the month & loved hanging out on the slopes with her friends.
-McKinley is really not loving being away from teachers and friends. She is dealing with the online schooling but can’t wait till it’s over. She’s gone on some walks with friends, and is constantly messaging Ella (and she did have a s’more fire in the backyard with her), so thankfully she does get some friend time in, but it’s hard being at home all day!
-McKinley worked hard on her (online recorded) audition for symphonic orchestra & it paid off - she made it! Congrats McKinley!

IRELAND:
-One of Ireland’s favorite sayings this month - “Gouda cheese!” as in “Dinner’s ready!” Ireland - gouda cheese!
-Ireland made symphonic band!!! She was so excited! Congrats Ireland!
-Ireland had a skiing field trip this month & had so much fun!
-Ireland also made the rec team for gymnastics in the fall! She gets a team leotard and has the opportunity to perform at one SUU gymnastics meet! Yay!
-Ireland went to Sienna’s house one day for a few hours & they had fun riding scooters and building a fort in the backyard.
-Ireland was excited to stay home & do school in the beginning, but she is really starting to miss school and her friends. She tries to stay focused at home, but there are a lot of distractions and it’s hard to stay focused!
-Some things Ireland has done to stay connected with her friends is go on walks and bike rides with them and play games over the phone - like Yahtzee! She also has played a lot of games with her sisters - and built a fort downstairs!
-Ireland read the entire book “The Meeting Place” by Janette Oke in one day! One of mom’s faves.

KEZIA:
-Kezia had a tough beginning of the month - there was a calculator competition & she worked SO hard every day and was SO fast and accurate. She didn’t feel like the rules were clear at the beginning of the competition and she didn’t know she had to get 100%. She only missed one and was out of it :( It was a hard day.
-Kezia’s last (until all the craziness is over) activity days was going to DQ for ice cream. She had a blast!
-Kezia did SO well with her ballet! She was the leader for 2 of the groups heading onstage and was so fun to watch. She looked beautiful in her fairy costume (even though it wasn’t her favorite). Mom loved to spend time with her backstage. Kezi had fun spending more time with Elizabeth Niles, too.
-Kezi made a “mailbox” for her and Addie and put in on the fence. They write letters to each other and send treats. It’s so cute :)





LINK:On the 26th, it was 7 years since Link left this earth. We couldn’t go inside the temple because of the virus, but we did do some family history work at home and we went to the temple and walked around. Spontaneously, dad linked arms with mom, McKinley linked arms with mom and so on, till our entire family was walking down the temple parking lot, arms linked. That was a precious moment and one we won’t forget. We also went to Link’s bench & spend a little time there. We love you Link! We miss you every day and are SO thankful you’re watching over us - especially in times like these!
NOELLE:
-Mom had to take the girls in the van with her to the hospital so she could get her immunization shot. As we pulled into the hospital, mom said “this is where you were born Noelle!” Noelle said “Are we getting another kid!!??”
-Noelle did SO good with her ballet performance. They were long evenings/nights at the Heritage Theater rehearsing and mom wasn’t sure how well she’d do, but she did really well and it was SO fun to see her beautiful smile on stage. She said she was nervous, but no one could tell! She looked at home on the stage. We know she wasn’t always wanting to do ballet, but we’re so proud of her for sticking with it!
-Noelle is big into playing Minecraft nowdays. She’s still learning it, but she’s pretty into it!
-Mom offered Noelle a dollar to clean out the van. Noelle folded her arms, narrowed her eyes and said “Five dollars!” Mom countered with $1.50. Noelle said OKAY! She hear the word fifty and thought it was fifty dollars :)
-Noelle was explaining one day (mom got most of it on video) about how she can be really full from eating a meal, but then her body will hear the word “treat” and it will open up a specific square space of room in her tummy :)
-Noelle has been great about homeschooling for the most part. She does 20 minutes of waterford, about 20 minutes of RAZ kids books reading, and about 20 minutes watching her teacher & the other 1st grade teacher’s YouTube video. She really lights up when she gets to see her teacher. We got to pick up a packet at school and I told her she couldn’t hug Mrs. Nakken. When we left she said she was about to cry, but was brave.
-More changes in the littles room. We bought the white dresser from the rental, so now they have more drawer space and we turned the bunk bed to the East wall. It’s fun to have a change :)
-Noelle’s lunch date with dad this month was a little different with all the restaurants closed. They ended up doing the drive-through at McDonald’s and eating outside on a picnic table.
OAKLYN:-Mom & Oaklyn were taking a rest one day and Oaklyn told Alexa to start the white noise. Mom told Alexa “volume 4.” Oaklyn said “Mom! That’s way too loud! Alexa, volume 5!”
-Oaklyn has been saying OOF all the time? Hmm, wonder where she gets that from? (McKinley)
-Oaklyn said one day “Mom, I’m starving… for ice cream!!”
-Oaklyn woke up from a nap one day looking very similar to our President Trump. She definitely took a picture :)
-Oaklyn was acting sick one day. Mom felt her forehead and said “you’re feeling warm.” Oaklyn said “Yeah, I like it like that!”
-One day, mom found Oaklyn was putting her baby under the rocking chair footrest. Oaklyn told mom they were having home evening :)
-Oaklyn has multiple times snuck in mom & dad’s room and watched their Echo Show (90% of the time watching Frozen 2). Mom got after her one time & told her she didn’t have my permission. She put her hands on her hips and said “Yes, I DO have your PREmission! What is premission?”
-Oaklyn has done pretty well with having all her sisters home all day. She still asks to go to gym daycare & Grifols Daycare, but mom has tried to explain it the best she can. Oaklyn has started to do some Starfall in the morning when her sisters are doing their work, so she can do more learning, too.
--Kezi made a “mailbox” for her and Addie and put in on the fence, Charlotte & Oaklyn use it, too. They write letters to each other and send treats. It’s so cute :) Oaklyn really misses getting to play with her BFF.
-One day Oaklyn went in Irelands room & caused major distress. She dumped out baby oil all over her floor and aloe vera gel! Yuck.