Surviving and Thriving During the Pandemic

I need distraction when my anxiety gets high.  I need fresh air.  My mental health needs to get out of the house regularly to be at peak performance. Quarantine at home was really hard for me. I quickly learned to turn to nature to heal my soul, but longed for feeling "normal" again.  During the pandemic we didn't do anything too exciting, but I made sure to regularly go on little excursions, particularly ones that were safe.  It was hard to see other people treating life as if no pandemic were happening while we were being so cautious.  However, it was important to me that we took precautions to make sure we were not spreading germs to vulnerable populations. Mentally, I was struggling a bit, however, I felt better knowing we were trying our best to keep ourselves and other's safe. Finding the balance of being able to get out and live life again while also being safe was the key to warding off cabin fever. When businesses slowly started opening up again, we selectively visited safe locations and it filled my soul with so much happiness. 

Fairy Festival at Gardner Village 

All end of the school year celebrations were sadly canceled, so I told the boys we would have our own end-of-school-year party.  They boys told me they wanted lots of food and snacks, the water slide, a friend over, and video game time.  

After about four months, our cute chickens started laying eggs.  Originally I bought the chicks to raise during the pandemic.  I was going to give them to a local farm when they got too big to live inside.  However, we all got attached and decided to keep them.  Blake had fun collecting the eggs and making breakfast from them.  (Now, after almost two years, the boys are not as enthusiastic as they once were). 

Chase turned ten during the pandemic!  We always go somewhere fun to celebrate each child, but last year was too risky.  I promised them that I would take them to a venue of choice once things calmed down later in the Summer. I did take Chase to waffle love for breakfast and we ate them at a park. Thankfully, with brothers, there are always two built in friends to celebrate with! 

We had to get creative and think of plenty of outdoor activities to keep us busy. Airplane throwing at the park was a fun one.  

Another fun, pandemic-friendly adventure we did was digging for topaz at Topaz Mountain.  Its an all day expedition to go rock hounding, but always full of fun.  We went with Jason's good friend and co-worker and later drove around the area exploring abandoned mines and old pioneer structures.  

We were excited when This is the Place pioneer village opened up again.  They offer plenty of open space to allow for social distancing, and the gold panning is always a favorite.  Most people were still too nervous to get out, so many newly opened venues were still really quiet (which made my introvert heart super happy).