Spring + March < COVID19

One of my favorite traditions every spring is to meet up with Tara and Gloria for a weekend in Provo. Tara works with BYU at the National DanceSport competition held at the Marriott Center, and Gloria and I just tag along for the fun! A few days before we were scheduled to leave for Utah the country started to face the onslaught of the new Corona virus, which had begun in China and was beginning to spread. We checked into Provo's downtown Marriott Hotel, and were thrilled to learn that because the president of AMI had decided not to attend the competition, Tara was given his room which was the Presidential Suite! Tara was on BYU's schedule for that evening, so Gloria and I made arrangements to meet our brothers for dinner at Olive Garden in Spanish Fork. We went back to the competition for the evening and found that because of concerns about the spread of the Corona virus BYU had moved as much of the competition into that night as possible and cancelled everything Friday and Saturday. We ended up staying until 3:00 a.m. when the competition finally concluded. We were bummed that the competition had to be cancelled, but we were thrilled that it meant that the three of us had the weekend to just play! We slept in, went shopping, saw a movie, ate each night at a different Italian restaurant, had cookies and "Big Al" drinks at Swig's, walked the trail along the Spanish Fork River, shed a few tears in Spanish Fork's Pioneer Cemetery, visited family gravesites, and had an awesome weekend together.

The Corona virus continued to spread, and the national and state governments ramped up efforts to control what had become a worldwide pandemic.
The COVID19 name was born. Each day brought new closings and shutdowns. Schools were closed, as well as non-essential businesses. Everyone was asked to stay home as much as possible, and "social distancing" became the new norm. And, in the middle of all of this craziness, was Isabelle's 14th birthday. We modified our birthday date plans, but were still able to find a stand-alone mirror for her room, and get takeout from McAlister's Deli, which we had to eat in the car! Poor Belle's birthday party was very intimate (just us and her family) with dinner on the patio, and a super creative ice cream cake that Olivia had created especially for the celebration. Our sweet Belle is becoming such a beautiful young woman, inside and out. She is crazy smart, talented, courageous, and very adventurous. She is always willing to try everything/anything, and sees possibility everywhere. We are so grateful to live close enough to see her often, and she is so good to her grandpa and grandma.

So....while COVID19 continues to keep the world on lockdown, we will try to keep ourselves safe and germ-free, and hope the madness ends soon!!