Allen Family Flights of Fantasy. . . . during quarantine

My son Danny got this idea from DTP whom I believe got it off Facebook.  He text all his siblings and their wives and children and threw down the gauntlet young and old to make paper airplanes, do some test runs and then fly to compete. (This reminded me of when Elder Scott stayed in our home and got down on his knees in his suit and taught all my children how to make fancy airplanes (former                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                engineer).  All to start and stop at a certain time, record or measure how far/the distance of their flight was and then at the appointed time text their best distance to him.  He said take picture and record comments of every one.  When all have been received by Danny he would then text everybody the name and distance of the adult (12 and over) and child (under 12) WINNERS.  He then put in the mail a gift card for each the winners from TARGET and a small sack of fun candy for each of those who participated.  (NOTE:  one parent could help a child (4 and under) make their plane but not fly it for them.)

"SOCIAL DISTANCING" "QUARANTINE" now there's a couple of terms that are new to me !

Sunday Dinner Visit with Timmy & Shiloh's Family Outside

Sacrament by TJ & his Daddy

6 ft. Apart if Shopping For Necessities 

Hugs & Kisses Thru The Window

Oh what a difference a day makes !  Never heard of the virus Covid-19 but the pandemic hit the whole world.  One minute life is normal and the next we're ordered indoors especially the elderly and children.  Missionaries return home by the plane loads (five 747's landed in  SLC alone of our Missionaries serving in the Philippines, two of which were my grandsons Max and Justin. Our Jamaican Missionary Lauren returned as well.  Tatum stayed in Washington D.C. but will serve the remainder or her mission indoors and telecommunicate with her investigators.)  Dental and medical offices closed as did schools K thru University around the globe.  Kids are being homeschooled with parents and some of their teachers telecommunicated with them.   You are to wear masks and gloves if you have to venture out and stay at least 6 feet away from another person.  A few of my children and grands ventured out at least once to visit with me thru the back window, play games and kiss me thru the window.   My first visitor after a couple of weeks was my son who didn't come near me and dropped a sack of groceries inside my garage door and left.  It was so good to see him but as he drove away I started to cry as I realized that that was the first time in my whole life that one of my loved ones went away without a hug and a kiss.  Another son called me a few minutes later and I had  been crying so he organized a ZOOM conference chat with all my children and myself which we do almost daily to keep us all connected.  Our Missionaries "homecoming reports" are being done via recorded ZOOM meetings.  This has been going on for about two months now.  People are dying of this terrible virus and until the numbers begin to drop of people who've been infected it will continue.

"Grammy's Christmas Grand's Slumber Party"

                                "GRAMMY'S CHRISTMAS GRAND'S SLUMBER PARTY"

....Christmas had just lost it's bloom as far as me getting excited about a tree and decorating it and my home.    I didn't want for my lack of excitement to seep over into my relationship with my "Grand's".  Danny had taken me to Cost Co to pick out a tree and it was just sitting in my living room smelling great but undecorated.  The idea came to me about holding a slumber party with any of my "Grand's" that wanted to come.  I sent out cute invitations inviting all my grandchildren.  I asked them to bring their toothbrush, p.j.'s, a pillow, rubber mat and a sleeping bag.  I planned out the menu for dinner:  sloppy joe's, chips, root beer, celery and carrot sticks and I told them we were going to make cookies and stroll down the green belt between our twenty homes in our neighborhood and carol and hand out cookies on a Christmas plate.  When Danny found out my caroling plans he called and asked if he could join us and bring a small hay wagon and his fun four-wheeler to pull it.  When he showed up he had decorated the wagon with Christmas Lights and a Christmas Wreath.  We had finished our dinner together.  The kids all put on their coats and the Christmas Santa hats I collected for them.  Because this activity changed our plans a little we just put frozen cookie dough on the plates and the kids caroled and ran a plate of cookies up to each door.  The kids were well received.  The neighbors said things like, "We've lived her over 12 years and nobody ever came caroling to us." or "Your grandchildren are beautiful, you are so lucky to have them live near you".  or "Would you mind going over to our friends across the street and carol to them?" After we finished caroling we made hot chocolate and Pammie Shea baked cookies to go with it.  We made popcorn and cranberry streamers, then they decorated the tree, and then got ready for bed.  They sang songs around the tree lit up with old fashion bubble lights like I grew up with as a child.  They all put their pads and sleeping bags out we all knelt for family prayers and then they settled in to watch a Christmas Movie together.  They all came in and jumped in my bed the next morning and I took a picture of the.  Then they got dressed for the day, came in and ate breakfast then their parent's came to get them.

The end of an era in my life of grieving...onto worthwhile projects .

Israel ARD & LaPREAL Rogers HOYT - my parents

Well it's April 11, 2020 and it's been several years since I wanted to do my "Grammy" Shirlyn blog.  So much has happened in the enter rum.  Three years of strokes, heart issues, long hospital stays, broken hip and replacement, kidney failure,  dementia and finally death for my sweetheart of fifty-three years.  It's taken me until now to get my act together and do some thing worthwhile in my life.  Aside from working in the Phoenix Arizona Temple I can't really say I've accomplished all that much of worth in the year and a half since he passed away.  I moved into my own little two bedroom home in Sun City and have given away or put on display in my home things that matter to me.  Why invest in storage units?  What am I waiting for?  If I don't want it out now then when?  Extra furniture, holiday dishes and decor given away to my children.  Now I'm digging in boxes of files to see whats of value in them and sharing what I find that I think my siblings, children and grandchildren might find of interest.  I'm writing my father's history.  I already wrote my husbands thru photo journaling efforts and I've done the same for my mother.