Back to School 2020

The big question all summer was what the schools would be doing this year in educating students and combating COVID-19 at the same time. In the middle of March every school in the nation closed down. Our school district went immediately to online delivery while some other areas took a while to figure things out. The big mistake our district made was saying that everybody would pass no matter how much work they did. So a lot of students just checked out. I really struggled with our youngest child in getting her to do her schoolwork. My goal this summer was to figure out a way to motivate her to do her work no matter where she was doing school. So far things are going much better.

For the fall, our school district decided to give students the option of in-person or online schooling. Most parents picked in-person, having already experienced the drawbacks of online in the spring. The only difference is that every day is the early-out Monday schedule. I'm grateful our school district made that decision. Some other school districts opted for all online or part-time online and that definitely puts a bigger burden on parents. So far it is working out at least for us. All the students wear masks and nobody has been quarantined at our house yet. However the state of Utah experienced its biggest numbers ever yesterday; hopefully we can keep going.

These two started back on August 20. I'm doing part-time homeschool with Camille to give her more one-on-one personalized instruction. Mindy is doing full-time school with only math online.

Talmage moved into the dorms at the University of Utah on August 21. He had to come back on Friday to get a hand surgery (too much skateboarding) but seems to be recovering pretty well.

This hand injury followed a foot injury, also from skateboarding. The week after his surgery he broke his glasses and then got in a motorcycle accident getting a large amount of road rash. So it was a pretty rough start to the school year. But he's hanging in there with his classes and we're grateful the accident wasn't worse.

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Our Cousin Drew

This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well. Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance and let me teach you, who laughed at my stories and winked at me when I was sad. I can just see you trav

Remembering Drew

This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen): The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen): I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica

Drew's Funeral

Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact: They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the

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