Freedom Rally

We did a thing this past week. Something we have never done before. We participated in a rally/protest, call it what you will. And this is why......

 Our School district began last Thursday. Per David Blodgett (Director Southwest Utah Public Health Department) it was up to the individual of what kind of face shield/mask they wanted to wear. Face mask, bandana, face shield, etc.  Although I think this whole Covid-19 thing has been hyped up for political reasons our political leaders and church leaders have asked us to wear a face covering when social distancing isn't possible. Even though we still have a 98% chance survival rate, we will obey and wear a face covering. Everyone had a really good first 2 days back to school. And then Friday late afternoon after everyone had gone home for the weekend our Governor announced face shields could be worn to school but masks themselves were mandated.  Meaning you would still have to wear a mask under the shield. What's the point of wearing the shield then? Why is he doing this? The parents, the teachers, the principals were very upset. Our Governor has been saying for months that he wouldn't mandate masks and yet he just did for our kids. Our Governor last week AGAIN said face coverings would be left up to each school district and their local health department although it was his opinion it should be an actual mask. The Governor also said that when our numbers dropped to under 400 positive daily cases he would lift some of his mandates. This week we have been under 300 every single day. Has he lifted anything? Nope just more restrictions. 2 months ago our numbers were over 800.   Our school district sent out an email saying they would discuss this new mandate with our local health dept and get back to parents. I wasn't surprised when they came back this week saying they were going to follow the mandate. This really doesn't effect my younger kids. When we go to stores and church we already wear our masks. But this does effect Hunter and Maddie. 

What really has me upset is that our STATE school board superintendent created his own school board (didn't go through the elected state school board) ummm....illegal. This new board along with the state health department and our Governor created a new set of rules for all of us parents to play by.  These are just some of the new "rules". The elected school board members were NOT privy to this info. They weren't invited to their meetings. They had no idea this group had been formed. They found out with the rest of us. Our Governor and state school board superintendent has gone to far. They have both OVER REACHED their power. 

Our Governor is threatening/bullying our kids. A misdemeanor for ANY kid that refuses to wear a mask? For reals? Who the heck does our governor think he is? I have spoken to an attorney and 2 law enforcement officers about this. All 3 told me this will NOT happen. It would never stand up in court. But you may have to get to court to make it go away. At our rally on Friday it was good to hear the St. George PD announced they would not pursue this. Why? Because wearing a mask at school is NOT law. The Governor does NOT have the power to make it a law and thus make a punishment if this non law is broken. 

It is also AGAINST the law to deny any child a public education. If they don't want to wear a mask they can do distant learning from home. But that's not what this new rule says. If my child refuses to wear a mask then the school district has the right to refuse my child an education, in person or virtual. Again this would NOT stand up in court. 

I have heard many times that doctors are being told NOT to write out an exemption note for any child saying that they shouldn't/couldn't wear a mask. It wasn't put in this little synopsis I saved from the internet. I read the letter but it's to long to share here but it does state that the Utah Health Department has told doctors not to give exemption notes. These new rules also say what will happen for those kids who already have a doctors note that has been granted an exemption to wearing any face coverings. That note is to be sent to the "other" school board and they will look at them individually and decided which notes to uphold. So now this group of people know more than our doctors? This also breaks HIPPA rules. It is against the law to share the medical records with this new board of people. 

The Governor also stated a "cap" will be put on homeschooling numbers that run through the school district in this letter. Can he do that? He just did! There are 2 programs that I know of right now, Harmony and MyTech High that will reimburse homeschooling families (from property taxes). I was going to homeschool regardless. When I learned I could get reimbursed, I thought why not? Words getting out our Governor has capped Harmony. There are many, many families that were accepted into their program a month ago, they have acceptance letters but THIS week have received emails saying, "Sorry, we are at a max and even though we said you were accepted you really aren't." This has never happened before!  What do these families do now? Continue on knowing they aren't getting reimbursed or put their kids back in public school. It's almost as if the Governor is throwing a temper tantrum. Many school districts declared masks up front because of the Governor. Many people are anti-masks! So parents pulled their kids out of the school district and joined the homeschool community but in a way they could get some money back. Governor didn't like that so he made his next move, took some of their funding!  

And last but not least that I will mention is that masks are mandated until a vaccine is available.  If our government is willing to push this hard about masks how much harder will they push for the vaccine? In the letter he didn't say vaccines would be mandated but reading between the lines you know its coming.

Covid had been around for centuries, it's what we usually call a common virus. Not typically treated by an antibiotic. It's got to run it's course. Scientists have tried but have been unsuccessful in creating a medicine or vaccine in treating a covid strain. Yet we are being told by January of 2021 or when school starts next year in 2021 we will have a vaccine for Covid-19. Ummm scientists have failed for how many years to make a vaccine for any covid strain? But now you want me to believe that scientists will have a vaccine for Covid 19 in 18 months of discovering this new virus? I think not! Typhoid fever was discoverd in 1880, first vaccine was 1909. How about the flu shot? They began researching in the 1930's. In 1945 it became available to the public. But it was quickly discovered that the strain changes every year so some years the shot is better than others. Ummm pretty sure covid-19 will be similar in changing strains. Or that's what they say. How about the chicken pox vaccine? Scientists began in the 1950's. It wasn't licensed until 1995. I understand that scientifically we are farther ahead than we were even just 5 years ago. Back in March we had a special world wide fast. A part of that fast people were hoping for a vaccine. Back in March we thought this Covid 19 was extremely deadly. A few month's later we know it's not. Is it contagious? Yep! But not super deadly, remember we have a 98% chance of survival. We'll see how long it takes for a vaccine to be released. With Heavenly Father's help I'm sure it won't take years and years to make. But Governor's new rules for public school kids state masks will be mandated until a vaccine is available. So masks will be mandated in schools for how many years? 1,3,5? 

This is why we protested Friday. NOT just because masks were mandated at school but because of all the over reach our Governor has done in these past few weeks. He himself has broken the law. We the people did not give him the power he feels he has to do what he has done. He has changed his mind on mandates not based on scientific proof but because of his own personal feelings. More than 50% of our legislature did not want to re-instate a "state of emergency".  But he did it anyways. Why? For money! So that it is easier to receive federal funding. The state of emergency from Covid has passed. We are no longer in an emergency state. And that is what most of our legislature has said. But he did it anyways. He has over stepped his reach! And that is what we protested about. 

New School Year

 My heart has been heavy over these past few weeks. I know Covid is real. I know it has taken lives and made others feel miserable for weeks on end. But so has cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity the flu and many more. We have had an alarmingly increase of suicides in the past 5 months. Why? Because people have been laid off for weeks and months. People can't pay their bills, can't care for their families. Those suffering from depression don't have the help they had before Covid. We are being seperated from one another. Social distancing has created very little interaction with others. Who are we protecting now? 

Five months ago we were told "don't wear a mask", save them for the medical field. Then we were told to wear a mask, doesn't matter what kind of mask, just wear one. Then many states "mandated" masks whenever you left your house. Lets not forget the never ending keep "social distancing of 6ft" from those around you and plexi glass everywhere you go. Some chose to wear face shields in leu of the mask. Others wear bandanas over their nose, my mom wore an eye mask once to Costco cause that's all she had. Wish I had a picture of that! Some wear the tube mask. It's a tube that sits around your neck but you can pull it up over your nose. Hunter has several he has used for snow boarding. They are just hot and make your neck sweat in this heat wave we are experiencing. We are 110+ almost every day this week. This week I heard tube masks don't do anything and should be avoided. OK, but bandanas and masks are so much better? Whatever!

In May our school board sent out a survey asking parents how they wanted school to begin in August. They received something like 48% of the survey's back. Of that close to 80% stated they wanted school to begin as normal and no masks. Well then our Govenor, Herbert, decided to mandate masks for all school personal and students. I was NOT ok with this. I know it's "just" mask. But it's NOT just the mask that bothers me. It's also that kids have to practice social distancing at school to. Masks will be worn at all times except during recess and lunch. Lunch the kids sit on a sticker dot that is 6ft away from their peers. During one of the school board meetings it was asked, "What happens if a student turns towards his neighbor and try to talk to them. The answer, "you tell them to face forward."  While at recess if kids can't remain social distant they will have to wear a mask. In the classroom teachers have been told to remove all personal items (to make more room to separate desks. This also means no book shelves, no rug for group activities, etc. There will be no paper, no pencil. All work will be done on chrome books, easier to clean. Library, Art, Music class, those teachers will go into each classroom now. The kids won't be able to go from class to class. How sad! If more than 15 students in the whole school test positive for Covid the whole school quarantines for 2 weeks. If more than 3 kids in the same class tests positive the whole class quarantines for 2 weeks. If  the student who sits next to my child for more than 15min during the day, so during class or lunch, tests positive, my kids has to quarantine for 2 weeks. If my child has the sniffles, cough or even just allergies they have to have a doctors note saying they just have allergies and are not contagious. I just couldn't fathom sending my kids back to school in this kind of a environment. Before school began our local schools did say that you just had to have a face covering. So a face shield would be ok too. But like I said, It was everything together. 

And so I began considering homeschooling. I asked around and was blown away with how large our homeschooling community is here in Southern Utah. I attended a nightly meeting once a week where I gathered information on homeschooling and talked to other parents that have homeschooled. I talked to the older mom's who have homeschooled their kids through high school. These kids have all gone onto college. I wanted that. And so Kory and I talked and then we talked to the kiddo's. 

Hunter is 3 credits away from graduating. I can't take that from him. He will finish his senior year. Maddie is a junior this year. She was accepted to Dixie Tech where she will earn her CNA. She will only be taking 4 credits at the Highschool. 2 each afternoon because in the mornings she will be at the college. As of now she will finish her Highschool years. But everyone else.....we are homeschooling and I am so excited! My younger kids are totally willing to try it too. I have spend weeks now and I have no idea how many hours talking to other moms, looking into different home schooling groups and scouring the internet for curriculum and ideas. I have been on my knees begging for guidance. I've been so afraid that I would "screw" my kids up with this choice. 

We chose to join a Common Wealth. We meet on Thursday's at the Hurricane Rec center. Mom's work together and teach a language arts class or history. Classes have 6-10 kids. No masks, no plexi glass, because we choose to do social distancing instead. That's what we are being told anyways. If you can remain 6ft away you don't have to wear a mask.  My kids loved their 1st day last week. Common Wealth also goes on field trips. Before school officially started Emily had the opportunity to go on a field trip, they took her class for 3 days and visited Yellow Stone National Park. How fun! She had to qualify to go. She had to write 4 different essay's all 300-500 words. She had never had to write an essay before. It was a lot of work for her to do. But she did it! I was so proud of her. 

  

  Here is our 1st day of school picture! We all started on the same day. 

 Senior, Junior, 8th, 6th and 3rd

                                                 Brayden was wanting a serious look and refused to smile. Silly boy!

5 days into our homeschool and I think we are doing pretty good. The kids have read 4-6 books. We are learning about the Paleo Indians. We are studying Human Anatomy. We do math, grammar and spelling. We've got this! I had a moment yesterday while "teaching" my kids and I just thought "what the heck am I doing?" "Why am I doing this?", "Am I ruining them?", "am I being selfish about the whole mask thing and feeling like we are slowing loosing our basic freedoms from a diseases that still has a 98% chance of survival?" Nothing bad had happened. We were working well together. I just had these doubts hit me out of nowhere. I was questioning myself all afternoon. And then I listened to a pod cast and I knew I had made the right choice. Our whole family felt at peace with this new adventure. Kory and I want to be in charge of my kids education.  

Masks

In May, our church leaders announced that Sacrament only "in-church" could be held again with some restrictions. No more than 99 people at one time, every other pew should be not used, masks were encouraged, meeting should be less than 45 min. and specific sanitation procedures between each session. 

Our ward has been assigned the 2nd Sunday of each month. We have 3 different time slots on that day to meet the "no more than 99". We have the middle time, 11am. I love it! Our 1st Sunday back was amazing. As much as I have loved having church at home there is a different spirit you feel when in the house of the Lord. It was nice to be able to recognize that feeling. We chose to attend church with out masks that Sunday as it wasn't required, just highly suggested. 

In June the day before we were suppose to meet we received a letter from our Area of Authority. The letter stated all members were asked to wear a mask to church and outside of our homes where social distancing is harder to maintain. In other words, when you leave home to go to the store. We are a anti-mask family. I personally don't believe they will make a difference. It's been proven over and over that Covid will still "go through" masks. All a mask does is catch droplets of our saliva. Despite our personal feelings we will do what we were asked. We will start wearing a mask. We didn't have masks for everyone that Saturday night so we chose to stay home and not attend church. However I would make sure we all had masks for next months service. 

Meanwhile Maddie has had some breathing issues since wearing a mask. Here we are at the doctors office.....waiting for results. She can breathe fine while wearing a mask. It's when she takes it off she feels like she can't breathe as deeply. The feeling continues into the evening. By morning she can breathe easier however her chest hurts. She will complain for 2-3 days of how bad it hurts.  

After a chest x-ray to make sure she didn't have an infection which could be caused by wearing a mask for too long (wet and germy) we got a diagnosis that I can't pronounce and wont bother trying to spell out. While wearing a mask most people don't breathe as deeply, Maddie included. Her lungs actually begin to stick to themselves. When she takes the mask off and try's to breathe deeply she is "ripping" her lungs back apart. It takes a while for her lungs to be open again. It causes a small asthma attack. By morning her lungs have had to work overtime separating that it does cause chest pain. So what do we do about it? Don't wear a mask. That's not really an option right now. School is about to start, face coverings are mandated. We are trying to do what our church leaders have asked us to. The doctor gave her a rx for a inhaler. We've had it for a week now. She has discovered that if she uses the inhaler before wearing the mask she doesn't seem to struggle at night. Yippee!

Yesterday we had church again. We all had our masks to wear. 

Daddy and Hunter had to go before the rest of us so I didn't get a picture of them. 

 Dang masks! 

Like my girls said, "you can't tell if we are smiling or not". 

I know..... It's a little sad.