Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from sunny California.  The boys woke up to Christmas in our home for the first time in a long time so it was definitely different.  They opened their presents, had cinnamon rolls, and then we went out for a 2 mile walk.  It was warm and sunny and we were thankful that there were not a lot of people outside this morning.  Another holiday has come and gone and we are really looking forward to the day where we can be with friends and family... when will that be???

Drive by Santa

Micah and I drove to Ontario to drop off presents for the family.  It was definitely sad to not go in the house or see family.  We literally left the box of presents at the front door and then as we drove off Micah called Liam to tell him to retrieve the presents.  Liam wanted to see us but we drove back to LA.  Micah was really sad but we know that this is the right thing to do, especially because of COVID.  Anyway, this is a different year and we will get through it.  When will we see our family again???

 

Harry Potter 3D

We have been on a Harry Potter kick these past few months.  Micah read the entire Harry Potter series in a matter of weeks for the first time.  Then we watched the films and allowed the kids to finally watch the last few movies.  For Chanukah, we bought Micah the Harry Potter 3D puzzle set so the boys have been steadily working on constructing the wizarding world. Micah also received the Harry Potter Advent calendar (see Lego on the map) and he was happy to get the Durmstrang ship.  When will they finish this puzzle???

Holiday lights

Tonight we drove through Westchester looking at the holiday lights while listening to Mariah Carey's Christmas album and drinking hot cocoa and eating candy canes.  It was fun to drive around the streets with different themes like the gingerbread street, snowman street, and candles.  This was one of our favorite houses...  gingerbread sporting UCLA and Caltech gear.  Who knows... will Noah be wearing these sweaters in a few years???

Happy Chanukah

 

Happy Hanukkah!  Noah received his own menorah from Bubbe so we had two beautiful Hanukkiahs at the table.  It was a quiet celebration this year but we were grateful to Zoom with family and wish them a Happy Hanukkah...  will we be able to celebrate together next year???

Treats

Gluten and dairy free banana muffins and a cold press helps Jawsh get through the work day.  We miss the days when we could walk to Blue Bottle for a mid-morning drink but grateful that we can enjoy it at home.  What can I bake next for him???

Chocolate Tasting

Cool Shul had a chocolate tasting as part of their Hanukkah celebration over Zoom.  It was very interesting and we learned a lot about chocolate and how it is grown and cultivated.  It's a pretty long process from bean to sweet treat and now we have more of an appreciation for chocolate and chocolate makers.  Will this inspire us to try different chocolates???

Sip and Paint

This evening I participated in a Sip and Paint class with my co-workers for our holiday party.  It was not as relaxing as I would have liked but I came away from the evening with a deeper appreciation for artists.  I can't even remember the last time I painted... when will I paint again???

HBD Noah

Happy 14th Birthday To Noah.  We drove around dropping off goody bags to his friends that was filled with candy from the turn of the century.  Later in the evening, the boys sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed Krispy Kreme doughnuts and then they went online to an Escape Room situated in Nikolai Tesla's lab.  This has been some year with virtual celebrations... I wonder what they will remember from these milestones???

Korean Friendship Bell

Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist in your own city.  We went south to Long Beach to see the Korean Friendship Bell.  We took a drive down the coast.  It was much bigger than we anticipated and the structure was ornate and reminded me of Seoul.  The bell is situated on top of a hill with views of the glistening Pacific Ocean.  It was quite breathtaking and windy!  When will we visit again???

HER-story

 

Tonight... Kamala Harris made her-story!  She has broken through so many glass ceilings.  She is the first Black, South Asian, and female Vice President!  It was so poetic to hear her speak tonight and I felt some real positivity and healing in a way that I have not felt in a long time.  I was so happy to share this moment with the boys (Micah is to my left and Jawsh is to the right of me).  I wish we could travel to Washington DC for the inauguration...  it would be so amazing to be there just as we there in 2008 when Obama was sworn in for the second time.  What will the future bring???

Happy Harris-ween

Our family tradition of dressing up together continued!  Jawsh made paper cut outs and we took a picture together proclaiming:  Happy Harris-ween.  In the evening, we showed the boys The Addams Family (circa 199) and Micah went out our front door and knocked on it a few times to go "trick or treating."  This was definitely not as eventful as previous years, but we hope that with new national leadership things will change soon.  What will Thanksgiving be like this year???

Halloween Haunts

The cousins had a good time making their gingerbread Halloween Shacks.  They were online together goofing, creating, and presenting to one another.  Micah got super silly and spread black frosting all over his face proclaiming he went through "puberty" and the girls had a great time screaming at one another.  They also played a “minute to win it” game, where they had 1 minute to cover someone in TP to look like a mummy.  The boys were unsuccessful.  At the end of the evening, they enjoyed playing Minecraft with one another.  This was a crazy Halloween get together but I think the kids had a great time.  What are we going to do tomorrow???

Cantaloupe as Carbon

Yet another school project... this time Micah made a carbon atom with fruit.  He felt so lucky because his teacher chose him first to choose the element he wanted to represent.  He wisely chose Carbon with an atomic number of 6 (unlike Noah who chose Phosphorus last year that had an atomic number of 15).  The best part of Micah's project was that we could eat it when he was done taking the picture!  What project will he have to complete next???

Who am I???

Another school project... Micah painted a pumpkin in the likeness of...  can you guess???

Boo!

For the past 6 years, we have spent Halloween with the V and K families. This year will be different.  There are no costumes, no trick or treat, no parties, no get togethers, no silly games...  so this year it was really important to me to BOO these families.  I picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts and we left them on their doorsteps with the note, "no tricks, only treats."  I miss my friends, as do the boys, and hope that we will come out of this pandemic stronger.  What will Micah want to do on Halloween???

Rock the Vote!

We are taking a deep breath and hoping for the best.  As we drop off our mail ballots weeks before the election, we have heavy hearts.  We know that the way things have been, especially this past year, are not the way it should be.  We believe that science is real, we believe in equality, we believe that no person is illegal, we believe diversity makes us stronger, we believe Black lives matter, we believe love is love.  We believe that we can make a change.  What will happen on November 3???

HBD Liam

Happy Zoom birthday to Liam.  He is now 9 years old and as funny as ever.  He loves his family fully and declares Micah to be his favorite cousin.  We hope all of his wishes come true... we wonder what he wished for???

HBD Micah

Happy Birthday to my Dimple Cheek Boy.  He woke up to birthday streamers, presents upon presents, and of course, his giant birthday donut.  Micah is our talented, loving, smart, baby boy. He has an inner GPS and a knack in the kitchen.  He is easily embarrassed if Jawsh or I are in his Zoom (this is how I know he is knocking on the door to his teenage years).  We love him so....  what will this year bring???

Rollercoaster Project

Just because we're in a pandemic, it doesn't mean the boys have stopped their school projects.  Noah was tasked to make a rollercoaster and he actually did it!  It's definitely not a sight for your eyes but it is functional and the marble can also take the upside down loop successfully which showed Noah that kinetic energy, potential energy, gravity, and friction all work together.  I was pretty impressed.  Will Noah use this experience as an engineer??? 

Birthday Quarantine

Micah is knocking on the door to his teen years.... how is 12?  This year, Micah wanted to celebrate with his friends and his cousins so he had two Zoom parties.  Micah met with his friends and they played a Simpson trivia game where they unlocked their own mini briefcases to find a sprinkled donut, Simpson stickers, and candy, candy, and some more candy.  Then Micah had another Zoom party where he played an escape room with his cousins.  Afterwards they all ate Dominos pizza and had Korean strawberry cake together over Zoom in their respective houses.  I thought it was really interesting because cousins from Chino Hills to Denver, were experiencing this all together.  This is one nice thing about the pandemic... the boys are spending more time with their cousins which has been really nice.  What will Noah want to do on his birthday???

Fender rocks

LAUSD partnered with Fender to give students the opportunity to learn how to play music during the pandemic.  Micah received an electric guitar and Noah received an acoustic guitar for FREE!  The boys have music lessons twice a week and are learning how to play a new instrument.  I am so thankful that they have this opportunity to learn and grow.  What song will they learn how to play first???

BLM

 

In hopes of contributing to the Black Lives Matter movement, Jawsh and Zach, created a small batch of custom shirts.  They raised over $500 to donate to BLM LA.  I am so incredibly proud of these two... aren't you???

Murals

Noah is taking Advanced Art at school and he was tasked to look for murals around our neighborhood.  As we drove to the Rabbi's house to pick up Hebrew books, we asked the boys to look out the windows.  We were so surprised to see so many murals!  We knew they were there, but just taking a moment and looking really opened our eyes to the diversity of art all over the walls from a 5 mile stretch from Playa Vista to Santa Monica.  Noah would hop out of the car a few times to take a picture with a mural or two, and this was one of my favorites.  A bear lounging makes me feel so happy... does it do the same for you???

Beachtime

The boys love the beach... I'm so thankful.  They had a wonderful time swimming and boogie boarding and for a moment, I forgot that we were in a pandemic.  Isn't that wonderful???

South Coast Botanical Gardens

I read that the South Coast Botanical Gardens limits visitors and is so large that social distancing is easier to do at this garden... and I would have to attest that it is true!  We came to the gardens and were so blown away by the beautiful landscaping, plants, flowers, and sculptures.  It's very close to Palos Verdes so the air quality is really nice and we enjoyed spending time there.  The boys are starting to play Pokemon Go so they liked finding Pokemon while we walked.  When will we visit again???

UCLA Sculpture Garden

 

We decided to head back to a part of the UCLA campus that Jawsh is very familiar with... north campus!  The north campus houses the arts, media, humanities, and public policy whereas south campus houses the math, science, medical, and engineering buildings.  We took a walk through the Sculpture Gardens and Jawsh showed the boys where he spent most of his days as an undergrad in what is now known as the Broad Art Center.  Will the boys want to attend UCLA???

Happy 15

We went back to the exact spot we were married (7-24-05).  15 years!  We are still coming back to Shutters to reminisce but this year was definitely different.  We did not enter the hotel to take a picture up on the terrace as we usually do, the summer boardwalk was quieter, and we did not go inside to dine.  It was still nice to be there but we decided to pick up some cold brew dairy free ice cream for Jawsh and we headed home.  The boys made us appetizers, dinner, and we had the ice cream for dessert.  This was definitely a new way to celebrate 15 years, but I am so thankful to celebrate this milestone with Jawsh.  What will we do for our 16 year anniversary???

Braces

Even through the pandemic, orthodontic treatment must continue but thanks to technology, Noah can now scan his braces from home!  Isn't this crazy? This is how Dr. Waldman follows up with Noah!  What will be next???

Nightly walks

 

We are really lucky to live in Playa Vista because there are over 20 community areas to walk.  Today we walked by Playa Vista's Central Park next to the Bandshell.  It's well landscaped and there are plenty of trails that allow us to stay socially distant from others.  We definitely miss the summer concerts and the sounds of kids playing but it is also a nice quiet walk that allows us to just enjoy the moment.  Where will we walk tomorrow???

UCLA Botanical Gardens

 

As a graduate student at UCLA, I never knew there was a botanical garden on campus!  Jawsh received his degree at UCLA and in his 5 years, he had only visited once.  So, today we ventured to the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden.  It is 7.5 acres of frost free plants organized into themes such as desert, aquatic, mediterranean, and Hawaiian areas.  There were many trails and a small creek running through the garden with many people lounging on the grass or benches.  We enjoyed our time there but there was a Korean unicycle at that was cycling through the trails so we did our best to avoid him.  We had a nice time walking through the garden and it was a nice change of scenery for us.  When will we visit again???

Omelette

 

Back in the kitchen, Micah made an omelette with Chef Yosses.  Micah added jalapeños and onions but he did not like it.  He still prefers a plain omelet with ketchup.  Oh well, we can't win them all, can we???

Black American History

In lieu of the annual Westchester Parade which was cancelled due to COVID-19, we caravanned with the W Family and we drove around the community to look for Black American History signs.  I created a scavenger hunt bingo board and we drove around for about 1.5 hours reading the history of Americans who have made a difference.  This was definitely different than watching Micah walk through the parade with his Championship soccer team or All Star baseball team, but we enjoyed our time.  When will our holidays go back to "normal?"

Smoothie Time

Thanks to the UCLA culinary class, Micah has been learning from the former White House pastry chef, Bill Yosses.  Mr. Yosses showed the students how to make healthy smoothies instead of drinking soda and junk food.  Micah made three types of smoothies:  ginger/turmeric/pineapple, blueberry, and green apple/green tea.  Micah actually enjoyed drinking the ginger/turmeric/pineapple, which was very surprising!  This class has exposed Micah to new flavor combinations and has encouraged him to try new foods.  What will he try next???

Perfecting the cookie

 

Micah has been finding solace in the kitchen.  He is taking a summer school culinary class through UCLA so he finds himself learning about nutrition facts, healthy diets, and much more.  In the meantime, he has perfected the chocolate chip cookie so well that Noah requests that Micah make the cookies!  I try not to feel offended.  Will Micah find a calling in the kitchen???

Happy birthday Daph

Quarantine birthdays via House Party is the new way to celebrate.  It was Daphne's birthday and the cousin's sang to her and wished her the best 10th birthday.  I wonder how long we will be social distancing...  will we celebrate all of the summer birthdays like this???

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my partner in life...  this pandemic has really made it very clear that we are in sync in how we raise our boys, how we view our world, and what is important to us. We gifted Jawsh handmade cards, repurposed flowers (which he really appreciated) and Micah pretended that we went out in the world and bought him coffee beans (unfortunately the bag was empty).  Happy Father's Day to the best Dad...  we stayed in this year... what will we do next year???

Post party

After Noah's Bar Mitzvah, we had dinner and then Noah met with his friends for a post party.  We hired a mentalist, Jon Finch, to meet with the teens.  He did card tricks, read minds, and amazed us all.  After the mentalist show, Noah hung out with friends talking and playing video games past midnight.  We think he had a great time.  How will he feel tomorrow???

Noah's Bar Mitzvah

We are so proud of Noah...  he had a wonderful Bar Mitzvah with family and friends Zooming in to watch and support him. He did such an amazing job going through the service and his speech was so relevant and inspiring.  To say that we are proud of him is an understatement.  Even though we had to celebrate this huge milestone distant from all of our family and friends, we still felt the love and support from them.  How will Noah look back at this time in his life???

Noah's photoshoot

The pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives and yet we still are so blessed... we have our health, our home, our jobs,  and Noah's tallit came in time for his Bar Mitzvah.  We are so fortunate to live in Playa Vista because there are so many beautiful landscaped areas.  We went to the Central Park and took some photos of Noah.  He was cooperative, for the most part, as it was hot and he wanted to get out of his suit.  Will he remember these days when he gets older???

Last day of Hebrew class

Today was the last day of Hebrew school for the boys so they celebrated by making a cookie in a cup.  The kids met over Zoom and microwaved all of the ingredients and then they played games with their teachers.  I am very thankful that the boys have a place to see friends and have a little bit of normalcy during this time.  When will they start Hebrew class again???

BLM

 

The Black Lives Matter movement was important enough for us to come out and support our local community.  It was definitely a large turnout of over 500 people.  We found the corner that was least populated and stood firmly for equal rights for all.  It's been so long since we have been around people that it was definitely making me feel uncomfortable at times.  We saw neighbors, friends, and kids from my elementary school with their families which made this feel like a community that I am proud to be a part of.  We have been reading Stamped with the boys, discussing racism, and hopefully the future they live in will learn from the experiences that we are having now.  When will we all be able to say, Black lives matter???

Face Masks

Noah was assigned to make a face mask by his science teacher.  He constructed it out of Bounty Paper Towels and rubberbands.  He did a nice job creating this although he can't really wear it outside.  We are continuing to social distance, we are wearing face masks, and not going out.  It's been 11 weeks.  Is this our new normal???

Just keep swimming

Micah created this drawing and Jawsh had some fun animating it.  As we head into another month of distance learning, social distancing, and Zoom everything... we just have to keep on swimming.  When will this end???  

Night walk

We have been taking walks together throughout the day.  Night walks are especially fun because there are less people out and we can enjoy the sounds of the frogs from the creek.  Here are my guys...  we are lucky that we all get along.  How long will this last???

Rice Krispies ala Lucky Charms

The Tuesday tradition of Rice Krispy Treats continue.  Tonight the boys picked out the marshmallows out of their Lucky Charms cereal and added it to the mixture.  What will they think of next???

Beach antics

We are very fortunate that we live about 5-10 minutes from the beach.  We are still not going towards the water because there are just too many people without masks and not social distancing.  However, there is plenty of beach for everyone and we have enjoyed our time there.  Jawsh and Noah have been throwing the football around and Micah has been into digging holes.  I don't know why... he just really enjoys it.  So, as I sit and watch the waves roll by and breathe in the salt air, I am thankful that our family is healthy. Will we head into the waves next time???

2 Point Perspective

Noah and Micah both have Art class and have been working on different pieces but sometimes their assignments overlap.  The boys were both assigned a 2 point perspective piece and they drew their bedroom.  They did a nice job drawing and it doesn't hurt that their Dad is there to help them along.  What other art assignments will they complete this term???

Remote Teaching

15 years of teaching has not prepared me for this moment... teaching remotely is quite a challenge!  Zooming with my first and second grade students, lesson planning, and making sure that the curriculum is being taught well can be really stressful.  There are a lot of factors that we are all dealing with and it's hard to tell if I'm being effective.  While I am teaching, Jawsh is in the living room working, and Noah and Micah are working in their bedroom studying.  Micah has been Zooming with his math/science teacher daily, but Noah's teachers have not scheduled online classes so it can be pretty frustrating.  When will this end???

Venice Canals

As each Mother's Day passes, the less I want to have a day to myself but time with the boys.  Although we are still in full quarantine mode, we took some time to take a walk at the Venice Canals.  The Venice Canals are near Venice Beach and there are four canals that are about a quarter mile long.  There are beautiful bridges and homes.  I have never been and I was pleasantly surprised by the walk.  The paths were a little narrow which made it tricky if people walked past us so we would find ourselves on the steps of someones front yard to make sure we weren't too close.  All in all, we had a nice time and I was thankful that there were not too many people and that we were able to able to enjoy the beautiful weather outside.  When will we visit the canals again???