This was the first time Emma stayed the night in Los Angeles on her own and she absolutely loved it! The boys were especially nice to one of their favorite cousins. We had a great time hanging around Playa Vista, shopping at 3rd Street Promenade, and strolling Candy Cane Lane. When will Emma visit again???
Kehinde Wiley, the artist of the Obama Portraits, is an alum of the boys' middle school! So we had to make a quick and special trip to LACMA to view his art before it leaves in a few weeks! This piece is so wonderfully vibrant and amazing to see up close. I love that the boys have their LACMA cards that give them free access to art! When will we visit again???
We finally had the opportunity to meet baby Harper! She is 8 months old and so adorable! Atticus is now 3 years old, but the last time we saw him was on his 1st birthday. We kept our visit short and stayed masked the entire time. Noah and Atticus had a great time playing with his train set and hopefully it brought back memories for Noah who loved Thomas as well. When will we see them again???
COVID 19 took a toll on all of us... and it still does. But most notably, Micah was not allowed to play in his final games with The Blue Jets in the Spring. This was such a hard decision but we explained our reasoning and he understood. Now that he is fully vaccinated, we are able to revisit soccer again and this time Micah is playing with his old coaches and a few friends. This is not the same as The Blue Jets, but Micah is just happy to be on the field. He plays Center Defense and he looks great, especially considering he took months off from playing soccer. What type of season will he have this year???
This is my 17th First Day of School as a teacher and it is one of the weirdest yet. We are teaching at a time where all the students on our campus are unvaccinated and where it is impossible to keep the distance between students 3 to 6 feet apart. We are in a pandemic teaching and we have to do our best to keep the students safe, engaged, and happy. This is no small feat. My partner teacher and I wear aprons to keep our belongings near us... like band-aids, hand sanitizer, phones, and pens. There is so much to keep track of that it can be really stressful. The students I am teaching did not go to kindergarten or first grade for the majority of the year, so this is their first experience in school which is a big transition. What will it be like this year???
It was Micah's first day of 8th grade! It was a weird start for a weird year! Micah had to wait in line for about 20 minutes to get scanned with the Daily Pass to enter the school. The Daily Pass ensures that the students have a recent negative COVID test and they have to answer that they are in good health before they enter the campus. Micah never completed his 6th grade year here and missed 7th due to COVID, so starting this 8th grade year will be interesting. I hope that he sees some familiar faces and that he has a good time. What will the first day of school be like for Micah???
The Ahwahnee Hotel shines as Yosemite National Park's distinctive upscale hotel and it has been booked for over a year. It seemed impossible to get a reservation but by sheer determination and constant website checking, I was able to book not only the hotel for a few nights but also a cottage! It was a nice experience staying at the hotel because of the stunning interior design and architecture. I also loved that there were hardly any people around in the hotel which made me feel so much safer. We ate at the Ahwahnee Dining Room which was a contactless buffet where mask wearing was required except while eating. Due to my concerns about the dining room, we were moved to the perimeter table next to a grand piano that kept us safely distanced from all the other tables which was amazing. The next night, we moved into the cottage and we learned that we were staying in the exact cottage that President Obama stayed in! As soon as we walked in we saw his presidential photo and excerpt of his speech. The evening in the cottage was calming and very nice. When will we return to Yosemite???
We were so lucky to see that the Lower Yosemite Falls still had water at this time of year! It is the 5th largest waterfall in the world. The boys ended up hiking over boulders and slippery rocks to make it to the actual falls. I decided to stay back and I sat on a bench under some shade until my phone rang and the boys face timed me from the falls. This was not an easy trek by far but the destination was worth it because the boys loved feeling the mist of the waterfall hit their faces. When will they have another adventure like this again???
Just when I thought the views could not be any better, Glacier Point proved that this was the view of all views. This overlook is a commanding view of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Yosemite's high country as we gazed down from 3,214 feet above. I could not help but feel that this was God's work that gave us this beautiful view. This overwhelming feeling that I had spurred on quite a discussion in the car on whether God was real, how the world began, and what the boys believed or sorta believed. I am thankful that we had this time to share and discuss with one another the meaning of it all... what is the meaning of it all???
In every review of Yosemite, it is said that Tunnel View should not to be missed. It really can't be because as soon as you emerge from the man made tunnel, it is the first glimpses of Yosemite that you can see. We stopped here several times throughout our time in Yosemite and every time we were it was a little different. It was a great way to start our trip because the majesty of it all is so wonderful to look at... when will we come back again???
Noah chose his new glasses from the optometrist by trying them on and sending me selfies. He landed on this pair from Prada! What's ironic is that Noah does not know that this is a a high label fashion brand rather he liked the look and fit. Does Noah have naturally good taste???
Micah has really taken a liking to the electric guitar and we have the Fender program to thank for that! One of the highlights of Quarantining last school year was the opportunity for the boys to learn how to play a stringed instrument from Fender for free! Micah was so interested in learning that he wanted a whammy bar that his guitar did not come with so Jawsh contacted a friend at Fender who was able to get Micah this awesome guitar for less than $100! When we showed the guitar to Micah he said, "it's not pink, pink, it's more bubble gum pink" which meant that he would like it. What song will Micah learn how to play with his new guitar???
The boys have been waiting for this day for sometime... a beach day with the K family. It was so nice to hang out again. It took a minute for Micah and B to warm up but once they started playing sports it was easy to hang out again. Sometimes I forget how weird it can feel for the kids to reacquaint themselves with friends especially since it has been such a long time but they were fine. When will we see them again???
We hosted a celebratory movie screening for Noah and his friends who completed middle school and are off to high school! The Cinemark rents out theaters for private parties so the kids watched F9: The Fast Saga. It was so nice for the kids to reunite. When will Noah see his friends again???
