New Years Eve

Happy New Years!  After all this time, COVID 19 continues to inform our decisions so we decided to stay in together and to ring in the new year together.  It is always helpful to have sweet treats after a delicious dinner.  What will the new year bring???

First Clean Teen

Magic Mountain

Over the break, we were so excited to hear that Magic Mountain was requiring masks, checking for COVID 19 vaccinations, and negative tests before entry!  So, we decided this would be a great day to take the boys.  Unfortunately this was not just our idea!  It was pretty busy but despite that the boys were able to ride Tatsu twice and Goliath.   This was great especially since we only stayed a few hours.  The boys had a fun time.  When will we head back???

Teen Clean

We are so proud of Noah that he had his first Go Fund Me for a beach clean up fully funded!  These are the tools that he purchased with the donations.  He was super excited that Old Navy also donated money to help this cause!  What Noah plan next???
 

Merry Christmas

Merry masked Christmas.  We are so happy that we can celebrate Christmas with the family.  We did it a little different this year by asking that everyone take a COVID test before coming over to celebrate and to wear masks.  In all honesty, this is the only way we could celebrate together in these times.  My dad was feeling better and since he now has the booster shot we felt comfortable inviting extended family over.  Windows were opened, air filters were purchased, and tables for dining spanned across 3 rooms.  Merry masked Christmas... hopefully this is the first and last of this kind.  What will it be like next year???
 

Big boys

Big boys.  Noah is 15, taller than his father, and doing well his first semester in high school.  Micah is 13, taller than his mother, and also doing very well in his first semester in 8th grade.  Both boys are working hard in highly accelerated math courses, Honors programming, playing sports, attending Hebrew school (Micah is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah), and enjoying the freedom that eluded them last year at the height of COVID (when there were no vaccinations for their age group).  I still limit some of the activities that they can attend (which they think is unfair).  I think back to all that has happened and I am incredibly proud of these two because they navigate through their world with kindness and respect (and with a stressed out Mom).  What will 2022 bring???

Time with Emma

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???

 

LACMA

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???

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Bubbe and Aunt Julia came to Los Angeles to visit the family and celebrate the last night of Hanukkah!  Today Jawsh met them at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.  They had a nice time going through the exhibits.  The special exhibition features Hayao Miyazaki which spans all of his movies and illustrations.  When will the boys have a chance to visit???

 

Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah celebrations have been pared down for us because we are doing our best to keep everyone safe.  The boys have been going to masked teen meetings at Cool Shul once every few weeks and today we sent individually packaged Randy's donuts that they could pass out to celebrate Hanukkah but that the kids could eat at home.  It feels like a lot of extra work, because it is, but well worth it to keep everyone happy and safe.  When will we have a Chanukah celebration???