Diversity

We are really glad that Noah is taking art this year.  It gives him a different way to express himself and the course work requires him to work off of the computer!  Long gone are the rules of limited screen time, as the boys have all of their assignments, books, and classes online.  It's pretty hard to determine if they are online studying or doing something else, now that they are in the room with their AirPods in their ears and the door closed.  What is going to happen when they transition back to school???

Music Appreciation

Jawsh has tasked himself to create a Music Appreciation course designed by him to teach to the boys.  There have been a few sessions so far and the boys seem to enjoy it.  They have heard music from Mozart, Beethoven, Claude Debussy, and George Gershwin to name a few.  I wonder what genre they will listen to next???  

Ahead in the Clouds Puzzle

Jawsh made his very own puzzle entitled, "Ahead in the Clouds"  It is a 1,000 piece puzzle with lots of pink!  This has definitely been a challenge for the boys but they are motivated to complete this task because their Dad designed the puzzle.  When will they finish the puzzle???

Kenneth Hahn Park

 

The boys and I went to Kenneth Hahn Park to take a walk.  We are really fortunate to have some of the cleanest and prettiest trails in PlayaVista but it was nice to venture off to a new part of town.  We barely scratched the surface walking around Kenneth Hahn and we hope that we will be able to take longer hikes on the more popular trails in time.  We are still social distancing and staying away from crowds so it has been challenging to find popular walking trails that do not have a lot of people around.  When will COVID 19 end???

Harry Potter 3D Puzzle

The boys received a 3d Harry Potter Puzzle this past holiday season.  It was definitely a challenge to build up and connect pieces of cardboard that could easily rip.  Even through the frustration, they persevered and were able to complete the Hogwarts grounds.  Jawsh then made a short movie with a Harry Potter mini figure flying around the castle.  What puzzle will they work on next???

Happy New Year

This has been some year.  We are hoping for a new year full of good times with family and friends and hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.  This has been hard but we want to remind ourselves that we have so much to be thankful for.  What will 2021 bring???

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???