Good Riddance, 2020!

 Sarek, with his favorite orange bridge, on the last day of an unforgettable year. Good riddance, 2020!

To the (Family Dog) Rescue

Somewhere along the developmental time-space continuum, Nola overcame her fear of dogs. In fact, she did a 180 and is now obsessed with dogs. She wants one so bad. But, alas, we would have to put Brett in the shed to avoid anaphylaxis. She scratches the doggie itch by volunteering at Family Dog Rescue, a dog shelter thankfully very close to our house. It's the only shelter around that lets kids volunteer. If she had it her way, she'd be basking the sun with dogs on her lap for hours, but I make her do the less thankful but more necessary stuff, like wash dog dishes and pick up poop. I usually have a good time once I'm there.  Here she is on Christmas Eve Day, helping out so the core staff can close up. Dog shelters are an essential service in COVID but require staffing 365 days a year, so Nola gets her dog fix and also gets the staff home early to their loved ones. Win-win.

Christmas 2020

 Christmas, like most everything this year, occurred during the pandemic. Somehow that made it more special, although we don't usually travel for this holiday. Nola made Santa merengue snowmen instead of cookies this year. Deena worked the night shift but got to celebrate all the good stuff. We got matching holiday pajamas for the first time but found out on Christmas Eve that Nola's set had been excluded. Ever teh generous soul, Sarek offered to give his set to his little sister. Brett, a boogie boarding convert during COVID, got ocean related loot. Santa stuffed Deena's stocking with liquor stash, just what working moms need when everyone is home 24-7 with remote school and work. Nola's favorite present from Santa was Just Dance 2021. Sarek scored an iPad from Grandma Tarah and learned that with grandparents, "Ask and you shall receive" is alive and well.

Nola's First Day of Hybrid 6th (Middle School!)

It didn't last long, but Nola got to attend middle school in person for two glorious days. She was so ready. Not sure if this counts as the first day of middle school. Again, COVID robs us of so much, including our celebration of milestones.

Hangin' (Aerial Silk)

Nola is having a blast doing aerial silk lessons in her good friend, Calla's, back yard, since all classes are suspended. Nola is back at it after a 2 year hiatus. She has learned crazy moves such as the diaper drop, cross-back straddle, pretzel, scorpion, hip key, Rebecca split, catcher's hang, candy cane, split roll, crochet climb, Caesar, and more.

Halloween 2020 🎃

Hi, it's Nola! Even though it was during a pandemic, Halloween was still pretty fun. Sarek and I both went to small-group masked hangouts. Sarek went to Pacifica, as usual, to see his all-time bestie, Dexter. I went to my friend, Calla's, backyard with my friends, Zoe and Margaret, to have a masked/candy hangout. We played on the aerial silk and played with the dogs. Sarek was a unicorn (he just got a unicorn onesie from Target) and I was a purple (of course) M&M. I did my hair and makeup by myself, which I was very proud of. But it still took a while. (In the picture where I'm sitting in the silk, you can see I'm eating M&M's. Margaret said it was cannibalism. It was.)

Jumpity Jump

     Nola has been going on socially distanced walks with her friends. Here they are, reaching for the sky, thumbing their masked noses at COVID.

Metalhead

 Somebody got braces today!

Wigged Out!

 What happens when you find a wig in a closet six months into a pandemic. You become a cross between a castaway and a Rastafarian.

 

 

Synergy Welcome Back to School (pandemic, be damned!) 2020

https://vimeo.com/453137754

3rd Day of 8th Grade

We're in a pandemic, and school started online for Sarek.  Nola starts in two weeks. I forgot to take the perfunctory first day of school shot given all that is going on.  Bet you never saw a third day of eight grade shot, eh? Thought so! Does it even matter these days? 

 

 

Quaranteen!

 Sarek turned 13 during COVID. Here he is with his quaranteen cake, which he apparently managed to eat without arms. We celebrated in the garage and handed out cake in a socially distanced fashion. 

Fly Guy: October 2nd, 2017

Fly guy

Twas the Last Night of Tweenhood

I told him not to turn 13 tomorrow, but in true teen fashion, he'll do it anyway.  Feeling all sort of things tonight.

Masky

 Sassy, moody, nasty...masky. 

 

Mask Up

 A new normal. 

Sierra City

    Hey! Nola here. I've never written on this blog, but here I am, doing it for the first time at 12 years old in 6th grade. We are in a pandemic, and online school just got out for the summer. In June, we went to tiny little Sierra City in the mountains with the Warchilds, our neighbors down the street. We rented a house up there and were treated with beautiful views and glorious alpine lakes to swim in. We (Sarek, me, Eli, and Pepper) even saw a dear in the house's backyard which is also the woods. We went stargazing on our last day, seeing a few shooting stars. We celebrated father's day and the kids had a prank war (my team won, no matter what Sarek says). The adults worked from home. I even got to cook breakfast a few times all by myself! The kids biked up a hill in the tiny town to a small, old cemetery. Then, being the kids we are, we played Ouija the same night. It was our first time out of the city since the start of the pandemic, and it was a wonderful treat.

Nola's 11th

     Nola was one of the only people to have a normal birthday party before lockdown.