Toonces: TNG

Watch out, world! Z's got her learner's permit, and she knows how to use it! After the initial terror of having my 15.5 year old behind the wheel subsided, it's been pretty great. She's already logged almost 15 hours behind the wheel and she's slowly becoming competent enough that riding with her is, dare i say, somewhat enjoyable?

Keeping up with a little sib's responsibilty a la their Uncle Brian, Amity will occasionally scream very unsupportive things (eg. we're gonna crash! we're all gonna die!) but has actualy been a real champ about pausing the conversation when more concentration for Z (or the adult teaching) is warrated.

MOVIES!

It's a bit decadent, sure, but if it helps movie theatres and as a side effect I get to blissfully lose myself in the big screen for a few hours, I'm all for it. Along with out good buddies the Tobiases (the main family we've been hanging with since, oh, March?) we rented a 187 seat theatre for the most private of private showings of WW84. Much fun ensued.

Christmas Traditions

I have maintained for years that we don't celebrate Christmas, and this is of course true. Some of us are Jewish, and some of us are... not...thing. However, Amity has recently pointed out that I'm wrong, and as it turns out, she's right. We do have Christmas traditions, and even celebrate Christmas... just not in the way most people tend to think of it. My reflexive "no" is based on a certain kind of socio-culturally dominant Christmas (trees, decorations, family gatherings, presents, etc) but we have a pretty robust tradition of our own. Pictured here is the end of the Christmas run, which we started back in the early aughts b/c gyms were closed and also we had the streets to ourselves - it was originally the run down Main street in Ann Arbor run but as since morphed a bit. Other traditions include movie(s) (virtual this year, typically in the theatre though), Chinese food, and some combo of board games/puzzles/video games. Usually a big post-run breakfast, too. So yeah, I guess I'll work on that one for next year.

You can't just play the simple songs

Wes has a classical guitar, which Zara's picked up a few times and can amazingly play very well considering she doesn't really play guitar... but we figured it would be easier/better to get her an acoustic, which we did, for Chanukah. Glen's been hella inspirtational (see esp the last few months of livestreams he's been doing 3x a week since the pandemic started), and of course Carbon Leaf, especially Terry, has always been an influence.

Of course now that she's rocking her acoustic she's already jonesing for an electric. Here's hoping she'll be able to (safely) make music with some people outside of our house before too long.

Chanukah 2020

 How it started:

How it's going:

The ninjas are deadly and slient....

Looks like Amity needs a black mask to complete her school day ninja look....

Open Air Session

When the weather's amenable you might find musicians (and the occasional resident dancer) playing their 6+ feet apart masks for those who don't have wind instruments hearts our in our driveway. Pandemics are rough, and music makes it better.

Light Once, Visit Twice

We had planned to make it an annual tradition, but as everything with 2020 (nothing going the way we planned), we ended up seeing the Ginter Lights twice in one calendar year. It was 2 different "winters" (ok winter doesn't start for another 2 weeks but whatevs). Hat tip to the fabulous Tobias family for being the best light viewing buddies as well as best people to do outdoor activities with in a pandemic (and takers of all of these photos, well, at least their camera). Here's to increasing the light as we close out 2020 with hopes for good things in 2021! 

Pandemics-giving

Turns out a small benefit of climate change is that we can have open air, pandemic friendly Thanksgiving here in VA. It was actually pretty cool most of the week and we were worried it'd be a pretty miserable dining expereince (or we have to move to open air garage dining!) but we were able to enjoy some classic Thanksgiving fare, including a super delicious heritage Turkey from J. M. Stock Provisions (or so the meat eaters tell me) and mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, cranberry sauce, etc. Thanks to M and P for hosting on their decj!

Rec Soccer Redux

Zara's back to playing Rec soccer after a few year hiatus. A few things have changed:

1. She's moved up to the high school league, which is U19
2. There's no longer a girls league, it's all Co-Rec
3. Many of the players are ex-Travel, a level at which she has never played
4. Despite being the youngest, the shortest and the rec-est (though she does play Varsity at school), she's putting it out there on the field every game...
5. And by that I mean she scored a goal! (and many assists, too) First goal in 4ish years. 

Good on you, Zoo. It's been a fun season.

 

Lit Drop

So it turns out that while 99% of the 2020 election went a way that made us all very happy, our very awesomely qualified candidate and amazing human being Cameron Webb, MD, JD, was not elected in our VERY gerrymandered 5th district here in VA. We are extra sad about this b/c the guy who was elected is THE WORST possible, including being party to the January 6th Capitol riots/attempted coup here in the US, but ya know, gerrymander. Fingers crossed we get swept up in VA-7 next year.

Return to Turk Mountain

 

The kiddos had an "asynchronous" day, which is basically a day where teachers work ahead to get content out digitally so they can take a teacher workday without missing a day of instruction. So, in theory, the kids should have been home "doing school" all day, or at least in a 9-3 sort of way. We decided, "feh," and went for flu shots and a hike instead. It was a beautiful day for a hike, and everyone (including Zelda) had a great time. Turk Mountain is one of the more popular SNP hikes, and we certainly ran into 6-8 other groups of people, but it was by no means crowded and everyone had masks (on or at the ready) and gave as much space as you can on a fairly narrow trail. 

p.s. the kids did in fact get their schoolwork done, just at somewhat non-traditional times. 

Back to School: 5th and 10th grades

There's a fair bit of shenanigans going on here, but suffice to stay everyone is happy to be going back to school. Except maybe Zelda. She's probably going to be a bit lonely.

Amity's starting 5th grade, which is middle school, so that's super exciting. Zara's starting 10th grade, which is double digits, and means she's only got 2 more first day of schools that aren't college related left! Kiddos are going in person (for now). Big props to STAB for their amazing teachers, excellent planning, and smart use if their plentiful resources. We're lucky.

Bake-a-palooza

A and Z and their friends S and E decided they would bake and decorate a very elaborate cake. And so they did. The frosting was a bit sweet, but overall the cake was both beautiful and delicious!

 

Drive-In Movies!

One of the many pandemic approved activities we've been enjoying is the Goochland Drive-In! It's only about 30 minutes from C'ville, and it's been such a fun summer indulgence. Yes, the kiddos in the 2nd picture are not displaying their best socially distanced behavior, but they were outside...!

It's my chance to socially advance instead of sewing some pants...

  

Zara's kicking her sewing skills up a notch from mask making. She pretty much sewed these pants, from printing out a 20 page pattern to wearing them to bed, in just a few hours. I am supremely impressed.

Poser

So, awhile back we were in the part of the pandemic where we spent an incredible amount of time at home, and apparently to a teen that means we had lots of time for "photo shoots" and to dream up new "fits" (aka outfits). So, here's Z, totes posing.

Last Day of School: School at Home edition

We certainly did not imagine, back in August 2019, that we'd be ending the school year learning from home full-time. But, as the old adage goes, pandemics happen. Sincere gratitude to both kiddos' teachers, who approached the herculean task of distance education on a few days notice with aplomb. Having taught high school, I know it's no small feat at any grade level, so really, mad props to the faculty at STAB.

So, here's a last look at a 4th and a 9th grader. Who knows what the first day of school will look like this coming August. Stay tuned...

Happy Birthday, Wesley!

Wesley had the honor of celebrating our first family Pandemic Birthday™ Zara really rocked it with cake baking, and Amity and I helped eat said cake. Also, i know that's a lot of candles, but we promise we didn't burn down the house!

Backyard Nacho Snack

When life gives you pandemic stay at home time, you give back random backyard nacho picnics! Turns out al fresco dining on a big plate of cheese and chips (there are some beans there, too) can improve almost anyone's mood, at least a little. Zara decided to celebrate having absolutely nowhere to go by getting inexplicably dressed up. To each their own?

House of Z Masks

 

We have significantly more photos of us wearing masks (this is 2020, after all), but this particular post is just so Zara can remember the spring/summer she made over 500 masks. Did she have some help from us? Undoubtedly. Maryann provided much of the initial fabric from quilt scraps and her very sizable general stash. Wes did the lion's share of the cutting, and most of the trips to the post office to mail masks to 12 different states. I did a lot of pinning, and turning ties (Amity helped with the ties, too, and decorated packaging in the very early days) but mostly managed the business side of things...  keeping track of orders, collecting money, etc. However, Zara did 99.9% of the sewing... and that's a lot of sewing. Also, she donated 50% of her profits to local non-profits working to help people during the pandemic, and also sewed many masks just as donations themselves. It kept her busy when we were all going stir crazy, and she did some good in the world, both for the people she made masks for as well as the people she helped through her donations. Good on you, kid.

Auntie Fun!

About 30 seconds before we all went into stay at home lockdown quarantine, we made the quickest of jaunts up to NYC (and then also even more up to upstate NY) to see my dearest friend Tasha (not pictured) and also our Brooklyn fam. Here's a sweet reminder of a time when we could snuggle people who didn't reside in the same 4 walls we do ALL THE TIME. But we'll get back there someday (hopefully) soon, both metaphorically and literally.

Fun with Filters!

Sometimes you have to cave to the whims of youth and their love of insta-snap filters.

Happy 10th Birthday, Amity!

After the flat of exhaustion that followed last year's spy birthday extravaganza, we told Amity this year's party needed to be a lot chiller. So, she opted for the ever popular swimming party, and a great time was had by all. We celebrated with a delicious Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake with friends, followed by a smaller chocolate pudding based celebration at home.

Here's to the *next* decade of Amity awesomeness!