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!

Happy Birthday to ME!

So, usually this is more of an us type blog, but for some reason, even though I'm sure the kids were incredibly nice to me, I only have me pictures this year?! Also note the prescience of the empty movie theatre/private birthday showing of "Knives Out." I'm pretty sure it's the last movie we saw in the theatre. Can't wait til we can do it again!

Runway: Micro/Macro

Zara and Isabel worked very diligently on their interpretation of this year's Micro/Macro theme - garments inspired by the smallest and biggest things in the world. I think mushroom (this dress is called "Cute as A Button") was actually pretty far down the list of ideas, but turned out to be more doable in execution. I believe both kids plan to make their own pieces for the show next year (instead of a collab), and Zara's even suggested she'd make 2 so she and Amity can model together. I am so impressed by the creativity and perseverance!

Ginter Lights

Our dear friends the Tobiases invited us to join them for their annual "look at pretty lights at Ginter Botanical Garden" tradition. No pictorial evidence is to found in this post, but it was also "dog night," which means there were about a million dogs ranging in size from "purse/lap" to "bigger than my elementary schooler." There were a lot of living beings in attendance, to be sure, and the line to get into Ginter to park was SO INSANE that we parked a few blocks away and walked.

There will no doubt be future trips to this awesome display, and we've even come up with a plan for a less crowded experience, but I'm not going to share it here in case the 3 of you who read this blog get any ideas!

New Year's Day Hike

Assuming the weather isn't horrible, we have a tradition of going for a hike on New Year's Day. This year the weather was pretty mild, we brought M and P along for the ride, and we decided to stay a little closer to home and hike at Ragged Mountain. Here Z and A perch victoriously atop a large rock amid one of the little peninsula/spike trails.

Chanukah

More pics to follow once I consult with the co-editor of this blog, but for now, may I present, Chanukah 2019.

Christmas Run

Our annual Christmas run had fewer humans but more dogs this year - Maizie joined us since her person, Chani, was off in Florida visiting human family. Kids stayed home, so there was more tail wagging and maybe slightly less whining?

BRIMS Recital

Amity and her buddy Phoebe kicked it up an extra notch this recital with a bonus slip jig. Props to Riddley for teaching the steps and helping to choreograph the piece, and for spending extra time teaching.

Lessons and Carols

Another round of bell ringing, this time for the 4th grade's performance of "Bells in the High Tower" at the school's winter celebration known as Lessons and Carols.