Next stop.... open water!

We haven't really been anywhere (with the notable exception of a very quick OBX Trip with Auntie C for last year's spring break), and we've got a new family member who was born in April 2020 that none of us have even met, and in like 20 months Z will be at college and won't want to do fun things with us anymore.... so we're taking the plunge and going on a *real* vacation for spring break. We've been thinking we'd like to revisit Cozumel, but the combo of questions about pandemic complications to international travel, the fact one of us on this trip still isn't eligible for vaccination, and the reality that traveing with a sub 2 year old *anywhere* is kind of a pain, we're opting for Catalina Island (the one near LA, in case there are others?) instead. Catalina is known for some kick ass kelp forests and marine life, so we figured it was time to get the kids open water certified (and the grown ups 'refreshed') and so now we're all off on a great adventure in a few weeks. Kiddos will do their open water checkouts, and then we'll all head out on a couple of full family (minus M and C) dives. Pictures forthcoming....

Licensed! (ZFC edition)

This is Zara. They are a licensed driver. OMG?!

RIP Project Playset

I didn't take a ton of pictures, but about 11.5 years after the play structure we gave Zara for their 5th birthday was assembled, Z helped Wes and I take it back down. We've frankly been done with it for about 2 years now (since Amity was about 10), but nostalgia and inertia and maybe even some laziness seems to have delayed it's final swan song. It was a good play structure, it served us well, and we've got a TON of happy memories of days swung by.

What should we put in its place once Amity gives us some yard back from her soccer take over?

This is how we Christmas

4 of us, with a total of ten feet, went for our annual Christmas run. We'd typically go out to the movies and then grab chinese food, but the combo of super high levels of covid transmission in town and the fact *everyone* seems to have appropriated our chinese food on christmas tradition caused a zag in this year's festivities. We opted for family board game afternoon (Wingspan) and then Z treated us all to a 5 course meal they made, more or less, on their own. Wes helped a bit, but Z was the driving force to be sure. Someone's got pictures of the other courses, but for now please enjoy this charcuterie board.

Ginter Lights, Take 3

You just never know when something that seems like a whimsical trip with friends might morph into a beloved wintertime tradition.

Big Foots

Z is definitely still a few inches taller than A (who is still shorter than me, but by a very small margin at this point)... but feet sizewise, I think we can all wear each other's shoes.

Dog Party

We interupt your regularly scheduled Z and A content (and sometimes a bit about their grown ups or friends) to bring you this breaking news story. After many years of tolerating each other, Zelda and Maizie may actually like each other. Maybe?

Happy Chanukah!

Someone else probably took some better Chanukah pictures this year, but these will have to suffice for now. We'll likely stumble upon said better pics when we're search for photos for the ineveitable Amity Bat Mitzvah montage, coming your way in Februrary 2023. In the meantime, here's some kiddos bringing just a little more light to the world.

Twice as nice!

And, just like that, we've now got a collective 10 covid vaccines in the books. We're currently 60/40 m:p, and Z will add to the Pfizer tally when they get their booster in a few weeks. But for now, everyone is as fully up to date as they can possibly be. Big exhale.... (Also, Amity's arm was more sore from the flu shot than it was from this second covid shot. She pretty much had ZERO side effects!)

(W)rec(k) Soccer!

Z played their third season of high school rec soccer this fall. They had an awesome coach (who is also their pediatrician) and a pretty sweet group of kiddos including a teammate from the previous 2 seasons. It was the first time they've played 11v11 on a full sized field (not counting school soccer) and, not unrelatedly, it was probably also the season when they *played* the most. Z's attendance at the games was perfect, and despite the fact I think they had 18? 19? rostered players the team was almost ALWAYS short of subs and sometimes couldn't even field a full 11. See the above picture here, for instance - 1 whole sub! Yes, high schoolers are busy, yes, rec soccer is a fun and low key commitment, but it's still a bit frustrating. While they were often on the losing end of the score line, I think they all (mostly) had fun and even enjoyed a win late in the season. Go Blue!