February 2021 - School, Skiing, and Sundry Stuff

Berry got to start going to school on campus. At first it was just one day a week. Eventually she got to go twice a week.

The girls had fun with the Cikanek boys and their chalk.

Tiny continued to develop her climbing skills. She was and is frequently found atop walls and fences and trees. 

The girls went through a serious perler-bead phase.

The shelf that traverses the long side of the new room was soon filled with perler bead creations. Perler beads everywhere, all over the floor and the tables. The mess was rough. 

Ever delivered lots and lots of Girl Scout cookies to fill her online orders. 

We continued to flyer, too. One Saturday we combined flyering with a family run. In the below pic, Jim is running and pushing an empty stroller on the right, while Tiny runs alongside him. Ever and Wrenzy are running up ahead of me on the sidewalk on the left. We ran and dropped flyers on doorsteps.

Berry's bear-ba-loot suit (her uniform of just undies) and hand-washing position were fun for me but also concerning because a fall backward could result in injury or death.  

Sometimes she does not like being photographed. 

Sometimes a word triggers me and I sing, "I want my, I want my, I want my MTV." I saw a note on the bottom of a paper and realized it was Wren's interpretation of what she'd heard me singing: "I want my empty bee." 

Jim had flowers and fruit (including the chocolate-covered variety) delivered for Valentine's, which was lovely.

The girls went crazy for Valentine's Day. They made so many notes and things for Jim and me and for one another. They are so cute about holidays and start preparing way in advance. Valentine's morning they were excited to distribute the things they'd prepared. 

Here's a sampling of LaWren's creations - notes and perler beads for all.

Candy was also included in a number of packages. 

Tiny was really into "peanut butter balls," aka energy bites. It was hard to keep them in stock. She liked to help make them. 

I found this note Wrenzy left for the elves, who, of course, were long gone; we just continued to find notes periodically.

I, too, desperately wanted to fly when I was little. She's so my mini-me. 

I texted a picture to Jim, and we had this exchange:

He loves his girls so much that he wants to make all their dreams come true - even flying.

Susan threw Luc a really fun birthday party. They played multiple games, including one with jelly beans where you had to guess and might get a nasty one that tasted like puke or a delicious one that tasted like butter popcorn. I don't really understand how it worked. 

We rented a place in Big Bear and took the girls skiing. We put them in a private lesson together, as Tiny was too young for a regular group lesson. They did great. Two or three lessons was really all it took for them to be good to go. Totally worth it.

Feisty Tiny.

The girls choreographed a dance. 

It took a lot of takes with Tiny not cooperating before they made it all the way through. 

Berrykins posed with an art project she completed with supplies from Tutu.

I found this by Bear. Really cute and really sad.

We talked about Abraham Lincoln in social studies. I told her how I love him. She wrote this letter to him. 

The "wet book" story refers to the time Abe borrowed a book and put it between two logs in the wall of the cabin when he went to sleep, only to have it get drenched in a storm overnight. He went to the owner the next day and offered to work off the cost of the book. 

January 2021 - Mainly a Couple of Hikes

On New Year's Day 2021 we did a little hike with the Oddous. Possibly in the Encinitas area, but we don't remember. It was uncomfortably warm.

We got Handel's ice cream on the way home. 

The next day we went on a family run. It must have been much colder that day. Berry - the cutest little runner ever - was seriously bundled up. (I think the other girls mostly stayed in the strollers.)

We ended up down by the beach at sunset. Tiny caused problems by needing to go to the bathroom at an inopportune time.

The following weekend we went on another hike at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. 

I was pleased that the littles didn't fall into the water. 

Ever found a geocache, which was fun. 

The geocache contained a granola bar, which we ate, and a notebook. The girls took turns writing. I wished we had something to leave. 

Wrenzy spent a while writing her little note. 

So cute. 

I think Tiny wrote her name.

Sunday game night. I loved Tiny's perch on Jim's shoulders.

Jim and Ever got ready for Girl Scout cookie season by creating their own flyer. Marin (troop leader) also provided a limited number of door hangers. Given the COVID times, all orders were placed online. Jim took the girls out and plastered neighborhoods with flyers; people placed orders online, and then we went back out to drop off cookie orders. In case this doesn't come up later, Ever did amazing and sold over 1,000 boxes of cookies.

I was putting groceries away, and I tried to sneak a new bottle behind some older bottles of enchilada sauce. I felt as I was doing it that it was bad, and it really was. The bottle in front fell off the shelf and broke, shooting sauce everywhere. The counter, backsplash, and wall in the impact zone would have been bad enough.

But the sauce also splattered across the floor and onto our brand-new (like week-old) couch in multiple spots. 

It was even on the ceiling. 

Tutu sent the girls supplies for a Christmas craft. I finally took a picture for Tutu of the finished products.

Susan took the kids to the Harbor one day for lunch after (or during?) home school.

We flyered Skyline (Tiny wore Ever's old Girl Scout vest so she could look like an official helper) and then walked down to Grandpa's place.