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.

Hiking and Sledding and the Rest of December 2020

 December 26, 2020 we hiked to Tooth Rock in Poway. It was a bit sunny and hot for our taste, but the view at the top by the super-graffitied rock was nice. 

I was a little nervous about the girls' scrambling around Tooth Rock because a fall could have been dangerous, but these girls - can't stop, won't stop.

Based on this cuddling pic of Ever and Jim, it appears another Christmas movie was watched that night. 

Tiny and I finished The Trumpet of the Swan together. She enjoyed it. I love her and classic literature. 

Sunday we played Ladder Toss, a new game from Coco.

Tiny colored in her new Christmas activity book (from Tutu, I believe).

On December 29, 2020, while Jim was at work, Cikaneks were kind enough to let the girls and me tag along on a sledding trip to Palomar Mountain. We weren't there too long. The kids burned out pretty quickly. I think Noah started having a meltdown, and Scott had to take him to the car. The girls were over it by then, too, though. 

Our sledding path wasn't the longest or most exciting, but it was fun to get out. The day was beautiful.  

Lots of Ticket to Ride evenings. 

Sometimes Tiny would help replenish the card bank, but this time she just passed out on the couch while we played.