I'm just a little bit behind. And here it is, nearly the middle of August!
Aaron's birthday was on July 26; he is now 42. Wow, it's hard to believe I have a son that is 42. Time flies...
Anyway, he is a super Los Angeles Dodgers fan. When I found a picture of a blue velvet cake, I knew that's what I needed to make for his birthday.
Well, actually Charlotte did most of the work. It was seriously Dodger blue! Tasted just like the traditional red velvet cake. She made a delicious cream cheese frosting to go on top. This was the only picture I really got of the cake.
I think he liked it. And while Levi does
not like to pose for pictures, he loves photo bombing. Happy birthday, Aaron!
Gabe and I have the best conversations regarding words. We found out we are both "logophiles," people who love words. For an 8-year-old he has an amazingly large vocabulary. Here are some words for your consideration:
Something to think about:
We have been isolating at home, really only leaving to stock up on groceries. We decided we could isolate on the central coast of California just as well. So we made reservations at our favorite hotel, the Kon Tiki in Pismo Beach, California. While normally rooms would be impossible to get in August, we had no trouble booking a reservation. Not only that, but they are blocking at least one third of the rooms. I'm sure that is to quarantine rooms as guests check out and rotate new guests to a room that has been empty for a few days.
The ironic thing is that we left Fresno the three days that the temperature was only in the 90s. This weekend? It's supposed to be 111 degrees. Yikes.
Anyway, we brought nearly all our food, leaving our room/balcony mostly to pick up dinner. And these are things I have never before packed to stay at the Kon Tiki, or any other hotel for that matter. But just in case...
The view is unbeatable and the weather was lovely. The mornings were cool and overcast--perfect summer weather in my opinion.
The jacuzzis were both blocked. But here's the weird thing about the pool. We were told at check-in that they had divided it into quarters. You could reserve the pool, 1/4 quarter of it only, for an hour at a time.
We did walk on the beach. Along the way we saw this artwork. It was very large and very precise.
We felt very safe, and it was such a welcome respite from being in our house nonstop.
Where are all the people??
Another thought about all those coins...
Our good friend, Jessie, has been teaching science classes via Zoom to Levi and his friend, Jeremy. They have been studying space. She later told us that she was testing the classes that she will be teaching in fall and using them as guinea pigs so to speak. Anyway, she recommended that they watch a documentary called The Farthest--Voyager in Space, about the launch of the twin space probes in 1977. We thought an outdoor movie night would be a fun way for all of us to watch it. We set up the outdoor movie theater and Mark made popcorn. It was really interesting. It's amazing the advances that have been made in space exploration. An interesting tidbit was that our keyless car fobs have more technology than some of the old computers of the 1970s. Isn't that crazy?!
Speaking of technology. The grandkids have been trying to convince us to purchase of an Oculus Quest virtual reality headset. Apparently, there are a lot of educational programs available and it would be "SO helpful now that school is taking place at home." Charlotte decided to make a "presentation" and then sent Mark and me a Zoom link.
The thought of her presentation took us back to 1996 when Aaron made his first presentation. He was a freshman in college, living in the dorm, without a computer of his own. Each time he needed a computer he would have to walk to the computer lab. Sometimes it was locked. Sometimes the computers were all being used. Sometimes he forgot something and had to go back to his room to pick it up. All that to say, think of all the time wasted. So on a Sunday afternoon after church, he showed up, nicely dressed, with an easel, a laser pointer and lots of poster board illustrations, along with a carefully typed document, so we could each follow along. I'm sure I have saved a copy somewhere. The title was something like "The Positive Ramifications of a College Student Having a Personal Computer." After the presentation, we knew we had to give him many points for creativity--he covered every aspect, including how much time he would save in a year by not walking to the computer lab, and ultimately how he could "save the world." Ha! He got his own computer.
Anyway...back to Charlotte. She had carefully thought out her presentation (with no help from her father, so I'm thinking this must be a genetic thing...). She listed all the benefits, with a list of pros and cons. She was very professional in her presentation.
(another photo bomb by Levi before she could chase him out of her room...)
I'll let you decide whether you think she was successful in this endeavor...
While we were at the coast, I didn't really have to give a thought to mosquitos. And I didn't go to Minnesota this summer, where that is an entirely different matter. This is my life in the Midwest...
As the COVID numbers sadly keep going up, I'll close with these:
Stay safe.
