Really Random Thursday, 1/19/23

 Does the year feel like this to you too? I'm always so happy for January to roll around after the busy and often chaotic holidays. But I'm having a hard time believing that January is nearly 2/3 over already!

Last Friday we went to the awards assembly for 3rd and 4th graders. So fun to see both Ella and Amelia up there on stage.

(photo by Christa)

This week was the assembly for 5th and 6th graders.  We missed it because of a scheduling change, but Jason was there to take photos. Gabe and Ruby are very competitive with each other, and it's keeping them both at the top of their class.

It's unbelievable how much eggs cost these days!

On Sunday night, Mark and I were finally able to get to our local zoo to see illumiNature. Our zoo is amazing and this display was really spectacular.

One of the first things we saw was the peacock. Gabe had said to make sure we stuck around if the peacock's tail feathers were not fully opened. Good advice. We had to wait a few minutes for them to fully expand and then they became a really beautiful changing light show. 

Of course, I loved the flamingoes. When Aaron was little, we took a yearly photo of him standing like a flamingo with all of them in the background. 

These angel wings were fun.

This was my very favorite: a lighted archway--so colorful and intricate.

Every year, Mark's brother, Pete, wife Jane and daughter Rose carve an amazing snow sculpture where they live in Driggs, Idaho. It's fascinating to watch their progress. This block of snow will eventually become a very detailed dragon. I've been following their progress on Facebook and I can hardly wait to see it in all its glory.

The other day when we picked up Gabe and Ella from school, we took them to see Christa, who had spent the entire day on a street corner raising funds for human trafficking awareness. It's a huge problem here in the valley, and Christa is executive director of Central Valley Justice Coalition, working on education and prevention. So proud of the difficult work she does.

And finally, if you are someone who is a creative, does this ever happen to you?

Really Random Thursday, 1/12/23

 Here it is, almost the middle of January already. A few people asked if I had made a quilt calendar for 2023. The answer is "kind of." For my first two calendars, I had a theme. I have two more themes in mind, but I just didn't get around to photographing the quilts. But because Mark and I still needed a calendar, I kind of put something together and had 10 copies printed at zazzle.com. Nothing professional, that's for sure. But I'm thinking ahead to 2024. 

We began our new year with family at the beach house in Oceano, on the central coast of California. Jason was not able to come this year because of basketball games and we really missed him.

The hills were so beautiful on the drive over. We rarely see them green like this--usually they are all dried up. 

If you have been watching the news, you know that California, a state usually in a drought situation, has been getting so much rain. So we knew we would most likely be spending a large part of our time in the house rather than out by the water. The beach was actually closed most of the time we were there because of the dangerous high tides. 

But we had lots of games to play. And while we don't normally do a lot of "devices," we also had the Nintendo Switch and the VR. Have you ever watched someone when they are on a VR? It's pretty comical. 

I had purchased little "learn to crochet" kits for each of the kids, cute little animals. However...even though there were lots of step-by-step videos, I don't think learning to crochet in the round is the way to go for a beginner. 

So my next plan is to use teach them to crochet a little 4" x 4" swatch to get the concept down, and then I think the kit instructions will make more sense. 

On Friday, there was no rain, so we were able to spend some time outdoors.

On Friday night, we were finally able to do our Saran Wrap game that we had saved from Christmas because Ella and Christa were home sick. It was a hit. We will definitely do it again this Christmas.

If you are not familiar with this game, there are lots of things wrapped up in layers and layers (and layers) of Saran Wrap. One person tries to unwrap as much as possible while the person next to them rolls a pair of dice. As soon as that person rolls doubles, things shift to the next person. Maybe you will unwrap lots of treasures, or maybe the person next to you rolls doubles on the first try and you have to pass the ball on immediately. Mark and I had fun finding things to wrap. There was a lot of penny candy, some money, weird stuff like a first aid kit, a set of mini screwdrivers, etc. 

Spending time with family is my favorite way to start a new year.

With everyone else headed home, Mark and I went to Pismo Beach (just a few miles up the road) for a few more days. Our hotel is up on a bluff, and there are steps that go down to the beach. We usually walk into town via the beach. But no way that was happening this year. The water was all the way up to the bottom of the steps. There was no beach!

On Monday, it rained nearly nonstop. We ventured downtown for lunch, and our favorite pulled pork restaurant was open, but nearly everything else in town was closed. The wind was really blowing. There was no way we would have made it back to Fresno on Monday. There was so much flooding and many road closures. There has been much damage here in the state, along with loss of life. And more rain is on the way. 

I love these plants.

And someone really decorated their balcony.

After all the rain, on Monday night we looked out our window at just the right time and were treated to this spectacular view. It was fleeting--the winds quickly blew clouds that covered up the sunset. But in those moments, it was absolutely stunning. 

The perfect ending to a great week.