2021 in 21 Photos

Some you've seen, some maybe not. All 2021.

January 26: Atticus plays Chutes and Ladders via Zoom with a friend.  Indoor playdates still aren't the norm.

February 1: Back at school -- two days a week, with masks -- after 11 months at home.

February 8: But the year wasn't all pandemic related! Atticus lost his first tooth at school.

March 5: The zoo was a nice outdoor activity throughout the pandemic. I love this photo of the kids searching for penguins.

April 3: Atticus 5th birthday party was cancelled last year. His 6th was held on the porch.

April 14: The kids gave baseball a try in the spring. It didn't stick.

April 24: Edith received her First Communion, wearing the same dress that both my mom and I wore.

June 6: A cicada spring.

June 17: Edith took up archery this year.

July 23: We visited a few parks this year. The zipline at Blendon Woods was a hit.

July 30: The kids made tons of progress after taking swimming lessons all summer.

August 11: A trip west was booked when COVID cases were going down. We still went. Here are the kids in Albuquerque.

August 13: Edith and I at the Grand Canyon.

August 18: One of my favorite photos of the year, masks + 3D glasses at Disneyland.

August 19: Taking a spin on the pier at Hermosa Beach.

August 26: First day of school: FIVE DAYS PER WEEK!

September 26: The kids attended their first wedding. 

October 9: My sister-in-law took our annual family photo!

October 9: Edith got her hair cut not long after!

November 6: Edith got a long-awaited birthday party with her friends, all outdoors.

December 9: After the kids were vaccinated, we started doing more indoors.

Merry Christmas!

 Will return next week.

Penguin Party!

For more than a year, Atticus has been a tiny bit obsessed with penguins. His favorite book is even a collection of penguin poems! So when I saw that a library branch in a nearby neighborhood was hosting a Penguin Party after school last week, we were there.

There were penguin crafts and games, small prizes and penguin books on display. The kids also liked the penguin "photo booth" accessories and asked me to take some photos. So here are my little penguins.

False Alarm Covid!

 The kids were off of school for three more days last week after a tiny bit of a Covid scare.

"Scare" makes it sounds more serious than what it was. We ate dinner with a fully-vaccinated relative the weekend after Thanksgiving, who later tested positive on a rapid test. Because the kids were around this relative in an unmasked environment (because it was a meal) for more than 15 minutes, the kids had to quarantine. Paul and I did not have to quarantine because we are fully vaccinated.

The relative followed-up with a PCR test that turned out negative, so the precautions were for naught. Nevertheless, the kids had to take a Covid test on Friday -- their very first -- before being allowed to return to school yesterday. (Atticus thought it was ticklish, Edith thought it hurt.)

The kids got their second jab on Saturday, so they too will be fully vaccinated in less than two weeks, just as the holiday break begins. When they return to school in January, it will be a whole new ball game. But I guess we couldn't quite make it without a quarantine in the ninth inning.

A Week Off for Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago our school district decided to dub the week of Thanksgiving "Wellness Week" and gave all students and staff the week off. In reality it was only an extra two days off of school since Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were already scheduled off. Nevertheless, it caused quite a stir.

Many parents were rightfully annoyed that they would have to find last-minute care for their children during the day. Other parents rightfully noted that teachers have been under tremendous amounts of pressure due to COVID and deserved the time off. And others still speculated that the district likely didn't give us the days off out of the goodness of their hearts, but perhaps because of an expected staffing shortage during that week.

Who knows? What I do know is that the kids were very excited to have a WHOLE WEEK off, with only a few short assignments to complete at home. And although I was mildly annoyed at the change in plans, it was awfully nice to have a real staycation with few plans and fewer responsibilities.

Now the kids have only three weeks of school before another two weeks off for the holiday break, but a peak ahead at next year's proposed school calendar shows that Thanksgiving break might become an annual thing. I won't say no.

Edith Turns 9!

How can my firstborn be 9 years old already? Halfway to a high school graduation?! It doesn't seem right that 10 years ago she was just a sparkle in my eye, and now she's just short of double digits.

Luckily her birthday was much better than last year's, when we were all in quarantine thanks to COVID. Earlier this month she invited about a dozen girls to our house for an outdoor party, with pizza, cupcakes, sparklers, glow sticks and a healthy dose of her favorite TV show -- Miraculous -- projected on our garage door.

On Sunday, her actual birthday, grandparents and other family gathered at our house to celebrate our girl. (She is the only female grandchild on both sides, after all!) She picked out the cake I made, lemon with raspberry frosting. It was delicious, and it was a delight to see her so happy.

Here's hoping the next year bears a greater resemblance to normalcy than the year that just passed. Happy birthday, Edith!

Disneyland: The First Visit!

Walt Disney World has been my "home" park since the day I was born. We visited every few years growing up, regularly leaving at 2 a.m. to get a head start on the traffic. Those early years, we visited in the RV (I still remember the bunk beds), then stayed at the Disney campground in the pop-up. The last trip or two as a family were in hotels. Not that it mattered much where we stayed. We were in the parks from open to close.

Paul and I took our first Disney trip a few years after we were married, and the kids have both been there twice now. But this summer marked all of our first trips to Disneyland, the original Disney park in California.

What can I say? I liked it. Disneyland is comprised of two parks, whose entrances our separated by a mere esplanade. That's a big change from Walt Disney World's four parks, most of which you have to board a bus to travel between. Nevertheless, Land has a few more rides than World overall.

Some of those rides are the same but just a little different. Pirates of the Caribbean was noticeably different but with several identical scenes. Space Mountain has seats beside each other at Disneyland, but in front of each other at Disney World. Splash Mountain was just the opposite.

Cars Land at California Adventure was totally new to us, and Radiator Springs Racers became a family favorite, and maybe our favorite ride overall that isn't at Walt Disney World. The kids also rode their share of roller coasters -- they were afraid at first of Space Mountain and especially Incredicoaster (which goes upside down), but they ended up being some of their favorite rides. The lines were so short that we rode both over and over again.

Park hopping was a breeze -- we would spend the morning in one park and walk to the other for a late lunch. And our hotel was SO CLOSE. Despite staying off property (California doesn't have nearly the selection of Disney hotels as Florida), we could be in the parks in 10 or 15 minutes, including going through security and the front gates. No bus needed, which was extremely nice.

Of course, Paul and Atticus enjoyed the Star Wars area, and it's easy to see why Rise of the Resistance is such a popular ride. One of my favorite memories, however, is how we rode the Storybook Land Canal Boats just as the evening fireworks began, and the boats pause during the show. Our guide timed it to give us the perfect view from the water.

Walt Disney World will always hold some of my favorite childhood memories, but I enjoyed Disneyland even more than I expected. Maybe we'll be in California again before we know it.

The Kiddos Get the Covid Vaccine!

You have to frame it correctly. So I didn't just tell the kids straightaway last week that they finally had an appointment for their first COVID vaccine. Instead, it was something more like: Yay! You guys get to take the first step in protecting yourselves from getting yucky COVID again!

That doesn't mean Edith and Atticus were thrilled about getting a shot on Saturday, especially since it was less than a month after their flu shots. And they really aren't thrilled about getting another vaccine in just a few short weeks. Edith groaned but then asked if this meant she could host a sleepover with friends soon. Probably in the spring, I said. Then it was ok.

Vaccines for kids ages 5-11 began only last week, and I was lucky to get them spots at a mass clinic on Saturday. Edith was a little nervous, and asked me to hold her hand and district her -- par for the course for any shot for her. Atticus watched the nurse poke him, which is also normal for him. No tears, no serious complaints. Edith had a sore arm the next day, and Atticus had no side effects at all.

It feels so nice to take this step, although I know we're not out of the woods yet. The pandemic isn't over, but I'm so glad to give our family and community an extra layer of protection. It's a big step toward a bit of normalcy.

Rainy Trick or Treat

When Halloween falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday in Columbus, trick or treat is on the Thursday prior. I don't know exactly why that is, but I've heard it's because of football. We wouldn't want candy collecting to conflict with high school, college or professional football now, would we?

In any case, trick or treat was from 6 to 8 p.m. last Thursday. The weather was in the 60s, which was a nice change from some of the bitterly cold trick-or-treats we've had in the last few years. But about a half hour after it began, the rain started too -- and didn't let up for a day and a half or so. Edith and Atticus still went out in the rain, but not for as long as they would have. Atticus eventually even ditched his costume for rain boots and a rain jacket.

Edith was the eponymous Miraculous ladybug from her favorite show, and Atticus was a combination monster-Minecraft creeper. Plenty of candy was had by all.

A Day at Hermosa Beach (+ La La Land!)

I probably said "I hate the beach" a little too loudly around some local residents, but to be fair, Atticus had just accidentally dumped a good amount of sand on top of the Oreo pancake we bought him for lunch. Plus his face was red despite multiple applications of sunscreen, and Paul's back was none better. The beach is not my favorite place.

Nevertheless, we spent some seven hours in Hermosa Beach while we visited Los Angeles in August, and I fulfilled a goal too -- visiting some "La La Land" locations.

The beach was about an hour drive from Anaheim, and we quickly found a meter around 11 a.m. We paid for five hours -- which I never thought we'd need -- and ended up feeding the meter for another couple of hours. Most of the time Paul and the kids spent swimming and digging holes in the and, while I half-heartedly eavesdropped on a group of teachers having a beach reunion with their young kids and/or grandkids. Our own children made some new friends -- a giant sand hole is a grand unifier, evidently.

We pick up food from a nearby breakfast/lunch place that Paul had scoped out called Martha's. The kids loved the pancakes (minus the aforementioned sand), and my vegetarian sandwich was delicious with thick chunks of avocado, sprouts and more on dark wheat bread. I think it was even called the Californian.

At 4 p.m. we packed up, cleaned off and changed -- except for me, who had only gotten my feet wet. The water (my first time at the Pacific Ocean!) was surprisingly strong, and Paul was told that then waves were bigger than usual. The weather was comfy -- maybe 80 with a breeze. The water was cold.

After dropping our stuff off at the car, we walked along the beach on a nice path filled with walkers, joggers, bikes and skateboards. We went to the pier featured in "La La Land" while "City of Stars" played on repeat in my head. The Lighthouse Cafe was nearby, so I grabbed some photos there too. Alas, I heard no music.

We left around 6, back to the hotel at 7, watched fireworks from just outside Disneyland at 9. What a day.