13th Birthday

 So, this year, we would have been celebrating Ezra's 13th birthday. If everything was right in the world, we would now be parents to THREE teenagers. Granted, Ezra would not have been your typical teenager, but the sentiment still stands. We had a very quiet celebration at home. My parents drove up for the day and joined us for dinner and cupcakes Alayna made. As the years go by, the celebrations get more simple, short and sweet. It won't be much longer that we have the older two around to help us celebrate, so we relish each year we are together to celebrate our sweet Ezra James. 

Happy Birthday, Ezra. 13 would have looked good on you.  💜

Jeremiah: Class of 2020!

Well, we officially have a college student. Not just because he had his graduation this past weekend, but because he is already enrolled in an online summer course at the local community college. This kid. It's been an emotional week and the day of graduation was especially emotional. It's still hard to believe we've come this far. Jeremiah is an adult. He has a job. He's paying taxes. He's already voted in the primaries. He's enrolled in college. But, sometimes, I still see that hard-headed two-year-old that refuses to take a nap. Alas, he's 18, and he's come a long way since those obstinate toddler days (which really don't feel like that long ago).
Thanks to the Rona (the nickname my nurse crew has for Covid-19), graduation looked a lot different for his school this year. But, I am grateful they did what they did and it actually turned out to be a unique and enjoyable experience. It was a drive-thru ceremony. We had time periods we could sign up for to see Jeremiah receive his "diploma". We drove into the school parking lot where they had various spots for photo ops. Then, he walked up onto a stage where he grabbed the diploma and posed for a professional photo. Then, after moving his tassel, he walked by all his teachers through the lot and then got back into our car. It took maybe 20 minutes total from the time we arrived. It was actually nice not to have to sit through 400+ other students, speeches and awards. No fighting for seats or struggling to see where he was. It was pretty fantastic. I'm sad his grandparents and other loved ones couldn't be there, but they had a live stream and everyone got to watch. Overall, we were all impressed and now, we officially have a high school graduate!
Here are a variety of photos commemorating Jeremiah's graduation journey. The first set is from the photo shoot for his announcements. The second set are from the big day itself. If you can't tell, we are bursting with pride!
Congratulations, Jeremiah Lennon! Class of 2020! 🎓🎓🎓

(He really didn't want to do this pose! 😂)

March, April and May 2020 -- Pandemic Edition!

Well, what a turn of events... Instead of posting about more Disneyland trips, a trip to Santa Cruz and spring break in Lake Tahoe, I bring you the pandemic edition of our family happenings. Aside from the kids not being in school, life doesn't look a whole lot different for us. Peter had been working a slightly altered schedule at the juvenile hall. Some nights he's on call or flexed off, but was not receiving a reduction in pay. He's back to normal now, on days again, which will be nice for summer.  I am working my usual 36 hours a week on night shift, with the occasional extra shift thrown in. A pandemic doesn't stop the babies from coming! Jeremiah is working at a grocery store, about 20-30 hours a week. He had to take a "quarantine" furlough when he developed a cough, but never had COVID...turns out, he has "mild persistent asthma". He has been getting bronchitis a couple times a year (usually once in spring and once at end of summer/beginning of fall--around the time of peak seasonal allergies) since we moved back to CA in 2013. We have never had it officially checked out until work needed him cleared. So, here we are. Now, I'm beginning to think all my breathing issues may not just be allergies and sinus complications. As soon as a doctor will actually see me, I plan to have my peak flow measured and see if I am also asthmatic! Alayna is in bliss, being able to stretch her introverted muscles to the extreme! Both kids are missing their friends and their routines, but we are making the most of it. Lots of Zoom game nights with family and friends. And, they have their phones and social media. I'm proud of how they are both handling this, especially Jeremiah. As a senior, he is missing out on prom, grad nights and graduation. We are so proud of how far he has come in the past few years and were looking forward to honoring him. I am devastated that he is not getting a "real" graduation. But, his "drive thru" ceremony was held yesterday and will get a post of its own. I still can't believe we are so close to having a college kid!

We are getting our outside time as much as possible. There are lots of restrictions here locally, but we do what we can. Toby's favorite thing is running free on the beach. He is really enjoying no cars down at Oceano. We are all just trying to adjust to this new (hopefully temporary) normal.

At the beginning of March, before all of this set in, we had a visit with my cousin and her girlfriend Sarah. We had an absolute blast and I'm so glad they got to visit before the social distancing was enacted.

Other than that, we just have some sunset walks, zoom dates and work stuff for you. Enjoy the photos!

 The only pic from Easter Sunday!

Mother's Day

Hopefully, June will allow us to branch out from ourselves and visit others, with masks and maintaining social distance etiquette. I, for one, am badly in need of a hair cut and a trip to Disneyland!