America Got Shut Down

We tried bean bags and youtube drawing classes at the very beginning of the quarantine.

One of the very first nights, Millie lost her first tooth.

There are many pictures on my phone of face swapping during this time.

Thank heavens my parent's condo kept their pool opened. When we could start to venture out but had no where to go, this was a life saver.

Millie lost her second tooth and then a third undocumented tooth.

Feeling bad for being the worst quarantine Mom, we did one of those painter's tape and chalk drawings. About an hour after we finished, it started to rain and washed it all away. My favorite thing is that it hasn't rained since that day.

Someone experimented with making apple chips. 

Scrambled eggs were also made quite frequently by Kate and Sam.

The beginning of April, we gave up and bought a kiddie pool.

Sam turned 10 and had a quarantined birthday. We did get Panda Express, so that was nice.

The poppies I planted in February, were springing up which was a small thing that made me happy.

We had to pick up a packet at school and Millie's teacher had a bunch of oranges she didn't want, so we took them and made some OJ.

Sam redid our terrarium for his science class. 

Millie turned 7 and had a quarantined birthday. We had a pinata and an ice cream sandwich cake.

Ryan celebrated his big 40. He had a socially distanced surprise, friends from all over sent him videos wishing him a Happy Birthday. It made him really happy and he was totally surprised.

The best picture that sums up our quarantine experience.

Pledge of Allegiance

Millie got to lead the whole school in the Pledge of Allegiance. She was so excited and even planned the perfect outfit. I hope the video works below. No one handed her a mic, no one knew when to start, but she pulled it off and looked good doing it.

 

Valentine's Day Twenty-Twenty

1. Millie and Sam's card boxes/bags. (Sam's teacher isn't one for celebrations)

2. We didn't have school that day so we went to the Great Park to check it out.

3. We got that heart shaped pizza at Round Table Pizza and Benny peed his pants under the table.

The day was filled with love.

 

Orange County Explorations

We went and checked out the Santa Ana Zoo for the first time on a cold day in January. I told the kids that's what we were doing but as we got closer we passed a sign for Disney Way and then Kate got all excited that it was a surprise trip to Disneyland. It wasn't. We did go to the zoo. It was a smaller zoo, but I liked it and I think the kids liked it. We have been spoiled with some pretty cool city zoos, but I liked how chill this one was and it was nice to get out of the house and see some animals.

A few weekends later we drove up to Fullerton to check it out. My mom spent a portion of her childhood in Fullerton so we stopped by Fern Drive Elementary where a lot of her memories take place. Then we went to the Muckenthaler. It was a home that was gifted to the city and is used as cultural center. It was closed but you could still walk around the grounds. It looks like a really cute venue, it would be cool to go back and check out the inside.

Being statues.

Our our way drove by this tuba tree in Placentia. I'm always a fan of people just going for it. If there was something I was really into and I knew we were there to stay, it would be cool to have something that people could drive by and see. That's a goal of mine. Haha.

Crystal Cove Pics

To get out of the house over Christmas Break, we headed up to Crystal Cove with the cousins for a tiny, very tiny day trip. It was chilly and we all took a ton of pictures because it is just so pretty there. Kate also was coming down with a fever as we got there, so she was not having fun. Here are a bunch of photos:

You can rent these houses out and I would love to do that. Just wake up and spend the day at the beach. Play cards at night, roast hot dogs and s'mores and then do it all again the next day. Sounds so dreamy.

I Wish It Was Christmas Today

Here's some Christmas happenings that happened:

I am not a good decorator, but I was proud of this little section of the house so I had to take a picture.

Millie had several Christmas festivities. 

We got to see Santa. 

Ben was not having it this year, he was hiding behind me at this moment.

So much cousin time. 

The Stephens were all able to get together a few days before Christmas. 

All of the girl Stephens cousins.

All of the boy Stephens cousins, with uncooperative Benny. 

The Stephens siblings on the Sunday before Christmas.

All ten Stephens cousins.

Christmas Eve nativity at Grandma and Grandpa Gray's.

And a sick Millie on Christmas morning.
She had a fever and was so sick she didn't even want to open her presents. Poor girl.

I was a good Christmas. We divided it this year and did a little with the Stephens and a little with the Gray's. Fun was had by all.