Fall in the time of Covid-19

Kirin started kindergarten during the strangest school year in recent history.  We were lucky to get lotteried into a spot at our after-school program, which was transformed to a distance learning hub.

We took advantage of limited entry zoo visits when it was possible

And even went on our first camping trip with our neighbor/pod-mates

Scenic train ride in Felton

Halloween fun with the Cathcart crew

Thanksgiving involved a food exchange with some friends

And we discovered that we had a great spot for a fall photo shoot right on our block

Kirin completed another rite of passage:  riding a two-wheeled bike!

And the kids found our black friday purchase pretty amusing

 

Summer of Social Distancing

We celebrated Sunil's birthday with a trip to the beach

 

 

and with some outdoor dining.

Gopi took a trip to DC to check in on the fam

The visit involved a LOT of mexican food...

Back in California, we did a quick trip to a beach house along the central coast

and drove back on the Pacific Coast Highway, on the lookout for some good zoom backgrounds.

I'd say we found some. 

Closer to home, we did some more beach time

And finally, there were many many walks to the dish trail once it reopened.

Our June trip to Italy was postponed indefinitely, but we felt lucky to be safe and healthy.

Kirin is 5

 Our summer of birthdays is officially complete, with the addition of a new 5-year-old!

It was a big week, because it was also the week Kirin started (virtual) kindergarten.  Which meant that Kirin had a crash course in zoom, and wanted a zoom interview just like his big brother.

Milan is 8

We now have an 8-year-old!

 

I'm going to have to find myself a new quilt...

 

It took a few tries, but we thought it only fitting to do this year's interview on zoom.  (The first try recorded only a video of the questioner and none of the resident 8-year-old.  This also explains some of why the responses are a bit terse... ) 

A Spring of Sheltering in Place

The closure of schools for the remainder of the school year was tough

Between their zoom calls and learning at home, Milan played some FaceTime chess and Kirin learned to draw Gerald from Mo Willems

Thanks to this book, Kirin has now learned how to read!

 We are now the proud owners of not one but two trampolines

Celebrating mom's milestone birthday with a picnic at the oval and a joyride to San Francisco

Our cleaning crew hard at work making the bathrooms shine on Mother's Day

Kirin was sent some supplies to stage some videos for his Pre-K (zoom) graduation

We had a mini mask factory going on for a bit - here are a few of our creations

And here are Milan and Kirin heading to the first day of summer camp in this strange new world we live in now

We recently celebrated our 14th anniversary with a hike and outdoor dining