February was a treasured month! As I write this during all the shutdowns due to COVID19, I am especially grateful for the things we were able to do in February.
Shopping trip and lunch for Tanner and Jeremy was a big hit. Tanner was stoked to get clothes that fit him AND that he likes.
Play time for Dallin and SarahLynn.
Family dinner time.
I did a Valentine’s music lesson in Dallin’s class a few days before Valentine’s day. We did Teddy Bear songs and it was SO much fun because I had a teddy bear for every single student.
Making Valentine’s during Variety Show practice. By the way, we were going to rehearsals for the Variety Show twice a week all through Jan and Feb. On the day of the show, it was canceled because of the the Governor’s orders to not gather with more than 250 people.
The Brolsma family came to visit us from Feb 12-17!!! We were so excited to have them stay with us and have a bit of Minnesota with us again.
First things, first- we took them out for tacos!
The next day, they explored on their own while I taught at the school. The Brolsmas went around Torrey Pines for a bit and then “accidentally” ended up on Black Beach, which is the nude beach here. I was so bummed they went without me! But we got to hear all about their crazy adventure during our group dinner at the local deep dish pizza joint. Little Brolsma had a lot to tell us about the old naked man. Bahaha.
The next day, we went to the USS Midway!! It was Valentine’s day, and the boys sang Skid-a-ma-rink in the car together on our way there. It was absolutely adorable.
All three boys LOVED everything about this place. They enjoyed climbing into the different planes and helicopters, seeing all the jets, listening to the audio tour, filling out their scavenger hunt questions, running around on the flight deck and learning all about how members of the Navy live and work on these aircraft carriers. At the end of our visit, the boys were appointed junior Navy pilots and got their flight wings. Little Brolsma was especially excited about that! We grown-ups had a really fun time, too.
Here’s the souvenir picture that we didn’t want to pay $30 for.
Our group selfie turned out much better!
Next, we headed to Coronado Beach. The tide was really low and very beautiful. The 3 boys had a blast digging a very deep hole that basically turned into a swimming pool. Jeremy was able to leave work early to join us. We adults enjoyed visiting on the sand. The Brolsmas were glad to see that this was a family friendly beach!
Me and Kristin!!
It was still Valentine’s Day, so each couple took a walk alone while the other couple watched the kids.
We found this adorable family watching the water together.
Then we had a little party at the house with cheesecake, valentine gifts, sparkling cider and toasts and rough housing. making toasts with kids is so much fun because they say the funniest things for us to cheer about.
The next day was Saturday, so we headed to Mission Beach, which was a first for us. The sun shined bright and there was a chilly breeze. I dug trenches for the boys so that they could lay down and have the wind blocked. They loved it and said it helped them warm up, but it kind of looked like they were mummies about to be buried!
The 3 musketeers dug holes again! They had a few heated debates about how the work should be done, but in the end they made a great masterpiece.
That evening, we watched the Monster Truck Rally at Petco Park from Jeremy’s office. I wasn’t sure how much we would be able to see or if it would be worth our time, but I was pleasantly surprised! We were able to see a lot of the course and the jumbo screen. The boys loved seeing the cool tricks by each truck. We even brought our own monster truck toys and popcorn, so we were well entertained! Turned out to be the perfect free event for the 7 of us!
On Sunday, we all went to church. Jeremy spoke in Sacrament meeting and I subbed on the organ, so it was nice that our boys didn’t have to be alone during the meeting on their pew. Then we came home and had a relaxing picnic on the grass and the boys played a bit around the yard before we headed over to the Mormon Battalion center.
The Mormon Battalion was really fun. Dallin and our friend got to be featured soldiers in the tour! They showed what the battalion uniforms were like in 1847 for the Mormon Pioneers that paved the way to San Diego for the rest of the country.
Pining for gold went very well!!
Then we headed to Children’s Pool Beach to watch the seals. I’ve got to mention that along the way, the 3 boys had some pretty hilarious squabbles in the car.
At the beach, we saw a bunch of babies that had been born recently! There were seal calves all over the beach, and some were learning to swim. We even saw one with the umbilical chord still attached!! All of us were fascinated.
As the sun was setting, Dallin and Kristin sat on a bench together while the rest of us ventured down to another beach area.
These two had fun chasing the waves and trying not to get caught! Lots of giggles together.
Riley and Jeremy chatted away!!
The next day, it was time for the Brolsmas to leave. It was really hard to say goodbye!! We are so grateful that they came to visit! Having them here in our home was like having a lost piece of us back again. Just being with them filled my heart with things I had been missing about Minnesota.
And now that we are stuck in all these Covid19 shutdowns, we are especially grateful that they were able to come when they did. The best part was just having them stay with us and catching up on all our stories and experiences. But I’m also glad we took the chance to go on lots of outings. We did more in five days with the Brolsmas than we have in the last 58 days of social restrictions! So very grateful for their visit and their friendship.
We had to eat grandma’s cookies that she mailed to, so we could deal with our Brolsma withdrawals.
The boys were just too funny at the pool catching some sun.
After-school outside play.
I can’t remember if I posted this already, but the boys moved up in bike sizes.
A local restaurant did a fundraiser for our school. They went the extra mile to take fruit from the school garden and create a sorbet dessert with it!! Dallin taught me all about kumquats, which I had never heard about before. I loved the kumquat sorbet, but the boys weren’t too sure.
We saw a lot of people that the boys and I knew from our school. It felt really great to be more than just spectators in the community. We were really feeling a part of the community now. This feeling was one that was really taking hold for our family all of January and February. The pains of missing our MN community were finally being healed by new relationships. We really started to feel like roots were taking hold here.
Tanner worked really hard on this IB research project. Students got to pick any product they use and then learn what materials it comes from and how it is made. No surprise that Tanner chose to do “How Basketballs Are Made.” All the parents came to see the projects one afternoon during the last 30 minutes of school, and Tanner did a great job teaching his spectators.
Watching a scary movie together: Hook!
Yay!!! We made it to the temple for an endowment session! So thankful for the church friends that watched our kids so we could go!
Gelato with the boys.
Indoor haircut time
Tanner and Dallin (mostly Tanner) continued to develop their outdoor fort. They wrote rules and codes and plans. Tanner likes to wake up before the rest of the family, so he’ll often use that time to write on his whiteboard, notebooks, sketch pads and anything he can find to write about the fort! They call it Fort TOD because that is the acronym of the friends that play together in it.
While Tanner was at a church activity for kids age 7-11, Dallin and I built this organizer for the garage!! It has really helped keep our sports things in better order.
Tanner lost another tooth. Now had his two front teeth missing!!
That means, I had my two boys, who are two years apart, with their two front teeth missing at almost the same time!! (Dallin’s one tooth is just barely poking through)
The PTC did a big organizing day of all their supplies. I went to help while the boys enjoyed free Saturday school.
A mural in our town. I think Jeremy took the boys to get slurpies somewhere.
As the month ended, I did a demo Music lesson in our little park so that I could get pictures to advertise for Summer Music camps. I was SO excited to post announcements for my camps! And then coronavirus happened. Stay tuned!
