November 2023

Lukas turns 12!

Big day for the little guy — got the decorated place at breakfast (still in the garage, see below), but we were able to have dinner in the new dining room, although I had to buy him a cake because we are nowhere near unpacked yet and I couldn’t find all the stuff to bake one for him, lol. Grandma and Grandpa came by in the afternoon to give him his gift — money toward a new bike, as he’s outgrown his old one. He got a lot of good presents that evening from us (cool shirts, a DVD of The Sandlot because it goes on and off of streaming for no reason, and tickets to a Golden State Warriors game w/R. since he’s never seen a pro basketball game). His party was at Lasermaxx; I booked the private session, so there were enough spots for the adults to play too, and it was an absolute riot! So much fun! He already said he wants to do the same thing again next year. 

The remodel is done! CELEBRAMOS!
Hot damn, we passed final inspection! We started the move-in, box by box, and it’s slow work — but I have a kitchen again! wooooooooo!!!!! We can watch movies on the big screen, sit at a full-size table, and potentially host people … although the first time we made plans, we ended up having dinner at the Patels’ instead because they’d left their dog alone all day, heh. And of course final inspection isn’t the end; we have to gear up for the last phase of this gigantic project, the backyard and outdoor kitchen. To that end, we had an arborist service come and stage what I called Treepocalypse — in which the 40’ tall palm tree in the back yard and the 12’ palm tree in the front yard were cut down, the camphor tree in the back yard trimmed (for its own health and to make room for the pergola we’re gonna put in), and a new baby maple planted where the big oak used to be in the front yard. It was a nervous-making day and I hated to see those palm trees go, but for various reasons, they had to. :-(  

Lukas Life
—Handball ends: Lukas had his last handball game of the season; it was a loss, but with a couple of great moments for Lukas — passes, scoring, etc.
—Kart games: Since Manir didn’t have a birthday party (lots of complex social dynamics going on at the moment), Lukas and I took him to K1 Speed for go-kart racing.
—Sam’s birthday party was a movie night at his house, which sounded to me like a chaotic good time.
—Friday night dance: The boys all decided to go to the Castillero glow party/dance; Lukas said it was “loud and kind of boring” so I doubt he’ll go to another, but I’m glad he went the once.
—Choose your adventure: Another day, he hosted an epic 5-hour D&D afternoon at our house with Reid and Owen.
—Amusement: The kids and I went to Great America on a no-school Veterans' Day Friday with Ami, Manir and Amira — all of our first time there (and tbh, I don’t think we were missing much, but it was a fun day). 

Annika’s stuff
—Sweeney Todd: We went with Brandi & Alana to see a local production of Sweeney Todd, stage-managed by our neighbor Marte (tickets were a gift from her to Alana for taking care of their cat during the October break when we were also out of town). It was pretty good!
—Learning to drive: Annika started doing the online driver's ed class offered by her school; she’ll have to finish that before she can apply for her learner’s permit.
—PSAT: The PSAT results came out this month — she got xxxx, which, despite being in the top 5% nationally, was disappointing to her because it was below the National Merit threshold … which is only applicable to Juniors. In other words, she nearly did it as a sophomore! She’s amazing. 

Thanksgiving
This certainly was a time for giving thanks — we were back into our house, covid was no longer ruining everything, the Macy Day Parade was on, and we were able to host Grandma & Grandpa for the holiday. Of course, we weren’t fully moved in yet; between having to check every cabinet and drawer for everything, going back and forth to the pantry, and going to the garage for stuff that was still in the makeshift kitchen, I walked nearly 3 miles inside my own house getting the dinner to the table. But it was delicious and we all had a fabulous time — yay, my favorite holiday!