Times are a changing....work, life, love

On July 2nd, nearly 2 months after Phoenix lost her right front upper tooth, her left front upper tooth fell out during dinner. She did not want this tooth to come out, but it could no longer hold on! We were very pleased that it wasn't lost or accidentally swallowed! The tooth fairy forgot to come and the next day when the tooth fairy came, Phoenix woke. The took fairy was in a scramble and wasn't able to take the tooth. When asked why the tooth fairy didn't come and then take the tooth we had to explain that things were different during Covid times and that the tooth fairy thought she didn't want to give up the tooth since she didn't want it to come out. Luckily, we found out that the tooth fairy didn't go to Braylin's house the night she lost her second upper front tooth. This was very reassuring to both girls that the tooth fairy was taking extra precautions because of "the virus"!

 On the days I work 9+ hours I like to go for a walk after dinner to get some movement. Axel often walks with me. We both enjoy our time together because we don't typically get other one on one time. For a few weeks he kept mentioning the bus stop sign. Finally, we stopped to take a picture so he could blog about this funny sign. He just loves the part that says, "Essential trip?"...."No"...."Go home!"

 It is amazing that so much time has gone since I last posted. Time feels like it is going very fast, but when I look at this picture from just a few weeks ago, it seems like this was such a long time ago. This is mostly because the sun flowers are so giant now and two of them have flowered.

 Here you an see the sunflower is Rubix size.

 This one is "Axel" size.

 Here Phoenix is posing in front of all of our little green beans, cucumbers and watermelon. They are now so much bigger.

 I think Phoenix made this on the 3rd of July. I loved how she used hearts inside hearts and then put hearts all around the hearts.

Here are two of our pumpkins on July 5th.

Look how big they are now on July 18th! 

 For Daddy's early birthday present we harvested our first fruits, zucchini.

 I then made zucchini boats. He absolutely loved them. The kids, not as much!

 Speaking of Daddy's birthday we made him a yummy cookie after a nice swim at the pool to celebrate his 45th birthday. Here is the handsome young man with his 3 kiddos.

 Last weekend while I was working all weekend, Daddy took the kids swimming and then to get donuts. Apparently, the typical donut shop we go to was closed, but he found another shop to purchase 6 donuts from. Can you believe they ate almost all 6 in one sitting. Shortly after I took this picture, Rubix said, "Mom, my stomach hurts." I was on a short 10 minute break between presentations. I felt bad, but had to tell him that is why we typically don't eat a lot of sweets all at once.

 Here is Phoenix enjoying her donut.

 Here is Axel trying to enjoy his donut, but more worried about what happened to the other half of the last donut.

 Here is Axel enjoying our fresh zucchini with hummus. The kids and I prefer it in bread or raw, where Daddy loves cooked and grilled zucchini. We have now made it almost every way possible except deep fried. I have 5 more to use in the next few days with half a dozen more growing. It is non stop zucchini at our house.

 This is our first watermelon. It is the cutest little thing.

It has now quadrupled in size, although I don't think you get as much appreciation of the size difference from this picture.

 Our  babysitter who started helping us in June decided to go visit her father and family in Arizona from July 3rd through the 10th. Axel has become our babysitter since she left. I was called back to work two times per week starting that same week so I was gone for nearly 11 hours on Keith's birthday. I asked Axel to help Daddy have the best day possible by keeping the kiddos happy and well behaved. He has done an amazing job over the past 2 weeks. Camryn, got tested for Covid and tested negative, but she has only been back for 8 days. She plans on traveling again this coming weekend, so I think we decided that we are done with hired helped this summer. It was a great month and such a blessing to have her help, but we just feel it is a risk that we don't want to take. Here is an example of the kids playing exceptionally well together. We are so incredibly proud of Axel. He is taking his job seriously and loves the 10 dollars a day he is earning. $100 dollars for an 11 year old in 2 weeks is a lot of money. He already spent $40 on Pokemon cards for the three of them.

 The kids continue to take classes over the summer. Phoenix and Rubix love the Friday art class they take. Phoenix also takes a coding class on Fridays and piano lessons on Tuesdays. Axel has coding on Mondays and Math on Wednesdays. Most of their classes are private tutoring which they absolutely love. The one on one attention is fantastic. Rubix still has his phonics, math, story time and worksheets that Challenger has provided. Phoenix also does daily math and the kids are finally reading again. The library opened a month ago for curbside pick up which has been huge for our family. Phoenix has read 10 huge chapter books and Axel has read half a dozen. He really like the Hunger Games. I am trying to get him interested in reading the Maze Runner series, but he decided to start reading the books for his "Tournament of Books" for school.

 Today was a big day in the garden. The cucumbers are taking off and we have half a dozen that will be ready in a few days.

 Our tomatoes are finally starting to grow too. It seems like it has been forever since we planted them.

 Keith loves the garden and he loves to help the bees pollinate. Today he said, "This is a good picture. Get a picture of the pollen on the brush." I dno't think that you can see it, but I tried!

 We also harvested our first carrot. We weren't sure if they were ready, but we needed to find out. We all picked what we thought was the biggest carrot and then patiently waited for Daddy to pick it.

It wasn't quite what we expected, but it was cute. The only carrots left at the store were seeds for short and sweet carrots. I looked at the package once we were back inside and they are only suppose to grow to 4 inches long. 

As you can see, the one wasn't quite there. It was super delicious though and packed with flavor. 

Here is a great picture of the sunflowers today. Today was day 101 since we planted them. Can you believe the difference just a few weeks does? They are all different sizes and all at different stages of the flower cycle. It will be cool to see how it looks once they all flower.

Besides the garden, us no longer having a sitter and the kids swim team winding down, the other big news is Keith and I both got promotions! Keith took his bosses job and his group has now doubled in size! He has 15 direct reports with the possibility of that doubling in size as ADI just bought their biggest competitor Maxim. Once they start to reorganize their power group to incorporate Maxim employees things will change even more. Keith had a killer first week on the job this week and had well over 20 hours of meetings. I am so incredibly proud of him and beyond excited what the future holds. He got his all time dream to no longer work for his boss AND to take her job! I reminded him of how good the Lord's timing is because he got way more than he ever expected!

On my work front, I found out I passed the all day exam I took in March. I passed with flying colors and then finally got my promotion to Clinical Specialist at work. On top of that, I was able to teach all weekend last weekend for the ankle lab for Kaiser's Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency. It was soooo much fun! I loved every minute of my very long week. I, like Keith, was reminded of God's goodness as everything I set out for has come to fruition. It has truly been God's timing and every door has been opened by Him, and Him alone. It has been beyond cool to see God work in both of our lives, changing us and molding us. He has answered every prayer as it was prayer and trust in Him that got me through the past two years.

I will leave you with this cute picture from today. We will see how well they continue to do with the rest of 2020 looking like it will involve remote learning and continued sheltering in place. 

Happy Father's Day, Where did June Go?

I had planned several times since the last post to do another blog, but time always seem to creep away from me until today. I decided I must write another post before I can no longer keep track of time, events and pictures. This cute picture of Rubix climbing the tree was after one of our bike rides at the end of May. He had just tackled riding up the dirt hill at the back of our park and decided he must climb the tree as well!

 As you know from previous posts the garden has been a big deal in our house. Keith and I are so proud of the kids, especially Axel, for watering the garden and taking care of it every day. It has been such a blessing to our family and we are excited to finally complete our garden in the next few days. I will talk about the more later on in this blog.

 It appeared to us after school ended the kids decided it was time to start getting along. They have made up this crazy game that included Magnatiles and Legos that they can play for hours. It is so cool to see that they have these same interests and that they can play together despite their age differences.

 During one of there 2 hour Lego marathon play times we received an unexpected package in the mail. To our surprise, Grandma Sonia sent a lovely Szolusha family Christmas Tree Skirt. Each child is lying over their name. Two of the empty hearts has Keith and mine name and the last heart says "The Szolusha Family!" We can't wait to use it this Christmas!

 On June 7th Axel and I went to wish his friend Ameera Happy birthday. After the small car parade, which just became legal a few days before her birthday, we went home to her Zoom birthday party. Ameera's mom placed a donut and candle in a paper bag that the kids could reach while driving by so that they all could enjoy singing happy birthday and enjoy a special treat. They also played a super fun game where they described objects and then had to run around the house to find the object being described. It was a very successful virtual birthday party.

 On June 7th we also received an email from Harker communication that Axel had been one of 12 students chosen to go on the cover of the school magazine. He was give the word RIDE to creatively show. We had 24 hours to think of something and send it back. This is what we all came up with. They apparently loved the idea. I will have to show the front cover once the magazine is published and sent out. I think we should be receiving it sometime in July.

 On June 5th our lives changed  because the pool opened. Two families are allowed to swim at a time and each family gets half the pool for 1 hour. It only took 2 days and Axel decided his hair had to go. All three males in our house decided to get their swim hair cuts. Here is a cute picture of Axel and Rubix with their twin haircuts.

 Our first of now many pumpkin flowers. They are so beautiful!

 As many of you may be feeling the same, it has been very hard to be creative and think of different meals to make day after day. I had purchased a paella for Keith and I to enjoy so I also picked up some yummy tempura shrimp for the kids. Here is the kids fun Japanese style dinner.

 And here is the Paella that Keith and I enjoyed.

 Rubix is really taking off with the art. Here is a picture of several of his drawings and paintings that are hung up on the side of our kitchen island. You may be able to tell he has a lizard, snake, frog, alligator, fish, tiger, Duck and famiy, ladybug on a leaf and a spider!

 It is also really fun to see Axel and Phoenix share other interests together outside of Legos. Phoenix has also gotten into Pokeman because of Axel. Here Axel is sharing his new deck with Phoenix. You may also notice that Phoenix has on flannel pants. Harker sent home Harker flannel pj pants along with some other fun surprises for the kids. Keith and I joked that we, along with other families, would have probably liked some tuition reimbursement, rather than a bunch of gifts for our kids, but it is what it is.

 I am not sure why I decided to include this, but it is enjoyable to see how much this little guy can consume. He often eats as much as Axel and Phoenix, although, now that Axel has been biking, swimming and running, he has days where he eats much more than the rest of the family (except Daddy of course!).

 On June 8th, our babysitter, Camryn started helping us 5 or 6 hours a day, the 4 days that I work. It has been a huge help. Keith can't believe how much work he can get done and I can't believe how much less interruptions I get while "treating" my patients. The kids are extremely more well behaved as they are getting the attention they need. They have also gotten into a good routine of doing their "school work" (math, English/writing, and reading) along with some fun extras like this art class that Rubix and Phoneix are taking in this picture. I pay a whopping 5 dollars for this hour long art class. This women has 300 children from the age of 5 to 15 on her Zoom art classes because she only charges 5 dollars. It is a win for everyone!

 Here is the squirrel that Phoenix drew from this art class.

 Axel started taking one on one sessions of one hour tutoring for Python coding and pre-Algebra through the online program called Juni Learning. Phoenix started one on one instruction for scratch and group Zoom Piano lessons. The kids absolutely love their weekly classes and then love the 4+ hours of free play in the afternoon when Camryn comes.

Last weekend we received another surprise package. Grandma Susan sent their Easter cards, which were these fun bags filled with little "prizes".

 The kids absolutely loved them!

 Axel did give most of his stuff to Rubix, but he really liked the idea, design and effort put into making the cards.

 Like I said above, the kids are truly in the groove of getting along and having each other. Here is a one of many events where the boys are having a blast together. It was right before bed and they had just showered, hence why Rubix is in his pull up and Axel is just in shorts. I love how they love each other!

 Here is Phoenix during Piano class. She has been really enjoying it so I do hope she gets the "music bug" because I would love for her to enjoy music as much as I did. Axel and I played the flute the other day, but it was like pulling teeth. He has so much talent, I do hope he revisits music in the future. I do think that he is going to give it up for now.

 Camryn is going to school to specialize in early childhood development as she wants to be a grade school teacher. You can see she has the kids captivated by her story. She is a natural and we have loved having her watch the kids for the last 3 years. We actually had a surprise visit from Annika as her grandfather passed away so she came into town to say goodbye. We have been so lucky with babysitters we hope we can find one more to get us through the next 2 to 3 years before we no longer need help.

 Rubix refuses to take naps but he often has moments where he rests. If we can't find him or we go outside, I will often find him sitting in the bay window looking at the garden or the bees in the bee bush.

 Here are the grow animal/characters that were in their Easter cards. I am not sure what the kids love about these, but they sure do enjoy seeing them grow and then shrink!

 Phoenix has had her left front top tooth loose for a couple of months. It is hanging on by a single root and can be twisted nearly all the way around. The permanent tooth is coming in just above it, if you look closely. I took this picture for her to see the tooth really needs to come out, but she refuses to take it out. It has been a good experience for Keith and I to learn to let things go.

 The 5 of us had dentist appointments this past Friday and Axel had an orthodontist appointment this past Thursday. They all got A+ for oral hygiene, which was a nice change. We have all been trying to floss more and it shows! Here is little Rubix waiting!

  Here is a picture of Miss Phoenix patiently waiting and watching the Tv above her. 

Here is Axel's panoramic from Thursday's orthodontist appointment. As you can see we are so excited because the top teeth found the opening and are descending appropriately. Previously those teeth were facing his permanent teeth and we were worried about having to put appliances on to hel the teeth to descend correctly. We are also excited because 4 of the bottom teeth have their roots nearly completely eroded which means Axel will finally be losing more teeth! He has an appointment in 3 months which they will then decided if he is done with the expander and ready for a retainer. The retainer will be worn until all of his baby tooth are gone and then he will finally get braces. The way things are looking the braces should be a quick 12 to 18 months because of the years of preparing his mouth to receive his permanent teeth. I can't believe how quickly the year of headgear went and how quickly the year of wearing the exapnders is going. 

After swimming yesterday morning Daddy decided it was time that we finally get a coffee treat and the kids get a hot cocoa treat. He was so excited he took a picture of himself at Starbucks. He then brought the drinks home where we transferred them into mugs and thoroughly enjoyed.

Last week Keith picked up the wood for our doors to the garden bed and the chicken wire that was on back order for over a month! When he was there I texted customer service the color of his car and the parking spot he was at, but while he was waiting he texted me this nice big sign they have made to make curbside pick up a breeze. 

Here we are completing our first door. We have 3 more to complete.

 We initially put the chicken wire on the sides and top before doing the doors. We still have a little bit more to cover on the top, but we didn't want to run out of the 4 foot wide chicken wire because we learned we can stretch it to cover our opening.

For Father's Day the kids made fresh squeezed OJ. It took over an hour, but they enjoyed every minute of it. 

 Yummy peanut butter waffles were made for breakfast to go with the OJ, along with a watering of the garden, lap swim with Axel and a bike ride up the hill. Once we complete our garden bed doors and put up the Trellis that arrives tomorrow, we will have a complete garden and action packed Father's Day.

 Happy Father's Day to our wonderful Dad and Husband and to all of our awesome Grandfathers. We love you all.

Let's not forget our pet Reggi! He has moved from our garage to our backyard!

Until next time......