Szolushas go to Tahoe!

Because of the pandemic, Keith and I finally agreed to take the kids to the snow. We had planned on taking the kids to Arnold, but a bad storm blew out the power and the power was out for 10 days, up until the day we were suppose to arrive. Five days before our planned trip, we canceled our VRBO for Arnold and scheduled a VRBO in South Lake Tahoe. It was actually the only place that was affordable, and it was absolutely spectacular. It was probably the nicest place we have stayed at thus far.  We were lucky enough that the Arnold VRBO owners gave us a full refund, minus VRBO fees. The few hundred dollar loss was well worth it, because we had the most amazing vacation as a Szolusha family ever!

Here we are driving up in our rented Ford expedition. The kids watched Mary Poppins for the first time on the way up. We had a smooth trip except for a slow up through Tracey. 

The kids did not waste any time once we arrived to start playing in the snow!

Even this older kid enjoyed the snow.

Here the kids are enjoying hot cocoa after dinner on Saturday night, Feb 7th, the day we arrived. 

I was so happy with the place, I took pictures!

The Expedition could hardly fit in the garage it is so long!

Sunday morning we woke up and walked out our back door through the meadow to Bonjou Community park. It ended up being a long walk through the snow so Rubix and Phoenix tried as often as possible to be pulled. 

Bonjou Park is a skate park in the summer and a sledding area in the winter. The snow was a bit hard and was not super comfortable going over the bumps, but the kids had a blast. Things ended when Axel got a little more air than anticipated and landed hard on his buttock. Luckily, he recovered well and was able to make the long walk "home".

Here is a picture of me and the kids in the meadow, right outside our back door. 

My handsome husband with the beautiful back drop. 

The kids had plenty of snow to build with despite the high temperatures and melting snow. 

Sunday night was Super Bowl fun. Rubix played catch with "wolfie" while daddy tried to watch the game. 

Phoenix passed out in my lap in pure exhaustion while I tried to watch the game. It was a great game and we were glad to get the kids to bed after playing outside in the snow all day!

On Monday we drove up close to Spooner Lake and did some sledding. The snow was still hard and a bit difficult to sled without hitting hard bumps. The kids discovered it was less painful to slide on their butts down the hill so we learned to do "butt sliding" down the hill, instead of sledding! We found this great snow man so we took the opportunity for a photo op. 

The kids climbing up the hill to they were butt sliding down. 

Beautiful photo op at the top of the hill. 

Phoenix loves the snow!

Rubix with a love /hate relationship with the snow. It is fun, until his siblings play too hard or he can't keep up. 

Last photo before heading home for lunch as people started to flood in.

Although Axel and Phoenix were on break from school, Rubix still had his live morning class at 9 am and then had to complete his other 3 classes in the afternoons when Phoenix and Axel had more time to play outside and build. Daddy took the opportunity to get the taxes done for out school admission deadline.

On Tuesday we headed to Emerald Bay and went on the most breath taking hike to a hidden lake. It took us about 2.5+ hours to complete this hike, but we all thoroughly enjoyed this adventure. 

Photo opp at Eagle Falls. 

Fun throwing snowballs into the water before heading on the main hike to the hidden lake. 

Stopping to make snow balls along the way. 

Phoenix enjoying the hike especially with her walking stick!

A short stop to debate if we should continue or turn around. We decided to continue on!

We finally made it to the hidden lake that is frozen over! Others said they walked on it, but we decided it wasn't worth the risk. We looked from afar and ate a snack before heading back.

Phoenix on a rock where she ate her snack. 

Since we climbed quite a few hundred feet. We had to "climb down". When it was steep, the kids, and sometimes us adults, decided to butt slide down the hill! A benefit of winter hikes!

The best vista point looking over Emerald Bay. 

Moments like these were a little scary as the trail was on a cliff. I did a lot of praying and trusting in the Lord that our kiddos were not going to mis step and slide down the side of the mountain. 

Luckily, we made it back in one piece. A view of the "water fall".

 A picture of the "water fall" behind Keith and I. 

The kids next to a little snow man at the begining of the trail.

Tired kiddos after our long hike. 

After some lunch the kids and Daddy played outside. I rode the trainer while watching a continuing education course and then cooked dinner. It was fun to see them playing while I cooked dinner. 

On Wed. we found a perfect place to sled near Fallen Leaf Lake. The snow was much softer and we all enjoyed the sledding much more. 

We were all exhausted from running up the hill and sledding back down for 2 hours!

Daddy took a break and "iced" his hip and back :)

A great action shot of Rubix running up the hill.

Wed afternoon was igloo building time. It took Axel hours and hours to complete this task. After working on his own with a little help from Phoenix for 2 hours, Rubix and I were able to join him. It took us another hour or so to finish his master piece. 

Getting closer!

Almost there!

Complete!

All three were able to fit.

Even mommy!

Although it was a little snug to get in and out. 

Here is Rubix in his little igloo!

On our last full day, we went back to Emerald Bay, but this time we hiked down to the Bay. It was an easy mile down to the beach.

We enjoyed seeing the Vikingholm and island. 

The kids loved throwing snow balls into the water. 

After a short play time we decided to hike up to the Lower Fall.

Another beautiful hike!

Out handsome 4 year old on the bridge. 

The Szolushas sitting on teh "bench".

Another photo op with the "water fall" behind us. 

The mile hike back up, was not as easy, but we managed to get to the car just as the snow storm started. 

As soon as it started snowing down where we were, which was about 2 hours after leaving Emerald Bay, the kids ran outside to play in the snow fall. Phoenix and Rubix enjoyed playing around on the snow shoes. 

It was an amazing experience to play with it snowing outside!

We woke to an amazing view of snow topped trees. We were all out by 8am to enjoy the snow. Keith and I snowshoed and the kids played in the "fresh powder". 

This was by far the best vacation we have had. We had so much fun that we are going back for Spring break!

I will try to post again on fun long weekend we had once we returned from Tahoe. We enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day hike and dinner. We are also looking forward to Rubix's birthday in a few weeks!

 

Phoenix Turns 8!

With each passing year, it seems unimaginable to be at this place in time. I say the same thing every year, but it is hard to believe that Phoenix turned 8 this past Thursday, January 21st. I am beyond excited to be at this milestone and continue to look forward to the person that she is becoming. 

She has grown so much over the past year and I actually think this year at home was the best thing for her and us. I do believe she feels more loved and more apart of the family. She has struggled with this middle child thing, but I truly feel this past year has given her opportunity to look beyond her birth placement and see the amazing person she is becoming. Her temperament continues to be a little scattered, but overall she is a sweet girl who loves to learn and move. She has her moments of feeling like she needs to use baby talk, and other moments of vivid anger, and yet again tremendous periods of laughter and exuberance. One thing you can guarantee is that Phoenix knows what she wants. 

For her birthday she decided on her meals for the day weeks before. For breakfast she order chocolate chip waffles! I added strawberries and blueberries with coconut whip cream on top. 

For her birthday at school everyone said Happy birthday during attendance. 

She graciously said thank you to her 23 classmates as each said, "I will do my best today and happy birthday Phoenix!"

Her classmates then signed a card for her and sang her happy birthday and then her day continued. 

She rode her beloved scooter during snack recess and lunch. 

For lunch she order an omelet. 

She enjoyed her omelet with ketchup and sweet oranges. 

Daddy and I enjoyed a spinach, avocado omelet, which was a delicious treat. 

After school Phoenix and Axel sewed a succulent and pot, although I apparently did not get a picture of Phoenix sewing, but did manage to snap a photo of Axel showing me Phoenix's pot she had sewed. 

For dinner Phoenix ordered steak. I decided to make a cauliflower potato puree that I think goes well with the steak. I thought the kids would enjoy the smiley face. 

After dinner she opened her gifts and Zoomed with Grandma Susan and the Jolleys.

We all sang her happy birthday. 

She also opened the gifts they gave her in front of them, which was really nice.

And yes, she enjoyed a piece of chocolate vegan cake with coconut whipping cream.

It was a stupendous day for Phoenix. 

Before continuing to her party, I thought I would add pictures of Rubix and his new fort phase. 

He has modified and try to improve his fort and happily plays in it. You can see him entering into he secret passage way, where he drops down beside the massage table to underneath the pinball machine. 

He happily arrives on the other side. 

One last picture of him happily playing inside his fort!

I had to add this picture as well of Rubix doing a bench mark this morning. He did his 16 addition problems in 1 minute and 50 seconds with no mistakes. He really loves to do what the older kids are doing. It is so much fun to see him trying to be a big kid and loving to learn!

The long awaited party day arrived and Phoenix enjoyed her virtual birthday party with her 3 closest friends and her cousins Braylin and Aya. 

The girls put on tattoos, made dream catchers, painted their nails, enjoyed cake in a cup, charades and dancing. 

All in all, I think it went well and the girls had fun. The dream catcher was not as easy as I thought it would be, but everyone was a good sport about it. 

Dream catcher!

Virtual birthday card!

Cake in a cup time!

 As we finish out the first month in 2021, we look forward to our first family trip to the snow! We rented a place in Arnold for a week and plan on playing in the snow and spending well needed family time together that does not include school or work! Check back in February for more Szolusha fun!

Happy New Year! 2021 is here!

On New Years Eve with enjoyed game night and our last pumpkin pie of the season! EAch child picked a game. 

We managed to play Monopoly Deal, Chutes and Ladders and Blokus. 

Monopoly Deal ended in some tears from Ms. Phoenix. Axel came out the winner. Daddy won Chutes and Ladders and Axel won Blokus. 

Rubix did a great job of following all of the rules and understanding all of the games. It is very exciting to see that we are approaching a new chapter in the Szolusha household. With Rubix almost 5, we are really starting to move away from having to accommodate a younger child and getting into super fun adventures and family times. 

On New Years morning we got up early and headed to the Quarry again to hike. This time we had Axel's friend, Shamik, and his parents join. The kids had so much fun. We hiked just under 5 miles and 1000 feet of climbing! Our kids are such champs! My legs were a little sore from the walking. They did not complain one bit. Rubix did mention that his legs were sore and tired at the very end, but overall he did superbly.

Here is a random picture of Phoenix. She was doodling on the white board and I needed it to write up Rubix's math so we took a picture so she would remember what she drew. 

I have been in such a rut with cooking. The kids are definitely getting less picky, but I rotate through about 20 meals or so that I know they will eat and I, maybe even all of us, are getting sick of them. To change things up I grilled some chicken that the kids could use for chicken quesadillas and then whipped up some sweet potatoes and sauteed some bacon, onions and pears to go over it all. I then added our last avocado that was at the point where we needed to eat it or throw it out. It was delicious to have something with some flavor! I am hoping this year will be a good year to transition to more meals that everyone will eat as I am confident their palates are maturing and ready for more tasty food.

On January 4th I got what seemed like an emergency phone call from my boss asking me to schedule my vaccine asap. It wasn't possible for me to make it that day or the next because of my work schedule so I had her schedule me for the last appointment on Wed. the 6th. This first picture is me in the elevator, right after my observation time after receiving the vaccine. My boss asked for selfies and I wanted to take it right away, but I didn't want to violate any HIPPA regulations. 

Because I wasn't sure, I went ahead and did the selfie whenI got into my car. I thought it looked more official to have the mask on. 

A colleague and myself have been in conversation about purchasing some new lounge wear. Since a patient gave me a giftcard to Amazon I went ahead and purchased a couple of lounge pants. I decided to take a picture of myself folding laundry in my new pink joggers and texted it to her for smiles. She was very pleased to tell me that she was excited hers were on the way. I find it so funny the conversations we choose to have these days as we spend most of our time at home. I am so very grateful that I truly enjoy taking care of my family and folding heaps of clothes!

We had planned for Rubix to transition back to in person learning/ school on January 19th. Unfortunately, we have decided against it since the public health orders have extended our shelter in place indefinitely, until our hospitalizations and ICU capacity improves. It was a very difficult decision, but we think it is best to keep him home, because overall he is doing quite well. This conversation about Rubix going back to school became a topic of discussion on Christmas Eve, while Skyping with  Grandma Sonia and Gpa Bruce. Gma Sonia showed us her new masks that she was making and I said, "Those look great. Rubix will be needing a few masks for school, so he has one for each day." Well, she happily agreed to make Rubix some and they arrived last week. Here he is smiling with one of them on. He loves them! To my surprise yesterday we received another shipment for Phoenix, Axel, Keith and myself. We now all have a handful of masks, which makes life much easier. These ones are extra great because they go under the chin, hug around the noise and have enough air space for easy breathing and talking without the mask moving in any direction! 

While I was at work last Saturday the kids had a very fun Daddy day as usual. They went swimming, had donuts and played outside for hours. Part of their outside play consisted of them tracing each other with chalk on the driveway. Here is Phoenix with Axel accessorizing her image. 

Here is Axel with Phoenix accessorizing his image. 

Here is Rubix with his somehow small head and huge right foot. Phoenix and Axel, added the foot flames and other details. 

On Sunday last week we spent hours making Valentine's for Phoenix's classmates. The kids are so excited to receive tangible items. They were due today so we needed to make sure to get them done on my day off. Axel and Rubix helped Phoenix and I with the first few batches.

Axel stayed to help a  bit longer, but I somehow got suckered in to finishing by myself and managing the difficult clean up. 

We were able to make multi-colored and scented soaps this time. I think they turned out pretty well. We made pink for the girls and orange for the boys. Most of them had white on one side. The scents varied from orange to lavender to eucalyptus to peppermint. 

The final product had a tag on it that said, " Hope is like soap. Use it daily." Happy Valentine's Day!

I realized last 2 nights ago that I have not been taking very many picture of the kids. I saw this sweet opportunity of Keith reading to Rubix. What a beautiful father/son moment. 

Last night I decided the boys need haircuts. To my surprise, they all cooperated and are styling with their less saggy new dews. I am still trying to convince Keith to clean up his beard. He thinks I mean for him to shave it, but really I just want him to shape it and get the long sides trimmed so we can see the shape of his face. 

Today was a big day as Rubix went in for his first fillings. Our family dentist thought he might have a couple of cavities. Today we found out he has 5! He managed to sit through an hour of treatment and get 4 taken care of today! They did his 2 back molars on the bottom right and top right. He has one left on the top left that will be filled in February. He was incredibly brave and cooperative. I was impressed with how still he was. 

 In other news, Axel continues to run and get faster and faster. On Wed I received a text at work saying that Axel ran a 6:43 mile! Phoenix ran a 1:52 400 meter and Rubix did it in 2 minutes flat. They all earned a hot chocolate apparently from their great efforts. The most exciting news though, is that Axel decided he really wants to be in the math elective next year, which is extremely difficult and competitive to get into. They choose about 12 students from his grade. He needs greater than a 95% for his grade. He also needs to do very well on the AMC8 and AMC10 and he has to test well on an exam in April. This is exciting because he decided he wants to work really hard. Well, he was getting a 95.4% most of the year, until he had to "bad" tests at 90 and 91 which had brought down his score to a 94%. He had his last test yesterday and he needed to do get nearly perfect to get his grade back up. He spent hours studying over the course of several days and managed to walk away with a perfect score! We are so proud of him. Now he has to start studying and practicing math concepts that he has not been introduced to for the AMC10. He only has 2 weeks left to prepare. He scored a 12 on the AMC8 that he took earlier this year. He was extremely unprepared for it and did not do as well as his peers who do math competition and classes outside of school. This time he was given enough notice to prepare which will hopefully improve his score and help him be more competitive with his peers. Even if he doesn't get accepted into the elective, we hope he walks away with the pride and self worth,  of what it means to work hard for what he wants.  We can't wait to get his final grades for Semester 1 next week. The other big news for Axel is he made his own after school Pokemon club. He asked his Japanese teacher to moderate for him and she kindly agreed. We are hoping this will allow him to connect with more kids with similar interest and learn that he will be accepted for who he is, regardless if his interests are different from others. 

We can't wait for Phoenix's 8th birthday next week. It should be a fun one. I hope to post again in the next week or two!