Rubix turns 6!

 It is hard to believe that the little guy is 6 years old today. I am still getting over not having little children and am wrapping my head around being a parent of a teenager in a couple of weeks. Speaking of Axel, he lovingly sewed this soccer ball for Rubix on Sunday. It is perfect because he can now kick the "ball" with less chances of breaking something in the house. Axel will be celebrating his birthday this Saturday at an Escape room with his friends. He is having it early because of Spring Break and a swim meet next weekend. 

These picture are in reverse order and I am just too lazy to adjust them. Here is the little guy eating his birthday cake tonight. He requested blue frosting, so I whipped some up to put on our plan chocolate vegan cake that was left over from the party. 

"Mommy, can I take it off and eat it now?"

Just about ready to sing happy birthday. We were waiting for Auntie Shannon to call so we could all sign together. He is wearing new pjs that Gma Susan sent. 

Yummy calzones for dinner. Mommy stayed home from work just to prepare his favorite foods today.

The birthday boy in free dress ready for school!

The birthday boy devouring his chocolate chip oatmeal pancakes. He is wearing the same shirt he wore for his party. We had to convince him to change to his new soccer shirt that Auntie Sent. 

I am 6 years old today. Aren't I handsome!

This was Sunday late afternoon after his party. He opened one of his gifts and was building it. Of course, Axel and Phoenix wanted to help out. He had to write a thank you card for every present he opened. He only managed to open two of the gifts he received. He has 3 more presents to go. I love how he wants to play with or build what he receives before opening a new present. Much different than most kids who want to open them all and then decide which one to play with first. 

Here he is opening his first present!

The birthday party we held for him on Sunday was really special. It was almost like pre-Covid times. We had 6 friends and their families over for a birthday party in the park. We had a jump house and soccer balls for the kids to play and take home. It was amazing to see parents and children without masks socializing like the good old times. His friends were Mikhael, Noah, Arick, Rubix, Yash, Reese and Weston (from left to right). 

Arick may join Rubix's swim team for the summer. He came to his swim practice tonight to check it out. It will be so much fun if he joins. Mikhael is going to Challenger summer school with Rubix and we also found out that Arick may go too. Rubix is going to have a blast being around his friends more often. 

Phoenix was such a great little host. She made an obstacle course for the kiddos. She also got towels for the ground next to the jump house so the kids could place their shoes on them and walk on the towel to spare the socks from getting wet. Here Rubix is going through the course that she set up. 

Phoenix played with her classmate Brayden, who is Weston's older brother. 

It was fun to see her play, play, play non stop with Brayden. Besides the obstacle course, they played soccer and basketball too. 

Rubix with his first guests in the jump house!

Happy birthday Rubix!

I am having so much fun!

It was truly a special day. The only difference was we only had snacks and cake because I wasn't sure how people would feel about food. I had individually wrapped food, which seemed to be a success and people seemed to feel comfortable. 

We made a pumpkin cake and chocolate vegan cake to make sure we had enough to serve the 20 plus guests. Axel had a blast decorating it for Rubix. Keith was a little jealous as he loves doing this, but he was glad to see Axel enjoy taking over this duty. It was truly a special day celebrating Rubix's birth. 

San Diego Fun, San Benito Swim meet

For February ski week we went to San Diego to give Rubix and Phoenix the experience of Sea World, Lego Land and the Safari as older children. On Monday we went to Sea World. The kids were so excited to pet the sharks. 

On the way to visit the orcas and check out the show schedule we stopped to take a photo with this lovely dolphin :)

So beautiful!!!

Mommy dolphin and Baby dolphin

Stingrays!

The entire family rode on the Manta rollercoaster. Rubix is just over 48 inches so technically at 5 years old he is old enough to ride all of the rides at all of the parks. Lets just say that it was really fast (43 miles an hour) and that I thought Phoenix or him would lose it, but my prayers of protection appeared to be effective. Interestingly enough this crowd of flamingos was just under the ride and they were the most obnoxious prude of birds we have ever seen running back and forth and snorting very loudly.

Many exhibits and shows were closed, however we were able to see the sharks and penguins.

The kids and Keith and enjoyed the swings.

While Phoenix and Rubix enjoyed the Elmo ride that Axel enjoyed so many years ago. 

Every night we tried to watch the Olympics during dinner. Here the family is enjoying home made pizza.

Tuesday it rained and was very cloudy, cold and windy. We went to Torrey Pines and did a 4 mile walk along the beach. We had hoped for beach time, but the weather was just not nice enough. 

After lunch we went to the park to play. We were the only ones brave enough to bear the bad weather. Keith and the kids made up a fun new soccer swing game. 

On Wednesday we went to the Safari. We had never been. We were told it was a lot of walking, but it was similar to the Oakland Zoo and way better than the San Diego Zoo we had been to 2 times previously. 

Several things were closed again, but there were plenty of animals to enjoy and see. 

We were one of very few families who chose to mask. I thought it was important to mask with all of the people that were at the parks. All of February seniors had free admissions to the Safari park so it was packed with a ton of 65+ seniors along with many families and school field trips. 

The best part was going to the "Australia Savanna". We were lucky to see an 11 day old giraffe. 

The beautiful majestic lion.

We also had the privilege of seeing a Joey. This was a first for the entire family! So incredibly precious!!

I do believe we walked at minimum 5 miles each day including the Safari. The little ones were finally tired enough to fall asleep on the ride home. 

Phoenix was sweet enough to let Rubix complete one of her Valentine projects. It was fun to see them work well together. 

Thursday we ventured to Lego Land. You might remember this picture from 3 years ago when we were here last. 

The kids had the privilege of building and coding frogs. 

Lunch time! It was great to pack sandwiches and be able to eat lunch quickly to move on to the next exciting adventure. 

We rode the Dragon and Tech something roller coasters and then went to the new Kitty section where the rode the carousel and build with Legos. Phoenix built AWESOME and Rubix made the tree to the right of Awesome. Some kid build the robot and wanted to place it next to their builds. 

We went on a couple of chill rides and enjoyed looking at some huge Lego fairy tale builds. 

On Friday, Gma Sonia and Gpa Bruce drove all the way from Palm Desert to spend the day with us. We started the day doing a fun hike up one of the Mission trails. 

We had a beautiful view of San Diego from the top. 

Gma and Gpa with the kiddos!

After lunch and good conversation we went back to the park. This time it was packed and warm.

Rubix wanted to play soccer and Phoenix wanted to go to the beach. So after a little soccer passing we headed across the street to the beach. 

Phoenix enjoyed her time in the sand and the vacation was complete! It was such a nice visit with Gma and Gpa. It had been over 2 years since we had seen them in person!

We drove back all day on Saturday and then went to the pool for some race prep for the kids swim meet on Sunday. 

The kids each had 4 races. It was in San Benito, which is near Hollister. The kids had a great day, but it was another long day. I do believe that they PR'd in almost all of their events. To highlight, Rubix did a 22.95 second 25 yard butterfly. Phoenix broke 3 minutes in the 200 yard freestyle (according to my video which clocked her at 2:59) although the results show 3:02. Axel finally broke the 35 second barrier for 50 fly and the 30 second barrier for the 50 free. It was great to see them race so well after a week off of swimming. 

I do have to say I was absolutely exhausted as we arrived home around 3pm. We are trying to get back into a groove at school and work. This last quarter/trimester of school is going to be tough. Rubix will continue to do soccer. Phoenix will be in the dance show with extra dance rehearsals and will continue her piano lessons. Axel will be adding track, has 2 math competitions the next couple of weeks and wants to continue his fabrics class. This all on top of their 3-4 swim days per week and 3 big swim meets in March and April are going to make time fly. 

Next up are the boys birthdays. We have a soccer party in the park planned for Rubix on Sunday March 13th and an escape room planned for Axel and his friends on Saturday the 19th. His birthday is right before Spring break, so it is better that he celebrates early again. I hope to write again after the boys birthdays.