tales from a far-land

Happy 11th Birthday, Madilyn Rae! Now that you are 11, you're going to start growing up even faster than ever, so just have fun and enjoy every moment along the way. You re officially a tween! These next years will be full of transitions, moodiness, drama, and changes, but you have got this! You are kind, mature, affectionate, a little aloof, hard-working, and fun-loving. We hope this next year around the sun is filled with every desire and aspiration that you dream of. We love you so much! Birthday Wishes Front Yard Birthday Photo Shoot Birthday Greetings from Mina Birthday Gift from Aunt Melinda To celebrate Madilyn's birthday, she had birthday blow-out.  She invited all of her favorite friends to go ice skating with a sleepover following.  She is incredibly loved.  Friends from all areas of her life joined her for this amazingly fun day.  We were so thankful that Peoria AzIce  could accommodate us, even with the pandemic still continuing.  It was a very successful celeb

Our February was full of activities and frolicking.  We celebrated Purim by making delicious hamantaschen cookies and pizza pockets.  We enjoyed exploring northern Arizona wine country.  We also toured Phoenix's downtown street art scene.  We spent time with friends.  And the kids learned how to clean the upstairs one Saturday morning in our attempt to teach them some important life skills as they are growing older. This year I attempted to make hamantaschen cookies for the first time on my own.  They may look yummy, but sadly, I misread the recipe and used baking soda instead of baking powder.  Ugh!  That will be a lesson I remember for next year. However, the savory hamantaschen turned out much better.  The kids had fun stuffing their pockets with a multitude of toppings.  There were toppings for pepperoni pizza pockets, buffalo chicken pockets and even a Mexican themed pockets.  It was a fun and different family dinner experience. One Saturday morning in February, the kids were

Valentine's Day fell on the Sunday before President's Day this year.  Thus, the day was extra special as we did not have school or work the next day.  We spent most of the day relaxing and chilling.  We did convince the kids to do a family walk with us.  And by walk, I mean, the kids used their hoverboards.  But they still got out of the house with Josh, I and the dogs.  For dinner, we invited over the Pattee family to enjoy our traditional holiday meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  What a great way to spend the day. Valentine's Day Goodies My Valentine's Excited to break their chocolate hearts Valentine's PJs and Giggles 5 Year Anniversary Photo

One of Madilyn's true joys right now is cheerleading.  She thoroughly enjoys going to practice each week, even this past year during the pandemic when practices were held outside at night, in the cold.  At the end of January, her cheerleading organization held a virtual competition since they had not been able to do so in the fall.  The participants were dropped off at the competition site already dressed in their outfits with pom-poms and masks.  Parents watched the performance via Zoom and then immediately picked up their child.  I watched the entire performance in my car which I parked in a neighborhood nearby the performance site as there was not enough time to travel home and back in the allotted time.  It embodied all things pandemic, but Madilyn was so excited to finally perform once again.  Maybe sometime in 2021, we will be able to see her perform in-person once again. Madilyn, January 2021 Screenshots I took while watching Zoom Video of the Performance at  Madilyn receivi

After the bustle of the holiday season, we were delighted to have a fairly low-key January.  We spent time outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather and wildlife.  We celebrated Shabbat and Tu B'Shevat.  We visited with friends and family.  We enjoyed just being.  It was a wonderful start to the new year. Attending a Porch Yard Concert ~ Vinyl Station Celebrating Tu B'Shevat Playing Jenga on Shabbat A beautiful backyard sunset And, observing our hillside mountain lion.