Highlights
- Calan goes to NM for Poppa’s 80th birthday
- We attend our first speed cube competition
Calan
Calan got to fly in an airplane, visit a new state and help celebrate Poppa’s 80th birthday this year! It was quite a trip for Calan and Dada mainly because it was a pretty quick turnaround, and as luck would have it, many of the hours of the trip ended up being spent at LAX. Due to a lot of confusion and a cumbersome route to the American Airlines gate, we missed the flight to El Paso early in the morning. We thought we’d have a smooth departure morning with the early flight having stayed over the night before at Uncle Colin’s condo in Long Beach. Those plans didn’t work out so well. Unfortunately, the airline didn’t have a flight available for what ended up being some 12 hours later. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure, but Calan and Dada finally got to give Nanna and Poppa a hug after midnight NM time following an Uber ride from El Paso to Las Cruces. What was left of the trip was a lot better, although it was bookended by another near disaster when Calan had a moderate reaction to his small peanut does. In between though, we really enjoyed getting to visit Nanna and Poppa (and Uncle Brandyn too!), seeing their house, a little bit of Las Cruces and being with Poppa on the day he turned 80. For Calan, his highlights were seeing the interesting things at his grandparent’s house, going to a steak house for dinner, and playing around in the dry Rio Grande River. Fortunately, the trip home was pretty uneventful.
Calan ended up participating in his first speed cube competition. It was just the right mix of fun and pressure, with his buddy Troy there to support him. Troy has done quite a few of these competition in the past. It was a long day with lots of attempts at solving the 3×3 and 2×2 cubes in both morning time and afternoon events. Evan liked the scene too, which we broke up by going outside to an adjacent park and sliding down a hill on cardboard sleds. Before heading home, we did a quick stop at Shannon and Moshe’s to say hi. Needless to say, Calan was pretty exhausted, and we quickly learned the stop-by at our old friend’s house was a bit too much. As usually, we all survived.
Calan picked up piano again this month to kick off what has become his yearly “piano phase”. He really enjoyed learning and playing a song called “Free as the Wind”, picking it up for the most part in just a few days without practicing anything else since last May. Our crazy kid…
This month we had our first football games in the new Ventura league. With his good accuracy and smart choices when using his arm, Calan became QB again for the team along with one other kid. In the first game, he was in the whole time as the passer and did great. He’s had some up and down games since, which is just more experience for him to handle when things don’t quite go his way. Calan and Dada get to spend some time together a couple times a week as the practice is 30+ minutes away, but is in one of the most beautiful parks in the county. Afterwards there’s lots of exploring to be had in the hills surrounding. They are especially breath taking this time of year with all the rains bringing lush greenery and colorful flowers.
Calan also did a fun day trip to the Getty Villa with Mama. They had fun exploring and learning lots of things there on Calan’s first visit since he was maybe five. This was mostly inspired by a big Greek learning explosion this month where Calan learned the Greek alphabet, including how to write all of the letters. He’s been obsessed with looking up things about ancient Greece and of course math influences and extra celebrations around “Pi Day” on 3/14.
Evan continues to enjoy preschool, especially in having experiences with his friends there. It’s always a highlight of the week when we pick Evan up from school. He just seems so much older…our big four year old, quickly approaching age 5!
While Evan didn’t come to NM on the trip, he was a big boy hanging back with Mama. They had some good time together, and when Mama went to work during the evenings, Aunt Ginny was able to come up and watch him; which was key to making the trip all work out in the first place!
We enjoyed a bike ride to the Y one weekend day, Evan doing great with the distance. We played in the gym for awhile before heading back. Just the right kind of adventure that both boys soaked up.
Evan loved going to the park more this month given the time change and the rainy season finally givening way. Our routine of heading out after dinner was something we all looked forward to.
Notable quotes this month:
Called an audio book being played through the TV a “Listening Movie”
To Mama: “I love you even though I’m big and tough.”
Talking about age…”If I was zero, I’d be invisible.”
REading a book, we saw Zeus mentioned. Evan said “Is that the guy who wrote cat in the hat?” Calan laughed saying ‘the god of the sky, writing a book called cat in the hat!?”
Day after cube competition, we were talking about cubes such as the 3×3, 2×2… Then Evan said, “You can borrow my 0x0, it’s made out of air” as he reached out with an empty hand holding…well, nothing.
