July Quarantine Adventures

While we're still waiting to hear the official word on going back to school, and feeling like this:

We've been coming up with some fun stuff to keep us busy. Dad is teaching Tommy to skateboard.

Mom pickled some cucumbers, some from the store and one from our garden. They turned out super pungent and pretty yummy!

Kat made some surprise cookies. They look like ordinary sugar cookies on the outside...

But are tie-dye on the inside!

They were yummy too. 

Tommy has been building Lego Transformers. They turn from vehicles...

Into big robots!

And Kat also went to a merit badge week with her Scout troop. They did a great job wearing masks and social distancing, and she got 3 merit badges: Art, Emergency Preparedness, and Environmental Science. Pretty impressive!

Bundled up during early morning art...

And doing an experiment on pollution for environmental science.

But her favorite part may have been giggling with Ally. 

Egg Drop

Since Tommy didn't get to do his 3rd grade Egg Drop science project, we decided to host our own.  We invited Kat's friend Kayla, and Sarah and Cole, who are part of our quaranteam. 

Tommy built his egg-protector out of paper straws.

And Mom used a rubber band suspension system for hers.

Dad's was a Da Vinci's parachute/suspension combo. 

I put my egg in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap and covered in balloons. 

Eggs in Action!

In order: Cole, Kat, Kayla, Sarah, Tommy, Dad, then Dad again, and Cole chucking Mom's as hard as he could.

All eggs (except Kayla's) survived the fall! I awarded my egg the Nobel Peace Prize and Medal of Honor for surviving two falls. 

After the egg drop contest, we modified and chucked our creations off the balcony a few more times before having a water balloon fight, and then baking the world's tiniest sheet cake. A fun day of science and silliness with friends!

Tide Pools and Other Pools

After a false start (with 3 of the 4 of us slipping and falling on the rocks at Bird Rock), we went to the La Jolla tide pools and saw lots of cool stuff!

Big crabs...

And tons of sea anemones and chitin. 

We even found a molted crab shell!

We ended the day with the hotel pool all to ourselves.

We felt recharged after our little escape. 

La Jolla Sea Lions

San Diego Mini-Getaway

We were starting to go a little stir crazy, so last weekend we took a little trip down to San Diego. We ate yummy burgers in Ocean Beach...

And then went kayaking in Mission Bay. 

We had a lot of fun, but could barely keep Tommy in the boat, he kept wanting to jump out and swim around. 

Both kids held their own and were good paddlers.

That night we found an outdoor patio to eat at. It was really nice to be somewhere new, and Tommy said their chicken nuggets were some of the best he'd had (he is a connoisseur of nuggets)!

Beach with Buddies

We really missed out friends Sarah and Cole, and recently added them to our quaranteam. 

Cole and Tommy dug a hole, and then waited for the tide to come in and swamp them. 

When that didn't happen they had to swamp themselves. 

We also did some boogie boarding and playing in the waves. Yay for friends!

Polar Playground, Round 2

Kat cashed in one of her "treat of your choice" coupons that she'd been hoarding from her Easter basket, so it was back to Polar Playground! This time she opted for JigglyPuff from Pokemon. She made Dad hold it while she went to the bathroom. He said it made him feel tough. 

So cute!

And yummy too!

A Boy and His Dinosaurs

We watched the neighbors' dog Sadie while they were out of town. We like taking her on walks to the park. We also liked using this new google feature that lets you put a dino in your environment. Look out for that T-Rex!

Sadie seems unfazed by this pteranadon, and it almost looks like Tommy's walking him on a leash. 

And there was a snuggly parasauralophus at the playground.