Spring Break didn’t suck quite as bad this year, haha…

We took a day trip to a smaller resort we usually wouldn’t have gone to with our season passes. We ended up not scanning them this year and deferring to next season. Guess we’ll just have to get some extra days to make up for lost time on the slopes this season. ;-P

Spring conditions and very warm but good enough for E to practice.

Racing Daddy!

Picked up Chinese takeout and dimsum from Riverside on the way back. Piggie buns for E.

Legoland reopened its doors and invited season passholders back for some preview days. Of course, this one was more than ready to be back. The park was pretty quiet with zero lines for the select rides that were open. Also, we are excited for the new Lego Movie World land coming soon that was supposed to open last Spring but got postponed due to you know what.

Hard to believe but this is his first time on this ride! First he wasn’t tall enough but wanted to go so badly then he got a little scared when he WAS tall enough… and now has fully come to terms with it. ;P

We felt Legoland had put some pretty good precautions and protocols in place… including an insane amount of sanitizer on the bricks — see the layer of film on the mat?

A metaphor for the world this past year? Lol.

And then… In-person school started back up! They of course gave the option of staying virtual but after some deliberation, we just knew that it’d be better for E to be back. From the initial meetings, it sounded like it’d be a logistical nightmare but with a superb new principal and the village of teachers/staff/supportive parents, it really has been going amazingly well. We can tell that it has been SO good for E beyond academics — physically, mentally… Being the extrovert that he is, he really is incredibly happy to be with his friends and interacting with students and teachers. TBH, the first few days felt eerily quiet without E at home and hearing his teachers and classmates on Zoom in the background.

Virtual Science Night! The PTA has been doing a great job helping us all stay connected and in community.

These past months have instilled in him a deep love for reading… You can find him with a book (iPad) much of his free time at home. :) Sometimes with some odd yoga movements mixed in… :D (Remember down dog with ball scratch? Lol and sigh — ages ago it seems like!)

The world shut down shortly after his 7th b-day and here we are, a year later! Thank goodness this boy is easy to please — ice cream, Ramune soda, Lego’s and Pokeballs.

Have to say that we feel grateful and blessed for the immense amount of time that we’ve been able to spend with him these past months… And how proud we are of him for being so adaptable and resilient through crazy times. And yes, we still owe you a stay at Legoland!

Quite some boxes showed up on our doorstep that day and we cannot thank our friends, family from near and far for being so kind and making this boy’s day with plenty of unexpected surprises!

Neighbor A dropped by in the evening to hand deliver a Pokemon haul. Of course they couldn’t help but want to start playing, lol.

Hopefully, your 8th year won’t be spent in quarantine but who knows what will happen… One day at a time. :) Keep up the positivity, joie de vie that we love about you. And thanks for still finding your parents cool enough to want to hang with us. (Think we’ve still got a few years.) :P

Check: last peak in the 5-Peak challenge! Pyles was def the longest one as we had to go up Cowles first, descend a bit and then ascend.

When these two are together though, the miles just click on by. J went with us all the way to the peak while his parents headed down shortly after Cowles.

Birthday haul meant his Lego collection got yet bigger…

Typical Sunday afternoon “recess”. :)

Bring us back to the sheer excitement of a stick!

We helped Daddy move out of his “optional” office in downtown. They are 100% remote indefinitely. We could technically live anywhere but for the time being we might just still pick SD. :) Apparently we aren’t the only ones. Housing market is insane here!

Last chance to take advantage of chess and ping pong perks…

The hills are alive! Can’t take the post Spring showers green for granted as soon they will turn brown come summer.

Haven’t had a coffee shop drink in who knows how long so we treated ourselves with some to-go refreshments en route to Julian for a longer hike over a long weekend.

Vamos a Volcan.

We could see all the way to the Salton Sea.

Provisions at the top! The boys had planned on getting the famous Julian apple pie while in the area but a quick check told us the store closed earlier than we thought. It was a literal sprint to the bottom, making it to the shop 5 mins before closing!

Some chicken sightings after securing the pies. :)

Eyes on the prize, lol.

And Daddy insisted on picking up i.c. on the way back for a la mode. ;p

Been rainin’ a bit more so we’ve been soaking up some waters…

This verse has come to mind:
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
– Isaiah 43:2

One of our favorite hikes so far – Cedar Creek Falls! It requires a permit with limited capacity per day so it was pretty quiet on the trail.

It was also Valentine’s Day… Bromance is in the air, lol.

Made it! The last bit was quite a bit of scrambling so J’s dad stayed behind but well worth the effort.

Fist bump.

Mothers’ loves. :)

And then Daddy decided he wanted to climb further (via a VERY steep slope) to the top of the waterfall…

Who can spot the little dot (from the Little Red Dot, haha)?

Daddy’s view from up top. Apparently it was sketch enough that he had a slight fear for his life… :|

Can you see us below? Next time you’re having a bad day, take a deep breath, zoom out and realize how small we really are… whatever we’re going through is a passing moment.

More of what Daddy saw and what we missed out on…

And we waited quite a while for him to get back to the base of the falls.

Just chattin’ by mountains majesty… :)

First time finding a pair of underwear on the trail…

The boys got a real kick out of those dropped drawers!

Ladies and gents, no, that background is not a fake backdrop. ;-)

Got back right around sunset… Driving back with the waning sun on the mountains was perfection.

Another new to us beach area… mossy rocks and glorious light. :)

How many shades of beautiful are here? :))

Footprints in the {swirly, wirly} sand.

Would ya live here?

Canyon hike to a smaller falls.

Dream team creek crossing! (But uh, leaving Mommy to fend for herself). :P