I’ll be honest. I couldn’t think of a funny headline with “20”. So I looked it up. Here are a few of the options I didn’t choose and why not:

• 20/20 – meh; everyone started this year out with iterations of that (duh, 2020), and look how that turned out.
• viginti anni et amplius, aut plus – while this phrase means “20 years and more”, which is fitting, I don’t know any Latin.
• twenty to the dozen – means “very fast, fluently”, which also fit given the time warp we are living in, but seemed obscure. Is it?

Anyway. Twenty winks worked, since it’s half as long as 40 winks (a nap), and is considered “a very short sleep”. Perfect. Let’s get to the good stuff.

It was an interesting Week 20 with some major milestones! But first, tea time. That’s what Ella had in store for us early this week, complete with tiny cheese cubes and goldfish. A perfect mini lunch break for the whole family.

And while we’re on the food front, ever tried Zucchini pizza? I have! And it was delicious. Yum, Yum, Yum.

Though we’re not on the Keto diet, periodically we try new recipes that are lower carbs. I swear I feel better when I eat fewer carbs. Speaking of which, I often begin my day with Keto pancakes, which I also highly recommend (especially with whipped cream, which believe it or not is Keto-friendly):

Another adventure in Week 20? How about 5 earthquakes?

At 4:30 am on Thursday morning, we woke to someone picking up and dropping our house, repeatedly. As we all wobbled into the bathroom, our designated emergency procedure, the girls’ eyes were like saucers. They really haven’t felt a lot of earthquakes, and this one, while not HUGE (a 4.2) was one of the closest I can remember.

The shaking didn’t last long, it just “shakes” you up a little. We felt all 5 quakes (the main one and its aftershocks) and were thankful to learn that no damage was reported. In true LA fashion, I looked at the USGS site for any trends of concern, checked our emergency supplies, and we went about our day.

Bart and I had an exceptionally busy week (I swear work is just getting busier), so I can barely tell you what the girls did during the week… I do know they were again not fans of their online classes. Why? Mostly because they are in webinar format, with very little (if any) interaction for the kids – and for Ella, no princesses. What they DID do was a lot of LEGOs, which I don’t hate.

In fact, they found an amazing YouTube Kids series with Ellie V, who, with great enthusiasm, builds incredible sets. In fact, watch at your own risk, but this one is mesmerizing. Ella made me watch it, and I was so inspired that I helped finish color sorting FAST so they could build. In that video you’ll see a 4-story rainbow house, which (rainbow aside) inspired this creation:

Yep, you’re looking at a treehouse, a kitchen with see-thru cabinets, and a hand-made Lego piano. As an actual educational activity, they also assembled a map of the USA, complete with capitals and state facts. That’s something!

(CLICK FOR VIDEO)

We are also in crunch time to earn enough money for those American Girl dolls… You see, instead of 10 weeks, they apparently took 4 weeks and arrived yesterday. SHHH. They do not know that yet, but since we’re taking a tiny vacation on August 8, they have one week to hit the mark. Zoe is right on track. Ella is VERY far behind… So we’ve bribed Zoe to say that she earns money for helping Ella earn money, so they can both take their dolls on vacation. Wish us luck with that one.

But back to Week 20, because as I mentioned, it was a milestone week! My amazing husband celebrated 30 (THIRTY!) years with Aquent! He has contributed so much to this organization, in every role, and touched so many lives. And now he knows that for sure, since his team compiled a ONE HOUR video, filled with comments, photos and individual videos from many of the people he’s helped along the way. In fact, Zoe weighed in with a video of her own:

(CLICK FOR VIDEO)

On Friday night, we watched the full hour as a family on the big screen. His team (and I) spent the past couple of weeks gathering content to make him feel special, and one of his teammates stitched everything together with snippets of news feeds, music videos and other 1990s references – including some Grateful Dead footage from that time. Truly amazing. He also got a gold watch! Classic.

On Saturday, I spent a chunk of the day sewing. Yep, sewing, including “winging it” with a piece of fabric Zoe picked out for a dress. I literally cut out a hole for her head, estimated the arm holes, sewed up the sides and put a hem around all the openings. She loved it. That night, we had our first family dinner night out since March 13 [gulp]. First, check out the dress:

Then, let me tell you how weird it is to eat out. Well, maybe you know already. I didn’t. Thankfully, in LA the mask policy is honored, as well as outdoor seating only, at very spread out tables. However, no one eats with masks on, so once you’re at your table, well, pray? I know that’s overdramatic, and I know that regarding surface transfer the CDC states “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about how this virus spreads.”

So you’re saying there’s a chance. My poor husband on his special evening graciously let his wife pull out disinfectant wipes and wipe down the table. The restaurant had single-use utensils (#brilliant), and honestly the experience was as good as could be expected. But I won’t be asking to make a habit of it.

Oh! I forgot to mention that on Wednesday we got the excellent news that Zoe (if all goes well) will have her braces REMOVED on Aug 12! Woot! She was beside herself and called every friend who would pick up to let them know. I’ll wrap up with some pictures of beautiful girls and beautiful flowers for you to enjoy. Hope you’re well and safe!