Um, wow. It’s Thursday?! Of Week 30?!!! Where’d Week 29 go?!

I do know that it happened. I was there. In fact, last week was rather crazy for me at work. I moderated a panel on Monday, presented at a conference on Wednesday and hosted two back-to-back roundtables on Thursday, all from the comfort of my dining room table. I also painted my super long pandemic nails blue. That’s something.

But this blog is not about me. Let’s get to the good stuff. Last week was a typical school week for the girls: Chaos. We had lots of conversations about homework, paying attention, setting timers to remember to return from breaks, paying attention (were you paying attention just then?), and so on. Let’s just say school is in “no change” status.

On a brighter note, Wednesday night Zoe and Ella went to a drive-in movie. You see, the prior week, Ella decorated a cardboard shipping box like a car, including making a cut-out steering wheel (bad mom, no photo), which we finally talked her out of keeping. So Zoe created new “cars” out of plastic storage bins lined with beach towels and set them up in front of the TV, for a drive-in, complete with homemade pizzas:

As a bonus, Ella created a get-rich-quick scheme (well, not that quick, but still, rich). Apparently they were talking about the lifecycle of apples in her class at school. With Bart’s help (he provided the spelling only), she created a business plan. The top-left page was written by my husband. Guess who shouldn’t be teaching letters to children? My husband.

Anyway, without showing me Bart’s page, Ella shows me hers, very excitedly telling me how she’s going to make so much money. She just needs an apple tree. At school they had watched a video about a girl who took apples and turned them into apple products (pies, applesauce, etc) then sold them for money. Ella decides she wants to be the one to provide the apples – no interest in making the apple products, but surely she could get money for the fruit. Yes, she’s six years old.

Another fun fact from last week? We took a family trip on a plane!

Complete with custom plane tickets and just the right amount of luggage, we headed out. I even got to sit in first class (well, “first seat” anyway):

Our destination? LEGO worlds of all kinds in Zoe’s room. We went on a hot air balloon ride, enjoyed a pool party, visited a jungle and more. Not exactly the kind of travel people dream of, but in some ways, isn’t it?

On Saturday, we went to the beach in Santa Monica near the Annenberg Beach House for a small birthday celebration for one of Zoe’s friends. Bart and I were the weird parents near the edge of the water wearing masks, watching out for the little kids bopping in and out of the waves. Thankfully, Ella agreed to stay closer to shore (still in the waves), and the girls enjoyed building a sand structure of sorts. I enjoyed watching nature take its course:

Yes, I timed that perfectly. Want to see something else cool? A guy on an electric hydrofoil surfboard. No, I had no idea what that was until I saw it:

My favorite moment at the beach was when Ella carved out a flower in the sand, stacking up a mound for the center of the bloom and adding the grass beneath it. As I was about to take a picture, she laid down on the sand beside the flower and posed. That’s how I got the picture up top. No prompting, no setup, just Ella brain.

We ended the week getting out of an Escape Room game my sister sent us, in 91 minutes, with just a few hints. Super fun! If you like escape rooms, you should give it a try!

And finally, on Sunday night Ella and Zoe went glamping, complete with a private dinner in a their pop-up tent for two.

And so, I can with confidence confirm that Week 29 did happen. I’m not sure how Week 30 has moved so fast, but I’ll deal with that later. Hope you’re all staying safe and sane out there. I’ll end with some photos of flowers from my walks around the block. #Grateful