July: we are starting to explore the world again

 July was a busy month.  We started off by celebrating Evan's birthday and the 4th of July.  Though we of course still had plenty of play at home and at Babcia and Dziadek's house, we also began venturing out on outdoor day trips. 

One of the first things we "let go" when quarantine started is limits on indoor play options. The kids have been cooped up for months, so we've gotten pretty liberal with how they work off some of their activity.  Couch cushions have been used for forts, stair slides, and trampolines. 

One of Ella's favorite activities right now is sitting in the car.  Daniel, Agnieszka, Keith and Jacci have all had the opportunity to join her for hours of this fun activity. 

Auggie did some pretty cool portraits of hi stuffies here

We brought scooters and bikes to Evan's birthday celebration. Ella, whose favorite song is Happy Birthday, was very excited - almost to stillness - about the candle-blowing and cake eating process. 

Afterwards, the whole family stayed up to watch Hamilton on TV!

(Though Ella, Evan, and eventually Auggie, transitioned to PBS kids videos quite quickly)

The next day, we had a rare clear night to watch fireworks.  They were spectacular and late into the evening, the Parker family joined us on our street to watch the display. 

The next few weeks were filled with many frequent trips to the pool.  Dziadek perfected the hot dog and we tried our best to support local take out businesses. 

Later in the month, we returned to the beach. This time, we went north of Bolinas Bay, trying to escape the crowds, unsuccessfully. Fortunately, there were still plenty of space to "socially distance" and we found new sea creatures in the water!

Then back home for more fun and snuggles. 

After a 6 week stay, we sadly had to say bye to Keggy, who flew back to OK to join Giggy. 

But we got to see both of them by Facetime the next day!!

On one of our late evenings at Babcia and Dziadek's house, Ella and Auggie discovered the game of Frisbee. Ella's main job was to find the mis-thrown Frisbee and return it to the next player. She love it!

here is Ella picking strawberries

The game of Frisbee soon led to Auggie getting to go on the roof!

Meanwhile, when at work, Mama got to wear a lot more pandemic accessories, 

...have fun Facebook calls with the kids and decorate her office with Auggie's notes and art.

We continued to have a lot of fun trips outdoors.  Below, we went to Redwood park for a picnic and discovered a grove where the rangers had purposefully left logs and sticks for art and play. 

The next weekend, we decided to explore the areas of Half Moon Bay. We started our day at a different Redwood Park, a beautiful - albeit quite crowded - wet forest with a prolific population of banana slugs. 

Next, we found a beach with tide pools. These were really fun to explore, but the hike back to the car was a little challenging. 

On our way back home, we had our first restaurant meal - outdoor and after a lot of hand-sanitizer - in more than 3 months.