Day 106: Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our eighteenth wedding anniversary. Look at these two kids:

I remember so much about that day, but mostly what I remember was an overwhelming certainty that I was doing the absolute right thing. We were young and clueless for sure, but I am so glad we have spent our entire adult lives together. I promise we had no idea we would be celebrating our eighteenth in a pandemic, but so much of what we have done in the last 18 years has been a surprise. We never imagined I would have a Ph.D. (we knew about his) or Brad would be CEO of his own company. We knew we wanted kiddos, but I would have never imagined the two beautiful humans we brought into this world and are getting to watch grow into amazing people we can't wait to hang out with as adults. Brad and I have literally grown up together, and I can't imagine doing that with anyone else.

And this man, he still surprises me. These arrived yesterday:

 The card was exactly the same as what he wrote on the roses he sent to my bridal room before the wedding.

We decided to make lobster bisque for dinner because it was the first meal we had in Maine on our honeymoon. I was feeling nostalgic, and Brad agreed, which is huge since he hasn't eaten lobster since he used them in his doc experiments. But here's the surprise: I learned yesterday he has never really liked lobster. We ate it three times on our honeymoon! Every time he ate it because he knew I loved it and likely wouldn't order it alone. If that's not love I don't know what is.

I have no idea what the next 18 years will hold, but I do know we will be together, and that's all that matters...

Days 102-105: Lots of Crafting

First, Brad sent me this meme and I think it pretty much sums up life right now:

 Because of the impending dust cloud, we decided on Friday that it would be a crafty weekend. We also realized that after four months of quarantining our craft supplies were getting a little low. I took the kids to Target for the first time this pandemic to do some restocking, and as soon as we got home they settled in to get creative:

 Evan is loving his aquabead set, and Issa is making felt cacti and candles to her little hearts content. I broke out my knitting needles to make some ear savers for the kiddos:

 Some of their masks are just a little big, and these little things help them fit just perfectly:

 We now have a basket of masks and ear savers just waiting by our door:

We still aren't going very many places, but it's nice to feel ready when we do. And I think someone doesn't mind having us around a bit more:

Day 101: Evan Cooks Again

We are settling into a summer routine around here. The kids have projects they are working on. Brad and I are still working. Honestly, it's not that much different from our school schedule and routines.

One thing we decided to keep was the kids cooking one night a week. Last night, Evan chose to make samosas, tzatziki, and cucumbers:

It's a cauliflower filling, and it was absolutely amazing! They were a bit more fuss than we planned, but the result was worth it! Evan was so proud of his meal. Tonight, Issa is making General Tso's. She will run with that one, and I will just get to sit and watch. It's not a bad deal for anyone involved.

Day 100: Flashback to the Photo Shoots

First of all, can we all just take a moment to acknowledge that this is day 100 of social distancing. Holy cow. Now...onward...

It has become a tradition for Issa to do a summer photo shoot with Aunt Shannon of all of her dance costumes. This year, she added in some street clothes to the mix, and the ocean made a beautiful backdrop. The other big addition is Evan jumped in! The first night he asked to go, and then he jumped in some pictures. The result is that we got some fun sibling pictures: 

 Along with the traditional dance pictures:

 And pier pictures:

 The second set featured her tap costume, which looks a lot like regular clothes:

 I love the look of her tapping in the surf, though:

 And getting splashed:

 And she loves doing firebirds:

 Then she was on to hip hop, and the brother jumped in:

 Super tough:

 These ninja and dancer pairings make me so happy:

 Look at the height on this:

 They really wanted this running picture:

 Dancing kiddos:

 I love these street clothes ballet pictures:

 Brothers will be brothers:

 More ninja and dancer:

 And finally her solo costume:

 

 The last night we all went out for the picture taking:

 And we tried two dancers and two ninjas:

I know this is a ton of pictures, but I just couldn't choose! I'm always so very, very grateful for these pictures and for a sister who takes them.