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 I haven't had much to say here, clearly. Still don't. I have also taken a break from my daily journal. It's just the way things are right now. Every day is essentially the same. That's not a complaint. We are happy and cozy and have made the most of our moments. Ups and downs like everyone. Here are a few pictures that will catch me up on the blog. Maybe the spring will bring more posts - especially since we have a yard now!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Happy, happy birthday, Sophia!!

Today is usually your favorite day of the year, and I am hopeful that this year will be no different in that respect. 

This year has been an exercise in flexibility and disappointment. This is true for all of us, of course, but for a person in their first year of the "teenage" years, it's been especially hard. In last year's letter, I talked about how you were getting a handle on all the ways that you could step away and grow your independent self! That was true and exciting. This pandemic has called for a lot more creativity in terms of separation and freedom. You're at home with your parents way more than you were planning. Fewer opportunities to stretch those wings, but many more opportunities to show maturity.

This year has proven that you can do hard things. Very few things have been as easy as they should have been this year, but you have met it all with courage. I am so proud of the way you've handled every hiccup and disappointment. It's also been proven that you are a true and reliable friend. It's not easy to connect with friends right now, but I've been so impressed at your willingness to put yourself out there and take a risk in order to have real connection. Again, an inspiration, Sophia.

In spite of many changes, some things remain the same. You are so funny. Even in the midst of whatever we're in the midst of right now, you can reliably make us laugh. You are so full of love - for your family, friends and maybe especially for Leo. Your sweetness and your humor truly bring so much joy into our home. One of my favorite things, and this has been true for years, is the way that you continually attempt to discover and create the person you are and who you want to be. That is no small thing, and people decades older than you have yet to master the skill of self-discovery. 

What do I even hope for you for this year? I hope that you continue to find ways to be yourself and believe in yourself. If you had a fraction of the faith in you that I do, you would know that you can face anything that comes your way. Since I don't know what this year holds, that's what I want most for you. 

I can't believe it's been 14 years since I first held you and looked down into that perfect face. Even though I have to look up into your beautiful face now, I still feel the same wonder and joy just knowing that you're ours.

Happy birthday, Sophia. Love you so much!

Mom

8th Grade Begins

Sophia has been back in school for a couple of weeks now. After the spring attempt at online learning, I was definitely holding my breath a little. Fortunately, 8th grade is off to a great start. 

Leo is a big fan of the time in between classes. Sophia usually has time for a quick kiss or snuggle, and he appreciates being remembered. 

 A couple of the days have been nice enough to take class outside. That is quite a treat for her and, again, for Leo. He may be getting a little spoiled by this whole setup. 

Overall, we're just thrilled that eighth grade is getting off to a great start!

Minnesota Moments

Our original 2020 vacation was across the pond. As we're not welcome there right now, we had to think again. So, we packed up our inflatable kayaks and our dog and headed north. A few days in Grand Marais, and a few days in Duluth. It was quite pleasant. I especially loved our time in Grand Marais. 

We are the people who let our dog sit at the table with us. He's such a good guy to have around. He rarely embarrasses us. Now that we're back home, he's disappointed that he no longer gets to sit around the table with us. 

We didn't kayak as much as we thought we would, but we did get out on Two Islands Lake, and it was lovely! A really pleasant time.

We got multiple great hikes. This one was inland, and the mosquitoes were THICK. We came away with very few bites, but we were just wiping them off our necks as they settled. 

We had a couple of rainy days. On one of them, we still got out for some hikes, and Leo was less than thrilled with that particular adventure.

My favorite spot in all of Grand Marais is Artist's Point. It's beautiful and peaceful and takes some intention to get out there. I really enjoyed the scramble over the rocks to get there.

Our hotel was right on the beach of Lake Superior. The water was cold, but it still made for a lovely setting. And of course Sophia got in it.

Something I didn't know that I wanted to do was swim under a waterfall. True that this isn't the biggest waterfall we saw by a long stretch, but it made for such a nice natural freshwater swimming hole that we really enjoyed swimming here even though we had a pool back at the hotel in Duluth.

This was in Duluth on our last night of vacation. The whole trip was as relaxed as I think we're capable of being right now. Masks in public places. Washing hands and not eating inside, etc. It was much needed in terms of a change of scenery and a restart to our routine. Hoping now we have the steam to make it to the start of (online) school. 

Homemade Pizza

Every time we make pizza at home, I think of my grandma. It was one of her favorite meals, but my grandpa wasn't that into it, so she always used us kids as an excuse to break it out. Just like with all her favorites in the kitchen, she loved to experiment with it and see how she could improve. Just because we loved it already didn't mean we couldn't love it more.

In our house, Erick is the pizza experimenter. He also prides himself on finding the perfect recipes and techniques to bring deliciousness to life. Our quarantined life has made it possible for him to make pizzas even during the week. It's definitely one of our silver linings.

Here is one of his doughs rising.

Sometimes he mixes up some ground beef with Italian spices to go on top. That's yummy.

This pizza got a lovely brown on top, and the crust was delicious.

Last night, he cooked our pizzas on the grill. They started out on foil so the crust could firm up. Then he'd move it to indirect heat to finish up and get a little char on the bottom. These pizzas were the best. Crunchy and full of flavor. Mmmm.

He was pretty proud of the product even before we had tasted it.

I know better than to get attached to exactly that because perfection does not mean the end of experimentation. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yellow Cake Chocolate Frosting

We made this cake a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious. We're trying to do a little better for our bodes and not spend so much time baking and eating. So, I'll just relive it here and imagine the way it tasted. Not too sweet. Just perfect.

The recipe, which I won't put here for this one, called for buttermilk, and we happened to have some! I buy buttermilk because Sophia makes some really delicious buttermilk biscuits occasionally. Anyway, the buttermilk contributed to the less sweet taste of the cake, I think. It was dense and moist.

Our favorite icing to cake combo is yellow cake and chocolate frosting. We used the same chocolate frosting recipe that we used on Sophia's half birthday. That frosting is amazing. So creamy. Not at all difficult to spread. I just love that stuff. I should really just make some and keep it on hand! We know why that's a bad idea, but it would be oh, so wonderful.

Here is our completed cake. It stayed together so much better than the chocolate cake did, too.

Perfect little layers of yellow cake goodness. We are trying to make good choices, but seeing this cake again definitely makes it harder.

Hope you're enjoying some quarantined deliciousness of your own! 

Socially Distanced Photo Shoots

During the first week of quarantine, which was also Sophia's Spring Break, Sophia and I walked into the woods to do a little photo shoot. It was a reason to get showered and dressed and out of the house. We decided it was something we would do occasionally as this went on. Yesterday was our second effort. Lots of fun to do this together. Sophia's enjoying being in front of and behind the camera. I'm just enjoying the silliness of the moments.

For this particular day's photos, we went up the hill to Concordia Seminary - a place with great architecture and plants to choose from as backgrounds.

Here is an over-the-shoulder smile that I'm proud of.

The squat and look up at me shot. A few shadows on the face, but overall a great picture of a beautiful girl.

This one I love because I caught the real giggle. I can't take credit for the giggle, though, she was cracking herself up.

Not sure what this is, but it was fun anyhow.

Her instructions here were, "Look confident." We can only hope that this is not actually how I look when I feel confident. Otherwise, I should definitely feel that less often.

Classic Senior picture moment. Super cute, though.

She thinks this is hilarious. She was being silly on purpose but has no idea what's meant to be happening with her hand.

Here is a photo from the jumping series.

Here's a selection from the running series.

Here is my Senior picture section. She did a great job, and I'm actually really pleased with these! Next professional headshot, probably!

 And, finally, here is our togetherness shot. Happily hanging out in the Spring sunshine. There are plenty of odd and uncomfortable moments in all of this, but I am so grateful to have Erick and this lovely girl to share every day with.