Day 364

Last school day of the week for DCC kids. After school still brought art time and sharing, like the jar with green sparkles in it. Tennis lesson day for Lexi. Then Nana and Papa were off to Black Forest Bistro for a Luau! It was fabulous! From the appetizers and mai tais to the pina colada cake and drinks. And with hula dancing in between provided by Manava O Polynesia! Watch the Bistro's website for monthly events like this. The regular hours are dinner on Friday and Saturday, that's it.

Lexi and Hudson (and Casey) have a tennis lesson.

Ready for the Luau

Looking at Prom ideas...

The plastic coconuts were loaded with chocolates.

Mai tais

Ceviche and Tuna Poke Bowl

Manava O'Polynesia

His grand-daughter couldn't perform, so he did.

Day 363

Very windy day! AJ, the twins, and Papa about got blown away on the walk to school. Matt made taco salad makings for dinner and Nana had some spaghetti squash with garlic and tahini to go with it. Fina's Improv Team had their first live Cheap Date night since they were shut down last year, Their very last in-person show for 2020 was tomorrow, Thursday, a year ago. Theirs was literally the last event at DCC - the school was closed the next day (Friday) for the start of the lockdown and would not re-open in-person in any way until Fall 2020. Tonight's show was great. Loved Fina's bachelorette #2, she was a circus balloon, you know, the kind you twist up into animals and such. 

Day 362

Must have been a flashback day... Also, Jamie created a video promo for his Torah Time group (here). The day ended with dinner at (Matt, Lynn, and Jamie) and from (Tracy and kids) the Club.

Tracy: OMG when our 4 bigs were our 4 (and only) littles!!!

Jamie's Torah Time promo video is here.

Tracy's Odyssey of the Mind team back in her junior high days.
This team went to World Finals.
Note one of the team members, Harry Shum, of Glee fame.

Day 361

Four of us walked to school today. And Nana picked up Papa at school for a coffee stop. Great lunch at Ato Sushi. Normal pickups. Fina had play rehearsal so there was a 6pm pickup as well. Grilled chicken and asparagus for dinner! Tonight's movie: Invictus (excellent).

Tiniest therapeutic shoes, with zippers in the back.

New hand-held carpet cleaner. 8 kids and 3 dogs.

We're havin' chicken tonight, chicken tonight.

Dogs are at the ready.

New wall hanging in the dining room.

The large lazy susan is a fantastic art supply delivery mechanism.

Foster kid support.

Note carrots for the Bunny.

Day 360

It's beginning to look a lot like Easter! The girls and foster babies headed off to church at o-dark-thirty. Jamie followed for security, and so it went. Cyndy is visiting Colorado this week, so she and Rachel came down for lunch after church. Thank you Vaqueros for "catering." The kids played marvelously all around us as we talked, and one of the foster twins spent some time bedazzling us all with stickers. At one point, the big box just moved, no one realized a kid had been in there quietly for quite a while! Had a great, albeit short, visit, and off they went. Jamie got some time in with Sarna (another Torah commentator). Tonight's movie: War with Grandpa (now that the Heartland series has ended).

Much activity in the dining room today...

Day 359

The day started out with a very excited AJ to get at his Science Kit from Mel Science. We did two demonstrations this morning: electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen and recombining to water in a small explosion, and filtering polluted water with charcoal. Jonnie got in on the filtering towards the end and then he went downstairs and built a train layout. The photo below was about the 1/3-waypoint. He finished everything in the room pictured then went all the way down the hall (upper left) and back. Jamie did his Parlor Car Chat this morning on the speeder excursions on the SMVRR in 2008-2010 (click here). Matt and Jamie took five of the kids to the pool! Jamie drove Lynn to Walmart to pick up film for an instamatic camera for Sunday School tomorrow morning and "while we were up there" close to Monument, we went to Bistro on 2nd for dinner. We soon realized we had never had dinner here before, just lunch. Dinner is a whole new ball game. Fabulous! And we discovered they have a second floor with two small dining rooms up there; very fun. Check out the food (below)! Everything was new and wonderful flavors. Not pictured was a cherry crumb creme brulee - tasted just like mixing cherry pie and creme brulee - also excellent.

Electrolysis apparatus

Charcoal filtering

Second floor at Bistro on 2nd.

Calabrian Peppers and Shrimp

Lynn had the venison (top).
Jamie had the stuffed pork special (bottom).
Beneath the pork is a roasted pineapple slice - wow.

Jonnie joined in.

The recording is here.