14, Pandemic BDay Number Two - Sleepover and Movie

Renting out an entire movie theatre becomes a reasonably-priced thing to do during a pandemic so that's what we did this year.  First, Henry had a couple friends at the condo for a sleepover and much merriment was had, thanks to a parent-approved* deck of Cards Against Humanity.  Then, we invited his class - most of the boys and a sprinkling of the girls came - to join us at the theatre for Marvel's second Venom movie.  It was really nice to be able to have the kid celebrate with friends in person this year, as opposed to last year when his birthday celebration was virtual.  Of course, there were pictures...

Annual birthday door decorations

(from left to right) Dillon, Eliav, Hen, Assaf, and Daniel

Vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting for the lad

Many chuckles, guffaws, chortles, and snickers were heard during this game

The floor of Hen's room basically becomes one giant bed

Sheets protect the couch from buttery popcorn kids' hands

Obligatory kid shot by the movie poster - Lulu, JJ, and Noah have joined the group

Entire theatre to ourselves - totally worth it

Down in front!

The group - Lulu and Maya Z came, and all the boys in Hen's class minus Eitan and Judah

Morning selfie of the boys with the local Sasquatch

 

The Folks In This House Are Immunized

 

Hen had his second vaccination shot a couple weeks ago and as of June 17, 2021, he is fully immunized.  The people in our house are now ready for normal activities. 

F*ck you, COVID.

Last Day as a 7th Grader

At the end of the school day, Henry and (most of) his classmates walked to a nearby food cart pod and hung out until parents arrived to whisk their kids away.

Things to note about Hen, 7th grade, and the pandemic:

he hated having his camera on when in school

he did not cut his hair during the entire school year (and still hasn't)

he preferred in-person learning to online learning

he's a fan of the late start to the school day

he likes to stay up much later now that he's older

he was bored during math

he became a teenager

he missed his friends

he is now taller than his mama

he's really looking forward to summer

sometimes Mamoe went to school with Henry (in his room)

 

Together Again

The last time Henry and (most of) the Es got together was in January 2020.  They never made it to the game because they were too busy chatting.  I'm okay with that. 

Vaccination Euphoria

 

2:21 PM - shot administered
2:36 PM - cleared to leave

Twitter

 After yesterday's attempted coup at the Capitol it is hard to imagine anything joyful but @jack did this 

and now I am nearly gleeful.  Trump is still in office and things are still scary but Pelosi et al. are moving to impeach on Monday if he cannot be convinced to resign.  It remains to be seen if Republicans will have the courage to put country over party. 

Pandemic Christmas Tree Shopping

There is a Christmas tree lot in our neighborhood that magically appears after Thanksgiving that we've been going to for the past few years.  The older gentleman who runs it lives in a trailer on the lot to keep watch over the trees.  He's gruff but kind.  

Hen looks for smaller trees.  He loves that hat on his head.  

Today, Henry found our perfect tree in record time.  The pandemic makes shopping a speedy enterprise. We very much arrived at the lot with a get-in, get-out action plan.  

By nightfall, our tree was decorated with a few gifts for family and friends underneath. 

Pandemic Birthday for Miss Mia

 Miss Mia celebrated her pandemic birthday from the front porch.

Megan found a creative neighbor (I think) who made these cute little signs and decorated the front yard so Mia would awaken to a surprise.  

The Kid Turned 13

Note: Pandemic birthdays are not much fun.

School in the Time of Covid-19

 

The bedroom was cleaned up and an attempt was made to differentiate the school space from the relax and play and sleep space.  The tables are a touch too low for the Stokke chair Henry is sitting on so we used Dav Pilkey's Dog Man books to prop one table up.

Optional challah baking class

Hen's first challah!  Note the shirt, this was intentional.

Twice a week cohort with Monsieur Eliav.  The boys meet in the common room of our building for classes.  They wear their masks during class but get to take them off for lunch.  On good weather days the boys get to have lunch on the patio, socially distanced, of course.

The beginning of the Summer Reading art project.  Hen read a nonfiction book by Steve Sheinkin about a Native American football team.  Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team. 

Glue has to dry before the project can continue.

Science experiment - pipette, pennies, rubbing alcohol, and water

Counting the drops for each type of liquid

Water bubble, approximately 30 drops

Rubbing alcohol bubble, approximately 17 drops

Hen's exploratory for this semester is Relax & Read, which I think is the best exploratory of all times.

Upping my lunch game - typical fare but fancier presentation

Pandemic Sleepover for the cousins