Passover and Easter

 I am a bit behind on my posts, but 2 weekends ago, we celebrated Passover and Easter.

On Saturday night, we had a traditional Seder with Jason's Aunt Marcy, Cousin Alan, and my Dad.  We made matzoh ball soup, chorotez, tri-tip, and potato kugel, and it was all quite delicious.   We found an online version of the Maxwell House Seder service, so we could all follow along.   A millenial Passover, ha ha.

 

Sunday was Easter, and although we did not host another big meal, the kids got their requisite Easter baskets.   The bunny did a good job of hiding them this year--both kids needed "hints".  

   

In the afternoon, a group of Alaina's friends and their siblings came over for an Easter egg hunt in the back yard.   We hid over 100 eggs, and even this week I am still finding a few!

Anyway it was fun for them.   Bring on spring!

Spring Break

 Two weeks ago was the kids spring break.   Luckily their weeks off aligned this year, so we were able to take a family vacation!   This one we planned last summer--to Fiji!

I have always wanted to check out Fiji, and Fiji Airways has a nonstop flight from SFO to Fiji.   So when the tickets went on sale, we decided to plan for a beach trip!

And it did not disappoint.   Though the islands did not have the huge white sandy beaches of Bora Bora, they were pretty beautiful, and each island was surrounded by huge reefs with amazing snorkelling.

Our flight arrived on the biggest island in Fiji, but we knew we wanted to spend our time on the outer islands (There are over 300 islands in Fiji!).  We chose 2 resorts based on reviews, and took a ferry out to the Mamanuca island chain.

Our first resort was called Cast Away--named because it is very close to the island where the movie of the same name, starring Tom Hanks, was filmed.   

It was a beautiful resort with a great reef accessible from the beach for snorkeling, and as an added bonus, it had a kids waterpark that floated offshore.   

The resort was the only thing on the island--so one day, Jason and I tool a walk around its perimeter.   Turned out to be a bit more trecharous than we anticipated, but still was quite beautiful.

After 2 nights at the Cast Away, we took a 45 minute water taxi ride to the Vomo resort.   This place was really special--another private island, but with more usable (non-hilly) land, so it was more spread out.   It also came with food--and the food was fantastic.  The resort was trulyamazing--an impressive 70% of the customers are return guests! 

Each day, they took guests out for a snorkelling safari and the snorkeling we did was as as good as the diving we did in the Maldives on our honeymoon.   Beautiful coral formations, tons of fish, and even several reef sharks, with water visibilty topping 100 feet in some places.

One night when we were there was Fiji night--where they made traditional Fijian food for dinner and the staff did some polynesian performaces.   

When not in the ocean, we spent time relaxing.  Ethan and Alaina made friends---there were many families on the island.  Funny enough one of the families that was there with us was from Marin!

One morning, we took a hike to the top of the island--what a beautiful view.   

All in all, we loved our trip--the culture was very friendly and welcoming and we came home very relaxed.

Highly recommend!

Ethan the Driver

 Last week, Ethan passed his driver's test.   It was attempt #2.  The first time he failed when driving backwards--but this time there was not "time" to practice driving in reverse.   Which goes to show you how artibrary this all is, perhaps a bit scary!

But now, he can drive alone, albeit very cautiously I hope.  He has already helped me by running out to the grocery store--very helpful!  In California, he is only allowed to drive alone or with an adult in the car--no driving friends for the first year, which is a good thing!  And to drive his sister, he needs a note from a parent saying it is necessary! So hopefully that will help him stay focused and safe as he continues to learn.

April Fool's Day

 This past Tuesday was April Fool's Day.   This is one of Alaina's favorite days.   It makes me smile because April 1 was my Great Aunt Maggie's birthday--Alaina's middle name is Madeline after her.   

Anyhow, this is what we woke up to in the refrigerator:

The coffee pot also had eyes.

When we turned on the kitchen faucet, it ran red.

Jason's favorite cofffee cup had a picture of a nose taped to the bottom--with the hopes that people on his zoom calls would see it and laugh!

Also Jason could not use his mouse first thing in the morning--several minues later he realized a small piece of tape had been affixed to the bottom.

She is quite the prankster.

Better than a Bat Mitzvah?

In history, Alaina has been learning about ancient cultures.   Most recently, she has been learning about the rise of Judiasm and the settlement of Isreal.   

I have to say, she learned a lot--probably as much as she would have in Sunday School.   

She put together this poster, which was pretty impressive, I even learned from it!

I have to say, I am surprised that they taught this in public school--but we will take it!

Ski weekend

This weekend Alaina’s travel ball team was off, so we took advantage and headed to Tahoe to ski.   We haven’t been up skiing since Christmas, so we were overdue!   

Our friends the Tomas came up with us—and 3 of the 4 kids skipped their little league opening day parades to ski!

In the 2 days before we headed up, a strong winter storm passed though.   Though this made the drive on Friday night extra long, it did provide us with 3 feet of light and fluffy snow, making it a great day for skiing.   Jason still did not downhill ski-though his back is much better, he didn’t want to chance it.

The 7 of us had fun on the mountain together, and headed back for a nice dinner and family games at the cabin.

 

The next day, another storm was supposed to head in, but it got delayed and we woke up to a bluebird Sunday.    Our kids hit the slopes again and Jason and I did some xc skiing—it was absolutely beautiful!   

Probably our last ski weekend of the year—but definitely a good one!

March

I think that my favorite month to be outside in the Bay Area is March.   In March the hills and fields  are a rich green, and as long as it’s not raining the sky is a brilliant blue.  The air is fresh from the oceans and flowers dot the landscape.  The days are getting longer but the suns is still slightly low in the sky.   It is a month that makes you feel glad to be alive.  Funny enough March was probably my least favorite month growing up in Chicago—it seemed like never ending winter!

This weekend Alaina had a tournament in Sacramento.  I stayed home on Saturday for Ethan’s baseball game, but went on Sunday.   Before the games, Jason and a took a lively walk along the dry creek path, and the colors were amazing.   Spring is here!

And for what it’s worth, Alaina’s team did great in the tournament going 6-0, with the last two games being nail-biters!   Their first win in a 12u tournament.  When their team is doing well, it’s so fun to watch.   So that added an extra glow to the amazing weather!