We spent New Year's Eve driving to Utah to attend Julena and Adam's wedding. We made it in time to hang out with family in the evening, but were too worn out to want to stay up til midnight.
The wedding was lovely. We were happy to be there. It was worth the drive and we would do it again!
The kids especially loved being with their cousins.
When the reception was over, we dragged ourselves back into the van and made it home around midnight New Year's Day. It was crazy nuts, and we all needed the next day to recover. I was a genius and booked a massage that felt like heaven.
January 4th was Jack's ninth birthday.
We have decided as a family to plan more outings for Super Saturdays, and since Jack's birthday was on the first Saturday of 2020, we let him take the lead in planning our first adventure. Inspired by our recent trip to the Grand Canyon, Jack googled National Parks within day trip range and discovered Pinnacles.
Now, historically, the Bonner family has been on plenty of "hikes," but they are typically more like nature walks, three miles or less, with very little elevation gain. Our adventure at Pinnacles was an opportunity to accept a challenge and reap the rewards. It helped that Todd fibbed about what we were getting ourselves into, saying we'd be hiking around five miles, when it actually was more like nine. We knew it was going to be longer than usual, but we didn't know we were tripling our usual distance! By the time I had that figured out, we'd made it past the grueling uphill march and all that was left was breathtaking scenery as we traveled across the peaks and then back down to a talus cave (made entirely of fallen boulders). It was absolutely too much for Gemma, but I've reflected on it again and again since as one of our best family days yet.
Jack had a party the next week, inviting his good friends Jonah, Adam, and Somto. Jack has been massively interested in board and card games the last few months, so it seemed both fitting and simple to have a game-themed party and teach his friends a few of his favorites.
Ever since Adam taught Jack how to play Cover Your Assets at Thanksgiving, Jack has been obsessed with it. He has played it almost every single day since then, and he's super good at it, too.
I will always regret that I did not take a picture of the six-foot, glowing, sparkly unicorn our neighbors put in their yard for a Christmas decoration. Todd would have us salute it whenever we drove past. But when she changed it out around New Year's for a glowing, caped and crowned lion, I realized we had something truly noteworthy on our block and I did get a picture of that. We all held our breath, wondering if there would be a new adornment for each month of the year, but alas, she simply got the lion on clearance and couldn't resist. When it went down mid-January, nothing else came up.
Hazel was in the school spelling bee again this year, which meant she spent a good portion of Christmas break studying hard. While she did not win, her best friend Aarna did, and it was adorable to see how ardently Hazel cheered for her thought the competition.
Our next Super Saturday was meant to be visiting the monarch butterflies at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, but when we got there, we learned from a ranger that most of them had migrated another few miles down the coast due to a wind storm that had knocked over many of their eucalyptus trees. We thought about driving further to see them, but had plenty of interesting things to do where we were, and stuck around.
The park ranger gave an interesting presentation in the visitor's center, and the kids loved looking at the displays. Jack was particularly intrigued by this jarred octopus, and came home researching how he could have an octopus as a pet.
The ranger also led us outside with binoculars to look for a couple great horned owls that were living in the trees out back. It was an awesome experience to see them roosting in the trees!
We then spent some time at the beach. First we explored the tide pools.
Then we climbed far enough across the cliffs that we came to a private section of beach. It was beautiful. The girls ran and played in the water until they were soaked, pretending to be water birds.
As we were leaving, Hazel saw a fountain that looked like it was on dry ground, like a splash pad. She decided to run over and rinse off the salt water from her skin and clothes. She yelped in surprise when what she thought was ground gave way under her feet and she fell into an algae-covered pond! I bent over double laughing, and Todd and I were bursting with pride at the way Hazel laughed also and kept a good attitude about it, instead of freaking out.
We had Chrissy and Suzanne's families over mid-month for a faux New Year's Eve party, since we traditionally get together to celebrate the holiday and we couldn't this year since we went to Beany's wedding. We ate pulled pork sandwiches and played tons of games and loved being together.
Hazel accepted the opportunity to play the piano at New Beginnings while the other girls in the ward sang the 2020 youth theme song, "I Will Go and Do." She practiced a lot and did an amazing job keeping time with the singers. Neither of us realized the magnitude of the assignment until we got to the activity and realized that since it was stake-wide and parents and leaders were invited, rather than the group of 20 or so we'd been imagining, Hazel was to play in front of an audience of more than 100 people. She kept her cool and sounded terrific.
Gemma turned seven on January 14th. She had a party after school - animal themed. We played lots of cute games like animal charades and closing your eyes and trying to guess which person had just made an elephant sound. It was easy and fun.
Gemma spends the most time of us all with the cats. She goes out to see them straight after school and is often found in the backyard singing or reading to them. Sometimes I have to remind her not to be too rough when I discover her holding one and twirling in circles or jumping up and down. I love to hear her talk about how the cats like to be petted. She knows them really well and they love her best.
We had a guided painting night for a Relief Society activity. I was shocked at how hard it was for me to relax and be creative and not worry about results. I loosened up during the course of the evening and am really happy with my painting, and have realized I need to give myself more opportunities to create and enjoy the process more than the product.
Jack is on Student Council. One of the activities they do to help the kids develop leadership skills is sell pictures and pencils that kids can order and have delivered to their friends. Jack worked the orders and seemed to really enjoy managing numbers.
Todd and I took Hazel to the temple to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. It was a happy experience. I loved that her first time working inside the temple she could be with me and Todd, in that intimate family group, rather than with a youth trip from church. I would have appreciated that as a twelve-year-old. Hazel loved the experience and has asked to try to go once a month.
Todd and I were invited to Jordan Haight's wedding reception. We taught Jordan in primary when we were newlyweds first living in the Bay Area. He was around ten at the time. He was this mischievous kid who liked to crawl under the seats and needed a lot of attention. I remember we often divided our team into "you take Jordan, and I'll take the rest of the class" during Sharing Time. After moving for flight school and Todd's first deployment, we were back in Woodland Park Ward, and this time that group of kids were 12 and 13 and in need of Sunday School teachers. We were blessed with that calling and loved being with that class again. As they aged out, Todd was put in Young Men's and continued to work with Jordan and the other boys his age. After Todd's second deployment, we spent a few months back in Woodland Park Ward before moving to Livermore. 16-year-old Jordan often babysat our kids so we could have date night. It was such a pleasure to see him again, a returned missionary, married in the temple, happy and going to college and doing so well.
For Todd's Christmas present, I got us tickets to a Piano Guys concert. It was a nice date night. We got some pho first, and were scandalized by the size of our large soup bowl.
I drove on Hazel's class field trip and had a really satisfying day helping this lovely group of girls plant trees on farmland here in Livermore, to replenish the land along the Arroyo Seco creek. Hazel was really in her element, jumping on shovel like Todd does, outside on a beautiful day, hanging out with some of her really good friends.
Our primary had a party at the church for the kids, and one of the coolest things they did was fill up a classroom with balloons. Some of them had letters written on them, and the kids had to search for the letters and put them in order to discover a message.
My kids loved it so much that they have recreated the balloon room in our playroom at home. Since taking this picture, it has doubled in size and now reaches from one wall to the next. It's tons of fun.
I went for a hike with my good friends Katie and Karrie. I love Livermore this time of year! It's so fun to be out in the sunshine and the green hills instead of shoveling snow like my family back in Utah.
Hazel has found a channel for her compassion, and organized her second charity cookie sale. She worked hard researching appropriate venues to send relief funds to Australia to help with their wildfire recovery, enlisting friends, making eye-catching posters, baking cookies, and gathering supplies. I took her and Aarna to Safeway a few days before the planned event so they could ask a store manager for permission to sell in front of the grocery store and was so proud to see her bravely present her ideas.
Jack handled the money and Gemma handpicked the biggest, best looking cookies for our customers, while Hazel and her friends invited shoppers to donate as they came in and out of the store. The event was a success. In an hour and a half, we raised over $350.
