September Part 2 (Mid-Autumn Festival, Apple Farm Field Trip, Pluto's Birthday, Church Anniversary)

September seems eons ago now, but I'm determined to catch up to December by the new year.  It was a decent month, full of celebrations, though now the Delta variant had hit so we were back to more precautions.  We celebrated the Chinese Mid-Autumn holiday with some traditional foods, but with a slight twist on the traditional mooncake.  I also took Naomi and Isaac out to see the moon.  My camera doesn't take great moon photos, but it was very pretty.  We also celebrated our church's two-year anniversary and Pluto's birthday.  

Isaac also had his next field trip to the apple farm.  The kids just stormed through, but he really put effort into picking good apples and did a great job.  It was fun, but the hard part about going with a large group (we went with a subset of one of our homeschool groups) is you have to wait on latecomers and then try to socialize with one eye on the kids.  And if something comes up, you feel committed or obligated to go anyway because you signed up for a spot.  It's totally worth it to do once in a while, but I honestly prefer going with a small group or alone and often spontaneously, especially if I know M will be working from home and can help Lucas in case of emergency.

Reverse order photos:

Isaac doesn't usually like online learning, but he does like Sheppard Software for geography.

Naomi on her first field trip in ages.  The nice thing about masks is she doesn't mind photos as much.

Homemade jap chae.  Love my Pampered Chef Rapid Prep Mandoline!  If you want to buy one from my site, let me know!

Magic School Bus Science Kits are so great.  We just finished dinosaurs and weather.

Isaac finally big enough to cross this bar bridge

Some random stuff I made--steak and curly fries, I think some fish, and beef and noodles.  Having starved so often as a child due to poverty, it's something to see how much our family eats.

Church anniversary dinner

We had all kinds of tacos--yum!

Manny did the Scripture reading

Pluto again being a good sport (or oblivious)

Taking Naomi out to the Taiwanese breakfast shop

Pluto goes into bags and then flips them upright.  So cute.  Also makes for easy transport sometimes.

Isaac did an excellent job with picking

It was an organic dry apple farm, so the apples grow without lots of water and of course don't have wax and look a little different.  

Isaac picking a pear here

Getting our instructions.  No educational spiel this time, I think because the group was running late.

Isaac with the pumpkins.  Literally a weird flex, but okay.

Love my boy.  Also love the cap from my friend.

Isaac ready to go

Happy first birthday, Pluto!  You sure fluffed up!

Birthday presents!

Jupiter and Saturn in "close" proximity

Naomi looked like she was standing on a path.  This was in the parking lot of her elementary school.

Isaac playing with his boomerang with the Harvest Moon in front of us

Harvest Moon

Mid-Autumn dinner: Lion's heads, crab, honey walnut shrimp (pre-made), and leftover bean curd and pork

Moon pastries instead of mooncakes are less expensive and just as good, if not better (the "moon" is a baked egg yolk).

September part 1 (Lucas starts school, visits, book launch)

Lucas started 7th grade online public school in September, after Labor Day weekend.  We went to the Beach Boardwalk as a fun day before he had to start school.  This was my first school year not putting together his curriculum and teaching him directly, though for the first couple of months I had to sit with him through many of the lessons.  The program requires a learning coach to guide the student at home, though at Lucas's level he's much more independent.  He had a ton of homework, something new to him.  It was overwhelming for apparently many students this year, as I heard the programmed became more challenging and perhaps amped up because of the great increase in enrollment, likely due to Covid. We could not get Lucas an IEP (an individualized education plan for those with special needs) yet until they could put together the testing, so he just had to power through those first two months or so. He's been working very hard and doing pretty well, even in his art class which is his least favorite while I would have loved to have taken art in the 7th grade.

I did continue to meet up with friends, but as Delta had hit harder, I became more cautious again, and tried to meet outdoors or outside when possible. I prefer one-on-one interactions over being in large groups.  Our friend and former associate pastor held a party in the backyard for his book launch party. His book is a fast and good read about his battle with cancer. Even though he has been on hospice since around that time, he is still with us, still ministering to others, and raising some wonderful kids.

First visit to the barber since the pandemic started

Chinese pepper steak and pork and spiced bean curd

Pluto wondering what he's doing with a Sparkling Ice

Homemade shakshoka (a Turkish breakfast)

Out for a vegan breakfast with my vegan friend

Pluto cuddling (sorry for the picture of my foot)

Homemade hot and sour soup

Took Lucas to see Shang-Chi

Sept 11 Memorial.  Twenty years already.

Korean ribs, corn, yu choy, and hot links

At book launch party for our friend Pastor Dan

Tomato harvest marking the end the tomato season for me

Out for breakfast with Melissa

Love when Pluto is in a cuddly mood (excuse my foot)

Using the science kit to teach art

Roses from Manny, just because

August Part 3 (Legion of Honor, New Beginnings, Carol)

I'm finally getting through August.  Hopefully I can catch up to present day at some point!  August was a full month for us, but also I've learned not to overcommit, so it was also a time of rest and reflection for me personally.  I took Isaac on a solo field trip to San Francisco's Legion of Honor to catch their Pompeii exhibit before it closed.  Reservations and masks were required, but it still was a bit more crowded than expected.  

Manny and I also began meeting with our new "life-on-life missional discipleship" groups at church.  We have a community group, but these are even smaller groups where we really get a chance to do life together and develop friendships.  We are relatively new to our church, and it's predominantly Korean, so we weren't sure how we'd connect, but it's been going really well.

Carol, a friend of ours from a previous church, was like a mentor to me for many years.  She passed away in August following heart surgery.  I found out through another friend.  There are many times I've thought about different things she said to me, everything from gardening analogies to home education to communicating with husbands through Excel spreadsheets 😄.  She was wise, hospitable, and faithful.  I hadn't seen her in three years and she had just left Facebook before her passing, so there's no access to her wonderful posts or photos or memories.  She will be missed by many!

Some more highlights:

Isaac and his friend from swim class making up games

M took the boys out for pizza while I 

Mediterranean food with my discipleship group following the orientation meeting

Hundred-year-old tree

Burning off some energy on the front lawn at the Legion of Honor

Rodin

Collection of European paintings.  I have always admired Baroque art (to stare at, not to decorate my home) and Impressionism.

So neat to be able to get close up to Impressionist paintings

Isaac likes to imagine portals.  This was a tough photo to take.  We had to wait till people walked out of the shot, but we did it!

Saint John the Baptist Preaching by Preti.  It reminded me of Caravaggio.

A chest from Pompeii with intricate details

Representation of Pompeii home

Amazing mosaic--photo doesn't do it justice

Mt. Vesuvius erupting

Lucas used to be into Pompeii and other historical catastrophes, but not so much now.

Inside the entrance

View from the fountain at the parking lot

There's just something about fountains...

We're doing a more hands-on approach to science this year

Naomi and friends at Great America

Streaming memorial service for my friend and mentor Carol from our previous church.  Here are some of her grandchildren singing during the service.

Seeing the community farm on a morning jog

Wildfire ashes making the sky orange

I don't remember everything I made here but it was a lot of food along with some leftovers