On March 2nd we celebrated Sophie’s 12th birthday! It was a Wednesday, so the Saturday before she had a slumber party with a few friends from school. We went out to Teppenyaki in our neighborhood, which was an idea that a lot of people had, because it was crazy crowded. We all smooshed around a table and were entertained and fed.
At Teppenyaki with her friends
Then we headed back to our house where we set up an ice cream sundae bar and the kids watched movies in the livingroom – while Dave, Lauren, and I all watched Encanto in the basement.
Nightand morning
I’m not sure what time they were all asleep, but I did need to come down at 2AM to tell them to be quite. There were some very tired kids in the morning.
On her actual birthday the Sharps came over for dinner and cake. She opened presents – a skateboard and fleece from the Sharps, crop hoodie and fluffy pillow cases from my parents, Lauren made her a wall clock, and we got her a VR set that she’s been asking for for ages.
clock made by LaurenVR setthe beautiful birthday girl!
There were a lot of things that happened in Sophie’s 11th year – she started middle school, she got braces, she joined the school theater group, she joined the Gender and Sexuality Alliance at school, she sang the national anthem at an Eagles game, she (just) started going to school without a mast required. We’re looking forward to all that will come in year 12!
Over the last two years we’ve traveled very little. We had the big spring break trip last spring, and lots of road trips to VA and MD, and now in the last two months we’ve gone to NY as a family, Dave and I went to Chicago for the weekend, and the we headed to FL for the long President’s Day weekend. I’m so happy to be moving around again, but it also feels strange. Over the last two years, we been in very few crowded places and standing or sitting less than six feet from another person has been “unsafe.” So to crowd onto a plane and sit nearly touching knees with strangers is a surreal experience. Anyway, that’s just what we did.
For Christmas, we decided to take my family for a trip, and found a great house on a little island off the west coast of Florida called North Captive. Apparently it used to be connected to a larger piece of land, Captiva, but a hurricane in 1921 separated the northern tip and it became it’s own island, with no paved roads, no cars, and just a few houses. Most of the island is a nature reserve.
We flew into Ft. Myers, then hired a van, and finally took a ferry to get to the little island where we picked up our golf cart for the weekend. It was only a four seater, so we had to take two trips from the ferry to the house to carry all the people and luggage, but fortunately it was only about a quarter mile away (as I said, small island).
The house was bright blue and had a heated outdoor pool and was also a short distance from the ocean. It was exactly what we needed to escape winter in February.
Dave making dinner the poolDave and dad in the golf cartthe house Sophie with a coconut in the front “yard”view from the drivers seatour house was on Schooner Dr., just off Rum Rd.
We arrived on a Friday, explored the island and bit and then headed to the beach. The weather was really foggy and cooler, in the 70s, but felt a little cooler because there was no sun. Dave and I had a long walk along the beach to check it out and the girls stayed with mom and dad to relax and play.
That night Dave cooked dinner for everyone at the house. Since there is no grocery story on the island, we had to have all of the food ordered and delivered before we arrived.
The rest of the weekend had amazing weather – warm and sunny. We spent more time at the beach and exploring the island. Dad’s favorite thing to do was the cruise around on the golf cart. The house also had a roof deck and mom mustered up her courage and walked up the metal spiral staircase to see it. She had made a deal with Becky – if she could confront her fear of flying, mom needed to confront her fear of heights. So overall, I would say they were both successful, if not super thrilled about either.
Dad and mom on the roof deckView from the roofgirls on the beachSoph and another coconut!the beach crewArt hamming it up on the beachThe girls all crowded on the back of the golf cart on our way to dinnerThe Coughlin ladies!
Saturday night we went out to dinner at one of the three restaurants on the island called Barnacles.
On Sunday, Dave took the kids and Becky on a fishing trip. They had a blast and caught a lot of fish, but none big enough to keep. They also had a dolphin who swam alongside of the boat, hoping for some lunch to be thrown over the side. It’s the first time Ari has seen a dolphin, and she was thrilled.
While they were fishing, mom and dad biked around the island. They had bikes with huge tires so you can pedal on the sand. And I grabbed a kayak and went out to explore the area. Lots of birds, a few dolphin, and some nice quite time to myself!
We spent the rest of the day on the beach and watched the sunset.
sunset selfietortoise munching away on the path to the beachtortoise along the side of the road
On our final morning, Becky, Dave and I woke up before sunrise to hike out to the tip of the island – or as far as we could go. It was quite and beautiful and the perfect way to end the weekend (which we were all sad to see end). We walked along the beach as the sun was rising, and then moved to a trail that took us through the center of the island before ending up at the beach again.
sunrise
The next time we go to North Captive, and I’m sure there will be a next time, we’ll stay for more than three days. It was such a nice, quite get away and I’m already looking forward to going back!
For Christmas this year, we got the girls tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway. We were a little nervous about buying Broadway tickets since the theaters have intermittently shutdown because of COVID over the last year. But we figured we’d give it a go and fortunately there were no issues. We headed up on a very cold mid-January weekend. We decided to make a weekend of it and booked a hotel right off of Times Square.
She show did not disappoint. Even though we have all seen it about a dozen times on Disney+ with the original cast, it was still so good and different with new actors.
After the show, we walked around Times Square and had a sushi dinner. It’s the first time we’ve all been out in a restaurant in over a year, and it was a little weird, but also great.
The next day we had a lazy morning in the hotel and then hit the Guggenheim before heading back home. It was our first weekend away in a long time and it was really great. As I write this it seems as if the pandemic (or at least the initial, very long phase of it), is winding down and we’re finally able to move around a little more freely. I’m cautiously optimistic that things will continue to move in a positive direction.
On January 12th Sophie got braces. In preparation, back in December she had 4 teeth pulled, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom, to make room to push the front teeth back. The appointment was quicker than we expected – it only took about 30 minutes. She was excited for about 10 minutes afterward and since then has hated every minute of having them. Her mouth hurts and she keeps cutting the inside of her cheeks. On the upside, we’ve started including smoothies as a food group at home and both kids are happy about that. Only 18 months or so to go!
On December 28th we celebrated Lauren’s 9th birthday! My family was still here, so we celebrated Lauren all day and then that night had a combined birthday celebration with Lauren and Ari, whose birthday is January 6th.
Lauren had an indoor climbing birthday at Philly Rock Gym. Since the party was on a Tuesday and between Christmas and New Years there were a lot of friends out of town. But even with a small crowd, Lauren had a great time.
Lauren, Ari, Sophie
I even got into it!
Norah & Sophie
Lauren
That night the Sharps came over and we had pizza, chocolate cupcakes, and opened presents. Lauren’s favorite gift was moon bounce shoes from my mom.
Moon bounce shoes
The birthday girl!
Happy birthday to our sweet, funny, full of energy girl!
The day after Christmas Sophie got to do something very cool. She, along with the Philadelphia Girls Choir, sang the National Anthem and the halftime show at the Eagles game against the NY Giants.
The girls were originally invited to sing just the National Anthem, but a few days before the game the halftime show cancelled, so they jumped in and did halftime as well! They sang Deck and Halls and Jingle Bells for that one.
We got tickets for Dave’s parents and my family to all go. We got great seats behind one of the field goals. The game was good, but of course the best part was the choir!
Lauren and I before the National Anthem
There was a lot going on down on the field when the girls sang the National Anthem. As the girls stood down on the field waiting to sing, all of the players ran on to the field through smoke and fireworks. Then the Eagles drum line played and everyone sang the fight song. It was a lot. Finally the girls sang and they were excellent! The stadium was quiet and erupted when they finished.
The choir singing the National Anthem
At half time the girls came back out on to the field and sang two Christmas carols. It was a little tougher because the stands were loud and their voices are so delicate. But they were all featured on the jumbotron and saw a few good closeups of Sophie because she was in the front row.
The choir singing at halftime
Despite winter hats in these pictures, the weather was unseasonably warm, no jackets necessary. We were incredibly lucky because the day after was 40 and raining. It was such a cool experience and everyone had a great time, most of all Sophie!
Christmas is back! After essentially being cancelled last year, we were back in action this year. There was a slightly smaller crowd this year – all vaxxed and tested ahead of time – but we were all together!
Christmas morning came early – 3AM to be precise. We told the girls they couldn’t wake us up until 6AM, so they entertained themselves for three hours with stuff from their stockings. I can’t believe they woke up that early – or that there was not a huge crash that afternoon, which I really thought would happen.
When the girls came downstairs they both found exactly what they asked for under the tree.
Lauren got a Vespa electric scooterAnd Sophie got a phone!
After the morning of present opening and breakfast we cleaned up and prepped for the crowd coming later that day.
Calm before the storm
The Sharps, The Boyles, Don, Zoe and Maddie came from Dave’s side of his family, and Dan and family and Joan came from my side.
Don, Dave, Ed, DylanThe cook sous chefZoe gave the girls a tumble mat and Shannon taught them some movesFierce game of UnoDon and DaveDave and DonShannon, Sophie, me, Lauren, Zoe
As tradition goes, we performed a Sharp Family concert before dinner. Sophie played Carol of the Bells and Lauren did Jingle Bells. Accompanists were Kathy on clarinet, Dave on trombone, me on violin, and for Jingle Bells, Kish and Ash joined in with bells.
Later that evening my parents, Becky and Ari came up – just in time for dessert. It was a lovely evening, mostly because we all were able to be together again!
In December, both of the girls had their respective end of year performances/races.
Lauren did Girls in the Run this fall for the first time. She was extremely reluctant to try it (as she is with all new activities), but ended up loving it. She’s also a very strong runner, no surprises there. She had practice twice a week for about 2 months and then a celebratory 5K run. Each girl runs with a buddy so Dave was her running buddy. The day was beautiful and she did really well. Out of 600 girls she came in 10th!
Lauren’s Girls on the Run teamLauren and Dave (her running buddy) after the race
Later in December the Philadelphia Girls Choir had their holiday concerts. They did two this year – maybe to make up for not having any last year. The first was in a church in New Jersey and the second was at Temple Performing Arts Center. Both were amazing. Even though they had to sing with masks on, they still sounded amazing. This is also the first year that Sophie is performing with Cantata, the next group level up.
The first performance at a church in New JerseyThe second performance at Temple Performing Arts Center Sophie with her friends Ella and Jojo
Now we’re enjoying a few activity free weeks before everything starts up again in January
The day after we got back from Virginia we headed to Yaeger’s Farm to cut down a tree. When we went last year there weren’t a lot of trees, but this year was a bit better. We found one pretty quickly and the girls both took a shot at cutting it down before Dave ended up doing it.
Lauren giving it a go…
and Sophie
With the kill!
That evening the Sharps, Zoe and Maddie came over to help us decorate the tree.
Maddie & Lauren
putting up decorations
the final product!
A few days later I did a photoshoot with the girls to attempt to get a good one for our Christmas card. Here are some of the outtakes.
We headed down to Charlottesville again for Thanksgiving. This year only Doug, Vicki and Nana came down as well. We had a gorgeous long weekend and were able to eat dinner outside (again). Doug did the deep frying and we all agreed, this was the best turkey we’ve ever had. Dave got the rub just right, and Doug has the oil temp and timing down.
the master fryer!
Dave & Doug
Lauren and her turkey leg
The Thanksgiving crew
We brought Petunia with us and she met Vahid for the first time. She was fascinated and a little nervous, but then started to try and bit her shell (dumb dog), so we had to separate them.
One night the girls had a sleepover at Becky’s new townhouse – but I don’t think they got much sleep.
Nana & Pap Pap with the grandkids
the girls at Becky’s for a sleepover
Lauren & Ari reading in front of the fire
Petunia meeting Vahid
The day after Thanksgiving we went to a whisky distillery that was a converted house in a beautiful spot at the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Even though the weather was much chillier than the day before, we all sat outside around a fire pit – and the whisky also helped to keep us warm 😉
Whisky around the fire pit
Me & Becky in our twinsie outfits
On our last night there we went to Winterfest at Boar’s Head. It was an outdoor lighted walk around the property that ended with Santa.
The girls with Santa & Mrs. Clause
It was a lovely trip and really nice just to hangout with the family.
