Catching Up

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update, but things have been good!

Michaela finished out her 5th grade year in homeschool. She and Mike did a great job teaching and learning, growing together and finding ways to make homeschool work. In fact, Michaela did so well that she tested into honors math at her new middle school!

Still we were all excited when the school year ended and it was time for summer. In June and July, in particular, the public health situation was improving and schools were out, so I could finally catch my breath on the work front. Michaela got to spend more time with friends. And once Mike got through an extremely busy graduation season (he livestreamed dozens of graduations in Los Angeles County), he was able to slow down, too.

Mike’s mom came to visit and she, Michaela, and I treated ourselves to a luxurious, long weekend near Palm Springs. We stayed at the La Quinta Resort, a Waldorf Astoria property that I love. It’s a beautiful spot with something like 50 pools and a handful of restaurants on property. It was HOT so we spent a lot of time in the pool. We also spent a day at Joshua Tree, which was gorgeous, and went into Palm Springs for milkshakes.

Mike and Michaela spent a week at an archaeological dig on Mt. Palomar. A local archaeology professor was conducting field school with his student, digging at the home of San Diego’s first African American homesteader. They had a great time and Michaela, at the ripe old age of 11, was able to dig with the college students. I got to go up on the final day of the dig to be part of a ceremony (held on Juneteenth this year) and it was so moving and impactful. A truly memorable experience.

Michaela also went to her first sleepaway camp this summer! She has been really involved in BSA (formerly Boy Scouts) and went with her troop to a camp in the mountains. She had a blast! Really good experience being independent and spending time with her friends, building her scouting skills, and more. She came back talking about what she wants to do next year.

And Michaela did a week of surfing camp! In Intro to Sailing, she learned the basics. She already knew some knots that are used in sailing thanks to BSA; now she also knows about the parts and pieces of a sailboat and has actually taken a small boat out into the bay all by herself. I, as a non-swimmer and non-boater, was super impressed. Mike has big plans for the two of them to go out sailing (and has been looking at sailboats, although I’m not ready for that yet).

There were lots of other smaller things, too. Michaela did pottery camp and she’s continued her gymnastics classes. We went shopping for school uniforms, since her middle school requires them. We’re trying to soak up the remaining weeks of summer, which includes zoo camp and a week of intermediate sailing camp.