A Special Winter

A funny thing has happened with the blog.  My #1 fan has become...DELIA!  She loves to read all the old stories of her growing up and reminds me regularly to update the blog with recent events and happenings.  I love this!  It's like a scrapbook she'll have forever.  So, hi Delia!  Here's your post about Galentines Day (and other stuff ;).

Our family got to join our friend Joy's family for a night of birthday fun in the Rage Room!  None of us really knew what to expect and found that beating furniture to smithereens with sledgehammers and smashing crates of glass dishes was far more satisfying than we could have imagined!  Delia cracked us up by connecting her phone to the Rage Room's Bluetooth and playing DJ for us with a combination of terrible, cheesy Christian songs and epic, villain theme songs!

We left no plate unshattered and no wooden furniture unsplintered!

Enjoy this short video of our rage!

The dad of one of Ella's best friends, who works at Google, had this mini drone that he was not using.  He's pretty techy and this cute little guy is pretty basic, so he gifted it to Ella to practice her programming!  It's been great fun.  Add it to the collection of robots that inhabit my home that Ivy is not fond of!

Delia was delighted to plan a lovely Valentines Day picnic in the park with the group of friends she eats lunch with.  These girls were darling with their planning-- a shared google.doc recorded all the food and games for entertainment.   Delia signed up to bring homemade pink sprinkle donuts.  I am sure you are not surprised.

Such a sweet group!  They had a great day together.

Dave and I went on a rare date one day for lunch.  He took me to a yummy sandwich place he's taken everyone else, but humorously, never me!  Our little lunch date actually occurred on the anniversary of our first date 27 years ago!

This time of year is just the best.  February is Almond Blossom season and even after all these years, it never stops being a wonder! (Video by Delia, graphics by Instagram.)

Ella really loved getting to be a high school counselor for our middle school's annual trip to Science Camp at Mount Hermon.  Both girls created such neat, special memories when they were students at Science Camp, Ella loved returning as a leader.  

I enjoyed tracking her around the familiar sights of Mount Hermon Family Camp for a week!  Hey, if someone is gonna give you a free week to our favorite place on the planet...we're gonna take it!  Though she came home absolutely exhausted and a tad traumatized from naughty middle school boys, Ella does hope to go back next year as a leader again!

Her cabin of girls was amazing!  And tromping around the familiar grounds, sharing her passion for science with kids was a treat for Ella too.

Another special part of this season has been rooting for 2 of Ella's best friends as they journeyed through the Almond Blossom Princess process!  Ruth was crowned runner up this week-- which was a huge honor and the exact place she wanted to finish (placing, but not having all the PR responsibilities of the official Almond Blossom Princess)!  Ella and her friend group had fun at the Coronation.

And more fun when they took friend pictures in the blossoms!  (Minus about 3 girls who were busy this Presidents Day.)

The Almond Blossom Parade remains a beloved tradition, but everyone goes their own way to be with friends now!

And one last picture, with a longer post coming in a few weeks after they perform.  The girls are both involved in this spring's drama, "The Imaginary Invalid".  It's an unknown play to us, pretty obscure, but the kids assure us it's hilarious with physical comedy "I Love Lucy" vibes.  We won't see them much these next 2 weeks as they squeeze in all the last practices before the show opens.  Another busy, but special, season!

Five Courses in the Orchard

Have I told you how much fun it is to be in the high school stage of life?!  Here is just another delightful example of why this age has been my favorite!  Two of Ella's sweet best friends, Ruth and Ansley, loooove to cook and wanted to give Ella and Ben a very special first Valentines Day together.  They asked if they could make them a gourmet meal and serve it outside in the orchard for a romantic, memorable date night.  As the girls planned, though, the idea and menu got bigger and bigger and they realized it was too much for two people, so they had the idea to include other couples too-- and we lucky parents got the invite!  I mean, come on!  How creative and generous is this?!

We were each sent a formal invitation and menu.

Our awesome kids were totally cool with going on a triple date with their parents.

The setting was idyllic!  Ruth's family farms almonds, so their home is in the middle of their blossoming orchard.  The night we did this was even the day the farmers call "Full Bloom"-- no pedals on the ground yet, ALL flowers open and still on the trees.  The pretty almond blossoms plus the gorgeous poolside and candlelit table our chefs set was all just spectacular!

Another fun detail of the night was that all the little sisters were the servers!  They were told to wear black and come early for training.  They added levity and charm to the formality of the evening!  Delia came out with this mountain of amazing herbed focaccia bread and said, "It's SO good, but don't fill up on bread!  I've seen the food and you'll want to save room!"  They checked on us over and over and made sure we were lacking for nothing! 

It was seriously one of the best meals I've ever had.  I heard the grilled salmon was to die for, but not being a big fish fan, our chefs thoughtfully served me chicken, which was also divine.  My favorite course may have been the soup course, though.  Spicy and sweet butternut squash with microgreens picked right from their garden (when they ran out, Delia had to quick go pick more!), crispy croutons, hazelnuts, and an artistically drizzled tart crème fraiche.  Yum!

Delia ate in the kitchen and, I think, had mostly dessert for dinner!  Warm Ghirardelli brownies with homemade caramel gelato and a whiskey salted caramel sauce that I could have eaten with a spoon!

Chefs and sister servers and their kitchen shenanigans!  I love how much fun guests and workers alike had all night!

There was no detail that was not thought of-- from the calligraphy place cards to the suggested wine pairings to the warm blankets, fun drinks, and homemade snacks around the fire our hosts ended the night with!  When I hugged Ella goodnight I thanked her for having such cool friends.