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We completed 55 years of marriage during the pandemic, celebrated at Purple Haze, Ron and Claire's place near Philo, CA. We spent much of the start of the year still hiding out there. We returned only when school reopened for Scarlet and Nico.
As last year, school photos were lost to COVID. You'll have to check out the pictures in the Family and Friends Photo Album to see how different the kids are this year. Hint: Very different.
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Not sure who was happier to see the kids return to in-person learning in April. Both kids were delighted to see their friends again. The parents and grandparents were happy to see the smiles. The policy was made more-or-less permanent in the fall. So far everything seems to be going well.
Nico learned that computers, and even phones, could be used to play games on the internet. Now, as soon as he gets home he asks Nana if he can use her phone. "Yes, but you need to set a 30 minute timer so you know when to quit. This is a snap for him; a trying exercise for her. As the photo above shows, they have claimed a corner of the office/spare bedroom as their special place. Note that Nico has Nana's phone.
Summer brought camps, both day and overnight variety. They started by both going to Paddleboard camp, for a week. Then Scarlet went to Skylake Camp in the Sierras, which barely escaped the wildfires that have become a regular hazard in California. They had smoke, but no fire. Meanwhile, Nico went day camp at a park a short drive away. We had trouble remembering exactly where to turn until Nico told us, "It's the street where the house has a statue of a jaguar." He was right, of course.
Scarlet had only one gripe about Skylake. "It wasn't long enough." In 2022, the plan is for both to go for several weeks.
We didn't see as much of our other two grandchildren this year, Kai and Kiera. We had to be satisfied with the occasional visit to the back deck of
their house in El Cerrito. They managed to keep busy despite the lack of in-person schooling until the fall. Kai has
taken up fencing as well as several video games on the web. Kiera has managed some
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Charles, Amy, Kai and Kiera all went on an extended camping trip to France. The photo shows them at the top of the Eiffel Tower. More Pictures of their trip, and others of the family, are in Family and Friends Photo Album, along with many other photos.