Life in Exile- Part 2 - Fun with Yaya and Baba

While this was going on at home...

...THIS was going on at Yaya and Baba's:

That's right...we were having a ball on the second leg of our life in exile.

There was a lot of music and learning and reading going on!

Julia, one day I decided to use Yaya's xylophone to teach you a song. You were way excited, and wanted to learn more and more!

Aidan, you got the reading bug in a BIG way...something clicked with you and you wanted to start reading more and more, and reading bigger and better books. You exclaimed "Dad, I'm a reader now!"

We spent my birthday playing, playgrounding, and Sweettooth Hoteling... and velvet tacoing...

We sang songs, we playgrounded more, we comic booked, we hung out with Yaya and Baba...

Lots of art and notes were made and received too...including these love notes to you, Julia!

These puppets by you Aidan...

And this request from a homesick you, Julia. (note: you did ultimately support me and Mommy going on a date)

Julia, you worked night and day on that frog, and Aidan you worked hard to master the art of the jetplane. 

We did a puzzle, danced about, and had some chess challenges:

All in all, we had a lovely time with your lovely Yaya and Baba...

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up our belongings, our chess set, wash up and head home...

While it was lovely to return to our own home, we'll never forget the fun we had living in exile.

Nineteen Fifty-Five: Sweet Tooth Hotel Part 2

On a kinda cold January Saturday, we all ventured downtown...

...and, thanks to Aunt Sham, got a private tour of the latest art project she was part of : Nineteen Fifty-Five.

A spaceship has landed in an old timey store...

Robots from a different planet roam the halls among a toxic rainbow oil slick...

 Space heroes try to save the day:

But they can't stop a family of aliens from invading:

The humans get zapped into the television for some reason:

And the whole crew is teleported into the cockpit of the space ship!

Oh no- another captive is either rescued by or imprisoned by a helmeted hero!

But the tables have turned...the hero grabs the space pistol and helps the entire family escape...

Back into the crisp January morning...

Geologists

You might recall that as our remodel was being finished up, that we wound up living with Yaya and Baba for a week or so (after a week or so living with Mimi and Pops).

One Friday while you all were still on winter break, I texted Mama and asked her what y'all were up to. She replied "They were geologists for most of the morning."

What followed were some amazing photographs that brought such joy to my soul. You two are so creative, such an amazing team, with complementary super powers.

I love that you have your Mama's creative oomph and such insatiable appetites for play, and creative play at that. Let that be a lesson for you: boredom is a great thing...look what can come out of it! AND you have so many hats you can wear, if you put your mind to it. You can be/become anything you want!

So...what does playing "Geologist" actually look like?

Well, Aidan was the excavator...smashing rocks and crystals into smaller pieces:

Julia and Aidan were the gatherers, collecting, washing, and polishing samples:

Julia, you were the organizer and cataloger of the geological samples. As well as the label-maker. You created the Museum exhibit for the samples (totally your idea too, apparently!)

This hammer cracked all of these crystals open. 

Please no touching!

This bench is special too. It belongs to the Queen and King!

These crystals are ____ and that are cool!

Way to go super geology team! Next stop...Grad School! Next stop...Smithsonian!