So, from the last post... Leo was born in February. So in January we pretty much took a mellow month. Our culminating date was a trip to the big city! We drove to Seattle, went to a trendy Chinese Dim Sum restaurant and beat the 2 hour line, then saw the musical, The Book of Mormon. We had the very top seats in the house and eventually moved to chairs behind the back aisle! But that turned out well because we had binoculars and could see everything very clear, like we were much closer. And the second set was very comfortable too :)
And this post is essentially from the end March after the outpouring of love and support and visits from friends and family through February and into March. We took a trip to Southern California to see Leo's great-grandparents as well as other family members and friends. We also took the chance to eat sushi wherever we could including a trendy place - KazuNori- in downtown L.A. (and desert next door at Big Man Bakes). More sushi at a new place in La Jolla, tucked away in the corner of a shopping center and it was incredible-- the REAL deal :) After we got back I managed a trip up to UBC and timed it for the cherry blossoms 「桜」 on west campus. Awesome again this year!!
I'll blog the uncomfortable topic too of my grandfather dying 3 weeks after we visited. We held the funeral for him on Earth Day. But it was great that Leo and Eli shared a brief window of time together... we have pics to prove it! The funeral was a boomerang trip for me, less than 48 hours to San Diego and back. Seeing the family was so nice though. There were so many relatives who loved my grandfather and they all showed up. If they couldn't stay for the funeral, they had at least been there as he was passing on. I managed to see all but three cousins, as they were there earlier in the week before I arrived. We'll miss you Saba. Thanks for being such a steadfast role model in my life. The night before the funeral, the sun set in La Jolla in a fashion that I can't help but feel has meaning. A line... right down the middle of the sunset. How "Strich" !
Then getting used to living with Leo. Good days and easier days :) Sleep is a weird thing... we are on his schedule. And we celebrated Michelle's first Mother's Day and we have been enjoying our yard (albeit working hard to maintain it) and picnicking quite a bit, both at Lake Padden and at home too. My proposal came back and I'll be editing the third draft for acceptance soon. I am getting pumped to complete this portion of the PhD and hope to work on things throughout the summer too so I can get ready for a fall start to data collection.
And now, as June starts, we are in strawberry harvest season. Yes! Finally, some of the hard work is paying off :) And the garlic ought to be up by the time Dad and Chris come up here around the time of the summer solstice.
