Sunday night was rough – especially for Amaya and Steven. Amaya cried herself to sleep, staring at a picture of Charlie. It was heartbreaking to see but, as hard as leaving was, we were all so glad to visit.

Early Monday it was back to the airport. As always, Steven was drawn to the airport map. We left from JFK and out gate was as far away from security as it could be. I can remember coming into that gate one, years ago, when I was traveling alone with the kids. We got in late and no one wanted to walk so I pushed the double stroller and carried Steven – along with all of our bags – for what seemed like forever.

Sammy, king of the moving walkway.

This trip was another first – two of the kids sat in a row behind me instead of next to me. We’ve come so far and grown so much. Seat assignments still included m&m bribes but SSA are truly such capable travelers.

Where’s Steven?

Back home with Daddy!

On Tuesday, Gabby celebrated the kids’ birthday with them. Such a special treat, with gifts that truly speak to each of their interests.

Wednesday morning – January 20th! We have SEVEN year olds!

Steven, Sammy and Amaya each got to open a present before school. Sammy got his long coveted Mario Kart game and controller, Steven got a Nintendo Switch and Amaya got an iPod Touch – exactly what they were hoping for. 🙂

Digital kids.

Penni took this awesome picture of me with my three sweet babies. <3

The kids also wanted to be sure to get an annual birthday photo in front of the fire place. Amaya tried to get a little closer to Sammy but this was the staging he preferred. 🙂

School day fun-time with Penni.

Our BirthDAY treat for Steven, Sammy and Amaya was late-afternoon dining in an Igloo at Deadwood Grill. It was awesome. We had a two hour time slot. The Igloo was warm, clean and came with a bluetooth speaker. It was so nice to eat out together after so long and the novelty of the environment added to the experience. Plus, Jason and I left work early and the kids got to skip their last class of the day.

Steven, watching a train go by.

Present time came with a BIG surprise for the kids. We surprised Amaya with her own Switch and Steven & Sammy with their own iPods.

Amaya’s reaction was perfect, priceless and totally genuine.

Happy Birthday!!! I absolutely can’t believe seven years have past but here we are, the luckiest parents with absolutely incredible kids.

On Thursday SSA made the most of the snow we had left, rolling some huge snowballs. (It’s snowing right now, too, and the Brothers got some nice time out in the snow earlier today between time playing Animal Crossing and Minecraft.)

On Friday, Jason and I celebrated TEN years of marriage. What an incredible ride it’s been. <3 To celebrate we took the day off work together and hung around, binging Master Chef.

Speaking of Master Chef, our stand mixer arrived so Sammy picked a recipe from his Master Chef Junior cookbook to make this weekend – Chocolate Lava Cake. I’m pretty excited to have a stand mixer and move past all of the improvising we’ve done up till now.

Amaya’s female spin on Pete the Cat.

Amaya and Sammy made Jason breakfast on Saturday morning. Here he is, contemplating the masterpiece in front of him.

A priority for the weekend was learning how to play Animal Crossing. We checked that off the list and, today, figured out how to visit each others’ islands.

Brothers, helping brothers

Steven, showing his Daddy how he plays Super Mario Odyssey. (I swear we have screen time limits but they’re primarily enforced on weekdays. We go more with our gut and the flow of the day on weekends.)

After Zoom Hebrew School, where the focus was Tu B’Shevat (think, Arbor Day for Israel), the kids planted some parsley which will hopefully grow in time for Passover in late March.

Steven was excited to do a craft he saw on Crafty Carol this morning. “I’ve been waiting to do this since 5:57!” The project was crafting a jet pack and, even though we didn’t have all of the necessary supplies, Steven came up with alternatives to get the job done.

We had our first Cline meet-up on my Animal Crossing island. <3

As I mentioned, Sammy wanted to make chocolate lava cakes so that was our afternoon activity. The insides gushed chocolate just liked we hoped!

And, before dinner, Steven and I took an impromptu nap together. I can’t think of the last time I napped with one of the kids. I love this.

That’s it for us, from the Land of 7 Year Olds! Have a great week!