The Parrillo Family

This is what 6th grade, 4th grade and 1st grade looks like for Eloise, Sadie and Frankie.  Look at those BIG smiles.  This year, our kids are back in what I'm calling 'normal school'.  And we're so grateful for that.  We're grateful for being able to take the bus to/from school, staying a full, normal day, eating lunch with their friends and being kids.  Sure, they're wearing masks and staying safe, but it feels so nice to have some normalcy in these three lives.  We're also so happy that Nat is back at SMG working as a 2nd grade aide.   They've navigated this period of time incredibly well.  That's thanks to Nat.  But, these three kids are smarter, stronger and more resilient today than they were when COVID started.  Hard to believe all three kids are on the same schedule.  And that we have both a middle schooler (eek!) and a first grader (wow). Oh...and they're not the only ones smiling today.  So am I!  So happy fo...

What's better than a trip to a National Forest?  A trip to a National Forest with family that we haven't seen in a while.  Nat and I packed the kids up and went out to southern California for a vacation this month with the full Moran Clan.  Of course, we stopped at Disneyland (more on that later), but spent a full week up in the mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest on Big Bear Lake. We had a full week of family and nature.  And more nature.  And swimming.  And hiking and walking and exploring.  It was such a nice break and a lovely way to spend a week together.   On the lake, collecting world-record-breaking pinecones, finding geo-caches, spelling out J O Y in pinecones on the path, climbing trees, hiking in the hills, pondering life's great wonders, exploring town and riding the Alpine Slide.  Memories to last a lifetime.

We spent some time touring some famous spots in Southern California that are from movies and shows that we love and thought that we'd share some of the stops we made.   Have a look at some of the sights we took in during one day in Los Angeles and Pasadena.  Thinking this is our first "quiz" on our family blog.  Why not, right? There are three different houses below.  Can you name them all?  Answers below all the photos.  Prize for the first person and the last person who answers correctly.   First stop was the Dragonfly Inn from Gilmore Girls.  Loralei and Rory sure seem like some of Nat's pals based on how the DVDs were worn out over the years.  This was a set.   Next is the Dr. Brown 1955 house from Back to the Future.  This *was* a real house, but is now called The Gamble House and is a museum .   Third and fourth photos are the same house.  The "Father of the Bride" house where Steve Martin and Di...