When your sister becomes a threenager, you can either run for the hills or plan a celebration to mark the scary occasion. I convinced my parents to do the latter, because if this was going to be the end of the world as we knew it, why not have some birthday cake on the way out?!

So, we hung streamers across Genesee’s bedroom like matrix lasers, enjoyed a birthday breakfast with the grandparents, rode the carousel at LARK Toys, biked around Winona waters, and hosted a birthday party to fully commemorate this point of no return.

There are many names I like to call my sister, but today, I call her “three!”

So, happy 3rd birthday to my silly, sassy sidekick, who:

• finds beauty in a good “lightning McQueen storm”
• still requires “TWO MINUTES OF TV” and backrubs from mom before bed
• sleeps with a blanket over her head
• eats Pringles in stacks
• despises “COMMERICALS!!”
• likes to speak in meows
• is now fully potty-trained
• excitedly kicks off our dinnertime “Highs & Lows” conversation
• jumps into any opportunity to take a shower
• effortlessly makes us all laugh on the daily
• has ditched her dolls for iPhone apps
• loves to love on animals a little too hard
• sometimes sees and hears things that the rest of us cannot
• has the cutest pronunciations of words, like “Lellow” (yellow), “Beditos” (Doritos), and “pepellows” (marshmallow)
• is an expert stealer of all things, but mostly our hearts

I love you, Gigi Luigi! Here’s to hoping your new age brings new opportunities for us to cause trouble together! 

Who likes salt & vinegar potato chips?

This girl.

Working hard or hardly working?

Neither! Mom took the day off of work so we could play hard instead, which entailed:

• No emails (except for communicating plans to my friend, Colin)
• No meetings (except for caravaning with Colin on the way to Lake Wazee)
• No resting (except for my eyelids on the way home)
• No reports (except for telling Dad all about it when he finally stopped working hard)

When Papa died, not only did he leave behind a legacy, he also left behind a lot of stuff. Mostly junk, some may say. But since one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, my mom and aunts decided to organize a multi-weekend estate sale…

…As an attempt to empty 3 packed garages and a house overflowing with 35 years of keepsakes.

…During the height of the summer heatwave.

…In the middle of a pandemic.

Because if this was Papa’s final test for his daughters, they said, “challenge accepted.”

In case you missed our smoke signals, you should know that we made it back to Hayward, just in time for the humidity, mosquitos, glow parade, and fireworks. It was a blast, especially playing with Cora, Colt, and the Byom kids! Even though we couldn’t barhop for kiddie cocktails due to the pandemic, the great outdoors and open water never disappoint, especially since I was spared the swimmer’s itch that other campers had to endure. Still, itchy or not, we made good s’mores and snores and memories!