Long Weekend

 We've enjoyed a nice four days off from school for the Presidents Day holidays. Even Stacey was off on Monday, which was the official government holiday.

We didn't have a lot planned, which was great. We took our first family bike ride, with Cora on her big bike. Stace's mountain bike had a flat, so I got to have Violet on the front of mine.



On Friday, Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to Disneyland for a few hours, giving me a little time to myself before Stacey came home for a fun date night.

We had dinner with Kelly and Brad, whom we hadn't seen since their November wedding, and Kelly's parents Steve and Linda. Then we went together to downtown L.A. to see Backbeat, a play-with-music (not quite a musical) about the early days of the Beatles.

We had a fantastic time, and were lucky enough to sit in the second row, thanks to an amazing ticket deal Kelly told us about.

Cora had soccer on Saturday, and then we had a quiet day at home, with a trip around the neighborhood on rollerskates/rollerblades/scooters before dinner.

On Sunday, we went to church, did some shopping and then talked to our family in England. After Violet's nap, we had our bike ride, before dinner and dessert.
















































Cora made our dessert - chocolate chips and dried cranberries, covered in powdered sugar. I added in almonds to balance out the sweetness. Our Cora loves cooking, and asks every week when she can make her own creations.

 On Monday, we hoped for more of the same - relaxing and spending time together having fun.

But, Sunday night our garage door motor burned out after acting up for a few weeks. So, Stace spent his Monday off work, working in the garage. I'm so thankful for a man who knows how to fix things!

By Monday afternoon, all was better, and he even programmed our new car's "homelink" system to open the garage door with a push of a button on the rear-view mirror.

Also Monday, before we went out to a well-deserved dinner out, Cora followed a recipe from a children's cook book for almond sweets. We enjoyed another yummy dessert when we got home.