A Very Froggy Saturday

On Friday afternoon, after having lunch at the park, Elaine and Vivian came over for a short playdate before Cora's softball practice. It was nice enough to have the windows open, and we soon heard the distinct sound of croaking.

Elaine and the girls and I could hear it from the corner of the yard by the extra plant pots, but we couldn't find the frog. Stace located it Saturday morning, much to Violet's delight. (Cora wasn't as interested, claiming the frog was gross.)

 Violet named it Brownie, which I suppose is that much more original than "Froggy" or "Kermit."

 After taking Cora to a birthday party, Stace, Violet and I headed to Placerita Canyon with Brownie in a smaller pot. Violet was very excited about it all, talking to Brownie the whole way, after decorating his short-term home with flowers.

 We checked in with the docents, one of whom told us Brownie was a full-grown tree frog and would probably like the small pond up by Walker Cabin. So, after a little encouraging, Brownie splashed into his (or her) new home.

 We then went in to watch the first part of the animal show, where we got up close and personal with Cricket the Kestral.

We also got a good look at a king snake, and a good feel of its old skin.

It was a nice couple of hours; thanks, Brownie, for giving us the excuse to head up to our favorite nature center!

Off They Go!!

Ducks: Fowl and Softball

The girls were off school Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so we took advantage and visited Melanie, Heather and Sienna.

The girls had a good time playing together, and since my mom came along, she got to see Melanie's home for the first time. We enjoyed getting caught up on life.

Thankfully, Cora, the ALMOST-9-YEAR-OLD, was eventually able to extricate herself from the BABY swing.

On Tuesday night, we went with a big group of friends to Toppers for a pizza dinner, as a fundraiser for Pioneer Clubs. Since it was also cheap Baskin Robbins night, we went there afterwards. Liana had to battle Skippy for control of her ice cream.

During Pioneer Club the next night, Stace and I ran some errands and found these cardboard cat boxes on super clearance.

The girls loved helping decorate them, and enticing the boys inside.

After Stace got home from working a few hours Saturday morning, we found ourselves with a gloriously unscheduled weekend.

We took a walk at Bridgeport for the first time in ages, taking along the scope Stace gave me for Christmas. Violet had fun checking out some ducks and geese, and later we spotted a hawk in the air among a murder of crows.

(Yes, I've always hoped to be able to use the proper collective noun describing a group crows...)

Sure is pretty for a man-made lake and stream.

On Sunday afternoon, we took a short walk around the block, with we girls all in our roller blades. We stopped by a "little free library" set up in someone's front yard. Violet checked out a children's book on sea life.

On Sunday evening, we met up with Cora's new softball team. We were thrilled to find out that Cora was selected by Coach Kristin and Coach Cory, her coaches from fall ball.

This time, the team will be the Oregon Ducks; the softball teams all have the names and colors of college teams.

From now on into May, we won't have many empty weekends - Cora's team will practice twice a week (with an optional third fun practice) and have two games a week. Kids' sports are serious here in SClarita!

Snow Fun

While we got drenched at Disneyland, the local mountains got dumped with snow - about two feet fell on the Wrightwood area in the San Gabriel Mountain range.

It's been cool enough that plenty of snow remained, more than a week later, for us to go and play in. Grandma and Grandpa came with us Saturday, and we had a nice day together.

Cora was too busy sledding to help with our snowman; then she got snow in her boots, and we were busy trying to warm her feet.

Despite his best efforts, Stace didn't hurt himself while sledding and jumping and generally frolicking. (Violet did take a fall while sledding, and landed awkwardly on her back; thankfully she was fine a few minutes later.)

Later, on our way back to town we stopped for a few photos. Violet now was too comfy in the warm car to join us.

At the start of our snow adventure, we got Skippy and Doodle out for their own photo opportunities. Yep, we had Skippy and Doodle at the same time!

Please enjoy these sledding videos, from the comfort of your warm home!

Week In Review

After taking Sue and Gord to the airport Tuesday, Stace and I arrived home early enough to pick up the girls from school.

We then took Violet to her first tennis class, which she enjoyed. She'll do this class for a couple of months, and then in April she'll participate in a city-run T-ball league.













That evening, we drowned our sorrow about Nanny and Pop's leaving in ice cream. Somehow, it didn't work out this time around for them to accompany us, and of course it's been chilly. But it was still nice to eat that $1.29 scoop!

Violet this week decided to transform her little yogurt drink into Elsa. Yep, that's apparently Elsa, with the flowing cloth cape.

On Friday, we went to the park for lunch with Patrice and her kids, and a few other friends. Cora and Emily played some softball.

Violet, meanwhile, was very excited to play with Doodle Dog, the class (stuffed) pet. One student is selected to take home Doodle each Friday, and then uses photos and words in Doodle's journal to report back to the class Monday on their adventures.

Violet was so happy to finally have her turn with Doodle! She dressed him, changed his clothes, re-dressed him, and took him around the park.

Softball, School and Scarfs

After our Disney adventure, we all slept in Friday and then worked around the house, putting away the Christmas decorations.

We then walked over to the park and played some softball, partly so Cora could get some practice in. She had her tryouts for the spring season at Hart on Saturday morning.




We all thought her tryout went well. She fielded every ball cleanly, and pitched decently. She didn't make contact when hitting, though her stroke wasn't bad, and she ran with good speed.

It was really nice that Sue and Gord were able to watch, and check out the Hart complex. We'll find out which team she'll be on in a few weeks.

Later on Saturday, Stace and Gord went to lunch and to Home Depot, before starting a repair project on the side of the house. Sue and my mom got a drink in old Newhall at a new coffee place.

Later, we went over to our friend Sara and Tony's house for dinner, with our other friends from Mom2Mom/Pioneer Clubs. It was a great evening, and nice for Sue and Gord to meet our friends.

On Sunday, we had my parents over for dinner after Stace and Gord finished up their repair project.

On Monday, Stace went back to work. After walking Cora to school, Sue, Gord, Violet and I went to Trader Joe's and then took Vi to school. I gave Sue and Gord a quick tour of the school, and then Gord returnee home, while Sue and I stayed to help in Violet's class.


That afternoon, we went back to the mall for one last look around, before going to Stone Fire for our final dinner together.

On Tuesday, Stace stayed home from work, and we all walked Cora to school. Here, she's proudly wearing the scarf she and Nanny worked on.






Later, they walked Violet to school, and then we got ready to head to LAX. Thanks, Sue and Gord, for coming out! We loved our time together.

Fun at Home

The girls received the junior version of the game Apples to Apples, and we've all had a great time playing it together.

Violet is reading better and better every day, and she's just about able to play on her own without help. Violet is hilarious playing just about any game - she laughs easily, cracks jokes, speaks with a funny inflection in her voice.

Nanny has been teaching Cora how to knit. They went out and bought knitting needles and a pretty skein of yarn. Cora has many ideas of knitting projects she would like to complete, and it's nice seeing her work hard on a project (that isn't a game on her new kindle!).
















While Cora stayed up a bit later knitting, Pop read to Violet so she could get to bed on Cora's trundle. They're sharing Cora's room, while Stace and I are sleeping in Violet's room so Sue and Gord can have the master bedroom.

The girls love playing with Pop; Cora likes to call him "Bob," or "Gordon Bob," since his middle name is Robert. (Cora is oddly fascinated with the word "Bob.")

Gord had fun taking Stace's MG out around the neighborhood. 

California Adventure

 After a late night and early morning - who sleeps well in a hotel? - we headed back to the shuttle Thursday to tackle Disney California Adventure.

Thankfully, the weather had cleared up, and it still wasn't overly crowded. We had another great day, taking in the sights and the attractions (and the pin-trading). Cora and Violet found many employees to trade pins with, much to their delight.

Cora also had a great time on California Screaming, the big coaster you see behind Sue here, in the Paradise Pier section of the park.

It was her first time in that ride, and later in the evening, she went with me and Stace on the Hollywood Tower of Terror, a truly fun and exhilarating ride.

She and Violet also loved the Radiator Springs Racers, as we all did. Stace and I were the only ones who'd been on it before, as the lines are always long and the fast passes all gone when the girls normally come.

Since we were at the park so early, I made sure we got our fast passes.

 We all had a fun time in the Redwood Creek area of the park, completing the challenge activities so the girls could earn their "badge." The girls also had fun with Nan and Pop in Bug's Land.

 We enjoyed just walking around, taking in the sights, shopping in the (many) stores and going on the rides. We also had a good time in the animation gallery, where you can draw characters and put the paper in a spinning cylinder to watch them come to life.

It was another fantastic day together. Since we were very tired from our late night, we left California Adventure around 7 to go to the Downtown Disney shopping district. Then, we got the shuttle back to our car, found a Wendy's for dinner, and then headed home.

Thank you, Disney, for some wonderful memories we'll always treasure!

Disneyland - Wet but Wonderful

Sue and Gord have been visiting Southern California for a dozen years now, and not once had we considered taking them to Disneyland (partly because they often visit during the height of summer).

This time, though, with half of our party of six owning annual passes, and the girls' school break extending into January (and out of the Christmas busy period), we thought it would be a great time to go.

We chose a Wednesday/Thursday trip, with Disneyland on Wednesday, overnighting in a nearby hotel, and California Adventure on Thursday.

The forecast called for lots of rain Wednesday, so we prepared as well as we could, with ponchos, rainboots (for those who had them here) and a plastic tablecloth draped over the stroller and clamped to the wheels. (Yes, in nearly nine years of stroller ownership, we've never needed a rain cover here in SoCal!)

After parking at the hotel and catching the shuttle bus in, we started our wet day in Fantasyland, riding some of the old, dark, inside rides that do a fine job keeping guests dry. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Sleeping Beauty castle tour are also a great intro for Disney first-timers.

We then met up with my parents and went into Tomorrowland, where we got fast passes for Hyperspace Mountain, and rode Star Tours and Toy Story Astro Blasters, and the Finding Nemo submarine ride. We all loved Star Tours, which has been modified to include characters from the newest Star Wars film.

Most of us loved Hyperspace Mountain, with Gord being the notable exception. He's not a thrill ride kind of guy, and he hated its speed and darkness. But, he loved Star Tours so much that we returned before we left that night for one more go.

Everyone also enjoyed the Star Wars displays in the Innoventions building next to Space Mountain.

We got to meet Darth Vader...

...and Boba Fett.

Cora also found a cast member (employee) to trade her Disney pins with. The rain and rain ponchos had made pin-trading difficult, so she was very excited to finally complete a swap. Violet also traded pins.

After riding the Jungle Cruise and Indiana Jones and watching the Tiki Room show, Stace changed out of his soaking-wet socks and trousers, and put on dry ones. He didn't have extra shoes with us, but putting his dry feet into plastic bags helped out a lot.

The rain was a bit awkward, but it helped immensely with our ability to get on a LOT of rides. We practically walked onto Haunted Mansion, Pirates and It's a Small World.

After those rides, Sue and Gord took Violet while the rest of us went on Big Thunder Mountain (again, with practically no wait at all). At that point, the rain had stopped, and we were happily surprised to see the fireworks show kick off while we rounded one of the coaster's bends.

Fireworks viewed from a Thunder Mountain railroad car? That's Disney magic for you!

It was raining too much earlier in the day to get a great castle photo, but we had a few dry hours in the evening...

...before it started up again as we walked down Main Street to leave the park.

Back at the hotel, we had a thunder-and-lightening show, and a big hail storm. Glad we weren't out when that struck!
Even though we all got a bit wet, I can't remember a less-crowded day at Disneyland. Sue and Gord were able to go on every ride they wished, which was made for one amazing day.