Fun with Friends

We drove to JT and Jim's house after our time in Newport Beach, and it was great seeing Violet play with Callie and Jonah.

Jammies, hot cocoa and dessert - we enjoyed a delicious English Christmas cake that JT made from scratch. And then we spent the night! Always fun to have a family sleepover.

We had the best lazy morning on Thursday! We then had lunch and went to the fabulous Bonelli Park, where the kids loved playing on the wide variety of play equipment.

On our way back to SClarita, we stopped for dinner and fun with Daryl and Juliana and their girls.

It has been seven months or so since we'd seen them, but Maya and Cora got along so well! I'm truly grateful to see her relationship with Maya, her oldest friend, still going strong.

Violet and Natalia had fun too... and the four adults got along famously. So much so that we didn't get home until close to midnight!

And on Friday night, we went to Yass and Kelly's house, and got home even later! Too much fun!

We had the boys over Saturday evening, and the four - er, five - kids loved playing Cora's new PS4 games. We got a couple of new ones that work for four players, so we bought a couple of new controllers. Listening to the kids laugh and shout during "Gang Beasts" was so much fun.

Also on Friday, Violet saw her endocrinologist, and she's now 48 5/8 inches tall, up to the 10th percentile. We are so pleased!.

Boxing Day at the Beach

 We woke up at a lovely hotel in Newport Beach on Boxing Day, and after relaxing, eating a great breakfast and working out in the hotel gym, went down to the beach again.

It might be a cool December, but the girls rolled up their pant legs and splashed in the surf. They also held jumping contests.

 It was a gorgeous day, and lovely to spend it in this gorgeous part of Orange County.

 OK, so when did she become a teenager?

 Stace has a new phone with a great little camera. He had fun trying it out with the pier.

Christmas Joys

 Our Christmas Day was very different this year. It started with lovely traditions - stockings opened in bed, talking to Nan and Pop in England and opening gifts - and then we packed up and went to the beach!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty had rented this beautiful house in Newport Beach near her extended family, and all my cousins were staying there with them.

It was fabulous to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with them all - I hadn't seen my cousins and their spouses since Will and Anna's wedding two years ago! And since then, Elizabeth and Tim have added a baby to the family, so meeting Emma was definitely a highlight for us.

(Mom was working at Magic Mountain as Mrs. Claus all day, and Melanie and Nick were back East with his family, so it would have been a very quiet day had we stayed in SClarita.)

 William brought his old Nintendo 64 system, and the girls loved playing Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.

 We all loved interacting with sweet, sweet Emma, who was a day away from 8 months.

Later, after a fabulous homemade lasagna dinner, most of the crowd played a fun board game.

Tyler taught Cora the angles when playing pool - see the notebook?

The talented Tyler also showed Violet how to handle a mandolin.

Love these people! So blessed to call them family. Definitely need to make it up to the Pacific NW in 2019.

 We also ran out to catch the sunset - the house was just a block from the sand.

My girls.

Wow.

Stunning, if I do say so as their mother.

 No, we didn't write it, but yes, we did take advantage!

Thankful for this guy, too. He spoiled me with the beautiful white sweater I'm wearing in the photo, along with other gifts.

Our family - Christmas 2018

As Violet put it, "Just think, Mom. The birth of the Savior, has turned into the most wonderful time of the year!"

Amen. God Bless Us, Everyone!

Getting Ready for Christmas

 Phew! The girls are done with school for three weeks! Now for a few days of Christmas preparations...

Violet and I went to the mall over the weekend. She made me wait outside one particular shop, that sells a particular item that I particularly enjoy. My "sweet" girl!

Cora has always been super generous in gift-giving to her family and friends, and it's nice to see Violet developing that skill, too.

 We were out long enough to need lunch, and Violet requested Hot Dog On a Stick.

 On Sunday evening, we attended a Christmas service at church. Cora came in with us to the service, while Violet elected to attend the class for her age group.

After, we got some family photos since we all looked so Christmassy.

 I love these three with all that I have!

 On Christmas Eve morning, we lit a fire and wished Uncle Dean, Auntie Jenny, Euan and Livi a Happy Christmas on Skype The children opened their gifts, as well.

Later, we made a Costco trip with my dad, and later had him over for a lovely roast beef dinner prepared by Stace.

And before bed, the girls created the traditional glittery reindeer food, and left out cookies, milk and carrots on the hearth.

School Christmas Parties

The girls' class holiday parties were this Friday, and I was lucky enough to help plan and prep for both.

Jen had a rather ambitious craft idea for the sixth-graders - a felt-leaved Christmas tree that involved cutting some 20 leaves per child and hot-gluing wire to the back of each leaf.

We helped out at Jen's house Thursday night, and I got home after midnight. BUT, it's their last school holiday party, so we weren't complaining.

Violet's party craft was much simpler. The kids put a couple of drops of paint into a clear plastic ornament, sealed and shook them, to create a uniquely colored bauble.

Violet made a pretty blue one - a gift for Dad.ccccc

We had the same fun snack in both classes - decorating a rice krispy treat with icing. I helped in Violet's class for the first hour of their party, and then went over to help in Cora's class.

Here's Jen describing how to create the Christmas tmrees.

Jake and Cora are playing bingo here with M&Ms - yum.

And here's Cora, starting her tree adventure.

Next year, in junior high with multiple class periods, there won't be any school parties planned by room parents, and there won't be room parents at all. So although this felt like a crazy week for me, I did my best to soak it up, as the final year. We are very blessed to have Miss Lotito as a teacher, because she is fun and supports class parties. Next stop, Valentine's Day.

Also on Friday, the sixth graders had their gift exchange party with their kindergarten buddies. I didn't get to see this happen, but Cora's teacher posted this photo on the class info-sharing site. How adorable is this pic of Cora, her buddy, and Mrs. Hawthorne? 

School Highlights

Cora and Violet are both having a good year at school so far - we are so thankful! Violet is happy with her teacher and class and friendships, and is an eager learner. Really, she is so easy-going all around.

We noticed her class's artwork - I love her pastel of Christmas lights! She really did a beautiful job.

I helped out at the school's Holiday Gift Shop this week, and the girls and Stace created these posters that we put up on the school's three main fences.

Cora has been working on a biome project on the rainforest for the past month with a small group.

This week, the sixth grade held a "Biome Expo" where all the groups displayed their projects in the MPR for their parents and each other.

Here's Cora, Anna, Jake and Alyssa, who all did a marvelous job in their roles as they presented their research.

The students were instructed to dress professionally, or in clothes that brought their biome to mind; hence the jaguar/ocelot dress for Cora and the camo green for the others. This also explains - kind of - the leaves in their hair.

Mrs. Van Gelderen, the assistant principal, listened to the group and took photos - Jake didn't seem too excited about that.

Cora was recently elected to represent her class on the Student Council - congratulations!

As part of that role, Cora was asked to present a "thank you" to veterans at the school's Apex Serve Morning Ceremony, where we wrapped up the fundraiser by discussing the students' accomplishments.

Cora did a fabulous job, sounding poised and respectful. She also was the only student announced by name by Mrs. Sorenson-Howe - our Cora is a leader through and through.

Holiday in the Park Fun

We had two fun experiences at Magic Mountain's Holiday in the Park this past week.

On Friday night, the park had an employee Christmas party with food, snow, a few rides, and MRS. CLAUS!! Yes, my mom was on duty, and it was great to see her in action.

The girls had fun in the snow, and we all enjoyed a tamale and chips and salsa meal.

The girls also enjoyed making their own s'mores. It was lovely to have all this provided free of charge!

The bumper cars were one of the three rides open for business...

...along with Crazanity, the new giant pendulum ride. With such short lines, Cora rode this monster three times!

We also visited Grandma - I mean, Mrs. Claus. For the family party, prints of the photos were only $5, so that seemed well worth it. My mom is so beautiful!

We then went back on Tuesday night with Patrice, Geoff and the kids, who we always love hanging with.

Because it was midweek, the park was practically empty, and we went on lots of rides with no wait. It was great!
Violet went on many big rides for the first time - Twisted Colossus, Goliath, Superman and Revolution. She loved them all! Looks like both our girls are thrill-seekers!

I also checked out Crazanity, and enjoyed it. It's quite a ride!