Memorial Day Fun

We enjoyed our three-day weekend for Memorial Day with a lot of relaxing and a bit of work. Stace installed a tow hitch on our new car Saturday, and I helped out.

 We got the hitch specifically so we could attach a bike rack, to take our four bikes with us. We'll be taking them to Yosemite next month.

We also met up with Violet's friend Camryn at the park on Sunday, after going to church and talking to our family in England.

We cleaned our house Monday, and then had friends over to enjoy the pool. We've had a lovely May, weather-wise, but warmed up to a great temperature to play in the water.

Chicken fight: Violet and Stace vs. Charlie and Cora.

 So much fun.

The kiddos all spent time in the hot tub on their own, playing a rousing game of truth or dare. This resulted in boys rolling around in the wood chips, and of course the key question of "who do you like?" Violet and Cora weren't happy that I came within earshot to take this photo.

We then all went to the home of one of these friends for a barbecue. It was a really fun day.

Silks Success

 Cora is still enjoying her silks/aerial classes with my mom's long-time friend Cheryl. I hadn't attended class with her for a few weeks, so I was so impressed with her progress Saturday. 

 Cora is so, so very strong. Look at the muscles on that 11-year-old!

Chorus Concert

Cora is no longer learning the violin at school, but she is still a member of the school chorus. The chorus performed Wednesday night at with the beginning band and orchestra students.

Cora stood with her friend Charlie; we've become better friends with Charlie and his family in recent weeks, with family get-togethers.

I can always pick out Cora's voice from the crowd. Err, the chorus.

During the song Rise Up, Cora was selected to be one of the children with a solo, though each solo was with another child or two. Cora sounded so pretty!

 Here's a snippet of one of the lovely songs they sang.

Cora's solo is in the following video.

Weekend Fun with Friends

As it got dark, we moved to the back yard, where Stace and Adam played the guitar and sang. It was a great night, with good company. Summer's coming!We had our Mom2Mom year-end family picnic on Saturday, and it was a fun time. Afterwards, we invited Colleen and Morgan and their families over to our house to continue the fun.

The kids set up a kickball game in the cul-de-sac, and we grownups watched. 

The kids played, read, and as it got later, turned on a television show.

On Sunday afternoon, we played a lot of the same friends at Colleen and Rigo's house for Liana's birthday party. 

Disneyland!

We went to Disneyland with our friends Friday, as it was the final Friday that our passes were good for until September. Mom and I drove down with the girls, and met up with Jen and Trent, and Elaine, Vivian and Violet.

Tom Sawyer's Island is always one of the kids' favorite places to play; hide-and-seek is a popular game.

We always like to take photos with the Star Wars characters - it's fun to see over the years how the kids all change. They're looking taller and taller!

Violet got very brave this trip - usually she won't come out to meet the "baddies" unless I'm with her. But she went out with the big kids this time, doing the popular "floss" dance to help lighten her mood.

Both Kylo Ren and Darth Vader chose Cora to talk to and warn about staying on the Dark Side. It was pretty funny.

When we came back outside, we were in time for the landing of a Storm Trooper guard on top of the roof, led by Capt. Phasma. At least, that's what it sounded like! The Storm Troopers marched around, looking for rebel spies. Grandma wasn't having any of this trooper's attitude!

Cora went with her friends on Matterhorn, while Jen, my mom, Violet and I found coffee and rode Star Tours. Later, we rode Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain, and had dinner together. It was a great evening!

Week in Review

It's been a momentous few weeks in Cora's life - for the first time, she owns her own video gaming system.

She had enough money saved up to purchase a PlayStation 4 system, and she now can play Minecraft and Fortnite and Star Wars Battlefront. With the online capability and a headset from Sophia, she can play with her friends. It's a big deal for Cora, and she's really excited about it. It took all of Cora's long-term savings, which she's been collecting from her chore money since she was four.  Stace and I helped a little, because the PS4 can play Blu Rays and DVDs and we haven't had a Blu Ray player. We're proud of Cora!

But though Cora does love her new gaming system, she is still a reader at heart. We stopped by the library this week, and Cora has been a happier camper with her big stack of books.

Violet formed an art club a few weeks ago with some of her classmates. They get together Wednesdays after school, while Cora is at GATE Musical rehearsal.

This week, Colleen had a meeting she had to attend, and Lucas and Liana had a minimum day at their school. They played at our house, and then Liana got to participate in art club, too, for a bit.

On Friday, the second graders took part in a marketplace, where each one brought in something handmade to sell. The goal was to learn about creating and marketing a product.

It was great to watch and listen to the 7-and 8-year-olds advertising and selling their homemade magnets, bookmarks, bracelets and slime. Violet created keychains from clay "Bricks, Blocks and Beads" she made. The Lego shaped ones proved very popular.

Camryn bought a keychain, and Violet bought one of Cam's bookmarks. All the money raised went to charity; items were all priced at less than $1.

U2!

JT turned 40 last month, and U2 was nice enough to come in to L.A. to play a show to mark the occasion. 

Ha! Actually, we knew they were going to be at the Forum in Inglewood, but hemmed and hawed about whether we should get tickets, since we saw them a year ago. But being at the concert at the Greek together last week spurred us to making the decision, and I got tickets Monday night for Wednesday's show.

The logistics of a midweek show made for a long, fun afternoon and very late night, but it was so worth it.

Our seats weren't brilliant, but we were very pleased, for the price. The Forum is a much smaller venue than the Rose Bowl or other stadiums, so even though we were at the back, it really wasn't bad. We were in the middle of the oval-shaped arena, so we were perfectly placed for the parts of the show on the catwalk and featuring the long giant screen.

Bono and the gang sang tunes from their new album Songs of Experience, and older songs, including Staring at the Sun, shown here.

U2 has always been outspoken about its love for America, and American ideals of freedom and acceptance.

We had a great night!

Rocking Out for Mother's Day

After the sadness of the Thottapilly family memorial Friday afternoon, Stace and I had a great distraction to get our minds off it.

We met up with Jim and JT at the Greek Theater for a reunion with thousands of L.A. Brits at a show featuring Richard Ashcroft and Liam Gallagher.

But first, a beer. A smaller one for the smaller man,a big one for the big man.

Thought the skies were threatening and even drizzled a little - Brits, keep your weather in the UK! - it was a great night out.

Richard Ashcroft performed first, and started his set with just himself and an acoustic guitar. Then, another musician joined him, with an electric guitar. The highlights for me, of course, was his lower key version of Bittersweet Symphony, one of my favorite songs.

Liam Gallagher put on a rocking show, and apparently he was on better behavior than he sometimes has displayed.

We had a super late night, of course, and my Saturday morning was all the better when my Violet brought me breakfast in bed! It was Mother's Day weekend and she got a headstart on spoiling her mama.

Violet is continuing the family tradition and learning how to make crepes on her own.

I was up and out early for church, where I help in the nursery every other week. Stace and the girls joined me for second service, where a cute Mother's Day photo booth had a very long line. But we don't need a special backdrop when we have such special girlies, right?

At least one of my daughters was game for a kissing photo!

We went to Trader Joe's to pick up fun treats for a Mother's Day lunch, and I came home to a beautiful bouquet from our own garden. I also got a nice set of new jammies from Stace and the girls.

Later, we met up with my parents at a new place in Newhall, Brewery Draconum, which had a nice beer garden. We enjoyed some time together, and the girls played bowls.

Stace and the girls then went home, and I went with my mom and dad for a glass of wine at the Newhall Refinery. It was a lovely end to our Mother's Day.