Weekend Stuff

This past week, we took empty boxes from church and a list of needed food to the grocery store to buy food for the needy. 

We did two boxes, one for each daughter, and got them packed up to take back to church Saturday.

We were encouraged to bring our boxes on Saturday, while they had the Kona Ice truck on campus. 

Yum! After so many months of only watching church online, it was nice and even a little weird to be back at the church building.

That evening, we had Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner, and we all went to the pool. We showed off the Three Howard Tower routine.

Sunday was cooler than normal, so we took advantage of the weather in doing some yardwork. We did a lot of weeding, and we vastly improved this area.

Now that we have the new patio furniture, I wanted it to look nicer in this corner of the yard.

Week in Review

Our neighbor behind us has a plum tree, but we've never had a plum off it because the squirrels get them all. 

But this year has been a bumper crop, with so many plums, we even got a bowl-ful. (This branch is completely in our yard.) 

And, our own grape vine produced its largest grapes yet. All sweet and tasty.

On Wednesday, both girls had a friend over, and we all spent a couple of hours at the pool. 

It's much easier playing games like Marco Polo with four kids than two.

Violet found a friend on the walk home.

These two!

Wheeler Gorge Joys

Camping does weird things to people!

Tadpole hunting!

Violet took us to the creek after dinner Saturday to look for frogs, and we ended up finding six! They provided the most lovely serenade as we went to sleep in our tents. They must also work hard to keep the biting bugs to a minimum, as we went home with nary a bite!

Cornhole fun with Paul

S'mores and campfire stories: classic.

Dad and his girls on Father's Day...and his birthday. We love you, Stace!

Gag gift - kind of. Smooth Move tea! For when you're having...trouble... Violet's idea. You see her cracking up.

Violet was really interested in getting the fire going.

Quiet moments, Dad and his big girl.

The kids run around playing all day long, no screens, no wifi (no cell reception of any kind actually). They play imaginary games, hide and seek tag, card games, etc. It's wonderful.

Rose Valley Falls

We spent the weekend of Stace's birthday (and Father's Day) camping in Wheeler Gorge, as we had hoped to do earlier for Violet and Liana's birthdays. It was great to get back to this beautiful, peaceful spot.

On Saturday, we went north from the campground about 10 miles, to a short hike to a beautiful waterfall I'd heard about from a friend. Rose Valley Falls was well worth the effort! The water was cool but not too cold, and it looked like Hawaii!

Cora and the kids found a cave behind the falls, and she got some cool pics. 

Downstream a bit was a smaller waterfall. So pretty!

I love this friend! With our girls now 10, we've been close for more than 10 years.

Week in Review

Stace finished off and baked the sourdough that Michelle hooked us up with, and look how gorgeous!

It was as tasty as it looked.

Melanie, Nick and Ellie came over to play in the pool Sunday. Ellie loved her first pool experience!

At least, she seemed to. She was very chill and relaxed.

Big news! Cora was able to return to karate!

Squares are drawn on the dojo floor with tape, masks are worn, hand sanitizer, no physical contact...but at least they can be sarcastic with each other, in person.

We went to Placerita Canyon, where we were pleasantly surprised to still find a tiny bit of water.

This sign struck me as funny: the picnic table is reserved for "No one at this time - no picnicking or social gathering right now until further notice. Thank you for understanding."
I'll withhold my sarcasm - wait, no, I won't. I'm sure that me and the girls sitting with a water and crackers and a banana will spread the virus?

Violet showed Cora her little favorite spot.

The bathrooms were open, but the nature center building shut.

We made a big step toward normalcy this week, with Violet going to a friend's house Wednesday, and Cora having a girlfriend over the same day. It was wonderful, and both my girls were so happy.

Also this week, we finished this amazing puzzle of Paris that was a quarantine gift from Sue and Gord. Oh, just a year ago, we were going to the UK and Paris! What a big difference a year makes.

Kitties

I had quite the nature show on my Monday morning walk.

I always keep my eyes open for nature, and sometimes am rewarded with bright blue scrub jays, rabbits, hawks and the occasional coyote, in additional to the frequent squirrels, lizards, doves and crows.

But Monday, I glanced up the hill and spotted what I thought might be a dog carrying something...a squirrel! And wait! Not a dog...a bobcat!

I've heard of bobcats in SClarita, but I've never seen one in person.

I watched this one for a bit, and then realized it was going to cross right behind me. I started videoing, and grabbed this pic while doing so.

Mama cat went up a little gully toward a big oak, and I saw more movement - two kittens! One followed the mama, and the other was up in the tree.


Look at the kitten!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our own cats have been spoiled lately. Violet spent her own Amazon money from her birthday on a new cat watering machine, that filters the water and bubbles it up, so it's nice and fresh like out of a faucet.

I decided it would be easier to allow the cats to self-feed, using a dumped out 12-pound bag of cat food. They appreciated the thought.

At Aldi, I picked up this cat toy that has a feathered toy go in and out of different holes, like the old Whack a Mole game.

The boys enjoyed it.

Oh, and in worse news, the sheet over the toy  box is because Spencer keeps spraying it. Ugh.