July Fourth Weekend

 After a few temperate July Fourths, this one was a hot one, and it already felt hot when we got on our bikes to ride to the parade route. Thankfully, we found my parents and Ellie, who had a shady spot. 

Still, little Eloise was feeling too hot and bothered to smile for a photo.

Stace and I rode home (the girls hadn't come with us) and we went to the neighborhood Independence Day BBQ. I felt bad for the volunteer HOA board members manning the grills, but the food was good!

Later, after we rested and tried to cool down, we had the family over, and my friend Kelly. Mel brought chicken thighs, which Stace grilled. 

In the evening, my parents and Mel, Nick and Ellie went to see the fireworks at the mall. 

Cora didn't want to see fireworks at all, and Violet wanted to find a quieter, less crowded spot. So she, Stace, Kelly and I went to the Ironhorse Bridge trailhead, and it was a perfect location. 

We stood on the bridge and watched the Magic Mountain show to the west, and then, as we walked to the car, the city show to the southeast. We weren't alone, either, as there were groups here who had clearly set up hours earlier. Perhaps we've found a new tradition.

On Friday, we decided to flee the heat and meet up with friends in Ventura.

Rigo had left before 7 a.m. to snag a beachfront spot for their trailer, and he managed to park in such a way to save us a spot, too. 

Our friends Lynnette and James were visiting from out of state, so it was great to see them again and see their girls. 

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Colleen and Rigo's, and we all hung out again.

We brought a nectarine crisp to Colleen's house, cooked in the barbecue to save heating up the house. We also made the same dessert for July Fourth. Our nectarine trees are overflowing! And with the heat, they're ripening too fast.

Nectarines on nut butter on toast - with homegrown fruit, home ground nut butter (almond and peanut) and home-baked bread. I just need some chickens and a couple of goats! (Alas, the HOA won't go for it...)

Fourth of July

 We've been attending our SClarita Fourth of July Parade for many years, but this year was a first - Stace got to ride IN the parade! And, I got to cheer for him as he came by!

Christina, our friend with Finally Family Homes, decided to show the community the tiny home-in-progress, and Stace has been helping build it for months on Saturday mornings. It'll go to a former foster youth who needs a helping hand, which is the point of Finally Family Homes. 

Stace, Rigo, Christina and other supporters rode along. Stace had fun! He's standing in the yellow hard hat, next to Rigo.

Here was Stace's view of the parade! We do love this bit of Americana. 

Colleen and I rode bikes from our house to Newhall Park, where we watched the whole parade in the shade. And we watched it without the kids - all of them chose to stay home. My kids have seen a lot of these parades and know how long and hot they can be.

Here's the animal shelter float, complete with doggies. 

Hart High's cheerleaders and football players were very patriotic, indeed. We also saw all the local politicians, pageant royalty and emergency vehicles.

Later, we had the family over for a meal, and Mel brought water balloons so Ellie could have fun with them. Violet was in charge of filling them up.

Splash!

I think Vi is laughing here because she has one of those balloons that's too tiny to burst.

We even got Cora in on the action.

Later, Mel and family, and my parents, went to the mall to watch fireworks, while Stace, Violet and I tried something new. 

We went up on our little neighborhood hill to see if we could watch from there. We learned that due to the angles, we can't see the mall show from here, but we actually had a view of all sorts of fireworks set off by residents in Valencia, Newhall and Canyon Country. It was pretty cool, in a dangerous, "don't try this at home" kind of way. 

Week in Review

We tried a new tropical fruit, a spiny ball called rambutan. I found them at the 99 Cent Store, a trusty provider of interesting fruits over the years that sell for four times the price at Ralphs. 

Cora cut through the spiky skin and found white flesh around a pit. It tasted a bit like a grape. Fun experience!

This week, I refinished my two bottom drawers, because a cat who shall remain nameless peed on them numerous times and destroyed the finish. You can see the one on the left after I sanded it, and the one on the right, before sanding. They're back in place now and look good again.

I was working in the yard and moved a pot, and found a blue-tailed skink underneath! I've never seen one before. Violet thought it was cool.

Friday was a holiday for Stace, since Independence Day fell on a Saturday this year. JT and Jim and the kids came out to visit. We barbecued, played in the pool, and had a fabulous dessert. JT brought homemade apple and chocolate cream pies. YUM. She is a gifted baker!

This was a Fourth of July like no other. No parade, no pancake breakfast, no fireworks. Santa Clarita was actually planning to be one of the few cities to hold a fireworks show, but planned to shut all the nearby parking lots and encouraged people to watch from home. But, because of covid, the county banned fireworks shows, and ours was cancelled.

We went to my Mom and Dad's house, and had a nice time together. We even did sparklers, and watched illegal fireworks light up the sky.

The footage from all over L.A. was hilarious - fireworks everywhere! You can ban the real shows, and the people will do what they want! The Fourth of July without fireworks, come on!?

A Fabulous Fourth

 Nan and Pop are here!! They arrived Monday night, in time for their first celebration of America's Independence Day on Wednesday.

We went ALL OUT on the Fourth of July. Pancake breakfast, parade, pool party and barbecue with family and friends, followed by fireworks. Can't get any more Fourth-ish than that!

The Rotary Club's pancake breakfast was delicious, as always.

 We simply stepped outside the breakfast area for a perfect shady spot to watch the parade from its very beginning.

 Seeing friends in the parade is always a highlight. Here, Stace is waving to horse-riding Sadie, a former soccer teammate of Cora's. We also saw friends of Violet's on a Girl Scout float.

Sue and Gord didn't get to ride bikes from our house - our normal tradition - nor did they sweat through a 100-degree day. But our parade experience, on a much cooler-than-average morning, was excellent.

 Afte the parade, we walked around Old Town Newhall, shopped at Barn and Charm, and got drinks at Honu Coffee. Then, we went home to get ready to host a barbecue.

 We had our friends meet us at the pool. Pam, Cooper and Wylie, and Yass, Kelly, Charlie and Jake, all came to play. Later, my dad and Mel and Nick also joined the party. (Mom was at work, but came with us to fireworks.)

Here, Cooper is "it" during a came of colors.

 Nick amazed us with his ability to list off the Top 10 grossing films of any given year. Here, he's rattling off the top films from 2005. I love Yass and Kelly's shocked faces.

We returned home and got dinner ready, while the kids ran around and played. Charlie loves the trampoline - he's in it a lot when he comes to play.

Thanks to Pam for the next set of photos. Here's Cora and Jake enjoying their Fourth feast.

 As Pam pointed out, our celebration of America was an international affair: we had English, Cubans and Brazilians.

 Pam brought the Brazilian friends - she'd met Marcella and Felipe camping the prior week, and they were on their way down from Yosemite Wednesday. It was their last day in California before they were to fly home, and we welcomed them over with open arms. Stace donned his Brazil football shirt, as the World Cup is in full swing, and gave Felipe an England shirt to wear.

 Yass, our Cuban friend, was in charge of bringing brats and buns, and boy, did he come through. We had something like half a package of buns per person.

Felipe's little boy was friendly, though he spoke no English. He and Violet had fun drawing together (and it was probably nice for Vi to not be the youngest again!).

We then continued the 80s Movie Nights with Back To The Future II.

We then went down to see the fireworks.

 Our night continued at Pam's house, with sparklers and dessert - vanilla ice cream and various sodas, for a Make Your Own Float bar. Just as our Founding Fathers would have wanted!