Telestrations Fun

Over the weekend, Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner since Grandma had missed out on Thanksgiving. We ate turkey soup she made, and played Telestrations. 

Then, on Sunday, Stace and I went to a play together with Colleen and Rigo and had dinner, and then returned home to play more Telestrations. Lots of laughter!

Check out that smile! Love seeing her laugh.

Here are a couple of examples of some funny Telestrations rounds: First, a person was given the word "football player," and drew this. (American football, not English.)

The next player guessed it was "foosball, so the the following player drew this:

The following player (Violet) guessed "smoked herring," because she thought the above drawing looked like the old process of preserving herring she saw on a TV show with Stace.

So, the next person had the word "smoked herring," drew this, and the final player wrote the word "shark."

We went from "football player" to "shark." 

And with this one, the initial word was "Double decker bus," so the first player drew this:

The next player saw the drawing and wrote down their guess "yearbook," so the following player drew this:

The following player saw this drawing and guessed "WWII Morse Code," which wound up leading the next player to draw this:

And the final player guessed, "morse code." So, we started with double-decker bus and ended with morse code. As I said, lots of laughs.

Week in Review

I took an evening walk and enjoyed this stunning view. What a blessing it is that this is accessible from my front door!
 

Seb got into a fight with a black cat - we saw it running away - and apparently was bit on his paw. As soon as we discovered the wound, we knew it meant stitches.

Back to the vets, and back to 10 days of wearing the cone. Good thing he's so lovable.

I love our hawks.

Cora didn't have D&D the other weekend, and we were home, so I tortured the girls by forcing them to play a game with me. We got out Settlers of Catan, which is a good game, but since we don't play often enough, it always takes a while to refresh ourselves on the rules. 

Cora is forcing Violet to complete a trade she wants her to make. Seb doesn't know what to think. Stace wasn't really asleep.

We went out to brunch with Kelly and Yass, and enjoyed copious amounts of food. Otto's cafe for the win!

Redmond Trip

Cora's show ended Saturday night, and on Sunday my family came over for an early Thanksgiving celebration. 

On Monday, we flew to Washington, to spend the week with Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill. 

We got to see my cousins and their new babies, as well. Always great meeting new family members!

We enjoyed several days of relaxation, cooking, baking, playing games, taking walks and very yummy food.

Here, we're playing an interesting game where you consider "worst case scenarios" and decide, with your teammate, which of several answer options is correct.

It brought some laughter and some interesting discussions.

We had a couple of beautiful wintry days... 

...and a couple of beautiful wet days. 

Aunt Patty taught us how to make biscotti. This is Uncle Bill's face when he's told that Violet was supposed to be learning how to slice them, as he'd finished slicing the first loaf.

Cora learned how to make apple pie, and here she's making crepes for breakfast while Patty makes dinner rolls.

Oh, did we eat well! It would have been worth it to photograph the meals - homemade pizza, huge salmon filets, roast lamb and of course Thanksgiving dinner. 

Week in Review

Our game room roof is leaking again, especially around the skylights, so with winter coming, Stace and Violet climbed up to re-seal things again.

We went to Colleen and Rigo's for dinner, and our archers got some practice in.

Friday was Veterans Day, and for the first time in years, we went to the city's ceremony at our Veterans Plaza. 

Stace, Violet and I played Bananagrams the other night, and Violet got me set up. When I turned my tiles over, this is what I found. 

Ummmm I think the odds of this happening naturally are REALLY low.

And on Monday, I watched Ellie for a couple of hours. She set up her Bluey friends before we walked them over to the park. 
 

Week in Review

 These girls have grown to be such good friends. It's a delight to see. Stace and I are fortunate parents.

Stace and I snuck out for a drink Friday night - we love Pocock Brewing Co.! They have an amazing selection of brews, and great pizza and soft pretzels too. I always enjoy a flight of tasters.

I was really excited when Violet said she'd like a haircut, so I immediately booked it. She has so much thick hair! Very pretty.

You can see that it was plenty long before, and with a bit of curl, making it hard to keep tangle-free.

I always have ideas of our family playing games together, rather than staring at screens after dinner. Every now and then, I get my wish fulfilled. 

Cora always wins. Always. 

I was able to get to a Dodger game with my parents on Tuesday! Always good to be back.

English Road Trippin': Part 3

One of Cora's goals for our trip was getting a nice set of D&D dice, so she had looked up various stores that might sell them. None really worked out, though. Still, we found a cafe that focuses on board games and nerdy things in Leaminster Spa, not far from Warwick. We had some cake and drinks, and played a game together.

Then we drove on to our pub inn for the night, The College Arms in Lower Quinton, not to far from Statford upon Avon. This was a classic old pub, full of locals who packed the little bar area; our room was the window on the bottom left.

Violet was really tired, so she stayed in, while Stace, Cora and I had a meal at the Indian restaurant attached to the pub, and then Stace and Cora played pool.

Here was the part of the pub where we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast Wednesday before taking off for Stratford.

Weekend Fun

St. Patrick's Day  was this week, so we had the traditional American Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage. Easiest crock pot meal there is!

On Friday, Violet and I took our little nature walk back at Quigley Canyon to check on the poppies, since it was a sunny, warm day and they were sure to be open.

Our state flower!

On Friday afternoon, I babysat Ellie, and again, we walked to the park. She loves the swings!

Everyone wanted to swing with her - Elmo, Bunny and Garfield.

While I was out with Ellie, the girls were busy baking chocolate chip cookies! Nice one!

Stace has built this metal and concrete contraption for Melanie to use, to create different heights of  flowery things at weddings.

Cora and I brought it to her and helped her at a wedding Saturday. This couple wanted an asymmetric look.

After we were finished helping, we went into a sweet downtown near the wedding, and happened up on a nerd store dedicated to the game War Hammer. Because Cora had an interest in the game, we stayed and got drinks at the cafe there, and then learned about the game. It was a fun way to pass an hour before we came home.

Week in Review

We had a changing of the guard, a passing of the baton, etc, etc, this past week. Mom2Mom held its third in-person meeting of the spring on Tuesday, and a special guest joined us! Melanie came to check it out, as she's looking to get involved in mommy groups after the Covid restrictions shut everything down in her first year of motherhood. 

And, I noted it was a passing of the baton... Colleen and I have decided it was our last Mom2Mom meeting. 

I've been a part of the group for 14 years, since Cora was an infant, and the time has come for me to move on. Colleen and I met and became close while we were pregnant with our younger girls, so nearly 12 year ago. I'll always be grateful for the fellowship, spiritual encouragement and great friends I made in this group! 

Later on Tuesday, both Melanie and Colleen, and all those kids, came over to swim with us.

On Thursday afternoon, I went to Mel and Nick's to babysit this sweetie. We took a nice walk, and then I gave her dinner and a bath, and put her to bed. All went well, and Melanie and Nick had a great evening out. 

On Saturday evening, we rode bikes to Firehouse Subs with Colleen and the kids to get dinner, and support a fundraiser that our friends (Firehouse owners) Jenn and Jeff were doing. 

That evening, the kids all played D&D in the new room! It worked so well, and was lovely to watch. Cora built the new bookcase in the corner all by herself; it'll hold all things D&D related.