Back to School

Well, that summer went by quickly! And now we've somehow reached Cora's final year of school, and all the lasts begin. 

For Violet, this was her first day of high school. 

Oh, how we do wish they could be at the same school together for this one year. I never would have thought back when Cora promoted from Meadows, that she and Vi would never be on campus together again.

 This was Cora's first day of kindergarten.

First day of her senior year! May the Lord bless her with peace, joy and personal growth.

Violet was nervous! But all went well. I drop her off in time for brunch, she has her biology and art classes, and I pick her up after lunch. This way she can see her girlfriends.

May the Lord guide her throughout these next four years and bless her always.

We'd forgotten the signs on the actual first day, so Stace brought these home later in the week. You can see that Violet is a little more relaxed here!

Yes, that's paint on Cora's legs, from painting minis. This girl!

O Christmas Tree, Our Christmas Tree

We didn't just bring kittens home this week - we also picked out a Christmas tree.

It had been a few years since we bought a real tree, so it's a bit of a treat for our family.

Discussing the pros and cons of various tree options - serious business!

Our winner winner. Not too tall, not $499 either.

Stace had the urge to recreate a family Christmas photo from 2015, so he insisted we bring the Vibe for tree transport.

Awww!
 

Week in Review

Violet was having a hard time in school. She was doing well, grade-wise, but really deeply disliked being there all day. She missed quite a bit because of tummy aches and other illness, to the point that Stace offered her $10 if she made it through a full five-day week.

Spoiler alert: she didn't! We ended up making a significant change, and she's now enrolled in the district's independent learning program. 

She takes two classes at her junior high still - yearbook and science - and will still be on campus to see friends. But the other classes, she's taking at home on the computer, with a teacher checking in with her weekly. So far, it's going well and seems to be a good move.

Cora was asked to take part in a short film project for an acquaintance's college film class. He was making a Western music video set in the late 1800s. Luckily, we were able to make my old vintage prom dress and a fitted brocade coat of Cora's work for her outfit.

Here she is, ready for filming. Ain't she purdy??

Stace wanted to get a photo of the girls when Cora got home, all made up nicely. 

Love seeing them laugh together!

 Violet and I took another Quigley walk, and it was warm enough that I was mindful of snakes.

Now, we basically never come across snakes, but I had mentioned to Violet that we should be aware. And boom! This little guy was on the path. He was actually pretty small, so not scary whatsoever. No rattle either.

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.

Our Little is TWELVE!

Violet is 12! A full-fledged tween, with a style all of her own. No longer a little girl, Violet has interests and moods and talents - she's really coming into her own. 

These two have such a great friendship. Violet misses Cora when she's away at rehearsals too often, and they love to talk about their common interests and play video games together. Vi is wearing her gift from Cora - the clip-on earrings. We gave her several pairs, when we discovered them at the jewelry store in the mall. Vi has one pierced ear, and one that closed over back when she was 6, and she has no desire to re-pierce it. But, she was thrilled with her new earrings, and has been wearing them daily, with her scarves and boots. She has a definite style!

We gave Violet a few favorite food items, but our main gift was cash, which she is saving up to buy a new drawing iPad, one that does NOT require being hooked up to our laptop. Many thanks to all who have also contributed to her fund! Happy Birthday, sweet Violet. We love you!
 

City Walk Fun

With the Dodgers the champions of the baseball world, AND with Universal City Walk offering free parking to entice shopping, we made a family day Saturday to visit the Dodger Clubhouse Store.

With few ways to celebrate our Dodgers communally, many people had the same idea. We waited about 90 minutes in (a socially distanced) line to enter the shop (where the number of patrons was strictly limited).

Nearly everyone was in their Dodger gear! Employees said they've been packed every day since the playoffs.

A big benefit of having big kids - we handed them some money and off they went! They had fun shopping and getting snacks - boba and mini doughnuts.

Like all California theme parks, Universal Studios has been closed since March. 
 

It was finally our turn to enter the store, a treasure trove of Dodger paraphernalia. It took a while to figure out what all we wanted to buy, to remember this special year forever. 

In this pic, you can see Stace wearing his new World Series champion hat, and me wearing my champion face covering. It doesn't get more 2020 than a celebratory face mask.

Here was my big purchase - a jersey, with additional World Series and Champions patches. Expensive, but I'll have it forever!

The girls had a GREAT time shopping in the Universal shop, with its huge Harry Potter section. Between having dinner, having snacks, and shopping, we enjoyed two-thirds of what we would have done at Universal Studios, with no admission charge.

The girls have been watching way too much of the Simpsons lately, so they checked out the Simpsons gear, too.

We all had such a fun day together. Cora, who doesn't love leaving SClarita, or being around a lot of people, loved it and wants to come back again. Normally parking is $25 - crazy - so free parking is a big savings. And it's only a half hour away.

My heart is full!

(And, for the record, this is Violet and Cora. When I posted this pic, many people thought it was me and Cora! She's taller than me, but not by this much!)

Tidbits

Liana came over for a couple of hours Wednesday evening, and the girls had a giggle over their games. We also had Char over, and we all went to the pool.
 

Cora had sneaked the ice cream container into her room and was eating from it with a spoon. I called her on it, and she put it away. The next time I got the ice cream out, I found a frozen spoon.

With the girls home, one of Violet's daily assignments is P.E. She agreed to come with me on my near-daily walk, and was rewarded on the first couple o days with the sight of a rat near a big rock. 

Our nature lover is always noticing things - birds, lizards, squirrels, trap-door spiders. Seeing a rat in the daylight was strange!

My family came over for dinner, and Ellie had fun in her baby pool in the yard.

The girls' friendship continues. On this night, Cora was writing and Violet was drawing; most nights, Cora reads to Violet before bedtime. 

It's always hard to be the mean mom and make Vi go to bed when they're having a great time together! But, school does start at 8 for Cora, and it should start at 8 for Violet, too. (But her first "live" online meeting with her teacher is at 9:20, so the start time is a little loose at our house.)

Cherry Picking

It's cherry season! And it's been a few years since we last visited Leona Valley to pick our own, and I had to get these couch potatoes out of the house!

So off we went Monday, our first official full day of summer vacation (though it's felt like summer break since mid-March).

The trees were full of bright red cherries!

Should she share her tree? Hmmmmm...

It was a fun midday thing to do, and the girls enjoyed it.