Summer Tidbits

Summer vacation is winding down; here's a peek at how we spent the last week or so of it.

Jake and Char came over for a playdate - they watched movies, created clay creations and generally had fun. Jake loves Spencer and is trying to encourage Spence to love him back.

Cora's swim team held its year-end party Saturday night. Her coaches this year were such great teachers! We really lucked out on the coaching front with Justin and Katie.

We then took the girls to Jake and Charlie's house, where Kelly and Yass kept them feed and entertained while Stace and I went out to watch the latest Mission Impossible film.

On Sunday after church, Cora volunteered for about an hour at Shelter Hope, a pet shelter in the mall. She went through a training last week, and loves playing with and caring for the kitties.

Cora also had a playdate with her buddy Violet, while I enjoyed some one-on-one time with Violet. We went out to lunch at Lazy Dog.

And on Wednesday, our final, final day of vacation, we spent a few hours at Universal Studios after I had my prosthesis polished a few miles further in Hollywood.

We hadn't been back to Universal with our season tickets since Cora's birthday trip. Violet is now tall enough for the big Harry Potter ride, so we waited in the long line so she could check it out for the first time. She loved it! It's gratifying to watch her grow taller and have those new experiences.

Gotta check out the wand store!

Much of our day was spent waiting to find out which teachers the girls were assigned to for 3rd and 6th grade.

Cora was happy to find out she has Miss Lotito, with her good friend Jake. They were really pleased to be in the same class.

And Violet will have Mrs. Breneman, and she was happy about that, too. Kat will be in her class, and Mrs. Breneman likes Pokemon, so Violet was very pleased with her assignment.

My mom had to take a minute on our way out of Universal to chat with her buddy. Cora was SO embarrassed that Grandma would want to do this! It was horrifying to her.

We got back home and got ready for Back To School Night, where we got to meet the teachers and see the girls' classrooms. It was a good evening.

What a great summer!

Week in Review

On Sunday afternoon, we watched the musical Beauty and the Beast at COC's Performing Arts Center. Melanie's long-time friend Georgie was starring as the Beast, and he was amazing, as always. I should have gotten a photo with him, but it was another horribly hot day and we were tired after the show.

We did get a photo of Violet with her classmate Peyton from last year; Peyton was one of the children in the chorus, and Violet loved cheering her on.

My parents took the girls for the evening after the show, so we could have a date night. Stace and I got a nice dinner at a Greek place in town, and then caught a gorgeous sunset.

On Monday, I got the girls up and out before the heat struck. We walked/scootered down to Granary Square for breakfast.

Bagels at Dink's - always a good pick.

Later, we had a sad discovery - the deep purple slime Violet made with Kat was embedded and hardened into her carpet. Oh dear.

We worked hard, using many different carpet cleaning methods, but there remains a lavender circle on the carpet.

On Tuesday my mom and I took the girls and Cooper and Wylie to Hurricane Harbor for the afternoon. Later that evening, we went to Patrice and Geoff's for dinner. It was great to reconnect with them. We enjoyed food, their pool, and half of the movie Avatar before it was time to head home.

On Wednesday night, my parents and I went to a Dodger game - our first of the season! This was my Father's Day gift to Dad. It happened to be $1 Dodger Dog Night - hence the lapful o' dogs.

The Dodgers won in the bottom of the 10th inning - exciting finish!

And on Thursday, Cora went to her final swim practice of the season. She had great coaches this year and learned a lot!

Week in Review

 After returning from Hawaii very late Sunday night, we spent most of Monday doing nothing but resting.

On Tuesday, Stace returned to work, and we took Cora to a private aerial class with her instructor's house, so that Sue and Gord could see Cora in action. They loved watching her!

After Cora's class, we met up with my friends Christina and Tiffany and their kids at International House of Pancakes, which was having a special free pancake special. It was great catching up with them.

I think Spencer didn't want Nan and Pop to leave! At least they got to take home reminders of him and Seb, by way of the cat fur.

Cora and I took Sue and Gord to the airport Wednesday, after a lovely 2-plus weeks together. It's always wonderful having them with us!

Later on Wednesday, Cora and I did some back-to-school shopping for her. For the first time, she's showing an interest in clothes, and starting to be curious about makeup and other girly things. It's an interesting change!

On Thursday, we went to Long Beach for the official grand opening of the wedding studio where Melanie is doing her wedding floristry work.

Her workshop is adorable!

I'm so proud of my hard-working little sister! Such the entrepreneur.

We had a great evening, with snacks and drinks provided and games in the front lobby.

On Saturday, Cora had another swim meet.

Hot Weekend Fun

 Nan and Pop got to go to Cora's swim meet Saturday morning. Cora swam well, though moving up an age division has been tough. She's now competing against big 12-year-old girls who swim as their main sport.

 Saturday was another incredibly hot day. We braved the heat to join Colleen and Rigo at the Concert in the Park. We saw a band that covered Bon Jovi songs.

 We got out of the heat Sunday afternoon, driving out to the airport area to check into a hotel for our Monday flight to Hawaii. We then met up with John and Linda in Torrance at a lovely park overlooking the ocean.

 The girls had fun playing - it's always nice playing at a new park, and especially when it's 30 degrees cooler than at home.

It was great seeing these special friends!

Week in Review

VBS and the beach weren't all we got up to this past week.

As summer started, our friend Yass suggested we get together to watch 80s movies with the kids, introducing our children to some of the classics.

Stace loved the idea, and we held our first dinner-and-movie night, 80s style, on Tuesday. We watched Big and had pizzas.

On Wednesday, JT came up with Callie and Jonah. The kids played school, we had dinner, and then we had a lovely surprise dessert.

For Stacey's birthday, JT brought a labor of love, a homemade apple pie. It was delicious!

On Saturday morning, Cora had her first swim meet of the season. She had to swim the butterfly so that we could be finished early - and she wasn't thrilled. She hates butterfly.













But, we had brunch plans with John and Linda, who had stayed in SClarita the night before to spend time with my parents. We met up with them at the Egg Plantation, which was thoroughly enjoyable.

After swimming in the morning, Cora went to her aerial class Saturday afternoon. She's still enjoying it, and she's learning a lot.

On Saturday night, we went to Yass and Kelly's house for a fabulous dinner and another movie night. This time, it was Back To The Future. Great Scott! It was a late night, but super fun. Gotta love summer!