Mid-summer week's dream

 We love summer evenings! Soccer on the front lawn, bikes, water-gun fights and lots of pool time with Daddy make summer great.

 On Monday afternoon, we went to the library with Sophia, big brother Paul and their mom Sue. I'm so grateful for our new friendship over the past few months, especially with Genia moving away. Sue introduced us to the library's summer reading program, and Cora was happy to sign up when she saw Sophia walk away with a free ice-skating session as one of the weekly prizes.

 On Tuesday after VBS, we made our first trip the Aquatic Center this summer. As you can see, Cora still has a little ways to go before she can ride the big twisty water slide.

 But, both girls still had a great time in the water play area.

Pirates and VBS

A bit of what we've been up to the last couple of days...

Arrrgh!

Sunday was a hot one, and we had no plans. And we pretty much stayed in on Saturday. All this meant it was time to head to the beach. Ventura Harbor was hosting "Pirate Days," which meant lots of weirdos get a good excuse to dress up.

 Violet wasn't sure what to think about the costumed lady with the python.

Stace's "pirate name" was Blue Calico Bruce. After the harbor, Stace and Uncle Bill took the girls to the beach, where Cora had a few good turns on the boogie board (or cookie board, if you're Violet).

On Monday, Violet went to her first day of Wee Folks Camp, with Ms. Diane. She'll do one four-week session, on Mondays and Wednesdays. The day goes from 9 to 12:30, which is longer than she's been away from me before, but she did just great!
 This week the girls also have Vacation Bible School! Cora went on her own Monday, but Violet will attend the rest of the week. (Free time for me! Strange!) Tuesday was Crazy Hair Day, and it was Violet's idea to put the clothespins on her crazy pony tails. Cora refuses to participate in any themed days, not even pajama day or backwards shirt day.

 Here's Cora's group having their turn to lead the songs. Cora also did very well with reciting a Bible verse in front of the whole group, which filled the sanctuary.

Back home

Our girls are really such good travelers now. That's one thing that biannual international trips will do to your children. They are excited for each leg of the adventure (though as Cora gets older, she also experiences more sadness about the goodbyes). Thanks as always to our family for making the big (daylong) trek to and from Heathrow.

 Violet expanded her options a little for the trip home, and added "Peppa Pig" to her viewing queue. That's what she's laughing about here. Normally she will watch only Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and a bit of Jungle Junction. That's it, for hours on end. Thankfully, we remembered this time to request the child safety seat for this flight. It made for an easier trip.

 Sunday we did next to nothing but unpack and rest; we needed the rest after the trip, and the lack of sufficient sleep Saturday night thanks to a jetlagged little one.

Stace returned to work Monday, and the girls and I went grocery shopping.

On Tuesday morning, we met up with our friends Jaimie, Mackenzie, Luke and newborn Presley at the mall. It was great to catch up, and the girls got along so well, considering they hadn't seen each other in over a year.

On Tuesday evening, we made our return to Baskin-Robbins for our dollar-cone fix. Amazingly, Cora picked the ice cream (watermelon chip) that matched her coral dress perfectly. Cora was so proud to have bought this pretty dress in England with her own birthday money.

Tuesday night was the first night that we all slept well again after the girls took turns keeping us up the prior three nights at home.

 On Wednesday, we went to the pool with some school friends. Here, Cora shows off the 30-year-old Lego castle Stace brought here from Martock.

 Two other families we're friendly with from school also came to our pool playdate. It was a lot of fun, and I hope we can do it again before summer is over.

It's strange to think that this middle weekend in July marks the halfway point of our summer break - four weeks down, four weeks to go.

 On Thursday, we went out to visit JT and her family. Cora was so excited to play with Jonah, or, just "Baby," as she insists on calling him. She was such a good helper with him, too.

Melanie and little Heather also came out to visit, so I had to my two favorite Pepperdine ladies together with their two-year-old daughters for the first time.

 We absolutely lucked out with the weather. Tuesday had been over 100 degrees, but by Thursday it was cloudy and a good 20 degrees cooler, perfect for the little girls to play and picnic in the back yard.

In the evening, I made lasagna and we had Keith come over for dinner.

 On Friday, I was feeling lazy after hardly exercising for a month. So in the morning the girls and I walked to CVS and Ralphs for a few things we needed before lunch and nap.

After Stace came home, we went to the amphitheater in Stevenson Ranch for one of the summer concerts.

It took Cora some time to warm up to the music - she sat glumly for a while, saying it was boring - but once she got into it, she had a great time.

Violet loved dancing, too.

The girls also have had a lot of good playtime together this week. Cora watched one of her Tinkerbell movies, and brought back out her fairies to play with.

She's back to making things for her fairy houses, and talking about her figurines as if they are living, breathing members of our household. She also announced this week that she does believe in the tooth fairy, and she will when she's 16 or 18.

Cutie cousins

 These three kiddos had such a ball together. Euan adores Cora, and likes playing with Violet, too. Likewise, the girls were excited to see him each time we got together.

 Nan was in her element with her three grandchildren all together.

 One evening, we met up at Ham Hill, and Dean brought Euan's balance bike. And they're off!

 

Here, Euan is driving them all someplace fun.

 

Here were some fun and games with a toy phone at our last meal out together, Friday night, before we headed to the airport Saturday.

Iron Age Stace

 On our third day in Wales, we started off at Castell Henllys, a fascinating Iron Age archeological site with a reconstructed village.

All the buildings have been built on the locations of the original 2,000 year old  homes and buildings. Here, Stace is in the granary.

The interiors look as archeologists think they would have, with fire pits, weaving looms and baskets. The village was used in a BBC program that sent people back to live like Iron Age folk for a couple of months.

On our way back south, we visited Kidwelly Castle, the earliest earth-and-timber castle built by the Normans. The rest was built in the 1100s and 1200s.

 The castle overlooked a medieval town, and the ancient wall and gatehouse still stand. You can really get a feeling for what life looked like 600 years ago.

From Kidwelly, we made our way back to Martock. What a great trip we had!

Castles and pubs

It's incredible how many castles are still standing in Wales. Stace and I satisfied our love for history by visiting several on our trip.

Tuesday morning, we headed to Carew Castle, which overlooks a mill pond and one of only a few tidal mills left in Britain.

The original stone keep is nearly 1,000 years old!

As you can see, Monday's sun had abandoned us in favor of cool drizzle.

From Carew, we drove to St. Davids, to visit St. Davids Bishops Palace . It's not a true castle, but a beautiful palace built in the 1300s, overlooking a cathedral.

Stace's grand plan called for viewing the beautiful, famed coastline on our way to our next hotel. But the British weather can be a funny thing; though we had great weather for so much of our trip, this particular day was not. Here, I'm laughing at the foggy, drizzly scene behind me.

At our next little pull-in to see the view, I stayed in the car, while Stace got out to read the plaque. He then ran back to get me - we were off down a trail to find the following fort, built in 1781 to ward off pirates.

Real pirates! Real castles where knights and royalty lived! We can't wait until Cora and Violet are old enough to tour these places with us.

Here is the lovely pub and inn we stayed in our second night. The Trewern Arms was fantastic, with well-appointed rooms and delicious food.

The setting was ideal - quaint, tucked away in a valley, next to a river in the tiny hamlet of Nevern. The ancient church a short walk over the bridge boasts one of the oldest Celtic crosses still standing on its grounds.

After our little walk, we returned to the pub for a great meal (and pint), before bed. The next morning, our breakfast was just as good. I hope we can return someday.

Being in Wales was interesting; Welsh is still spoken and taught in schools, though everyone also speaks English, with a lovely accent. You feel like you're very far away from home when you see signs in a foreign language!

Stace and Lisa's Welsh Adventure

Sue and Gord graciously agreed to look after the girls for a couple of nights so Stace and I could take a trip on our own.

It was a lot of fun to plan a vacation from England, like the old days (pre-kids)of our whirlwind trips to Venice, Barcelona, Paris and Cyprus.

We settled on a short break in Wales, in the southwestern portion known as the Pembrokeshire coast. Here, we're crossing the Severn Bridge from England into Wales.

Our first night we stayed in an old hotel in Tenby, a city on the coast old enough to be partially surrounded by this medieval wall.

Tenby is full of pretty brightly colored houses and a picturesque harbor. Stace and I got checked into our hotel in the evening and then took a long walk to check it all out, stopping for a picnic dinner on the beach.

This store's sign made me laugh out loud - Godyrox specializes in DVD rentals, tanning and sports supplements.