It's a Boutique! It's a Plane! It's... Santa Claus!!!

While watching an online episode of James' May's Toy Stories, where James guided a group of youths who put together a giant model airplane, Stace was inspired. He wanted to do the same, on a smaller scale, with Cora and Lucas.

The pair were up for it, and did an amazing job putting together a Dauntless and a Mustang with very little adult assistance.

Next step will be a painting party, to be scheduled...

Meanwhile, the little girls did some creating of their own, doing a very grownup job coloring these felt Christmas scenes.

While Stace and Rigo served as project managers, Colleen and I managed a few hours out, attending the annual Stephanie's Hope boutique. I go every year to support Stephanie (a dear friend of Auntie Kelly), who is raising money for research on Friedreich's Ataxia, the rare, degenerative neuro-muscular disorder she is battling.

Then, we all met up in Old Town Newhall, where the Christmas season was kicked off with the lighting of the giant Christmas tree in front of the library.

The city is doing some beautiful decorations along Main Street, and the tree lighting event was well-attended. Santa was on hand for photos, and lots of new businesses were open, some offering wine and appetizers earlier that afternoon for a "Sip and Stroll" shopping event.

We all wrote on Christmas cards for our soldiers to thank them for their service.

Cora brought a bag of Beanie Boos, since she and Lucas love playing with their stuffed animals. Liana was very happy to help out Cora by carrying the bag, and giving Owletta and friends some attention.

A funny exchange occurred between Liana and Violet, as the girls were discussing age and size.

Obviously, Liana wins on the size front (as do nearly all children Violet knows). But Violet is 12 days older, and she will turn 5 first. This bothered Liana, who thought about it, and remarked that Violet will also die first.
From the mouths of babes!

Week In Review

On Tuesday, schools were out of session in observance of Veterans' Day.

We spent the day with Juliana, Maya and Natalia, and the girls had a fantastic time together. Somehow, it had been nearly three months since we've gotten together, so we had a lot to catch up on.

The girls spent some time picking oranges and lemons, along with other fun and games (like Violet singing a song for us, below).

 On Tuesday evening, we joined half of Santa Clarita at Kohl's, which was having lots of Veteran's Day sales. Combining two coupons, I was able to get Cora a needed pair school shoes for $5, regularly priced $35.

Violet also had fun trying on shoes, and really wanted these black, slouchy bow-ed boots. When we hesitated (because she has a huge box of shoes in the closet), she had a crying fit. Stace walked her around the store and she came around.

 On Thursday, Violet and I had no plans, so we took a nice long walk with Christina and Melanie, ending up at Starbucks. Then, I took little Lanie home with us for a playdate, and the girls played with playdoh.

 On Saturday morning, Cora helped Stace put on his MG's tires, since they'd gone flat.

Stace has just about finished with the carburetor, which he's been slowly refurbishing for months. Then he'll bleed the brakes, and hopefully we can take it out for a spin again.

Cora's such a beautiful, capable girl, clever and interested in so many things. She really is a good help to Stacey.

Scooter's fun

What a treat - spending a Monday evening with some of our school friends at Scooter's Jungle, with dinner thrown in, with NO SCHOOL the next day!

The big supporters of the school foundation's triathlon earned entry to the party, and foundation board members like myself also got to have the younger sibling come along.

Stace and I helped chaperone, which meant fun and games, and dinner.

Cami and Violet slid together on the huge slide countless times, along with Cora and Melanie and dozens of other students.

They also enjoyed the zip line, bouncers and ping pong tables.

After Scooter's, we four went to McDonald's for an ice cream before heading home, when Violet had a special treat - having a sleepover on Cora's trundle bed.

Rancho Camulos

 Rancho Camulos is one of those historic landmarks we've passed a million times on our way to Fillmore, always thinking that "someday" we'd make a visit.

On a free Saturday for us, the piece of Californian history was holding an open day, with lots of activities for the children.

The girls flattened out the mixture used to make homemade tortillas.

 They washed and wrung out clothes the old-fashioned way...

 ...made adobe bricks...

... and Cora tried her hand at lassoing a mock cow.

The beautiful rancho was owned by one of early California's large landowners, and was the setting for "Ramona," a book that was made into a silent film a hundred years ago.

It was a very nice half-day out together, and nice and close to home.

Week in Review

 Such fun - the Big Sort following Halloween candy-collecting...

Sebastian is Cora's personal heater at bedtime. He nearly always spends his nights on her bed.

Now that it's cooler, we're enjoying taking the girls out on their bikes. We went to Granary Square on Saturday morning, and Violet proudly rode there and back. 

She is doing so well on her bike now! That's what happens when you're 4 1/2.

(She is telling everyone she meets that she is now 4 1/2. Along with riding her bike, she also is enjoying spelling and writing, and she's learning to pump on the swing, too. And she's hit the half-year disobedience/testing period, too, sadly.)

Speaking of letters, in a parking lot the other day, she shouted, "X! And a T!"
What was she talking about? The way the lane markings came together, of course. Clever girl.

We also had our little friend Melanie with us the other morning, and we made a trip to Petsmart.

It's a great errand to run with children, with cats, birds, fish, reptiles and rodents on display. Here, Melanie and Violet say hello to a chinchilla.

Cider Making

 Last month, Uncle Bill reissued his cider-making challenge to the family. We eagerly accepted, and are well on our way to nearly two gallons of the hard stuff.

We bought a gallon jug of juice, but when Stace's coworker offered him a big bag of homegrown apples, Stace decided we'd mix in home-pressed juice.

He used a high-powered blender to turn the apples into mush, and then rebuilt the press.

The girls enjoyed helping, by tightening the crank on the car jack. (Redneck? Naaaaah.)

Within the bucket is the the apple mash in a net bag.

Yum! Now we have a quart of juice for the girls to enjoy, and nearly two gallons fermenting. Next month, we'll taste, enjoy, and maybe even win a taste test.

Halloween 2014

 Finally, after myriad dressup/candy-gathering events throughout October, Halloween Day arrived.

After Violet's field trip to Lombardi Ranch, I left her with a friend so I could help in Cora's class party. I worked with the children in carving the pumpkins they'd hollowed out earlier in the week - no photos of this though.

After our lunchtime school release, we gathered with a lot of friends to share pizza and playtime at the park.

Cora and Ryan, Violet and Luke ate under the play structure, while Violet and Cora's friend Tyler Belle dined on the slide. Tyler was so sweet with Violet, adopting her for the afternoon and making sure she was happy. Must be because she's getting ready to become - surprise, surprise! - a big sister in the spring!

 After our park time, we stopped at home to change clothes and get ready for our next bit of fun.

Our friend Jen had invited us to their annual Halloween party, which was a blast: great decorations, a houseful of happy people, yummy food and drinks, and even games.

Here, Cora is attempting to turn Violet into a mummy with toilet paper. But, Violet wasn't happy with her face being covered up, so the duo did not win this game.

 They had more fun with the egg/eyeball-on-a-spoon race.

 Then, we hurried home to meet up with Chris and David for trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.

 At one house, our kitty-lovers spotted something fun - a real cat hanging from a patio cover, not far from a fake black cat on the same wooden structure.

 The official Halloween 2014 photo - my ninja and Anna. Yes, after all the costume changes this season for Violet, she agreed to wear her gorgeous (and pricey) Anna dress on the actual evening of Halloween.

 Stace and I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood with Jeremy and Sendy, Chris and David's parents.

Lombardi Ranch 2014, Part III

Violet's third trip to Lombardi Ranch this month came as her first field trip with Growing Hearts Preschool.

A "ranch hand" led the small group on a tour, telling the children about the animals and allowing some to feed them. Violet was a little nervous about feeding her half corn cob to the big horse.

When the lady asked animal questions, Violet was always first to answer - thanks in part to Wild Kratts, her knowledge was impressive.

The children also learned a bit about farming, and about how pumpkins develop.

Since it was Halloween morning, the children were allowed to wear their costumes.

Miss Lorrie also arranged for them to pick their own pumpkins.

I love Violet's expression here, as she sits between her friends Izzy and Caleb. She is often very silly, and you can see that, as she talks in a funny voice to Sea Pony.

Earlier that morning, Violet remarked that she was the only animal in the group, but Caleb said he, as a spider, was also an animal. So, I overheard them repeating later on that they were the only two animals in their group.

We so love Violet's preschool!