Pool Party, Disney Day and Football Fun

We started our week with a day off Monday for Labor Day, and thankfully the crazy heat finally broke.

It was still warm enough for the pool, of course; this is early September in SClarita, naturally. Our friend Liz had us and a few other families over for a pool party.

Here are a few of the kids, taking a break from the one-on-one wrestling wars that occupied them for at least an hour.

And here's most of the children, who were happily occupied between the pool and the playground for the entire afternoon. It was fabulous.

We then only had to get through Tuesday and Wednesday before Stace and I got to take a mini break for our anniversary.

My dad spent the night Thursday at our house and got the girls off to school Friday. Then, he and Grandma took the girls to Disneyland.

They spent a lot of time in the Redwood Creek area of California Adventure - so fun!

Cora had her first flag football game Saturday morning. Stace and I were sad to miss out on the action, but Grandpa sent us a few photos. She played well - she's picking up on the basics of this new game to us.

Cora's team won, by a score of 14-6. Great start, Chiefs!

A Grand Celebration

We're celebrating Grandma turning 60 this month, and she chose to gather some of her favorite people together for dinner at Medieval Times.

It was a lot of fun, with a nice meal and a show that the girls absolutely loved. Cora, especially, got such a kick out of watching the knights battling, the horses, the falconry, and the pageantry in general.

She told Grandma it was a great choice, and when can we go back?

The food was very decent - a tomato soup with garlic bread; half a roasted chicken (yay for leftovers!), corn and a roasted herb potato. 

For dessert, they offered lemon pound cake, but Melanie made Mom a very special chocolate birthday cake that we all enjoyed as well.

Besides our immediate family, cousin Lucy and both of mom's special Lindas were in attendance, with their husbands.

The show was based around an 11th Century Spanish castle, though of course everyone had English accents. 

Knights battled for supremacy, and a foreign invader came in threatening harm if the princess did not return with him to marry another royal. Huzzah!

We cheered for the black and white knight - see our paper crowns. 

 I'm not sure what was so funny, but it made for a great photo!

Thanks to Dad, as always, for documenting the event. Special thanks for the photos of the girls, since we were sitting on the other end, far from them.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Or at least, happy start-to-the-birthday. We celebrated a bit early because the date worked better for everyone...
We love you!

Hot, hot, hot

 This past week, we had an intense heat wave that made us beg for our normal summer heat. The temperatures reached past 110F several days in a row, and a few of those early mornings only dropped to 80. That meant the AC was running off and on all the time.

The only good thing about that kind of heat is nighttime swimming! We enjoyed the pool a few evenings.




Sadly, the extreme heat seems to have played a role in our friend Trent falling off a low part of a play structure and breaking both arms. He started feeling woozy, and down he went.

We went over to visit him a couple of times in the week, while he was home recovering.

 Here he's holding up his heaving left cast with his right arm, which is in a red cast. He has such a great attitude though, staying positive with a smile on his face.

 On Friday, we went back to visit after school, and a few other friends turned up with goodies to encourage him.

 We made it a mama playdate, too.

While we moms chatted, the kids played Uno, and then held a drawing contest, before watching a movie. Perfect Friday afternoon!

Well Done, Cora

 Stace and I went to Back to School Night on Wednesday, and got to hear from school administration and from Dr. Porter and Ms. Packer, Violet and Cora's teachers, respectively.

We loved Cora's name card for her desk - she wrote about what makes her special...

 ...and our favorite part was the back, which was facing out when we came in.
":( Closed.  :(
Come back later.
Cora's Desk hours 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m."

 I also loved what she wrote on her goals:
Under the prompt "My goal for the school year is," she wrote "to be more positive while I'm at home doing my chores or playing with my little sister."

The next prompt said, "I will use these steps to help me accomplish my goal."
She wrote, "I will fake it until I make it. I'll always try to put on a huge smile and be very helpful at home."

Yes, please, Cora darling!

While we were at the school, Cora made these gorgeous and delicious chocolate-covered strawberries, with two types of chocolate. Yum!

Cora also received in the mail the book she made, from her miner's biography project a few months ago.

Her biography was excellent - truly a great piece of writing from a 10-year-old.We also had such excellent photos to work with, from our day with Wylie, Cooper and Pam at Placerita Canyon.

She expanded the story a bit, and added in photos we took in Cornwall, where Cora's miner comes from when he heads to California's Gold Country.

The finished project - My Golden Dreams - is such a fun read, and something we'll treasure, like the gold those miners were after.

Cora's writing skills were documented by the state testing results we just received, from late spring. She actually scored the very top score possible for English Language Arts - 2663. She exceeded the state standard in math, as well, but that ELA score is breathtaking.

We are so proud of our big girl!

Dodger Fun

Our friend Pam asked us if we'd like to go with her and Cooper and Wylie to the boys' first Dodger game Saturday. 

As you can imagine, she didn't have to ask twice. I don't need an excuse to head out to Blue Heaven on Earth, especially this year, when the Boys in Blue are running away with the league. 

We couldn't get all four kids to look at the same time; I assure you that Wylie is much more excited than he looks. This is the new statue honoring Jackie Robinson, unveiled in April.

Nice group shot, Pam.

Hey, can I see my foursome up closer?

There we go.
Thanks!
(Wherever Pam is, she plays the role of official photographer. Thanks always for sharing!)

Cora and Wylie got a closer look at the action on the field - and the beachballs in the stands, and the paper airplanes floating down.

Later, they had fun with peanuts. Part of the joy of visiting Dodger Stadium is the nachos, the Dodger dogs, the peanuts, the Cracker Jack, the pretzels, and the chocolate malts.

Our seats were really good - nearly behind home plate. We didn't see a Dodger win - a very rare occasion this year - but we saw an amazing running catch by Yasiel Puig, and a great hit by him, too.

Wylie, Pam, Violet and I took the escalator. But Stace, Cora and Cooper took the stairs less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Cooper was flanked by two Kershaws.

Cora sat by Wylie on the way to Dodger Stadium, and Cooper on the way home. She found plenty to talk about with both boys, and nary an electronic device came into play the entire night. That, these days, might be considered a minor miracle. It was fabulous seeing kids interact without a screen.

Week in Review

On Monday, much of the United States experienced that rarest of occasions, a full solar eclipse. Southern California only experienced a 65% eclipse at its height, so it was still very light, but with an odd hazy effect.

The girls learned about the eclipse at school, and Cora's class viewed it outside through its shadow on the ground, through a hole in a sheet of paper.

I met up with my dad at Central Park, where the astronomy club set up telescopes and offered special glasses that made it safe to look at the sun.

I found friends in line, and borrowed their glasses and a cereal box pinhole camera viewer. They both worked well, and it was great to see the eclipse.

My dad took this photo through the glasses - pretty cool!














And I learned this old-school technique for viewing the eclipse, by seeing its shadow through your own interlaced fingers.

We had Sophia over Tuesday after school, and the girls were responsible and got their homework done together. They sounded so old, doing math together. Then we went to the pool, soaking up the summery weather.

Later Tuesday, Cora went to her first flag football practice of the season. Yes, you read that right. She's trying a new sport, a sport she's been wanting to try two years since watching our friend Chris's game.

On Thursday, we continued our medical journey this year with both girls, as we tested Violet to see if she's putting out the proper amount of growth hormone.

She was hooked up to an IV, so the nurse could draw her blood multiple times after she took medication designed to stimulate the pituitary gland into producing the hormone.

We were in the office about five hours total, and Violet was such a trooper. She relaxed comfortably and watched the TV in the room, and even took a nap.

The nap was partially because she also had a 102-degree fever from the onset of a cold. Cora had the same illness, so she stayed home with Grandpa.









She was such a good girl, and so brave, that she earned a new Beanie Boo on the way home.

Music and Playtime

After a (short) week of Back to School, we enjoyed a very summer-like evening with Colleen, Rigo, Lucas and Liana on Friday evening, with dinner and an outdoor concert.

We met at Mod Pizza, with hopes of having dinner on the patio and watching the Beatles tribute band from there. But the patio was full, so we ate inside and then headed out for the last bit of the show.

Always great catching up with these guys!

The best playdates are those that turn into impromptu sleepovers!

We had no plans Saturday morning, so it worked well to have Liana spend the night.The girls were great - they went to sleep fine, and played quietly when they woke up around 6.

I always love seeing the Calico Critters getting love. We have quite the collection at this point.

Photographic proof that every blue moon, I DO make a good breakfast, in this case, blueberry pancakes. (A cooked breakfast is more Stacey's, and now Cora's, domain.)

Later in the day, my heart nearly burst out of my chest as I watched and listened to these two playing together. For well over an hour, maybe two, they cooperated and had fun like little girls.

Cora is definitely in that in-between phase - there's a reason they call 10- to 12-year-olds "tweens." She loves reading and watching Youtube videos and playing games on her Kindle. Playing? She'd still like to, but it doesn't pull her in the same way. Anyway, I'll cherish this Saturday afternoon memory.