The Long Way Home

We woke up Monday in Sedona, eager to have a great and interesting travel day, and also eager to get on the road so we weren't getting home too late on a school and work night.

We made our first stop at the Indian Gardens Cafe, where Grandma and Grandpa got coffee while Stace and Cora crossed the street to check out the river.















The drive up to Flagstaff was gorgeous. Our next stop was the Cornish Pasty Co. in Flagstaff, where the girls found snow on the back patio to play with.

This Pasty Co. outlet is less than a year old. We had a good time with the darts and pool while we waited for our lunch.

Since it was a Cornish place, Stace felt it was only right to have a cider.

Now that's what you call good fast food for the car journey!

While on our drive back to SClarita, my Hyundai crossed the bit 100,000 mile marker. Unfortunately, not long after this, it had some problems starting after we stopped at a gas station in Kingman, Az. It eventually started back up, but hopefully this is a problem Stace can resolve before too long.

We made it home before 8 p.m., and we were all so happy about that! It was another great getaway.

Sedona Adventures

We continued our Arizona adventure Sunday with a return to the gorgeous Sedona area, this time with Sara, Tony and the girls.

We hiked/walked together out to Bell Rock.

Lucky Violet caught a lift!

No, Stace didn't create this stack. He just added to what was already there. Thanks to Sara for letting me steal a few photos this weekend!

We then said goodbye to our dear friends - we'll next see them this summer when they come out for Sara's 40th birthday bash.

We went on into town for our next adventure - a rugged Jeep tour of the back country.

It was a beautiful - and very bumpy - ride. Cora loved every bouncy second as we explored through some seriously gorgeous scenery.

Cora was also on the hunt for snow. There were traces left from a snowfall the prior week, and she found enough to make some weapons.

It was a day filled with incredible beauty. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving us this experience!

Dodger Fun

With my parents, we returned to Arizona for Dodgers Spring Training over the weekend, and had a great time with Sara and Tony and their girls.

We got in very late Friday night - it's a long drive when you have to get through the Los Angeles area. Sara and Tony stayed up to meet us, and all the girls gave us a friendly welcome.

We got to Camelback Ranch on Saturday before noon, to take in the scene.

 A Dodger doing fielding practice tossed a ball to us, which Cora grabbed. She then got a few players to sign it, including starters Logan Forsyth and Joc Pedersen.

It wasn't nearly as hot as when we attended a spring training game last year, but it was still warm enough for a frozen treat.

 I treated myself to a new cap - I've been wanting one for months. Here's the whole gang...

 After the game, though we didn't discuss it beforehand, we all ended up at QuikTrip for a cheap cold drink.

Our Friday night was so late - and these girls were so happy to see each other again! They were playing into the wee hours.

Queen Elizabeth I, Violet-style

 Violet very ably portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in her class's Wax Museum presentation on Friday. She worked hard on her project, reading through a biography several years above her grade level for her research.

She came up with a speech about two minutes long, and earned 97 out of 100 possible points on it!

The Wax Museum is a third-grade project, but Dr. Porter decided to let her second-graders in her split class complete it, too. Violet proved herself more than up for the task!

Week in Review

In between our two theme park days, we had a day at home. We invited Cooper and Wylie over to play, and the three kids had fun out on the hill and around the house with the nerf guns.

For some of the time, Chris came over, too. This just may be too many kids in one trampoline! They were prohibited from bouncing until one of them got out!

 The Habit hosted a fundraising night for Pioneer Club, so we met up there for dinner with our friends.

Good friends and a good cause!

 Hey, where am I supposed to sleep???  Good thing Stace and I were already up for the morning... Violet still occasionally joins us in the middle of the night. Because it's rare, and we're aware of how quickly our girls are growing up, we don't really mind.








Violet had an appointment with the endocrinologist this week, and we were thrilled to get the official news that she's grown 1.5 inches in the three months since she started the growth hormone treatment.

 Cora and I attended a school district GATE night Thursday, and she created art using paper-cutting techniques. Here she is with Ms. Packer, her teacher.

Sophia is also in GATE now, and it was nice for the two girls to hang out together. Sue and I caught up, so we had a good time as well.

Knott's

We had a brilliant day out Sunday to Knott's Berry Farm, a fun amusement park in Buena Park. We hadn't been in a few years, and Sunday marked the end of a special promotion celebrating the Peanuts characters.

Part of the park is Western-themed, and we decided to get the old-fashioned photos done. 

This is something I did at Knott's when I was 9 or 10 years old, and I've always thought it would be fun to do it as a family. The girls were skeptical, but soon got into the spirit.

We just had to have the silly pose, as well. It wasn't exactly frugal fun, but it's a memory we'll always have. You don't have kids this age very long!

Another section of the theme park is seaside boardwalk-oriented, and the girls rode some rides here  after we stopped for lunch.

We then went to take part in a drawing lesson in one of the theaters, where we learned to draw Charlie Brown. It was a great little class. We stayed in our seats and watched the Peanuts Valentine's Special, from 1975.

Other Peanuts moments included lots of photo opps, and lots of kites in trees. We also saw part of a Peanuts stage show.

Knott's has the rights to Peanuts already, and has incorporated it into the Camp Snoopy childrens' area. But with Violet's love for Peanuts, we thought it would be fun to go when the special celebration was taking place.

We rode a few more rides, got lots of photos - obviously - and then picked up a family-sized fried chicken dinner from Mrs. Knott's restaurant. Knott's is known for its chicken dinners and berry pies, and it was well worth it.

Because this was a special day for Violet, we wanted to get the girls souvenirs. Cora picked out dangly Snoopy earrings and Violet had to have this awesome hat. It has flip-down shades... the height of cool here, kids!