Final Hurrahs

All too soon, we've come to the last few days of our summer break from school. Jen, Sue and I took the kids to Carpinteria for one last beach trip.

It turned out to be a cool and cloudy beach day, but the beach is the beach, right? The kids spent more time in the sand than the surf, and even played a pickup baseball game.

We found a new place for dinner, Rincon Brewery, which hit the spot. We tried new brews and enjoyed yummy food. The kids had fun, too.

On Tuesday, Cora helped out a school event put on by a couple of friends of ours.

Pam and Monica organized a welcome reception and tour for families transferring into our school, and they needed current students to be friendly faces. Cora and Ellie joined Cooper, Wylie and Tyler as the fifth-grade representatives (along with Ellie's big sister). It was such an honor for them to think of Cora!

And on Wednesday, the girls went to the dentist and Cora got her hair cut again. Then, we picked up Wylie and Cooper and went bowling, our last and final hurrah of summer break.

Changing the nicknames on the computer screen was almost more fun than bowling, for certain kids.

Wylie apparently chose too heavy of a bowling ball...
It was a fun afternoon. And, a very enjoyable summer. Sad to see it end!

More Summer Fun

Violet was so happy to be invited to her friend Camryn's new home this week. They enjoyed a playdate at a place familiar to me and Cora - the home that Juliana and Daryl used to rent! SClarita is a small world, indeed.

Cora continued her cooking kick by taking on the dinner-making this week, wearing the London-themed apron she bought herself at Heathrow airport.

She made a lovely meal of broccoli, quinoa and turkey cutlets.  She is such a big help!

On Thursday, we went to visit my friend Melanie and her kids in the San Gabriel Valley, and Cora was again a great help to toddler Andrew and preschooler Sienna. Heather, who's going into first grade, had fun playing with Violet.

On Friday, we had some of Cora's friends over for lunch and to play in the pool. Here, the boys - Trent, Cooper, Tyler and Chris - are racing toward her. Whoever got to the black line first was able to guess first a movie she had thought of and given a clue for. It was a new game to us, and a lot of fun.

On Friday evening, we had Christina, Cami and Melanie over for dinner to thank them for helping watch the cats while we were gone. Cora made dessert - a kiwi lime pie she learned about on Pioneer Woman.

It was delicious!

On Saturday, we went back to the beach with the surfboard, and then met up with Michelle, Rob and Brooke at their new house.

We're so happy for them! Their new place is beautiful, and perfect for their family.

The girls had fun on the trampoline and in the spa, which was not a hot tub since they haven't been heating it.

Back Home, at the Beach

 Here's a big advantage to having a big kid - when she wakes up super early from jet lag, she bakes an apple pie!

Yep, Cora had this baby in the oven by 6 a.m. Friday morning after we returned home late Thursday night. It was yummy, too!

Meanwhile, Violet made her own tin-can telephone, out of red Solo cups and ribbon.

 To thank Cora for the pie, Stace made her mow the back meadow! Just kidding, she was paid a fair wage for a big job. Three weeks away leads to a long lawn!

 We had lost a couple of fish in recent months, and now that we're home for a while, we replenished our tank with three new platys.

The four of us took off to the beach on Sunday, and Cora was happy to take her surfboard out.

 On Tuesday, the girls needed bloodwork and Cora had an orthodontist appointment. We then made everything better by returning to the beach, joining some of our friends.

Cora had a bit of an adventure when she swam out to the dock with friends. We know stingrays are in the water this summer, and signs advise beachgoers to walk with a shuffle to warn the shy creatures to swim away.

Cora saw one swimming in the water when she was on the dock; her friends swam back, but she froze in fear. She was out there by herself for a long time, before an adult joined her and informed her that stingrays are safe in the water. It's when you step on them that they sting.

She then swam back, and later went back out again with her friends.

 Violet had fun in the water, and making sand balls to threaten her mother with.

 Cora always has fun with Trent.

We had a big group! This was the last beach trip for the big kids, who started junior high later this week.

We ended our day at Padaro Beach Grill, a favorite dinner spot that's perfect for big groups with lots of kids.

Last few days

On Tuesday morning, we met up with our friends Lindsey, Connor, Chelsea and Charlie up at Ham Hill.

Though Ham Hill is one of our favorite places, between our little vacations and bad weather, we hadn't made it out until two days before the end of our three week trip. It was a great place to meet up with Lindsey and the kids.

Cora shimmied high up into this tree, to the amazement of Chelsea and Charlie!

We will miss little Alfie! He made himself comfortable with the girls from Day One. It was such a joy for us all to spend so much time with a tiny kitten.

Violet had a sleepover with Euan and Olivia on Tuesday night. When we picked her up Wednesday, Auntie Jenny was playing a board game with the kids. She's such a good mum!

Cora continued her baking kick, making an apple pie from scratch. It was very yummy. We enjoyed it after a lovely family dinner Wednesday evening, when we had to say our sad goodbyes to Euan, Livi and Jenny.

Our trip to Heathrow on Thursday was smooth. The girls signed the board, complimenting the security process through the airport. We then had some fun shopping in the many stores inside.

One of those shops was offering free full cocktails, so patrons could try out this drink. It was refreshing, and then became our first ever duty-free alcohol purchase.

Our flight home was great - we really love Air New Zealand. Again, traveling with big kids is an awesome experience, something we'll always appreciate after those hard baby/toddler years.

Thanks, everyone, for a wonderful three-week vacation! Miss you all already.

Cousin Fun

We returned from Cornwall on Sunday night, and had a low-key day Monday. Cora watched the Pioneer Woman on the Food Network - her new favorite favorite favorite. And Euan, Livi and Violet painted rocks in Pop's garage.

We went over to Karen and Martin's for a family night that evening, and after a lovely meal the children tried out the swimming pool.

Sadly, with the cool weather, the water was a bit cold for them to stay in long. They really enjoyed the warm shower afterwards!

The children also played UNO, played on Ben's drums, and generally just played together! It was great to see the cousins all enjoying each other.

Here are Cora and Violet, Chloe and Ben, Bethany, and Livi. Euan was somewhere, but not in the photo.

The drum kit was a big hit. Violet had fun with them, too. (see video below).

Sunny Sunday

At dinner Saturday evening, with the rain coming down, the forecast called for a similar day Sunday. It was a sad thought - as Stace always told me back in 2001, "If it's raining in Cornwall, it's the worst place on earth."

But we lucked out with the notorious British weather forecasts being wrong again. We had lots of sun Sunday, a perfect end to our Cornish coastal adventure.

We decided to see Port Isaac, and found this fun playground on the walk from the carpark.

Port Isaac is another absolutely lovely, tiny, harbour town, one of dozens dotting Cornwalls long coast.

With nice weather, I was able to duck into some of the little shops just for pleasure, and not to escape from rain.

The girls are now enjoying this sort of shopping, too - Cora has been looking for new earrings. We bought Cora her first pair of dangly earrings at one shop here - little starfish. She loves them!

Port Isaac has become incredibly popular because it is the filming location for Doc Martin, a show I haven't seen but will now have to look for. This middle house is the doctor's home and office.

Stace bought a crab sandwich for lunch from a little place not far from this stack of crab and lobster pots.

After Port Isaac, we said goodbye to Dean, Jen, Euan and Livi. We then drove on to Bude, another surfing spot with beautiful sandy beaches.

Bude has a neat sea pool, where the ocean water is contained up behind a wall. The girls took a quick dip, but it was very cold. We then ventured to the shoreline.

It was their first time being out in the North Atlantic.

Cora did some body surfing, but neither girl lasted too long in the water because it was so cold. Still, it was a great experience!

They felt much better once they were dried and back in jeans and sweaters.

We then made the drive back to Somerset, through the rain. We lucked out with sun on the coast, and only dealt with rain on the way home - such a blessing to have a gorgeous day in Cornwall to end our trip!

It's unusual to look back at two sleeping girls - Cornwall wore them out!

Newquay and Padstow

We woke up Saturday to another dreary weather forecast, but got up and out to explore Newquay before the rains came.

The children again loved playing on the water's edge, exploring caves and getting their feet and legs wet.

Above Cora is a footbridge to an awesome house on the rocky hill over her head. She enjoyed sitting and contemplating the crashing waves.

Newquay is a busy place, a surf town filled with shops, eateries and nightclubs. This area reminded me of the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. If the weather and surf had been better, Stace and Dean might have rented wetsuits and boards.

Pasty shops were everywhere! Cora loves pasties, and had one every time we were out at a meal time.

We then drove around to Padstow, where we met up with Sue and Gord, who came in to spend the day with us. Sadly, the rain was upon us, and we didn't even manage to take one photo of our time together (huddling within raincoats and umbrellas).

Sue, Jen and I stayed in the shops, while the men and children unsuccessfully tried out the crab lines. They succeeded mostly in getting very wet.

Sue and Gord decided to make the long and wet drive back to Somerset, while we and Dean and Jen went back to the hotel. We booked a table at the adjacent restaurant, and finished our Saturday night there. Stace enjoyed a St. Austell beer, naturally.