Cousin Fun - Dodger Time!

I was happy when Karen asked a few months ago if we all could go to a Dodger game while they were in town, and luckily enough, the Dodgers were home the weekend Karen and Martin were in town.

The Dodgers were kind, entertaining us with a strong 7-1 victory, complete with great pitching and home runs.

The weather cooperated with our seats-in-the-sun. It was warm, but not so hot that we couldn't handle it. 

Violet went home in Martin's awesome rental car - an orange convertible Mustang. Hey, you only live once!

Such a fun car!

After the game, they treated us to dinner at one of our new favorites, Tomato Joe's in Canyon Country, with the wall of self-serve beer taps. Yum!

Cousin Fun - Cowboys and Softball

 We are so excited to have Karen, Martin, Ben and Chloe with us! We've been looking forward to their visit for a couple of years now, and here they are!

They flew into San Francisco a few days ago, and have traveled down south, taking in the sights. They arrived in SClarita on Friday evening, and it was so fun showing them our home and having dinner together here in California.

On Saturday, we started our day with Violet's softball game at the park.

 We then moved on to the Cowboy Festival - I was so happy it happened to be this weekend. We wandered around the vendor booths, listened to music and watched the historical activities like the blacksmithing here.

 And, we ate! Gotta love the peach cobbler a la mode.

Cora was successful in both of her tries at throwing the ax into the cork target!

This fiddler was awesome! He entertained us while we ate.

It was a warm day, and we were all tired when we got home in the early evening. We rested and watched a movie before having a simple dinner at home.

Back to School

 The girls returned to school this week, and both received their spring photos back. They're both looking older - and both girls lost teeth this week.

 We don't normally buy the spring pictures, but we bought a sheet of Cora's, because, well, look at that. She's holding a diploma. Or promotion sheet. Or rolled-up piece of paper with a bow.

Whatever it is, the meaning is there - this kid will be finished with her seven years of elementary school in just two short months.

Cora had a busy week at school, with lots of student council meetings and lunchtime musical rehearsals. On Thursday, she spoke to the school at Morning Ceremony to remind students about the family dance on Friday evening, and to dress up for the following week's spirit day (backwards day). Thanks to her teacher for sharing this photo with me!

Violet took her Art Club box to school Friday and worked on her drawings. Notice the set of keys on the necklace, and the padlock she's using on the painted black cardboard box. Art Club drawings are serious things.

My parents recently took Violet out, and they ended their afternoon at spot off Plum Canyon that has exploded in purple lupine after our rainy winter.

Bowling Fun

 After working on the yard more on Sunday, we met up with Yass and Kell and the boys at the bowling alley.

Getting good photos can be tough. 

 So silly!

Kelly and Yass then had us over for dinner - what a great way to end our spring break!

Going for a Walk

We slept in and relaxed Thursday morning after our Disney adventure, and then Jake came over to hang out. On Friday, we went on a little hike in Whitney Canyon with Kelly, Yass and the boys. 

It was lovely and cool, with green grass and still a bit of water in the stream bed.

The boys then came over to have lunch and play.

 On Saturday morning, Violet had her first softball game with the Gators. She was so excited, eager to strap on those batting gloves and swing the bat.

Violet showed discipline at the plate, walking twice, scoring a run and even making a great catch in the field.

Cora helped her sister out a bit, cheering for her by calling her the pet name she uses: "Bagel."

Coach Ben praised Violet during the post-game talk for her catch.

Go, Gators!

We spent the rest of the day working on the yard.

Disney Trip

With the girls on Spring Break and my Disney pass blocked out on Fridays for the rest of the school year, I took the girls down to Anaheim for two full days of fun.

We left Tuesday morning, not too bright nor early, and checked into our hotel a half-mile from the parks.

We then walked down the road and started our adventure.

We aren't the only ones on spring break, so the parks were crowded. We rode Autopia, but none of the big rides on Tuesday.

This was a selfie with me and my navigator, but she edited me out of it. Like the filter she picked?

We went into Star Wars Launch Bay, where the girls played with Legos and video games. (Let's not think about the fact that they could have one the same things in Valencia...)

Violet left a message for those who were to follow her.

We went over to Tom Sawyer's Island, or Pirate's Lair or whatever they've called it. On the far side, I'd never noticed this little blacksmith's shop set up, like Will Turner's from the first Pirates movie.

The girls ran around a bit, and then we caught the raft back to the mainland.

We rode the Jungle Cruise, and then got Dole Whips. We then actually caught the bus back to our motel to rest! Never done that before, but we were all tired and lying on a bed sounded good.

Rested and rejuvenated, we headed back to the park to use our fast passes for Space Mountain.

Violet and I rode It's a Small World, while Cora did the teacups.

Then we did Thunder Mountain together, and headed home for the evening.

The next day, we went to California Adventure. After playing in the Redwood Creek area, we met up with Auntie Mel and Uncle Nick.

We did the Minnie Mouse animation - Nick went freakish for his.

We then noticed a Captain Marvel setup, and waited in line for a bit to get a photo.

She had to leave on a "mission" before our photo with her, but we got a shot in front of her plane. Grandma and Grandpa caught up with us while we were here.

Our trip was full of loving sibling moments... NOT. The girls were cranky and bickering a lot of our time together. This was when we were in line for Guardians of the Galaxy, Violet's favorite ride.

Fun to spend time with these two!

Spring Break

 Violet is playing softball!
We signed her up for a city team, and practice started this week. It's nice to have her on a team again - it's been several years.

 Violet has pretty darn good hand-eye coordination, so this should be a fun couple of months. Here she is, hitting at her first practice.

 The girls returned from Arizona to a very short week of school - just two half-days, and then Spring Break started Thursday. We celebrated by going to Disneyland with our friends.

 Violet had a haircut Friday afternoon.

 On Saturday, we were busy touching up our paintwork on the inside of the house - after 10 years, it was time.

We then went to Colleen and Rigo's for dinner. The kids love playing in their amazing back yard - this time the game included Nerf weapons.

 On Sunday, we took a drive down the 126 to Ventura - the hills are all green from all the rain, and it was just beautiful.

 We met up with Sara and Tony and the girls - yes, one week after we left them, they took a trip to SoCal. It was Emily's 14th birthday, and instead of a party, she desired a beach trip. It was fun seeing them again and it was lovely and warm on the beach.

On Monday, we met up with my college friends Melanie and JT at a park for some playtime and catchup time. Cora was the lone "big kid" but she handled it well, playing with all the littles.

Here, Callie and Jonah are sharing the side with Violet, while Cora and Heather are weighing down the other end. Melanie's other two, Sienna and Andrew, were playing somewhere else...

So, it was a great start to Spring Break!