Santa Barbara Fun

On Sunday, we made one last trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo, with the yearlong membership we'd won last November in a raffle.

We enjoyed a great family day out together, a great way to close out our weeklong Thanksgiving break and Stace's four-day weekend.

This is such a lovely zoo; I know we'll be back again, but it might be a while.

Next time, will the girls be young enough to still love sliding down the Ant Hill? Time will tell.

They also made some lovely music together.

After the zoo, we had a late lunch/early dinner at the Habit, where Violet had a grand time feeding the sparrows burger bun crumbs.

Then we did a bit of looking/shopping along State Street, and the gorgeously decorated Paseo Nuevo shopping center. I have fond memories of this place with my Grandma at Christmastime, so it was fun taking the girls.

Family days are the best!

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving is a fabulous holiday, one made all the better by the fact that the girls are out of school for over a week.

We had time to sleep in, read, play, and enjoy Cora-created breakfasts. She was excited to make crepes for me and Violet, all by herself.

Cora also loved sleeping in her Holiday Hideout in the playroom, which will be her present hiding/wrapping station in upcoming weeks.

Violet spent a night or two sleeping in the hideout with her, in the hallway. Cora slept all week in the main room of the hideout; yes, it has two rooms.

Violet loved cuddling with her kitties, without having to rush up to get ready for school.

This is how Violet wakes up most mornings.























And when Cora saw that we had taken a photo of sleeping Violet, she asked her Daddy to take one of herself asleep.

Since all our kids were out of school, JT and I were able to get together again. She came up Monday evening, the children loved playing together again.

Cora also had a playdate with Sophia, and we had Violet's friend Rylin over for a couple of hours.

On Friday after Thanksgiving, with Stace off for the four-day weekend, Stace and I took the girls shopping. We ended up shopping all day, for Christmas presents and for things for ourselves that we'd waited to purchase. The deals on Black Friday are worth waiting for!

Thanksgiving

We started our Thanksgiving day with a nice breakfast casserole and some time with the newspaper ads for the Black Friday sales.

We then headed over to the Newhall Library, where the parking lot had been transformed into a dining hall, (free) clothing store, and craft corner, with live music as well. Local residents who might not have a Thanksgiving meal were invited to come out and eat, receive donations and have fun, and thousands did so.

We helped out in the donation area for a while, and then in the craft area. Stace did face-painting and hand tattoos (with Sharpies), and eventually, Violet began doing tattoos, also. It was awesome to look over and realize that she was actually drawing on the hands of children twice her size.

She even created a menu of tattoos she was willing to draw - a candy cane, a whale, a "hart," a cat, a dog, a pumpkin, and a bat.

I love my girls!

Then we returned home to put the turkey in the oven, clean the house, and finish preparing for the family to arrive.

The dinner was delicious!

Uncle Nick brought over the Garfield Thanksgiving Special, and the Peanuts holiday specials - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. While my mom cleaned the kitchen and handled the leftovers - THANKS, MOM! - we relaxed with cartoon nostalgia.

It was a special day, and we have much to be thankful for.

Disney Day

With a week off school, the girls and I were happy to spend Tuesday at California Adventure.

We got up and out a little after 8:30, and were in the park before 11. With the holiday, it was a crowded day, so we weren't able to ride a lot of rides.

Instead, we spent time in the Animation Academy, in the Redwood Creek area, and on some of the smaller rides.

This was Violet's first time on the climbing wall, after reaching the 42-inch height requirement.

After lunchtime, we met up with Jen and Trent, and did another animation class together. In fact, before we left for the night we did a third - it was a lot of fun, and a perfect activity on a crowded day.

We also met up with Big Al and Liver Lips from the Bear Country Jamboree. The kids all found them creepy, but Jen and I have fond memories of their "live" shows in years past.

Some of the smaller, fair-style rides had shorter lines...

...and we lucked out at the end of the night with a short line to meet Santa.

Another great day together, with great friends!

Before we went our separate ways, the kids wanted to pose with the giant bear, in his Christmas sweater.

We were on the road by 10, and home not long after 11. Thank you, Disney, for another fabulous day!

Week in Review

The girls' school celebrated Veterans' Day on Monday with a morning ceremony honoring those who've served with a moment of silence and a presentation of the flag by a local ROTC troop.

We also had a breakfast honoring any veterans who attended, and thise solemn display of one family's uniforms. I'm glad my girls get the experience of showing honor to those who have fought for us.

Also this week, Violet got to take part in two Thanksgiving celebrations. The first grade classes had a small meal together, with homemade butter. Here, Vi is helping shake the heavy cream into the yummy spread.

For Wednesday's meal, Violet took part with her math class friends from Mrs. Judge's class.

And on Thursday, Violet had a celebration with her kinder and first-grade classmates in Mrs. Hawthorne's class.

This party featured "friendship fruit salad," made from fruit brought in by all the students.

On Thursday night, we helped out with the Scooter's Jungle reward night for those participating heavily in the Triathlon.

Cora had fun racing around with her friends, as did Violet.

Thursday was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.

On Friday, Stace and I went to parent-teacher conferences, while Grandpa took the girls to the Discovery Cube Science Museum.

We found out that both girls are doing fabulously in school, especially with reading.

Both are reading in the 96th-97th percentile - Violet has breezed through not just the first-grade, but also the second-grade sight word lists. And we reviewed Cora's GATE goals with her teacher.

It's an amazing blessing to have two bright girls who enjoy learning!

Weekend Fun

 The girls were off school Friday for Veterans Day, and after the big Triathlon, it was great to sleep in and relax in the morning.

In the evening, we had Juliana and Daryl and their girls over for dinner. Cora was very excited about her idea of holding a cake decorating contest.

We went through the cupboard and found the cake mix, and the girls got to work.

 They made four small round cakes, and later in the evening, with Maya and Natalia over, they all had a grand time with the frosting and decorations.

 Masterpieces!

We adults came up with awards - Best use of Color, Most Creative, etc.

 Stace dug out his old Brasil shirt for our favorite Brazilian. It was fabulous catching up, as it had again been more than six months since we adults had been together.

 On Saturday, after Cora's game, Violet and I went with Grandma to a craft boutique. Violet loves shopping, and she had some money to spend and gifts to choose with Christmas now approaching.

My happy shopper! She is such a fun companion.

Treats

Cora had a sleepover at her friends Sam and Riley's house recently, and they enjoyed root beer floats there. When I picked her up, we stopped at the store for milk - and root beer.

For a treat, later in the week I let Violet make the floats. She was happy to do so.

Violet got a lovely note in the mail this week: a card from Anna and Will, my cousin, asking her to be their flower girl in their wedding next month. By that big smile, you can tell the answer was "YES!"

(This will now even the score for the girls - three weddings each as flower girls. They have been fortunate over the years!)

And, a treat for me.

On the day of the triathlon, Starbucks had a promotion for their new holiday drinks: buy one, get one free. I was tired and headachey, so after dropping Cora off at softball practice and depositing the school's new funds, Violet and I went to Target's Starbucks to enjoy the yummiest type of caffeine.

2016 Triathlon

Triathlon Day came for our school on Thursday, with lots of fun for the students and lots of funds raised for the school.

The students participated in an obstacle course, in basketball drills, and in a martial arts session, and finished off with a snack of orange slices and water.

The girls (and all their classmates) had a great time, and the school raised more than $13,000 for enrichment and technology.

As the treasurer of the school's foundation, I spent most of my day with some other volunteers counting the money. It was a fun day, working together for a great cause.
 Thanks to my friend Jill for the next two photos...