More Vasquez Fun

While Cora flew sky high Friday afternoon (and Stace finished his workday), all of Violet's grandparents took her to the zoo. They had a nice afternoon together, though a lot of the animals they'd hoped to see were in hiding.

In the evening, we all met up together at my parents' house with our dear friends Linda and Steve. 

On Saturday, we introduced Nan and Pop to one of our all-time favorite spots, Vasquez Rocks.

It was a stunning afternoon - I've never seen it so green among the rocks! There was even running water: it was a trickle, mind you, but there it was, a stream in the desert.

If you blow this one up, you can see Stace taking a photo of the girls on the rock.

We had a nice hike, and rewarded ourselves with coffee and doughnuts at Dunkin Donuts on our way back home.

When we got back, I took Cora out for some mommy-daughter time at a neat cultural experience put on by Compassion International.

Compassion, a relief organization like World Vision, arranged an interactive learning event simulating life for children in Guatemala and Uganda. We walked through several rooms, listening to an iPod with the girl telling about her daily life.

Because we sponsor a girl Cora's age through Children of the Nations, a similar organization, I was eager to take Cora. She and I both learned a lot, and we're grateful we can help improve the life of one child so far from here.