Magical Evening

We took a family trip to Magic Mountain on Sunday afternoon, as a final hurrah to the girls' Thanksgiving break.

We started off with the swings and pirate ship, and then the girls went on the Wonder Woman ride.

We then went on the new Justice League Battle for Metropolis ride, which was a lot of fun. You're shooting bad guys in an interactive ride, similar to Astro Blasters or Toy Story at Disneyland.

Then we took some family photos - my Dad was at Magic Mountain, too - and visited Mrs. Claus to say hello and make crafts.

I love my mama! And her alter ego, who is so sweet and loving.

Violet got to hang out with Mr. Claus, too.

It was a fun night!

Shopping and cooking

On Black Friday, we slept in but then got out and joined the shoppers seeking deals. I won't say we nabbed the most killer bargains, but the day after Thanksgiving is always a great day to start off your Christmas shopping.

After a couple of stores, we got lunch and then went over to the mall for some more shopping. Cora and Violet took a break at the playground, and visited one of the bear sculptures.

That evening, Stace and Cora went to the monthly Family Night at Top Out Climbing, an indoor climbing gym.

They had a great time, and got a great workout. Both came home in pain - Cora from a blister that developed and then popped, and Stace from overall achiness.

On Saturday, Violet and I went to a birthday party for our friend Casey's son Carter, who was turning 1. We got to catch up with them, and with Kelly and Linda. Violet enjoyed being the oldest kiddo, and she loved playing basketball. She's never really played before, but she had so much fun, shouting out whenever she got a basket. "Twelve! That's 12 now! Thirteen!" I think she might have reached 25 before we left.

Meanwhile, Stace and Cora were cooking up a storm. They made a fabulous dinner, and prepared a breakfast casserole for the next morning.

Additionally, Cora made a lemon cake, and she made brownies that she took to her church small group Sunday morning.

She was beaming when we came to get her from her Sunday School room - the other children loved her brownies!

Thanksgiving

 Cora spent a couple of days of Thanksgiving break in bed with a cold.Thankfully, she was well enough by Thursday evening to join the family Thanksgiving meal.

This year, we went to the home of some of my mom's extended family, cousins she's reconnected with after the prior generation lost touch.

My dad gave his camera to the girls to document their experience. They captured most of these images.

 The first one shows the gorgeous flower arrangement Auntie Mel brought as a hostess gift. She has a great little floral business "flourishing" now; she is so multi-talented!

The second shows the lovely table setup - and there were a lot of tables set up! Dinner was for about 40 people! We got to meet quite a few new family members, including our hosts.

Cora's not one for wearing skirts or dresses much anymore, but Thanksgiving is a special occasion. She is growing into such a beautiful young lady.

And this girl! We have two beautiful young ladies!

The girls were so well-behaved and polite, though they were in the semi- awkward spot of being the only children under 12 present. We received several comments that evening complimenting their behavior.

 Violet captured this artistic shot of one of the snacks out to munch on prior to dinner.

Here are my mom's cousins, Randy and his wife Cathy, our gracious hosts for the evening. We enjoyed their hospitality, and a delicious meal.

Violet took this photo - can you tell? - of Grandma with her family. On the left is Aunt Betty, Randy's mom, and next to her is cousin Lucy.

It was such a nice evening. Happy Thanksgiving!

Playdate Fun

With the girls off school for the week, we had Cooper come over Monday to play with Cora. They had a blast - playing at the park, up on the hill, with nerf guns, on the trampoline, etc.

Cora also thought it would be fun to stage a prank war, with her and Cooper on a team against me and Violet. Cora started it by giving us Oreo cookies, with a flavor bonus of TOOTHPASTE squeezed onto the white filling.

Then, when the big kids were out playing, Violet and I set up a prank involving water cups covering as much of the hallway as we had time to do.

Their reaction was awesome. Unfortunately - or fortunately - they were tall enough to leap over the cups.

Then, Cora and Cooper determined to get Violet back by toilet papering her bedroom.

Since we saw what was going on, Violet and I did the same to Cora's room.

Then, the big kids TP'd the tree and my car! Hey, you're not supposed to TP your OWN house, Cora!

We ended the day with dinner, popcorn and a movie. It was good fun.

Last Football Game

Cora's first football season came to an end Saturday, as her Chiefs won their final playoff game and had a lot of fun doing it. (They had lost their first playoff game earlier in the week, so the Chiefs' victory was in the consolation bracket.)

Cora played well, and pulled a couple of more flags in the process. I'm so grateful to the assistant coach's wife for her excellent video skills throughout the season! She also shared with me some of these photos, like the one here of Cora receiving her medal.

We are so proud of Cora, for starting a brand new sport, competing against all boys, and proving herself a valuable member of her team. 

Every week, we'd hear other parents complimenting Cora (or us) on her play.

Here's Cora and Coach Dwayne, who was always patient and supportive.

We had the team party at Toppers after the game.























Then, we did a bit of shopping, and stopped at a new place called the Pie Tin, which specializes in savory and sweet pies. We bought an apple pie as a special treat.

In the evening, we went into Old Newhall for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony event. Violet and Cora signed Christmas cards to send to our troops.

Disney Day

This week, the girls had their parent-teacher conferences, with a half-day Thursday and a day off on Friday for the conferences. Thus, Thursday was the absolute perfect day to go to Disneyland!

Several of our school friends agreed, and we met up with Trent and Sophia (and Jen and Sue) for part of the day.

Violet's top thing she wanted to do was run around in the Redwood Creek area, which is where we played with our friends.

We also rode the bumper cars in A Bug's Land...

...posed in front of the giant baubles in Bug's Land...

...and decorated Christmas cookies.

Cora generously took hers home to share with Dad, who had to work.

My No. 1 goal was to ride the revamped Tower of Terror ride, now turned into Guardians of the Galaxy. Though the ride has just a 40-inch height requirement, and therefore can't be that scary, Violet was very nervous.

We convinced her to put on a happy face, though. The ride features lots of straight drops and quick rises.

In the end, Violet (and Cora and I) loved it! She asked to go again, but we had used up our Fast Passes and I didn't want to wait in a long line for a second turn.

The Christmas decorations were up - isn't Cars Land awesome? The girls pointed out the adorable snowflakes made from giant wrenches.

We then met up with our friends again, and Grandma and Grandpa, who came late after Grandma got off work. We drew a cartoon character together in the Animation Academy, and then California Adventure shut and we headed over to Disneyland.

We got Fast Passes for Thunder Mountain, and then went on Jungle Cruise and into the Tiki Room.

After the rides, we posed in front of the beautiful decorated castle.

It was nice spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, too. Thanks, as always, for the girls' annual passes!