Snow Day

With all the winter weather we've been having, the mountains have been full of snow. We went up to play in it Sunday, with my parents, and Stace spent part of the morning converting an old skateboard into a snowboard.

He removed the wheels, added foot blocks and tape on the bottom for a more slippery surface.

When we got up to Frazier Park, the direction we normally travel was blocked off because it was too full of snow play-ers like ourselves. So, we made a left turn and traveled a few miles and eventually found another good spot to sled.

So pretty!
It was nearly 50 degrees, so plenty warm enough to have fun outside.

We walked straight up the hill behind the girls, along the ridge line a bit, and then descended into an area with untouched snow and quiet hills just for us.

After some sledding and beginner-boarding, Violet made a little wall to protect herself from Cora's snowballs. We then had a tough discipline moment with the snowball-thrower...these things happen.

On our way back to the car, the girls did a bit more on the board. It was fun!

Party Fun

Sophia's birthday was Saturday, and Cora and 10 other kids were treated to an Escape Room experience.

They *almost* escaped!

The fun continued at Sophia's house, where the kids played outside for hours. This game was a version of Capture the Flag, which was followed by hide and seek.

Happy 12th, Sophia!

Boba and the Hill

Violet sees her endocrinologist next week, and she needed her bloodwork done. Afterwards, she got her favorite reward - a boba smoothie. She always chooses cookies and cream.

Jake and Char came over Friday after school, and Jake left his mark on the sign on Cora's door.

Her door signs typically either welcome friends, or promise death to those who fail to knock.

The kids watched a Marvel movie - Cora used her birthday money to buy a set of six of them. She wants to eventually own them all, like Uncle Nick.

Then they went out and played in Cora's hideout on the hill, and ended up rolling down the hill over and over. This was a new way to play - most of the year it's dry and hard, but at the moment with all the rain, it's grassy and soft.

The hideout, now with a new table - the stump they rolled in, with a granite slab top.

Long Weekend Fun

We had a four-day weekend and no big plans, so Friday provided a great opportunity to have Patrice and the kids over for lunch and playtime.

It was a showery day, so the kids went to play out on the hill while they could.

When they came back, Cora was the proud holder of a spine from a dead coyote they'd found.

Yes, you read that correctly.

We then went back out, Patrice and me included, to check out the unusual sight. The body is in front of Cora - see the tail? And be sure to note Violet's face. She doesn't find it nearly as cool as Cora does.

The kids then went out to play handball, and kept on playing even when it started raining.

A weekend snuggle and snooze.

Awwwwwww...

Cora was playing Fortnite with Jake on Saturday morning - they play together, in their own homes, over the internet, communicating through headsets. He and Char wanted to come see the coyote, too, so they came over in the afternoon and played until we all went to their house in the evening for dinner.

After dinner, Yass taught Stace and me how to play poker. Charlie proceeded to get his poker face on - can't read that, can you? I asked him to hook me up with a hat, glasses and a hoodie too. Perfect.

Our Sunday fun included having Juliana, Daryl, Maya and Natalia over for dinner. More fun on the hill for the girls! And Lego fun for Violet and Natalia

On Monday, with the girls off and Stace at work, the three of us went to see the new Lego Movie. It was cute... but what we're really excited to see, Captain Marvel, comes out in a month.

Valentine's Parties

A year ago, my girls were Valentine's Day party poopers. Neither chose to exchange cards with their classmates, and there were no parties for me to help plan or volunteer in.

But this year, the Valentine's spirit returned. Both actually created valentines for their classmates, and Cora's class had a party that I helped organize.

Violet made butterfly valentines out of cupcake liners - she did it one Friday evening a couple of weeks ago, when Cora and I were watching a movie that Vi didn't want to watch. I provided no help or direction whatsoever; she just took it upon herself to create these beauties.

Cora, meanwhile, took some soap-making supplies she received as a birthday gift from Vivian and made little soaps. She attached them to her Grumpy Cat valentines - the perfect choice for Cora!

Jen and I planned the party for Miss Lotito's class, and the kids painted rocks that they could have given to someone special (like Mom).

After painting their rocks, the kids had cupcakes.

Then it was time for a rousing game of tic tac toe, played on graham crackers with icing for the lines, and candy hearts for the pieces.

Cora's playing with her classmate Sawyer here.

I sneaked over to Violet's class for a bit, when it was my time to volunteer. I was in time to watch the kids, a few at a time, passing out their cards while they watched a Peanuts Valentines special.

Then it was back to Cora's class, where Jen and I treated the rocks with mod podge so they'd be weather-resistant.
It was a fun day, one I spent at school from 11 a.m., and I'll cherish these memories of helping in class for parties.

Birthday and Trivia Fun

On Cora's birthday morning, she opened up one of her birthday gifts from us - a makeup kit!

If you had told me a year ago that she would even want a makeup kit, I never would have believed you. But she has become a young lady in recent months. (And no, in case you're wondering, she won't be wearing full makeup in the coming months, but on special occasions, we'll let her dabble.)

We also gave Cora roller blades, as she's outgrown her current pair. So that's more of a normal Cora gift.

On Sunday afternoon, Cora and I took a trip to the mall, where she spent her gift card from Nan and Pop at Sephora. We had a great time together! I'm seeing some of the joy in having big girls.

Jake gave Cora the Captain Marvel Pop Funko, along with a gift card for a PS4 game she likes playing at their house.

On Tuesday evening, we went to a trivia night at a local restaurant, to conduct "research" for our school's upcoming trivia night. We met up with friends who will be helping at the event next month.  

Yass and Kell were going to join us, but Charlie wasn't feeling well, so we took Jake with us. Thank goodness - the girls would have been bored after a while, and probably arguing with each other, but with Jake along, they all contentedly played Connect Four.

 The kids also answered a few questions for us, and Jake almost won us a pitcher of beer.

Each team sent up a representative to play a simple card game - guessing if the next card drawn would be higher or lower than the card in the host's hand.

Jake ended up second to the last player! Not that the few adults we had could have drunk a whole pitcher, as the night was almost over.

In the end, our team, the Stars (after the school's mascot), won the trivia contest by one point! It was a lot of fun, and we won a $25 gift card for the next time we come to play.

Cora Zooms into Twelve

Cora turned 12 Saturday, and she was very excited to celebrate with her favorite friends at MB2 Raceway in Sylmar. Charlie, Jake, little Violet, big Violet and Vivian were the racers who joined Cora on the track.

Zoom! The kids participated in two races, which were about nine laps each. Cora had wanted to celebrate at MB2 for years, but this was the year, because Violet has now reached that magical 48-inch mark. 

They also played arcade games, like air hockey, and won tickets for fabulous prizes like bouncy balls, Laffy Taffy and WarHeads.

The head socks made the kids look medieval. So silly.

The racer's fastest single lap is what earns his or her placement on the leaderboard. For the second race, Vivian topped the chart. followed by Jake, Char, Cora and the Violets. 

Char did so much better than in his first race, when he had the slowest times because he was more concerned with keeping his brother pinned in behind him than driving fast. (In that first race, Cora had the fastest lap time among her friends.)

We then returned to our house for food (Stone Fire, of course), presents and dessert. The kids also played out on the hill.

12!! How can it be??

She's strong, smart, sporty and, increasingly, stunning.

She was recently elected to be president of the student council.

She loves reading, history, video games, her cats, her family and her friends.

She'd much prefer a couple of close people she can trust than a big group of friends.

She's excited for junior high, but nervous as well.

She keeps us on our toes every day, and yet Stace and I can't imagine life without our Cora Rose. We are so proud of you!

Charlie wasn't feeling well, so Kelly and Yass left at dinner time, leaving Elaine, Vivi, Violet and Jake with the four of us. I wanted a photo of the four kids, and Jake wasn't super comfortable getting in close with the girls.

It took a little convincing and a lot of laughs.

When Elaine left with the girls, we then watched the first Pirates movie to cap off the birthday. Grandma and Grandpa came over, too, after helping Melanie out with a huge wedding.

Happy Birthday, Cora!

Daddy Daughter Dance

After a hard week of work it was time to relax. This weekend, the start of Cora's birthday celebrations, kicked off with a date night with the other young lady in my life, Violet.
I was hoping that both my girls would want to go to the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance at Meadows School but only Violet was interested. So, at 7:00 on Friday night, I slipped on my dancing shoes and accompanied my little girl to the social event of the year.

We arrived at school to a packed house. Violet met up with a few of her friends, and enjoyed being part of a conga line in between dancing with her old man. I use the term dancing very loosely here. I'm no Fred Astaire but I can definitely say that Violet does not have a clue how to dance. She pretty much used me as a human punch bag and climbing frame.

When the night came to an end it was time for all the dads and daughters to have a last slow dance. At this point Vi decided to flop all over the place, and when I told her to stop messing around, she went as stiff as a board and then started pulling faces. I do not have photos of this loving moment.

We had a good time together. There were cakes and cookies, a photo booth and free popcorn. Who wouldn't have a good time with those treats; and a lovely little girl like Violet to spend the evening with.