TEN!!!

Our Violet Mae has hit the double digits!

Of course it's incredible to think a whole decade has passed since our sweet, artistic, dragon-loving affectionate girl entered the world. We're well into a new phase of family life, with a teenager and the "baby" turning 10.

Ten, being such a milestone, was supposed to bring with it a party with friends and long-awaited visit from Nan and Pop. But, the coronavirus lockdown nixed those plans.

Violet was a bit sad heading up to her birthday, but we made the best of it, allowing her to plan some fun things, and surprising her with some other treats. One plan - she asked for a pineapple-upside down cake, something my grandma used to make, and it turned out beautifully.

She also asked for crepes for breakfast, Stacey's specialty, and since he was working from home, he was happy to oblige. We also spent two nights sleeping in the tent in the back yard.

After breakfast, we video-chatted with Nan and Pop and Dean and Jen, and Vi opened her gifts and cards. Here, she's opening her silly presents from her sister.

But then came the good gift! Violet had just one wish, a drawing tablet. The whole family went in on it, and she was absolutely thrilled. Here, she's showing it to our family in the UK.

Then, Vi went in to take part in a video chat with her class, and everyone sang her "Happy Birthday." I'm so glad she had that moment, because it was one of the things she had been sad about missing out on.

The birthday girl gets to choose meals all day long - we enjoyed Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and homemade orange chicken for dinner.

In and around doing school work, Cora and Violet had a silly string battle in the back yard, using one of Cora's gifts to Vi.

And then - surprise! Vi's best school friend Victoria stopped by with a card and gift. Vic gave Violet a special necklace, and has a similar one for herself, so it's kind of like a friendship necklace.

And, surprise! Liana and Colleen also stopped over, with a gift and home-baked goods. It's so good to see our friends! We will appreciate that so much more when this corona storm has passed by.

Chocolate cranberry bars and lemon scones - hope Violet will share! They were absolutely delicious. Liana is taking after her mom with baking talent!

Then, just before dinner, we jumped back online for a group birthday song via Zoom. This was such a fun way to include our loved ones who don't live close enough to come to a party anyway; maybe we can retain this Coronavirus trend in years to come.

Violet loved all her cards - Alli's included a confetti bomb!

S'mores before bed and a night in the tent - despite the worldwide pandemic, it was a good birthday for Violet!

Week in Review

We went out to a new area to for a nature walk Saturday, near the Haskell Canyon Open Space in Saugus. We brought the girls' bikes, and they rode the mile and a half from where we parked, down to the city's newish archery range. What a neat free amenity! The girls agreed they'd like to take lessons when life gets back to normal.

 On Sunday, we returned to the same area, and took a hike. It was just gorgeous. Spring in SClarita, when the hills are green, is awesome.

 Notice anything different? The girls really hadn't used the trampoline the last year or two, and we're ready for a more grownup patio. I put a photo of the trampoline on Facebook, and our former neighbor was happy to come pick it up the following day. It's great to know it's living on, and getting a lot more use again.

 The girls both loved The Chosen TV series, and so we bought them hoodies from the show. They arrived this week, the final day of our fabulous weather before the heat arrived.

They wore their new apparel on a scooter ride to Granary, where they got ice cream.

 We started a puzzle, and Spencer jumped into the box where I was setting aside edge pieces. He's helpful like that.

 Violet loves her kitties, especially Spencer. I glanced outside to find them sharing a sweet moment together.

I saw a group on Facebook that was working with local restaurants to promote $6 specials during the quarantine.

I saw that one was for a nearby sushi place, for two rolls for $6. It was so popular, I had to call over and over for nearly an hour. When I got through, I felt like I'd hit the lottery. All this was about $13 (with tax)! I was proud of the fam - everyone tried my tuna roll.

Another sweet moment: I forced the girls outside, and they were playing with their swords. And then I found them doing this - Vi is hiding under the sheet. Oh, sisters.

Week in Review

We miss Disneyland and we love their Dole whips, so when I saw a recipe online for how to make them at home, I made sure to get the ingredients.

Photo doesn't show the treat very well, but it was yummy!

Because Stace will need to start wearing a mask to work, he decided to make one. It wasn't easy, and it took a long time, but he did it!

Nice one!

Violet wanted to make her own mask, too, sewing it by hand.

The girls aren't going many places these days, but they're out on their scooters several times a day.Works just great! Thanks, Vi!

Violet came with me on one of my walks this week. This looks like we're out on a hike on the outskirts of time, but it's just in the Summit! 

On Friday evening, Stace and I walked down to Granary Square to get drinks - Stace got a milkshake from the Habit, and I got a margarita from the Alamo.

Here's one benefit to the quarantine; restaurants are allowed to be open for takeout, and they're now allowed to serve takeout alcohol, too. This margarita was plenty for both of us, with enough left over for me for the next night.

Easter Fun

 Easter Sunday 2020, quite a different holiday this year!

Perhaps because of the weirdness, I made sure we did all the Easter things - we got dressed nicely, took part in worship (online), dyed eggs, had an egg hunt, ate a nice meal and connected with family.

We even had a visit from the Easter Bunny!

And it ended up being a lovely day.

My mom dropped off Easter baskets, and I added a few things to them. Violet and Stace made lemon cookies Saturday, and when Stace noted that he'd love some hot cross buns, Violet got busy with the red icing.

Thanks to a great idea from my friend Jen, I set up a different kind of egg hunt this year. I created a word scramble hunt, with a paper with one letter folded into each egg. 

 The girls had to find the eggs, and then put them into color groups, and then unscramble the words to find a clue about where their prize was.

Chocolate coins to share!

 We also chatted with Nan and Pop and Dean, Jenny, Euan and Livi, and the girls were pleased to get some Easter money from Nan and Pop.

 These paint markers and stencils were in their Easter baskets, so they did some coloring.

More coloring - this time, with dye and eggs.

 Their eggs turned out so pretty! And our dinner was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

We were "joined" for dinner by lots of friends. Meetings over Zoom have become the rage this quarantine season.

Later, we played Jackbox with my parents and Mel and Nick, using Facebook messenger's video chat feature.

So, all in all, it was a fabulous Easter!

Food, Glorious Food

 Facebook has been a part of my life for more than 10 years, and in the past week, it's contributed to my life in many ways, not the least of which is calorically.

Oh my, my friends have been posting some amazing things they've been baking, and I just had to follow suit. My friend Susan has been baking up a storm, and her grandma's recipe for a gooey chocolate cake just had to happen in my oven.

 This was seriously delicious. Vi thought sliced strawberries would be a good topping, so she washed and sliced for us.

 And my friend Jen shared pics of a different take on chicken pot pie, using biscuits like dumplings on top, instead of pie crust.

 We had the ingredients, and Stace, my biscuit maker-extraordinaire, helped with that part. This was so yummy too!

I've easily gained five pounds in our three weeks of quarantine - time to force myself out for walks, even if I'm alone.

 Speaking of walking, on Saturday Stace and I got out again, and found this cute idea to use natural elements to create small faces. Stace had a go, as you can see.

 Later, we took another bike ride to Teacision. But this time, the girls had to wear masks when they went inside to order and pay. Now, new rules in Los Angeles County mandate masks inside all businesses.

 On our ride home, we saw the water in the riverbed - it's been pretty wet lately.

In fact, this past week was our Spring Break, but with the quarantine, and with it raining almost daily, it was the most low-key (boring) spring break ever. Lots of screen time, including a Disney movie every day, to help catch the girls up on movies they've missed.

 By this point on our weekend bike ride, Cora was done with us. She had ridden on ahead, and you can just barely see her in the blue circle.

Being 13 and stuck with your family 24/7 can do that to you!

We ordered takeout from a local restaurant Saturday night - pork chops with Asian/Hawaiian flavors, balsamic sprouts, homemade mac 'n cheese, and a fancy salad. It was a great value that fed us for two nights.