Week in Review

 

We attended our last Open House at Violet's junior high, and went around seeing the TWO teacher she has there, along with old friends who taught Cora and Violet in past years. This is Ms. Mathis, Vi's science teacher.

Several cool experiments were set up in the science lab, so Vi and Stace gave them a go.

We also visited Mrs. Davidson, Vi's favorite teacher, who teaches yearbook. Violet will miss this class and teacher! Cora loved her too, and had her for history.

The big question we got all evening was, which high school will Violet attend? And she's come to a decision - she'll go to the school she's zoned for, where her friends will go, where Cora went last year. 

Cora was pretty disappointed, and my mama heart was touched to see it. I love the bond my girls have, and we all do wish it would have worked out for them to have that single year of high school together. But, it just was not to be. 

I could see pros and cons for both schools for Violet, but in the end, she would have only had one year with Cora there, had she chosen Cora's current school, while she'll likely have four years with her girlfriends.

Here's a photo of our back stone fruit trees. Fingers crossed for a good crop!

Earlier this week, Stace and I saw a comedic murder mystery in Newhall, and we all had a family dinner at Stone Fire for our March birthdays. 

Our front nectarine trees are also covered in blossoms. 

Earlier this week, my right shoulder started hurting badly, in a spot that I'd noticed some funny twinges over the past two months. I made an appointment with the local orthopedic specialists, and an X-ray showed this little calcium deposit. They gave me a medication, which has helped a lot. I'll do physical therapy as well.

Also this week, Violet and I went to another art show opening at the local gallery. They seem to change shows every six weeks, with a celebration each time. Violet went to Teacision with her school friends, and then to one of their houses. 

Museum Day

 Stace, Violet and I met up with Jim and Callie at the Gene Autry Museum on Saturday. JT and Jonah were camping with Scouts, and Cora wasn't interested. It was an annual "Free Museum Day" and we enjoyed our time; Stace and I hadn't been in quite a few years.

The top images here are actually mini figurines, and Violet thought that maybe she also could pose D&D minis for portraits.

I took this for Cora, who likes ravens.

Violet enjoyed the art. You can see Callie and Jim in the background. We forgot to get a group photo. We ate lunch together at the museum before heading home.

Earlier in the week, Ellie came over for a few hours, and she was quite the big helper as we watered plants and washed the garage door.

Also this week, I filed our income taxes and met up for coffee with Melissa and Tiffany. It was also Open House at West Ranch - more on that in another post.

Fun new cat toy!

A Jazzy Open House

 Cora's high school held its Open House on Tuesday, and we all got a sneak peak at "All That Jazz," led by our favorite high school actress.

We knew she could act, and it's great seeing her excel at singing and dancing.

Grandma and Grandpa were watching Ellie, so she got to watch too. (All the girls were crossing their legs in this photo - Ellie came close!)

I helped at our Parent Advisory Council booth, too, as I'm on the leadership team there. And Vi walked around the campus, as she's deciding whether she'll go here or to the school Cora used to go to. It will be for two classes out of six, as Violet will stick with the independent study program for most of her schooling next year.

Camping in Paradise

 We went camping over the weekend in Santa Barbara County, at Paradise Campground, where Violet went with Colleen and Rigo about 18 months ago. It was the first time Stace and I had been to this lovely spot less than two hours from home.

We were blessed with an amazing sunset on our drive there.

Here's our camping crew on Saturday, on a walk to the nearby Santa Ynez River.

Cora had theater responsibilities and couldn't join us.

Our tents... we ended up sharing one, because it was cold.

From our site, we could look across this field to Colleen and Rigo's trailer and Paul's tent.

We played frisbee (see it in the air?) and other simple games.

I got to catch up on some newspapers.

Wildflowers!

The river was too full to walk through it to the trail on the other side, unlike Violet's last time here, when it was practically nonexistant. 

Nearer our campground was this sweet little stream.

We had campfire fun, playing word games and roasting dessert. 

It was a lovely little getaway in a gorgeous setting, with perfect weather! Can't ask for anything more.

Sweetness

Just a collection from the past few weeks of kitty cuteness...

So this is love... 

 

Look at our guys sharing a chair so nicely!

Introduction to the world of D&D dice.

Funny kitties - he's falling into the empty recycling bin here.

Ummm, excuse me? A little help please?

Tidbits

The girls rode their bikes to Teacision on Saturday. See the water behind them in the riverbed? 

Later, Cora and I made this four-ingredient artisan bread, which is simple but uses an overnight rise.

It came out delicious!

This colorful ground turkey mixture was a recipe from Stacey's new eating plan. It was flavorful, actually pretty delicious. I made white rice for the girls, while he and I had it in lettuce wraps.

Stace changed the filter on our instant hot water tap and somehow it stopped working. After many attempts at sealing it better, we ended up replacing it. Thankfully, he had Evie and Winston to help him figure it out.

Week in Review

 

The best part of Violet's new schedule - she was busy Monday with schoolwork, but on Tuesday, she had free time so we took a nice hike at Elsmere Creek. We had to cross it so many times, we took our shoes off. We also agreed to just wear water shoes on our next hikes.

costco wednesday

So pretty.

On Wednesday, I met my dad at Costco for my quarterly trip. Cora was home from school Wednesday with a headache, which may or may not have been related to her headbutting the stage in her Macbeth death scene the night before.

Ellie came over to visit on Thursday - in other words, I babysat her for a few hours. She got to help bring in some of the oranges! We've been very blessed this winter.

I showed her our blueberry bushes, which for the first year, are covered in flowers. Fingers crossed they all turn into fruit! 

She played with some activity books, and shared a chair with her favorite kittens. 

After we picked up Violet from school, we went to my friend Liz's house to let out her new puppy while she was at work. 

Ellie has been scared of dogs, but she did very well with tiny Enzo. She also played with Cooper the Corgi, and called him Goober. It was adorable.

In the evening, Stace and I went to Ellie's house for dinner and to put her to bed, until Mel made it home from work.