Jerome Joys

 On Sunday morning, we packed up at Sara and Tony's and headed two hours northwest to the old copper mining town of Jerome.

We'd all been here as teenagers, but our kids haven't been. We checked out the old mining equipment but decided to ski the actual museum in favor of lunch and wandering.

We had lunch at the Mile High Grill behind us. Jerome is that high up, set in the hills with the red rocks of Sedona visible in the distance.

Shopping...

 The best shopping was at the old-fashioned candy store, of course.

 We bought a pack of candy cigarettes, and then did what you do when you have candy cigarettes.

 Especially when you're really a bunch of goody-two-shoes.

I can't look at this photo without laughing. I see Alli, and wonder how the heck this 9-year-old knows how to pose like this. Then I see the other three bigger girls, all pulling off smoking way too well.

And then I look at Violet. Mouth full. Crunching sugar. Like she just couldn't wait another few seconds for the photo to be taken.

After saying goodbye to our friends, we drove to our hotel in Flagstaff and headed to the Cornish Pasty Co., where we had dinner and played pool. We went here last year, too, so I think we can safely call it our local now.

Underwood Strawberries

 Violet and the rest of the first-graders boarded buses Thursday for their big field trip to Underwood Farms.

Violet's between her buddies Camryn and Ryan here, showing off her super cool fidget spinner. We've given in to the spinner madness (mainly because they were at Vons for under $4).


Yes, they went last year to Underwood, too, but that was to pick vegetables. This year, they're lucky enough to pick strawberries.

 It's easier to get the classic class shot on the haystack when you only have seven kiddos to round up! The eighth Hawthorne firstie, Gavin, didn't make the trip.
Here are Ryan, Luke, Camryn, Violet, Rylin, Aya and Noah, with Mrs. Hawthorne. This group of kids has formed a special bond; it's fabulous seeing them play together at recess and lunch. I hope they all remain friends through their school years.

Following a lesson on plants with all the other field trip groups, we boarded wagons for our trip to the strawberry patch.

 You can see, it was a lot of fun.

Shortly after this photo, Violet, Aya and Camryn began a rousing version of "99 Bottles of Milk on the Wall" at the top of their lungs. Good times!

 The fields were full of juicy red berries, so it wasn't hard to fill our boxes.

We picked strawberries with our MOPS/Mom2Mom group year after year. Thursday was a fitting closure to my years of going to Underwood - one last time, and it was strawberries again.

Thanks to Mrs. Hawthorne for this photo, and a couple of others here.

More singing on the wagon ride back, this time with cheesy smiles.

We had lunch on the picnic tables, and then went out into the fun part of Underwood.

 Violet flew down the combine slide.

Then we looked at the animals, including the chickens...

...and turkeys.

Such a fun day; I'm so thankful to be able to go on these field trips. I know these days go by too quickly.

Science Saturday

 On Saturday, after Violet's soccer class, Stace carried on working on the shelves for our bedroom.

I took the girls, with my dad as my navigator/photog, down into the other Valley. We had to go to Simi first, to pick up a curtain for our bedroom (our local Cost Plus only had one left of a particular pattern we like).

Then we went to Pierce College, a junior college in Woodland Hills, to check out a science/astronomy expo my mom had read about.

The girls enjoyed looking through high-powered microscopes at bugs and smaller organisms.

There also were telescopes on display, and presumably in use once the sun had set. We didn't stay that late.

 These microscopes also took photos.

Various experiments were ready for the children to check out in another exhibit hall, and a pair of 3-D printers was on display as well.

On our way back up to SClarita, we stopped at Costco, since my parents are members. We stocked up on a few things I know are well-priced there, including English cheddar. Thanks, JT, for that tip! Stace was a happy man when I brought that home.

Later that evening, Kelly came over with baby Noah, who is now a big, crawling, happy 10-month-old.

Her husband was out with the guys, but we were so glad she thought to call us and come up to visit.

Violet ended our evening with a birthday party for Sea Pony. She had remembered that morning that it was Sea Pony's fifth birthday, so she planned out the cake, present, and tea party for us all. You can also see Sea Pony's friends coyote and pig in the photo. 
This girl makes us smile every day!

Violet Mae, at 3-going-on-4

Oh, sweet, silly Violet.

I'd better get these photos of "Violet at 3, almost 4," before she does, in fact, turn 4 this weekend.

Violet at almost 4 is definitely silly. She likes being funny: singing funny songs; creating funny faces; making funny noises.

A little job I've given her recently is to empty the package of toilet paper rolls into their respective spots in the bathrooms. So the other morning, this was her idea: she put them in a stack - a very tall stack, the height of which required a stool. She was so pleased with herself, giggling and discussing her feat.

Violet, just in the past week or so, has started wiping herself more often. But for quite a lot of weeks (months?), this is how we'd find her when we'd go in to wipe her bum.

It was such a great trick, such a secretive hiding spot, she'd laugh out loud every time we'd "find" her. Her ability to be amused is amazing. She also liked me to peek in at her, "through the crack."

In other bathroom news (bet you never want to read that in a sentence again), we've thrown out the pink princess toilet seat we've used for, oh, five or so years. It's the little things...

Since Violet has started going to soccer class, she has grown more interested in playing footie with Daddy while Cora has her own class. The other day, Violet ran to get her cleats on before we left home for class; this is how she came out. A dress, cleats, ankle socks and running shoes.

We've recently put an end, or a pause at least, to the girls sharing a room on the weekends. Too much arguing. So, on several nights, Violet has asked to sleep on her own floor.

Speaking of sleeping... What's a lazy Sunday afternoon without a nap?

Week in Review

On Monday, the girls were off school for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and they woke up at Grandma's house. They did crafts in their jammies until I picked them up around 3 p.m.

Then, we headed to Summit Park with the balance bike and roller skates. Daddy met us there, and we had fun until dinner time.

We decided to eat at the Habit, one of our favorite places. Violet entertained us with her orange peel mustache.

And Cora needed to show off her super-wiggly tooth.

This is the tooth she fretted and moaned about during our trip to the Santa Monica pub Sunday, and fretted and moaned about during dinner and the drive home Monday.

Stace took matters into his own hands, and bingo, Tooth No. 6 was out. Then, Cora was so happy, excited, and giddy, chattering on and on.

She wrote this adorable note to the tooth fairy: "Dear tooth fairy, I lost my 6 tooth! Do not think I am asking for sumthing. All I would like is your love."

Pioneer Club held "crazy hair" night this week. Cora, as usual, did not participate. Violet was excited about it, though, and every girl in her Skipper class had crazy hair! Violet had pony tails with colorful plastic clothespins.








On Thursday, we had a lunch playdate at the park. Our friend Sara and her daughter Alli joined us,and the girls had fun with the kids' meal toy.








On Saturday, Cora helped out Melanie by acting with her in a scene Melanie had filmed, for a reel to show potential acting agents. Cora was nervous at first, but did a good job with her lines and ended up having a lot of fun. She told me that night she was sad it was over, and wished she could do it all again.

Melanie and Nick had dinner with us, and after the girls went to bed, we watched a movie.

Weekend work and play

With the addition of a second car into the garage, some things had to go.

The extra guest mattresses went to the playroom - Stace says this isn't their permanent home. The lawnmower and other lawn equipment went to the patio, while we waited for the right time to build a storage shed.

This weekend, Stace shopped around and decided upon this perfectly sized plastic shed, for which he made a place next to the trash cans. Because that area floods when we get a heavy rain, he used gravel and bricks to build up a base to keep water out.

Our helper extraordinaire proved to be super helpful once more. She moved all the bricks from the driveway to the backyard, brought back the shed pieces, and helped screw it together too.

For an hour or so, the girls had great fun in the empty shed playing house, or "daughter," as they call it. Violet is always the daughter, Cora is always the mom.

The finished product; the green waste, recycling and waste bins fit perfectly next to it.













Somehow, not long after playing in the shed, we heard screaming from the bedroom. Stace rushed in to help - after grabbing the camera first, of course.
How does one get stuck in a laundry basket, anyway?

The highlight of our weekend was meeting our new niece via Skype: sweet Olivia Grace, beautiful and tiny and all of 6 days old on Sunday. We can't wait to hold you in person!

Congratulations again to Dean and Jenny on their precious daughter, and to Euan on becoming a big brother!

Playing Around

We've been blessed with some brilliant weather this trip. Last June, it rained for most of the two weeks we were over, but this time around the rain has mainly stayed away.

We all headed to Nine Springs park in Yeovil a couple of times. Here, the Brave Captain Poodle conquers the invading pirate.

(Violet has adopted the word "poodle" as her new favorite. It makes her laugh all the time, and she fills in many words in her favorite songs with it. See, it sounds like her old favorite word that she isn't allowed to say.)

One evening, we met up with Dunc, Lindsey and their children at a park for some evening fun. We played football, rounders (a game like softball) and had a picnic dinner.

Violet invited Charlie to play pirates with her, using plastic jewelry as their treasure. It was sweet to watch.
Thanks, Lindsey, for the photos!

Pop got all of Stace and Dean's old Legos down from the loft. They rebuilt this complete castle set from 1983, and then moved on to build a boat, a spaceship and some tractors.

Cora is now officially a Lego fan. With her English birthday money, she bought some Legos of her own. I actually have a big pink box of Legos at home that I picked up last year at a consignment sale; I'll have to get those out as a treat when we're settled at home and summer boredom sets in.