Our week

We returned to normal life this week, with Cora in school, Tuesday night ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, Pioneer Club, Ms. Diane's class, grocery shopping and house-cleaning.

 On Wednesday, after we picked up Cora, we went to visit Aunt Patty in Ventura.

We used up the rest of our (frozen) apple pulp from the cider-making extravaganza to make apple muffins, before heading over to Marina Park.

The playground had been recently redone, and the girls had a great time checking out the new equipment.

 No trip to the beach is complete without shell-collecting!



















On Thursday morning we returned to Ms. Diane's class, our family's name for the city's My Buddy and Me program.

Violet was really excited to return, and carry her own snack/lunch bag. She is such an old pro in class now, anticipating what we'll do next and attacking the art projects with hardly any help from me.

She refuses to sing the "slippery fish" song, because she says she's scared of the shark verse.

Over the last couple of months, she's argued against the song each week, and runs away from circle time during it.

This time, since she's newly wearing panties full-time, I took the opportunity to take her out for a bathroom break. It worked out well.

Later on Thursday, Cora had her first dance class. We signed her up for a session of tap/ballet classes as part of her Christmas present from us and my parents.

She enjoyed her first class, but she's also saying she'd like to try gymnastics. So perhaps we'll give that a whirl over the summer.

Back Home

 Now that we're back home, we're making a greater effort with Violet and the toilet. She's again doing very well at home, and on Saturday I noticed that she stayed dry the whole day. We made a big deal about it, and started a chart. She'll get a magnet each day she stays dry, and we'll get her a special toy she's been eyeing once she has 10 magnets.

On Sunday, she wet herself once, at church, and on Monday she also had a small accident. But Tuesday, despite being out and about most of the day, she earned another magnet! Hopefully we'll have potty-training success this time around.










Random moment in the kitchen that made me laugh. Cora was getting her own snack, tortilla chips and Trader Joe's pineapple salsa.

Violet also helped herself, to chips and butter. Mmmm, mmmm.

Our first week back home was nice and relaxing, a little two relaxing, because Cora caught a bad cold. She spent most of Thursday and Friday in bed or on the couch with a fever, which has turned into a bad cough.

So, we had to cancel several playdates, and Cora and I couldn't join Stace and Violet with Genia and her kids at Scooter's Jungle. Times like these make me remember how blessed we are to have such generally healthy girls, though.

In this photo, Stace is reading The Magic Faraway Tree, a classic British children's novel that he fondly remembers his Mum reading to him as a boy. So far, Cora is loving this story, originally published in 1943.

 On Sunday, Cora was feeling well enough to help Stace sweep out the backyard and then tackle putting together the girls' Christmas present from Nan and Pop. Yes, a giant trampoline!

 

Fun, fun, fun!

Congratulations, Cora!

 

Cora received her first school award this week! 

She was selected to be "Student of the Week," an award normally given out by the principal during the school's weekly assembly on Mondays. One student per grade level is chosen, so Cora was picked from more than 70 kindergarteners. We were notified before school let out for Christmas break that Cora would be getting the award, so Stace and I could arrange to attend the assembly. 

Mrs. Hawthorne wrote of Cora, "Cora strives to do her best at all times. She works hard and is a good friend to everyone in class! Keep up the great job!"

We're having a real cold spell at the moment - highs in the 40s, lows below freezing - and this morning when school started it was 33 with a cold wind. So, morning assembly was canceled, and the principal lead us parents into the recipients' classrooms to hand out the certificates. Cora was so nervous to be called up by her principal!

It was a shame that Cora didn't get her big moment in front of the whole school, and I had several mommy friends who were planning to stay and cheer for her as well. But at least Stace and I still got to see her get her award, in a personalized (and warm!) ceremony. 

Congratulations, Cora! Daddy and I are so proud of you! We know how hard you work at everything you do, and we're especially happy to hear that you are a kind friend to all your classmates. 

Trip home

Our trip home went very well again - it's beyond wonderful to be in a stage where traveling with the two girls is pretty much smooth sailing.

As we did in June, we again made the trip to our airport hotel on a Sunday, spent the night, and flew on the Monday. Thanks again, as always, to Sue, Gord, Dean and Jenny for giving up their whole Sunday to drive us back. It was great having lunch with you and spending that last half-day together.

The girls were both very excited about being in the hotel, eating breakfast in the restaurant, and riding the "bus" - shuttle - to Heathrow. They were as good as gold, and our whole travel day went very smoothly. The plane trip was fine, with both girls watching hours of television again. The only trouble was a period of extreme turbulence above Iceland, bad enough to lead to broken glass in the first class cabin. Cora loved the roller coaster ride - we had to shush her exuberance out of respect to other passengers who were scared and crying.

Neither girl slept much, but that helped them settle into our home time zone that much easier. Thankfully Cora is off this week so we've had some time to relax, unpack and clean up.

Sorry for the lack of photos of this part of the trip - the cameras were packed for our flight home.

I will share two last photos, from the hours before we left Somerset - the girls saying good-bye to Big Nan, and JT with her two beautiful babies, 23-month-old Callie and 3-month-old Jonah.

Fun with Friends

This trip, we met up with Stacey's friend Dan, or Grinder, who came across for our wedding in 2003.

But we haven't seen him since our wedding party in England in early 2004. He's now married with two children the same ages as our girls.

We met at Jungle Jungle, an indoor play place. Dean and Euan came too, on a day marked by drenching downpours.

This is Dan's 5-year-old son Charlie, a keen footballer who had fun deflecting Stace's shots with the plastic ball-pool balls.

We also visited with Dunc and Lindsey and their girls. Cora had a lot of fun with Chelsea, as always, and Charlie did a great job sharing her new Christmas presents with Cora and Violet.

For my birthday, Jim and JT took us out to lunch at a nice pub in Mudford, near Yeovil. (For anyone looking for GOOD pub food with great olde worldy pub atmosphere, go to the Half Moon Inn. You know, if you're in the Yeovil area.)

It was fabulous, as always, to see our dear friends, who are in the process of emigrating back to California. It's odd to think that this is the last time we're spending time together in England! JT and I have been England buddies for our entire England experience, from our first trip together to visit Jim and Stace in July 2001.

I also enjoyed spending time with our English family on the evening of my birthday, with a cake and presents to boot. Thanks!


On Saturday, we caught up with Andy and Jen, and their daughter Marisa, husband Paul and daughter Lola Belle. They picked a superb location - Barleymow's Farm Shop and Restaurant was very kid-friendly, with an indoor play area and play structure outside for those not afraid to get a little muddy. Like Cora and Violet! Here, Cora shows our friends her monkey-bar abilities.

Family and floods

 We spent a very pleasant Friday afternoon with our extended family on Pop's side, at his sister Doreen and brother-in-law Pete's home. Their mum was there, as were Stacey's cousins Karen and Mandy and their husbands Martin and Wes. The company is always warm and friendly, and Doreen is an excellent hostess who keeps your plates and glasses full.

Here, Karen's son Ben and Violet pose up at the top of Burrow Hill, a nearby hilltop we climbed to get good views of the flooded Somerset Levels.

 Karen and her two - Ben, 7 1/2, and Chloe, 3 - walked up with us, making it that much more fun for our girls.

Back at the house, the children played so well together. We had not one squabble, just lots of laughter and merriment.

 See those welly boots? They were very much needed! Violet wasn't thrilled to walk in the squishy squishy mud down by the gate.

 The levels flood regularly, but this year's flooding has been the worst in everyone's memory.

Some villages have been hit especially hard, with homes devastated. For our friends and family, the flooding has meant longer drives at times, with roads shut because of the depth of water flowing across.

One field near Pete and Doreen's farm has been taken over by wild swans! Hard to take in this view and remember that this is actually a grassy field under normal circumstances.

At Euan's house

On Wednesday, Stace watched the three cousins so that Sue, Jenny and I could go out shopping.

I don't know who had more fun with Euan's birthday present, this detailed farm set - the children or Stace. He and Cora had quite an involved game going on when we ladies returned to Dean and Jen's home.

 Stace also took the little ones to the playground a few doors up from Euan's house.

The week before, we all went into Yeovil and Violet fell asleep in the car. Nothing that Prince Euan couldn't fix with a kiss.

That's about the only kind of kiss Violet's been giving out, sadly. Our affectionate sweet toddler has been acting very 2 1/2 lately, saying "no" to nearly everything, especially to requests for kisses and hugs.
I think the word "no" is preferable to her favorite word before we came to England - "poo poo." Well, hmmm... Maybe they're equally annoying.

Family time

 We've collected some nice photographs of the family over the past 10 days. In no particular order, here they are...

 

 
This was from New Year's Day at Clarks Village, a shopping center with outlets in the nearby town of Street. It's a fun place to visit with Christmas money in hand.

This year we purchased Cora her first pair of Clarks boots, and a new suitcase. Cora spent some money she earned by doing chores for Nanny and Pop, at the Cadbury's shop. And we all had a nice lunch and coffees.

It was a very pleasant day out, and nice and dry for a change. (England has experienced lots of flooding over the past couple of months, and the levels/moors look like lakes. It seems like it has barely stopped raining since our wet June trip.)

New Year's Eve

 As is our tradition, we spent our New Year's Eve night at Dean and Jenny's, with all our family and Jenny's family.

We eat, drink, and generally make merry in a very family-friendly type of way; this year we had four children under 10. And this year, for the first time, everyone stayed awake to see in 2013, even the 2 1/2-year-old and new 3-year-old.

The favorite part of the party for our favorite 2 1/2-year-old was the doughnut and other cakes. This kid and her sweet tooth!

Stace and the girls and I spent the night, and the girls slept very well. Actually, since I last blogged, everyone has slept very well. 

 Cora has been playing Nanny's Wii every day, and she is surprisingly excellent at the sports. She even gave Matthew, Jenny's nephew, a run for his money at bowling, tennis and golf.

 Violet and Euan, cousins and friends. Euan has a little toy vacuum/hoover, and in it is a mini dustpan and brush. Thankfully Dean had a real dustpan and brush for Violet, so they could each happily brush all the party-goers without fighting over the brush.

 Cora and Matty also had fun playing the Star Wars version of Angry Birds.

Just after the countdown to 2013 - I'm getting used to watching the party from London, rather than the "ball dropping" in New York City.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family... may 2013 be a blessed time for all of you.

Christmas in England

On Christmas Day, we visited Big Nan at her new home in Somerton, a residential home where she is very well looked after.

Cora read to her the letter Santa left, which explained that he had delivered her No. 1 request to her Valencia home.

Yes, we are now the proud owners of a cotton candy machine. (Thanks, Juliana and Maya, for the brilliant idea...)

(Another sidenote: listening to Cora read her letter aloud gave us all such an amazing feeling. Cora's reading has advanced leaps and bounds over the last few weeks.)

 We celebrated Christmas twice in England, with a lovely roasted pork dinner on Tuesday and a larger family celebration (and turkey dinner) on Boxing Day. That's when Big Nan and Dean, Jenny and Euan joined us here at Nan and Pop's house.

 Here we are after the meal and the Christmas crackers, while the little ones rested upstairs watching an Ice Age Christmas special DVD.

 Then it was time for presents! In this scene, the children are opening up gifts from Dean and Jenny - Tinkerbell costumes for the girls and a sword/shield set for Euan.









Our fairies looked so cute. I hope the costumes still fit next October!



















All tired out from the celebrating...

We've had an interesting few nights of sleep this trip. Amazingly, both girls slept through the night our first night here. The next night wasn't any good, though.

Wednesday night wasn't too bad, with Violet waking up a couple of times but settling down quickly. On Thursday night, jet lag hit Cora hard, and she was wide awake for several hours. Meanwhile, Violet slept thoroughly, from 8 p.m. until 10 a.m.

But, on Friday she didn't get a nap during the day as we were out and about. Friday night, Cora slept fine, and Violet was awake from 2:30 a.m. until about 8 a.m. Hopefully we'll all get on track now! 

Christmas Travels

 We're on our biannual trip to England to visit our family and friends, and every good trip starts off with Grandpa taking us to LAX and then taking a "ready to fly" photo.

The girls were so excited this time around about going to see everyone, and both had fun helping us pack our bags. They talked for days about when we'd be leaving, what we'd do on the airplane, and who we'd be seeing in England.

We'll have to get Violet her own little suitcase - she really liked pulling Cora's Dora case, and Cora wasn't always thrilled to let her. I think it's time for Cora to have a more "big girl" case anyway, so perhaps we'll pass the Dora case to Violet.

 As we were in line at the Air New Zealand counter, we learned the disappointing news that our plane was to be three hours late because of electrical trouble.

We always check to see when Sue and Gord's plane is going to land, but somehow we didn't think Sunday morning to check if our departure was going to be on time.

 At least the airline comped us for $20 each for a meal at one of the terminal's eateries. Of course, that only sounds like a lot of money until you get into those eateries...

Still, we were glad for the meal and the diversion, with several hours to kill with an un-napped toddler.

 For once, all those diversions we packed into our carry-on luggage came in handy. (Typically, the personal television systems on our long-haul flights serve to entertain the girls, and we don't need all the books/coloring/games.)

I was glad we brought the laptop, too. Free wifi let me update the ol' blog, and gave the girls some youtube time when they were squirmy.

We were more than pleased with Air New Zealand. The girls and I shared a "skycouch," the term they give three window seats that have flip-up leg rests, forming a solid couch space for lying down on. I was actually able to lie down flat in economy - imagine that!

And for the first time in years, Violet fell asleep four hours into our flight, instead of waiting until eight hours in. She didn't stay asleep the whole time, but did get a good four-hour nap. Cora slept, too. Hallelujah!

So, our trip in was very smooth. Gord and Dean drove the girls home from Heathrow, and Stace and I took the rails. With the long delay at LAX, we were late for the train we had purchased advance tickets for, but a charitable employee at Waterloo Station stamped our tickets as a Christmas good deed, so we could take the next train. Such a good start to our holiday!