Cowboy Festival 2013

 

We made our long-awaited return to the Cowboy Festival on Sunday morning - really, the kids were excited for our day out, talking about it all week. They must have remembered the great fun we had there together last year.

Stace always talks about buying a cowboy hat when we're at the Festival - this year, he finally did, a straw version that will be great for gardening, too. Violet even let him wear it a few times Sunday.

As you can see by their smiles, Ave, Johnny, Cora and Violet had a great day together Sunday.

Ave was most excited about panning for gold again, like they did last year.

Cutest cowgirl I've ever seen!

We also listened to a cowboy story, ate fantastic cowboy food (biscuits and gravy, peach cobbler, tri tip sandwich, beans and hot dogs), and listened to our favorite Cowboy Festival band, Hot Club of Cowtown.

For Violet, it was just exhausting!

We'll remember the fun we had for years to come.

Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Our plan Saturday was to go to Cora's soccer practice before heading over to the Cowboy Festival.

But by the time we made it to the festival parking lot, the line to get onto the shuttles wrapped up, down, around and back.
We waited for about 12 minutes in 92-degree heat and watched the kids melt before Stace decided a better plan would be to go to the zoo, and return to the festival bright and early Sunday.

So, off we went to the zoo!

We enjoyed about four hours there, plenty of time for everyone to see their favorite animal.

 A little hard to make out, but this is me and the kids through the waterfall near Cora's favorite feature, the caves.

And what would a post about the zoo be without at least one animal photo?

With the warmth, the children were eager for a cool treat, and the Icee signs were very tempting. But, at over $5 for a large, we told them we'd get something on the way home.

We stopped at a gas station convenience store two miles away, where I found big Icees for $1 each, plus a big soda for me and Cheetos for Johnny. We were out the door with six treats for just over $6. We certainly pressed that economics lesson to the school-aged children!

The Big Sleepover

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We had the privilege of having Ave and Johnny with us from Thursday through Sunday afternoon, while John and Genia were away with Owen.

With four kids under foot, Stace was even more miserable than usual.
Just kidding, of course. He and I both loved having these particular children with us. We would have kept them, but they seemed really excited to see their own parents on Sunday.

 The children all got along so well; we had lots of laughter and fun together.

We walked to school Thursday and Friday, and on Friday afternoon we played at the pool after lunch. Our school has minimum days every Friday, so Ave was also home for lunch.

On Thursday night, Cora and Ave put on a dance show for us all, complete with snacks for the audience. 











And Friday night, Stace played the music for the dance party.

On Thursday night, the school night, Ave and Johnny slept on the floor of Violet's room, and Violet stayed in the playpen in our room.
Friday and Saturday nights, Ave slept on Cora's trundle.

Cora was excited about this weekend for the past several weeks, as you can imagine. She asked all the time when "The Big Sleepover" was going to take place.

Feeling better

On Friday, Cora finally was fever-free, after having a high temperature at various times Monday through Thursday. In the afternoon, we went to a Mom2Mom gathering at the Patios area of the mall, where a new outdoor children's play area has opened. 

We had a sweet treat before heading to the local Pony League fields to watch neighbor friend David play baseball.  Here, Chris and Cora watch the game while eating that ballpark favorite, sunflower seeds in the shell.

 On Sunday, we celebrated Owen's fourth birthday with pizza and cupcakes. Owen seemed to like our gift - Iron Man walkie-talkies, which the big kids soon grabbed for their game of "secret agent."

 On Monday, with Cora finally back in school, Violet and I drove out to La Verne to visit with JT, Jim, Callie and baby Jonah.

Excuse the blurry photo here, but it goes without saying how much of a challenge it is to get three children under three to look pleasantly at a camera at one time.

JT and Jim made the HUGE move back to California one week ago! It has been in process for a couple of years, and we are so happy to have them back.

While they get settled, they are staying with JT's parents, whose children's video collection entertained Violet and Callie for a while.

We had a nice morning catching up before having lunch together. I look forward to many more such meetings. Welcome home!

Good dentist trip, sick Cora

 When I called to schedule Violet's first dentist appointment, I figured the dentist would examine her teeth, we'd cheer, and that would be about it.

After all, at Cora's first appointment, she barely opened her mouth. (Her second appointment six months later went much, much better.)

But Wednesday morning, Violet was excited to see the dentist herself, after watching Cora's appointment a month ago.

She sat still for two x-rays...

 ...and was an absolute angel during the examination...

 ...cleaning, flossing and fluoride treatment.

I was amazed, and we received equally amazed compliments from the dentist and all his staff members. She didn't flinch, didn't utter a peep; just sat still with her mouth open, obeying every request. Wow!

She then was excited and happy to pick out a new Ariel toothbrush, stickers and "treasure chest" goodies.


The girls christened a new chalk board in the waiting area - Cora was with us because she's been sick this week.

 Though I wasn't looking forward to Spring Break ending, I wasn't expecting Cora to have another week off from school!

She went Monday morning, but the school nurse called me around 10 with Cora in the office with a 101.5 degree fever. Tuesday she still had a low-grade fever, with a sore throat and cough.

On Wednesday, we went to the pediatrician, but a strep test came back negative so it seems to be just another virus. By Wednesday afternoon, Cora's fever was up to 103, so at this point I don't know if she'll make it to school the rest of the week. According to school policy, she must be fever-free for 24 hours to go back to school.

Mrs. Hawthorne sent some of her class worksheets home with Johnny, so when she's feeling OK, she's working on them at home. It seems like Cora has been sick more in the past four months than in her previous five years.

Spring Break tidbits

Our spring break has been delightful - we've had fun, we've relaxed, we've played, we've (well, I've) accomplished some organizational/cleaning chores. Hopefully we're recharged and ready to tackle Cora's last 2 1/2 months of kindergarten.

Here's a look at some of the random moments of the last two weeks...

What I've enjoyed most has been not having to get up-and-out so early! Lazy mornings at home in jammies are great. Cora and Violet have had more time to play with each other (and with the cats).

 We had friends over for lunch one day, and Cora made dessert, all by herself. I was busy in Violet's room going through her clothing, and heard Cora announce that she was cooking. She made her own batter of flour, sugar, eggs, milk and juice, with marshmallows.

I added in some baking soda and salt, but forgot about oil/butter. The cupcakes baked up, well, oddly. They weren't terrible, but they weren't quite right either. I think Cora learned a lesson about using recipes - she was disappointed that they weren't as yummy as she had envisioned.

We also spent a morning at Chuck E. Cheese for our friend Sophie's birthday. The girls especially enjoyed the motion-screen rollercoaster game.

 Stace and the girls harvested the rest of the peas, which we shelled for dinner. They were very good. But I do appreciate just buying a bag of frozen peas - it takes a while to shell enough for a meal!

We played outside with the Roberts a lot, into the evenings, as it's now light until 7:30 or so. It might be a challenge to get the kids in bed for school now that they've gotten used to playing outside after dinner.









OK, more of a normal-life photo than a spring break photo, but aren't they cute? I love my little family so much...

Wednesday of this week was a fun one - we started the morning at Scooter's Jungle for open play, and after lunch headed to the pool.

After Violet's nap, we bought Wendy's for dinner and met up with Genia, Jill and all the children at a park.

 On Thursday, we went to Juliana's house for lunch and playtime. Maya's back in school, so we walked together to pick her up. After lunch, their neighbor friend Gracie came over and the girls played together and made lemonade.

On Friday evening, we went to Central Park after dinner, since we needed to pick up my mom's new car at her house to take it to our house. She was in a car wreck a few weeks ago and Stace is helping tidy up her new car, since her old one was totaled.

Anyway, after the park, we stopped by a new place for dessert - Rita's Ice Custards. So good - the custard was like a richer, creamier ice cream.

On Saturday night, Stace put up the tent for another bit of fun for the girls.

Kidspace!

 We celebrated the final day of our TWO-WEEK spring break with fun at Kidspace children museum in Pasadena.

My friend Melanie lives nearby and is a member, so she and little Heather invited us to meet them (and get us in free under their membership).

What a great place! Hard to believe I have a six-year-old and this was my first time here.

Even though we have trikes and bikes at home, the girls spent quite a while on the track on three wheels.

 One of the exhibits teaches about bugs, with various large insects and spiders on display. Other outdoor exhibits teach various physics lessons, with hands-on learning opportunities.

 Here, Violet uses a "see-er" (magnifying glass) to inspect a geode. (She also, copying Owen, calls toy guns "shooters.")











An archeology section lets the children look through sand to find "fossils," using paint brushes.




















 Several water features allow the kids to cool off. Fun, fun! The museum is near the Rose Bowl, next to a big park and playground, where burned off even more energy before driving home.

We look forward to meeting Melanie and Heather here again!

Easter blessings

We enjoyed a lovely Easter Sunday with family and friends. After church, we talked with our family in England, and then we went to Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty's house.

Melanie and Nick and the Roberts family also made the drive to Ventura; my parents are in New York this week so they couldn't make it.






A fantastic ham-and-lamb dinner feast awaited us; lamb is Bill and Patty's long-standing Easter tradition, since Jesus was the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."










After dinner, the children painted eggs, hunted for eggs outside, blew bubbles and worked on Cora's Ventura fairy house.

 To work off some of the dinner, we took a walk to the beach. Yes, my aunt and uncle are blessed to live just a few blocks from the sand!

These five might as well be cousins!

After our walk, it was time for dessert - homemade strawberry shortcake. More yum.
Stace, the girls and I spent the night - such a great Easter!