Sports Weekend

 For the past four or five years, we (the leaders) of my moms' group have hoped to put together a couples' night with free babysitting.

Finally, this weekend we made it happen. We arranged a few of our childcare workers to come in on a Saturday evening, and more than two dozen of us headed out to the bowling alley.

Here is Stace's team - Christina, Adam, Audra and Luis...

...and here is mine. No, Rigo was not on my team. I was bowling with Tony, Sara, Patrice and Geoff.

It was so much fun, lots of laughter and playing around, like we were the kids again. I hope we can do this once a semester in the future.

Also this week, Cora has started with a new soccer league, and Stace is coaching her team. Here, he meets the players for the first time at practice.

At the second practice, the players were given their uniforms; they are the Blue Sharks.

Stace has a mix of children who've never played the game, and some who have a few years' experience.

He's taking his role very seriously, spending hours already planning out what to teach at each practice. Though he's managed teams before, this is his first time dealing with 8- to 10-year-olds. The league will have 10 games.

BLUE IS THE COLOR!

Week in Review

This week, we celebrated Swoops birthday with a tea party and snacks, set up by the tiny owl's best buddy, Violet. Here, Owletta enjoys her tea, while Swoops is face-first into her own.

On Monday night, Violet woke up while Stace and I were still up, and sadly her dinner didn't agree with her. After getting rid of the offending food, she spent her night curled up on a towel and rug, with her pillow, Swoops and a bowl on hand.

Thankfully she was perfectly fine in the morning, and no one else in the family got sick.

On Tuesday, we had a Mom2Mom leadership meeting. These three clowned around afterwards, enjoying candy from the church office.

Liana has developed quite a sense of style. She loves flowers, layers, fluffy skirts, and mismatched shoes and socks.

Notice the Beanie Boo under her arm - the obsession is spreading! Be afraid, Colleen. Be very afraid.

On Thursday, we had a park playdate with JT, Callie and Jonah. The girls brought their bike/scooter for some fun around the playground.

On Friday, between Cora's field trip and Bingo Night, we headed over to Valencia Pediatrics for Cora's 8-year well check. She is just about 49 inches, putting her in the 22nd percentile, and her weight ranked in the 32nd percentile.

Much to Cora's joy, she did not need any vaccinations. This news almost made up for the indignity of having to wear a paper gown. (She outright refused to put it on, but eventually relented.)

School Fun

Cora's school had a number of fun events this week that I got to take part in.

On Monday morning, we celebrated Dr. Seuss Day with an hour of math and reading activities.

Cora and I got to play tic-tac-toe with green eggs and ham markers.

On Tuesday morning, Stace met us at the school for a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, held in the cafetria for 1st and 2nd graders and their families. It was packed!

Cora's friend Sam sat with us, on the floor since the tables were all taken. It was the first time the school has tried this, and I'd say it was a hit.

On Friday, we had our annual walking field trip to College of the Canyons to watch a children's performance. Since I like walking and I like hanging out with Cora and her school friends, I'm always happy to chaperone for this one.







 Yes, it's a LOT of children crossing these wide SClarita streets.

I was lucky to find an empty seat Friday, and got to stay in and watch the show. It was a musical group, playing old American music from the blues, Appalachian, bluegrass and cajun styles. They were excellent, teaching the children about the music and the instruments, some of which I'd never seen or heard of before.

On Friday night, we had our second annual Bingo Night, with the proceeds benefiting the school's foundation.

Like last year, we had an Italian theme, with a catered pasta dinner.








And, like last year, Cora, Sophia and Tyler stayed together all evening, playing anddoing their best to find the right letter/number combination.

Oh, the pressure! Cora was really hoping to win one of the best prizes for me - a Nespresso coffee maker. She was so disappointed to not win that game!








Cora's disappointment in no way rivaled her sister's, though.

Poor Violet. Each and EVERY game, she experienced a roller coaster of emotions. The joy of finding the right number to mark off, the annoyance at not having that number, and the gut-wrenching pain of loss when someone else yelled, "Bingo!" She burst into sobs multiple times, the amusement of all the grownups around her.

Still, despite Violet's sadness, our family had a great night, and we remain so happy to be part of this school community.

Violetisms

I have a collection of random Violet photos and Violetisms that need to be shared.

Such as this, said on a recent drive home: "Oh, I like that blue minivan. When I'm older I'm going to have a minivan. Then I'll have lots of kids, so I can stuff them into my minivan."

(Please notice how Violet's owl friend Swoops is safely buckled in next to her.)

The preschool letter of the week was "Y," and the animal letter friend was a yak. While having a snack of "prencils," Violet proudly showed me how she had written, "YAK."

Then, she made her pretzels into cat whiskers.

When Cora was home sick for a week, the togetherness had become too much. Violet came up to me and asked for help writing, "I don't like you."

I've been paying Violet in dimes for completing her chores. She said the other day, "I really want to trade for a big green thing. (Pause.)
"A real dollar. And that has George Washington on it, our president, right?"

Speaking of national symbols, Violet was waving around her little Union Jack, courtesy of the Sun newspaper back around the time of the Queen's Jubilee.
Violet said that when Miss Lorrie's flag (pole) breaks, she can use Violet's flag. Not sure how the other parents would feel about their children pledging allegiance to the United Kingdom, though.

I noticed that Violet had a stack of books in her room near her bookcase, and suggested she put them away.
"But that's how I get into the playroom!" she answered.

(Never fear, grandparental types, the stack is put away and she's been warned that she is to use doors, not windows!)

Violet happened to take a rare car nap the other day, after an afternoon playdate out of SClarita. Predictably, that night she was up until nearly 10. I heard her calling out to me, "Mommy, I can't go to sleep."
"Talk to your animals, then," I suggested.
"But my animals are tired and can go to sleep!"

And, speaking of that...
Violet interrupted Stacey, who said, "Violet, what should you do when I'm speaking?"
"Be quiet."
"And what else," he prompted (hoping for the answer "listen").
But she said: "Sleep!"

Violet and her preschool friends have been very excited about their upcoming birthdays. In fact, Violet has gotten into a little trouble for not containing her enthusiasm when the time has come to be quiet.

This was the conversation she had with me the other day on our drive home: "Is Caleb's house close to Norah's house? Because I'm inviting him to my birthday, at Norah's house. ... I told him it's going to be a dragon party. Austin was screaming, because he loves dragons."

This was all big news to me. Since then, she's changed her mind. The party will be at our house, and it will be a zoo/animal facts/Wild Kratts party. With a trip to the park to play. With all her preschool friends. And another list of friends.

I'll end with this... Cora, you probably know, is a great eater and loves salad. Violet, well, she's learning. After pulling her one piece of lettuce out of her chicken burger, she declared, "My tummy says 'no' to the salad."

Weekend Fun

 On Saturday, after soccer we ran some errands together as a family, and then went home for lunch.

Then it was time for Cora and me to get ready for Sophia's 8th birthday party. We met up with Sophia's family at Jump 5150, where the kids jumped to their hearts content.

 We went back to Sophia's house for cake, dinner and more playtime.

 Meanwhile, Stace took Violet out to run another errand, with a stop at Starbucks for a cake pop. She loves these things, and seems to get one with Grandpa whenever he picks her up from preschool when I'm helping in Cora's class.

 After Stace tinkered a bit on his MGB, he and Violet got an early start on our evening fun at the Rosales house. Colleen and Rigo invited our group of friends over for dinner; the kids all have fun playing while the adults chat, eat and drink.

 On Sunday, after church in the evening we went out to dinner at a new sandwich shop called Firehouse Subs. Violet was happy to take her plastic firefighter helmet, while Cora politely declined.

Our big 8-year-old might be too old for a plastic hat, but Owletta and Lavender needed to come to the dinner table with us. Love this phase!
(Lavender joined our family Saturday, as a party favor from Sophia's party.)

Bowling Field Trip

Violet's preschool class learned about how to have a healthy heart this month, and capped off the unit with a bowling field trip Friday. While Miss Lorrie, Elena and Will check out the scoreboard, Violet prepares to take her turn.

The gutters were in constant use, as the children bounced their balls toward the pins. We had to frequently call for help to retrieve stuck balls.

 Such exhilaration!

 Violet shows Elena how her newest clip friend, Swoops, can fly.

In the end, Violet won her foursome! I wasn't sure if I should share this information with her; when I did, she immediately shouted, "I beat you, Gabriel!"

For fun, here's a look at Cora's turn bowling when she was in Miss Lorrie's class.

Relaxed Week

 Poor Cora. After her sinus infection failed to improve, and the antibiotic failed to kill off her fever, she woke up Sunday with a much deeper cough.

We knew it had probably turned into pneumonia, so we got into the walk-in doctor's office just after 8 a.m.

Sure enough, it was in her lungs, so she received a breathing treatment and a prescription for a stronger antibiotic.

Since she had a fever, we also knew we'd be missing church again, and missing school again on Monday. I won't complain about getting up early for school mornings any time soon!

 While we were at the doctor's office, Violet had a great time playing with her sister's new Lakeside Lodge. The girls have had such fun playing with their Calico Critters, and some new things they've received this month.

But, Cora plays differently than Violet, preferring to set up the tiny pieces perfectly. She considers Violet's play style "ruining" her hard work, and prefers Violet not to touch the Lakeside Lodge.

Violet also has been playing home school, and I've been her teacher a few times, while Cora was too busy reading.

She gets very excited each and every time she is selected to be "special helper," squealing with joy, her smile filling her face. This, despite the fact that, as the only student, she is the only option to serve as special helper... Such a funny girl.

 Our home was very safe, with these superheroes in capes, eating popsicles.

I'm now reading Little House in the Big Woods to Violet. We've read the book through a couple of times to Cora over the years, but this is Vi's first time to hear it as an older child.

On Wednesday, Cora was back at school but when I went in to volunteer, she asked to go home to rest. So, we read Little House on the Prairie for an hour together. I'm so thankful to be home for my girls, especially when they're not feeling well.
(I'm also thankful Cora is better, and back to school!)

Day at Sea

 Cora's birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa was a whale-watching boat ride. They bought a ticket for Violet, too.

Sadly, when the day came, Cora was still sick and unable to go. They'll try to pick another date and go again, but this weekend, Violet got to see the whales on her own.

Here, she and Grandma are checking out some baleen, which a volunteer from the whale-watch crew showed around.

Violet got to see sea lions and even Pacific Gray Whales, on their migratory path south to Mexico.

 Look! Is that a whale?

Two beautiful curly-haired ladies!

Some day, Stace and I will have to make this trip, too!

While Violet was out at sea, I went to see Melanie for a gathering of the bridesmaids. We ate, drank and made merry, and we also made the cutlery bundles pretty for the wedding. Mel has a number of projects she's working on for the wedding, and she's organized enough to be getting quite a few of them completed early.

Week In Review

Cora had a four-day weekend because of two holidays honoring President Lincoln and President Washington.

Because Violet had preschool on Friday, Cora and I had a morning date; time alone with her is always so special. She picked out a carrot bundt cake, in honor of her birthday. We ate it near the mall play area, and she then played a bit before we did a little shopping.

 We then picked up Violet, who had enjoyed a Valentine's party and card exchange.

 While at the mall, we looked at bedding for Cora's room. We didn't find any, but on Monday evening we found a perfect quilt for her at Homegoods.

The cats like it too, thankfully.













Little did we know when Cora's long weekend started, that her break from school would extend a full week.

On Sunday, she caught the sickness that Violet and Stace battled for weeks, and maintained a low fever off and on for days. It was just high enough to ensure she couldn't return to school. She also was coughing a lot.

We went to the doctor on Thursday, and the illness had turned into a sinus infection. He prescribed her an antibiotic, so hopefully she'll be back to herself soon.

In the meantime, she's been reading for hours on end, watching the children's program "What's In The Bible" with Violet online, and playing Calico Critters.