Happy Retirement, Dad

For 50 years or so, my dad has worked bloody hard.

He grew up a young man working on his Mum and Dad's farm. He worked for his Uncle Brian on his withey farm, growing and harvesting willow for the wicker industry in all seasons and weathers. It was very hard, manual and dirty work.

He worked in the building trade for a while, and then for Harry Hebditch, a local manufacturer of cedar wood buildings. Eventually the company went under, at which point Dad found a job in another Martock company, Jani-Jacks. He worked in different departments of the light engineering company for many years.
He would complain about that job every single night. But, every morning, he would get up and go back to work.

He left Jani-Jacks and went to work for a former manager at a start-up company in the same industry, janitorial cleaning equipment. It’s from Crisp-Clean he retired this past week.

My Dad was never out of work. By example, he taught my brother and me that we should work hard every day, and that we should always do our best, even if we have to do something we don’t enjoy.

He worked hard so his wife could stay at home and look after his two sons. To bring in more income, after work on summer evenings, he'd help local farmers during the hay-making season. (This, he did enjoy.)

He was, and still is, always working on something. On weekends he would work on the house, doing repairs, DIY projects, cars repairs… you name it, he did it - and he still does.

So, now that he’s retired, he can work full-time on just the things he wants to, working for himself at long last.

Thanks, Dad, for all you did and still do for us all.

Cheers!

 

Vasquez Rocks Field Trip

For our second-graders, it had been two years since they'd last boarded a bus, bound for a fun-filled field trip.

Last year, they walked to COC for a play, and they did so this year, too, but there is something awesome when you're a child about boarding that bus and taking off with all your friends.


Because the students have studied geology this year, we took them to Vasquez Rocks. Cora's class started with the interpretive center and a short video.

Then we took off on one of two hikes. Here, Cora is inspecting lichen on a rock.

Cora got new glasses the evening before this trip, and she was happy to wear them and show them off to all her classmates. They will hopefully help her not get so many headaches in class.

I'm so blessed to be able to do all these trips with my girls.

We found several spots worthy of a group photo.

After the hikes, we gathered for an animal show. The employee brought out this gopher snake, and several birds of prey.

The red tail hawk was gorgeous, so regal. We were told the bird's grip with its talons can be strong enough to break bones in a handler's hands; hence the leather gloves!

The barn owl was cute too - here's a photo for you, Owletta. We also saw an American kestrel.

Lunchtime was out on benches. Cora, Vivian and all of us lucked out with the weather - it was cool, perfect for hiking.

Genia's Here!

I've joined the 21st Century, and now have a smart phone. The best part, of course, is the entertainment the girls get from the phone's camera while we're out and about.

These cute pics come from the trip to a used/resale clothing store in Ventura. We went there Monday after school, when Genia came in for a visit(!).

We then had dinner with Bill and Patty, and Genia admired all the work they've done to their home in the two years since she was there last.

 Having Genia over to stay was fantastic, and it was wonderful to get caught up on life.

On Tuesday morning, she got to see some of her other friends at our final Mom2Mom meeting of the year. Here, we're all standing and dancing along to a cute video honoring moms, since Mother's Day was two days prior.

 I'm very sad that this was Violet's last time experiencing her Mom2Mom Tuesday mornings with Liana! They have been together every meeting in the children's program, for their entire five years.

 Next year, Liana will be away, in kindergarten. Violet will also be in kinder, of course, but because her school starts at 11, she will still go to Mom2Mom for the first 90 minutes or so.

Here is part of her group, with Miss Karen, who has done an outstanding job running the program and leading the 4-year-old class. I love the Bible stories and crafts the children do.

 After Mom2Mom, Genia, Violet and I went to Lazy Dog for lunch and to catch up with Melanie.

Violet and Cora both love their Miss Genia - enough so that they forgave her for coming again without her children. Violet was eager to play tic-tac-toe with Genia.

Later on Tuesday, we went to Violet's t-ball practice and then had Thai Pepper (a Roberts' favorite) for dinner in the back yard. It was a lovely evening, made even better when she and I ran out to Ralphs for fancy ice cream for dessert.

On Wednesday, we walked to school all together, and then I left to take Violet to preschool and meet up with Cora's class on their field trip to Vasquez Rocks. Genia, meanwhile, relaxed with a massage and lunch.

We spent another couple of hours together in the afternoon, and then she was whisked off to LAX. Until June, my dear friend, when we invade Billings again!

Mother's Day

I came home from helping in the church nursery Sunday morning to a real surprise. Stace and the girls offered to take me out to Starbucks on Mother's Day, but when we arrived, the line went to the door. So, instead, they blindfolded me and led me several miles away, all the while trying to throw me off about where we might be heading.

 We parked somewhere, and Cora helped me out of the car and led me, still unable to see where we were. I opened my eyes after being helped to sit on a cold concrete bench - we were back at Placerita Canyon! And before was spread a beautiful continental breakfast of croissants, danishes, grapes and strawberries.

 It was the perfect setting for a lovely surprise breakfast with the family.













I had gifts, too - homemade cards, and a pressed-flower picture Cora has been planning for weeks. She is a sweetheart, and very creative.

After eating, we walked up to the nature center, and had another look at all the animals and displays. We also went into the gift shop, where we bought a laminated foldout bird guide, and the girls bought pretty beaded shark-teeth necklaces.

On the walk back, we stopped in front of the Walker cabin for a quick photo.

Later in the day, we talked to our family in England, relaxed, went to church, and then out to dinner.










Dinner was at Lazy Dog, of course, so our favorite waitress could celebrate Mother's Day with her mama, and mine, too. Good times!

Fun With Friends

We had a fun Friday afternoon with Patrice, Emily, Charlie and Tommy coming over for lunch and playtime.

Patrice and I caught up and organized our coupons, while the children played.

Cora and Emily melted some white chocolate to dip frozen banana chunks into. It was a creative idea and turned out yummy.

I just should have explicitly warned Cora against leaving the metal spoon in the bowl as she was melting the chocolate in the microwave... Oops. The microwave still works, thankfully!

On Saturday evening, after the t-ball games and Cora's soccer, and a bit of time at home, we went to Mom2Mom's annual family picnic.

This time around, we held the picnic at the church, so we could rent a big bouncer and relax, since the property is fenced. We also catered the dinner through Stone Fire. It was a very fun evening with our friends.













Somehow, my EIGHT-year-old got herself stuck in the baby swing.
One of her 10-year-old friends helped her by bringing a chair for her to stand on. Lord knows I wasn't going to throw my back out trying to pick her up!
















The men had fun with ping pong and table soccer in the church's youth room.

T-Ball Games Begin!

 Just look at her! So cute...

Violet and her Dodgers teammates had their first game - actually a double-header, so two games - on Saturday morning.

Because there are only three teams in the league, every third week, one of the teams plays two games back-to-back.

On Opening Day, Violet's team played the Angels first and then the Red Sox, whose socks were not red. (This was a big point of discussion in the dugout.)

 Violet was very excited for her games to begin.

The teams did not play a normal baseball game with innings and outs. Instead, each team took a turn having each player bat, by hitting off the tee and then running to first base.








Each batter ended up moving ahead base-to-base, and when the last batter came up, all the runners ran around and touched each base.

Parent helpers were all over the place, for the batters and fielders. Cora was assigned to help at second base, encouraging the children to run from first to second, and then from second to third.

I coached at third base, and Stace, as the official assistant coach, was helpful everywhere.

When it was time to field, the children took turns playing different positions.

Violet started out at first base, which she loved. The first baseman is the most important position at this level, because every player who fields a ball attempts to throw it to first.

She really wanted to go back to first base when other players took a turn there.


She also liked fielding the ball, and got a little grumpy when she wasn't able to do so.

After the game, the children cheered for the opposing team, and then lined up to give high-fives to the other team's players.














"Good game. Good game. Good game. Goodgamegoodgame..." (That's what you say to each opponent as you slap their hand.)











The dugout was fun too, with the players goofing off.

During a break between the games, Coach Mike taught Cora how to properly swing a baseball game. When she got the hang of it, she was blasting Stace's soft tosses.

Cora is expressing interest in trying out softball, so maybe we'll look into that for the fall.

Preschool Mother's Day Fun

Oh my goodness. I love her so!

Violet's preschool class offered the moms a Mother's Day surprise on Friday.

They sang three songs, and with the last (see video below), presented us with a flower.

I received this gorgeous hand-painted portrait from my budding artist. The likeness is astounding, I thought!

OK, maybe I'm slightly exaggerating, but look at HER gorgeous face! She was smiling ear-to-ear throughout the presentation of songs and gifts.

Apparently I love cleaning my kitchen. Interesting. You have these people living with you for five years, and yet they seem to hardly know you!
Poor thing though - she must deduce that from the fact that some evenings, I say I can't snuggle with her any longer, because I must finish cleaning up the kitchen.















These are some of the best moments of mommyhood. I'm so blessed to have my girls!

Week In Review

Our new Tuesday night tradition - not ice cream, but t-ball!

Violet is on a t-ball team - the Dodgers! - and her practices time is on Tuesday evenings.

In t-ball, the children players hit off a plastic "tee," and everyone runs to the first base.

The defense isn't exactly up for fielding the ball; in fact, in practice so far, the children haven't even been taught fielding yet. They are working on throwing toward first base, though.

Stace is helping the coach out; so much so, he was named assistant coach and will have his own uniform t-shirt! Yes, my Englishman is coaching the American pasttime. Too funny.

Here's Violet with Coach Mike, after throwing the ball. So far, Violet is enjoying her t-ball experience very much.

On Thursday night, we were expecting sprinkles so we brought in the patio cushions. Violet saw her little foldout beach chair, and thought we should have a beach day in the house. The cushions are the sand. We had fun with this, pretending to spot dolphins and pelicans out in yonder playroom: "Look! That pelican just picked up a dolphin from that pod of 40 dolphins!"


Also this week, we moved our chrysalises into the butterfly net habitat, while we await their emergence. Morgan gave this as a present to Violet, and included the mail-order set of five tiny caterpillars. We have enjoyed watching them so far and can't wait for our Painted Lady butterflies!

And, out in Mockingbird Bush, we are the proud owners of three chicks. I realize the photo is hard to make out - it's dark in the bush and the flash was blinding them and washing out the photo. But you can see three grey things, with the yellow beaks.

So far, the cats have stayed on the ground under the bush, rather than making the easy climb up to investigate further.