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.

Dodgers in Arizona

We made our now-annual trip to Arizona this past weekend, to see the Dodgers and spend time with our friends Sara and Tony.

This year, middle daughter Emily gave up her room for us and gave us a lovely welcome. (She and Cora shared the couches in their bonus room, while Violet shared Alli's room.)

We left home around 11:30 and got in around 8: 30, after stopping several times and dropping my parents off at their hotel. Siting down with chips, salsa and wine with our friends felt so good!

We were out for the Dodgers' final Spring Training game at Camelback Ranch on Saturday. 

The weather was beautiful - warm but not too hot, with a gentle breeze.

Emily is very close to 14 now, and she and Cora had fun together.

Hi, Megan!

We learned a good lesson - don't go to the Dodgers' final game at Camelback. Just two normal starters were in the lineup, while the rest were on their way back to Los Angeles for the start of the Freeway Series, the last few training games against the Angels.

Still, it was a pleasant afternoon, and the girls got an autograph from a minor leaguer.

After the game, we made our traditional stop at QuikTrip for cheap drinks and slushies.
Then, it was back to Sara and Tony's for dinner, pool and playtime.

Tidbits

 After Trivia Night, Cora went to Vivian's house for a birthday sleepover, while Stace went to play a late-night soccer game and Christina came over to chat and celebrate a successful event. On Saturday, we all were TIRED.

But, we had a Mom2Mom family meetup planned at Placerita Canyon, so off we went. It was a beautiful day, and there was lots of water in the stream.

 We got to hang out with some friends, including Colleen and Rigo.

We rested most of the rest of the day. On Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, we cleaned up the back yard a bit, and then had Kelly, Yass and the boys over for corned beef and cabbage.

At the PTSA meeting on Wednesday morning, Cora provided the "s," or "student," in PTSA. Because she is the Student Council president, she gave a brief report on what the council has been up to. Sitting next to Cora is Mrs. Dobry, another 6th grade teacher.

And speaking of Student Council, Cora presided over a meeting on Friday, when they were given their new council T-shirts. I stole this photo from the school's Facebook page.

Cora's Aerial Fun

 I had a great time at Miss Cheryl's house doing my aerial acrobatics. It was so fun to get back into it after a long time of not participating. I had to remember everything that I had been taught before, which was kind of difficult, but all in all I had a great time.

In this picture, I'm doing a move called Arrow Good Times. There are lots of different steps to this move, and many of them are difficult, but I've aced it so far.

 This move I'm doing is a bird, which is a double wrap flip-over, where you have to go upside down to get into the move. You have to have a lot of core strength, so Miss Cheryl sometimes has to boost me up.

 This is one of my favorite moves, because when you go upside down, you get to see the world from an entirely different perspective. This one is called "Peter Pan." Before positioning myself into the move, I have to tie a knot into the silk (behind my knees in the photo) and hoist myself up.

This is me and my wonderful teacher Miss Cheryl. I loved meeting up with her after a long break - thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for paying for me to have a lesson!

Trivia Night: Winner, Winner, Pasta Dinner

On Friday night, we had our annual dinner/family fun night at the school, the one I have organized the past three years.

This year, we couldn't play bingo, because the local PTA was informed about a law banning minors from being present with gambling. So, I switched gears and created a Trivia Night, using questions submitted by the teachers. That way,the students, including the younger ones, would have a shot at getting the answers.

We had teenaged helpers again, serving food from Presto Pasta.

Kelly and Yass were our MCs, and you can see all the prizes to the left. We raffled off more than two dozen prizes off at the end of the night, and people could either buy raffle tickets or win them by answering questions correctly.

Here's Jake, Shayan, Sophia, Trent and Cora - all their parents were very helpful with the event. 

It was so fun listening to the kids eagerly discuss different answer possibilities, and then celebrate when the correct answers were read out. There was a definite buzz in the room!

We had about 90 people attend.

The buzz continued when the prizes were raffled off. 

Christina won a family prize pack of free kids meals and pottery painting.

At the end of the night, Kelly pulled the winning ticket out for the grand prize, a $50 gift card to the mall. Lo and behold, Jake won it!

At the end of the night, Kelly pulled the winning ticket out for the grand prize, a $50 gift card to the mall. Lo and behold, Jake won it!

It was a fun evening, and of course, I was very glad when it was all over. It's fun helping put on an event, but I'm always glad to have them finished. This is probably my last school event like this, because I won't have Jen to help gather prizes next year. Trent will be in junior high.

Learning Fun

 Just another "awwwww" moment to brighten your day.

 Cora attended a science GATE event organized by the school district on Thursday evening. The students were tasked with creating a four-story structure that could withstand 20 seconds of shaking - in other words, an earthquake.

Cora started off working with other children at her table, but then decided to go it alone.

 Ms. Packer came over to say "hello" and lend a hand.

There's one more GATE night scheduled, and that might be the end of my GATE parenthood - Violet has decided she doesn't want to take the GATE test. Not that we would be sure she would have passed it anyway...

 Speaking of Violet, she did a great job at the annual third grade Wax Museum. She researched and portrayed scientist Marie Curie, and we all learned a lot about the Nobel Prize-winning discoverer of radium.

 Cora and a few other older siblings were allowed to come out and listen to the presentations.

This is such a fun and special day each year! So many different personalities represented, from current day to way back in the ancient past.

Friday and Saturday Fun

 Now that we're officially a Marvel Family, Cora and I were very excited to watch Captain Marvel when it opened. Violet decided she'd rather wait to see it at home, so we took Jake and Charlie with us. Char is there - look hard.

We loved this movie! What a great, strong female lead character.

The boys came over to play after the movie - these three have so much fun together.

 Cora finished her frame project, and we printed pics to put in them - her favorite friends! Vivian on the left, Violet on the right, and Jake and Char in the middle.

Friday night, I met up with my mom and dad at our new music venue, the Canyon, and watched the veteran star Gordon Lightfoot perform his hits. I grew up on his music and saw him 20 years ago, so it was special to see him again.

My dad took the photos for the Canyon - what a great shot, Dad! Thanks for working for free tickets for us! Gord sounded different from his heyday of course, but performed ably and had a great presence.

On Saturday, Stace, Violet and I drove up to Santa Barbara so Stace could stop in at Moss Motors, an MG parts manufacturer and showroom. He'd bought something a few months ago that wasn't quite right. 

After making the return, Violet and I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, while Stace went to a drag racing event.

 Vi and I had a lovely day together! (Cora was spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and doing an aerial class.)

 The Fennec Fox was awake! So cute.

Sliding down the hill is always fun at this zoo.

 On our way back home, we met up with Michelle, Rob and Brooke in Ventura for dinner. After eating, the dads and daughters played around, doing track and field activities.

 Always good to see Michelle!

Quite a long jump, Stace! He and Rob always have a good time together, too.

Tidbits

 Cora and I celebrated a successful 12-year well check on Wednesday with lunch at McDonalds. It was going to just be a quick ice cream, but turned into a full lunch - and why not? I love one-on-one time with this young lady.

She is quite the young lady now - she's grown 2 1/2 inches in a year, and 1 1/2 in the last six months, judging by the height chart we mark on her wall. That's quite a growth spurt, considering her mom and dad's size. Her 57 1/4 inches put her in the 21st percentile. She's also gained about 15 pounds in a year, and is in the 44th percentile there.

Violet also saw the doctor this week, her bimonthly trip to see Dr. Lavin, the endocrinologist. She's now  49 5/8 inches, a full inch taller than at her appointment two months ago. She's grown six inches since starting her treatment! Amazing. She's now up to the 12th-15th percentile.

 On Friday, I picked the girls up from school and we made another trip to Anaheim, in what could be our final Friday after-school trip for a long time, maybe forever.

It was crowded enough that we didn't get in any of the "major" rides, but since we've been so often lately, that was alright.

We did another Animation Academy - Tigger this time...

 ...and took a ride around Tom Sawyer's Island on the Mark Twain steamboat. I can't remember ever having done this attraction before, though the girls have with Grandma and Grandpa.

We also watched a sweet new show at the Golden Horseshoe cafe...

...and rode the Disney train around the park. It was the little things, on this particular day.
We were all ready to go home by 8, and were home before 9:30. Kind of a different Disney day, but fun nevertheless.

I'll look back on these days wistfully, I know. I love these girls.

Violet enjoyed a playdate with Liana on Saturday, and it warmed my heart to hear them creating a very involved Calico Critter world.

Cora has pretty much outgrown playing like this, and Violet will play with her Lego dragons, but I don't usually hear her making them talk. So, Saturday's playtime was special. Just stay little!

Cora spent the day at Jake and Char's, after seeing a movie with them and their parents in the afternoon.

Cora is experimenting with her hair. She's growing it out, and her friend Vivian told her that she braids her hair when it's wet to make it curlier. So, here's curly-haired Cora, after nighttime braids.