Summer Fun

 On Monday, we had our long-awaited reunion with Maya, Natalia and Juliana. As usual, they were returning from a long summer trip to Brazil, and we had lots to catch up on.

The girls all played Minecraft, we ate lunch, and we spent some time in the pool.

 On Tuesday, we went to the Getty museum with Jen, Trent and Jack. Jen is an art history expert who loves the Getty, and I was disappointed to not make it to any art museums in Paris.

Additionally, we had a complimentary parking pass from Cora's 6th grade field trip to the Getty, so we used it on our return.

All the art exhausted poor Trent.

This was Violet's first trip, so I wanted to be sure she got a look at the beautiful gardens.

 No words needed!

 Violet's favorite painting of the day.

 Couldn't get them to copy the pose, but they're pretty cute anyway.

 Cora was complaining that there were so many dogs in the various paintings, but no cats. Then, we turned and looked, and there it was! Cora's new favorite painting.

 Looking over West L.A. after a fabulous lunch in the cafe.

 On Wednesday, Violet went to Victoria's house to play, while Cora and I met up with Kelly and the boys at the Aquatic Center. None of us had been for a few years, and it was nice to see the kids having fun in a place they loved as little kids.

Who knows, it might be the last trip to the Aquatic Center!

We all went to the beach together on Thursday, just didn't get any great photos of our day.

Sunday Beach Day

Stace had the brilliant idea of loading up the bikes and escaping the heat for the cooler bike paths of Santa Barbara. Basically, we recreated a bit of our date/getaway weekend last October, and parked the car in Montecito and rode to the harbor. 

We even ate at the same Japanese restaurant on the wharf. It was so yummy, and the view was perfect.

The tree at the harbor was calling to Cora... and she called to her dad to join her.

On our drive home, we were craving Padaro Beach Grill. While we waited for our food, the girls played hide-and-seek.  Do you see Cora, hiding behind the trash can? Violets about to find her!

Cora's turn to count. Run, Vi, run!

Someone got a hold of my phone!

Art Camp and Ice Skating

Violet took part in a half-day art camp this week, and she had a great time making 3-D projects. Here is the most intricate of the projects: a dragon marionette puppet.

Here's Violet with her teacher - there were only two girls in the class, so there was a lot of personalized attention. Violet's holding a clay mushroom she created and painted - so cute!

Another class the company held this week was on marine biology, with dissections each day. Violet was very intrigued, and hopes to take it in the future. On Friday, they brought in a touch tank, and Vi enjoyed this a lot.

While Violet did her class from 9 till noon, Cora and I binge-watched the Netflix series Stranger Things. There are now three seasons, and we enjoyed it a lot. Way too scary for Violet, though, so it was nice to watch without her home.

On Friday afternoon, we met up with some friends at the ice rink, a great activity when it's hot! Violet's friend Victoria and her mom came along...

...as did Vivian and Elaine. Violet ended up with a double-playdate - Liana had asked if she could come over, so I took her over to Colleen's after the ice-skating. And Jake and Char came over to swim with Cora in the evening. A fun summer Friday! 

Summer Crafting

We've been enjoying some lovely lazy summer days. Violet has kept busy by sewing up some of her stuffed animals that had acquired battle wounds.

All mended!

Violet took part in a ceramics painting class at the store in the mall this week. There were lots of classes to choose from on the flyer, but she liked this arrow wall hanging the best.

Jake and his family were on their vacation when we returned from ours, so he and Cora didn't see each other for over a month. They were happy to get back together when he was back in town.

All the stuffed animals were in the trampoline because Cora had to get them out of her closet, and we also had to vacuum all the carpets and couches because of the flea problem. Seb made himself at home with the animals - it reminded me of that scene in E.T. with E.T. surrounded by the toys.

Stace likes to preach about limiting screen time, and I don't disagree in theory. But, he learned a valuable lesson over the weekend about how Minecraft can be engaging for HOURS.

He was helping direct the girls into crafting a medieval English castle. I was lucky to be able to get them to break away in time to head to Ikea to buy the bookcase we needed for Cora's closet project.

Back Home: Week in Review

Once we were safely back home, Spence wanted to be sure we didn't repack our bags anytime soon!

 We went to Claim Jumper to use Stacey's birthday reward, and were fortunate to get a complimentary Motherlode chocolate cake (which lasted us all week!).

We took my dad out for the meal, to thank him for arranging the replacement of our water heater while we were away. Not long after we arrived in the UK, we learned that our neighbors discovered it had leaked all over the garage. Toni and John also were extremely helpful, and we gave them a special "thank you" as well.

These kitties always miss us, especially the girls.

Unfortunately, while we were away, the cats picked up fleas, and with no one living in the house full time with them, the problem went unnoticed and multiplied.

This ended up being a pretty big problem! Ugggh. Our first (and hopefully last) flea epidemic.

We still adore them, though.

 When Stace returned to work, he was thoroughly reminded of the American women's team's victory over England in the women's World Cup.

I'm glad he works with such fun people.

 Cora had her girlfriends over for a pool party on Tuesday.

Splash!

 And at the end of the week, we went to the beach with Jen, Trent, Jack and a couple of other friends. We had dinner at Padaro Beach Grill - yum!

On Sunday, we went to the Dude Perfect Pound It Noggin World Tour, an awesome family-friendly show that we bought Stace for his birthday. 

Dude Perfect have been internet sensations for years, with their YouTube shows with amazing sports trick shots. Stace and the girls love watching them, and this was their first live tour. 

Sometimes, you gotta love living near L.A., where it's so easy to catch shows like this.

The guys took party in silly challenges, and we all had a great time.

On our way to the Forum in Inglewood, we stopped at Ikea to look for closet ideas for Cora's room. Our project this summer will be redoing her closet, and she spent part of this week emptying it out.

To London, and Beyond

Our journey back to London was smooth, and we certainly recommend the Eurostar.

London was warm when we arrived! We walked around the redeveloped St Pancras area, where the Wimbledon tournament was being broadcast to fans on the banks of the Regent's Canal.

Stace read about this interesting used book store called Word on the Water, located in an old barge, and he knew Cora especially would love it. Sure enough, she found some books to buy.

Who's that lurking in the porthole mirror?

After lunch, we collected our big bag from the luggage storage facility, and jumped on the Tube for our trip to our Heathrow hotel.

We were lucky to get a few seats. The train car filled quickly with each passing stop, and we were crammed in like sardines. I was so pleased to see my girls reading their new book together, rather than playing on a screen, for most of the hour journey.

Our night at our favorite Premier Inn was uneventful, and we got off to the airport smoothly Friday morning. Don't you love the Terminal Five umbrella art display?

Soon enough,we were off, homeward bound. Another successful summer vacation in the books.

Au Revoir, Paris!

All too soon, Thursday morning came and it was time to pack up our hotel room for our final half-day in Paris, before catching the Eurostar back to London.

Our hotel room was sweet - teeny tiny bathroom, but plenty of space in the main room. I loved the stone wall and high ceilings. (We should have gotten pics when we first moved in, before it was full of our stuff, but these are better than nothing!)

We left our packed bags in the hotel and went out to enjoy our last morning, starting with a trip to Paul's bakery, which was the right choice. We didn't know it, but later, we saw that Paul's was in the major train stations even in London, and was a hugely 130-year-old successful chain.

We bought a lovely variety of pastries to share, including some savories for the train ride later.

Stace led us to Jardin du Luxembourg, a stunning collection of statuary, ponds and lawns where the French Senate meets in a 1612 palace.

Not a bad spot for breakfast.

Sad this one was blurry!

We then went back to the hotel, through this alleyway of ancient apartments, shops and restaurants. This one, Le Procope, is the oldest cafe in continuous operation, open since 1686. Intellectuals including Ben Franklin, Voltaire and Thomas Jefferson were among its patrons.

Then, it was on to the Metro and the train station, for our trip back to London. Paris, we loved you!