Friends Make Life Better

Our school's Foundation paid for this fun enrichment night - a Zoom painting party, with a guided art lesson, all supplies included.

Because the lesson took place the night before Melanie's birthday, Violet and I went over to their house for a painting/birthday celebration.
 

It was neat to see how all the children put their own artistic spin on the sea turtle.

With our children in some sort of schooling, JT and I were able to get together for breakfast for the first time since the craziness began.

We had breakfast in Montrose and then took a walk, and ended up in a high point in a park with this view of downtown Los Angeles. 

We ended our time together with afternoon coffee - perfect! 

We shared lemons from my parents' tree with our friend Jenn, and she gifted us this delicious lemon blueberry loaf. Oh my.

It didn't last long!

I sent Jenn this pic, and asked if she offered free refills.

Weekend Work and Play

Stace installed his finishing touches on our school library loft treehouse project this weekend. He had a great vision to finish off the nooks by facing the wood edges with what looks like tree bark. 

I'm biased, but I think it's stunning! The only slight trouble is, we don't know when students will be able to use it because of crazy Covid rules.

The project is dedicated to the family that passed away three years ago in a car crash; Saachi loved reading.

We celebrated by going out to lunch with Kelly and Yass on Sunday - haven't seen them since November, sadly! It's such a relief that indoor dining is open again. We went out for sushi, and Stace enjoyed everything he tried! 
 

Back to Big Bear!

The girls and I did something totally spontaneous over Spring Break. Our friend Jeff invited us to join them - the next day - on a short trip to the mountains to get in one more day of skiing. 

Stace couldn't drop work that quickly, but he was happy for the girls to ski again, so he was fine with us going. So, on Wednesday, Jeff and Jenn booked a house and we packed up and left!

The house we rented in Big Bear was amazing - since it was still available, and midweek, we got a great deal. It had a loft with some games for the kids, a hot tub on the deck and a SAUNA inside! I never knew I needed a sauna, but now, it will be on my list of must-haves in any rental house. 

(The night that Jeff and Jenn and I enjoyed the hot tub, it was of course chilly when we got out, and it was LOVELY to warm up in the sauna after our cold walk indoors!)
 

We had some wildlife, too - a child left the sunroof open in Jenn's car, and in the morning we saw raccoon prints on the outsides of the cars, and a mess of a leftover jam sandwich on a seat! This little guy was still hanging out across the street.

We also spotted a coyote on the street, and pretty Stellars Jays.

Jeff took Cora and the boys to Snow Valley, a different ski resort than the one we went to in March. This one was less fancy, and less expensive. The snow is now all man-made, since it's been a while since it snowed for real (and it's in the 60s in the day!).

Violet didn't want to go skiing, but then, for the last few months, she hasn't wanted to do much of anything that brings her out of the house. We tried to have her go, but she then got sick at the rental place, so I went and picked her up.

Cora really enjoyed her day. She and Zach were up and down the runs, all day long, since it was so empty on an April Thursday.

Here's Cora and Dylan. 

Cora tried some jumps - why not, it's her second time on skis! Once, she hurt her knee, and took some time to rest (and eat lunch). But she did land one once!

Cora took this from the top of the mountain - beautiful! It was surprising to see so much snow on some of the mountains, 

Meanwhile, Violet felt better after lying down for a while, and we three ladies went out for a wild burro hunt. Jenn's friend had told her about the wild burros, descendants from burro races in the 1950s.

Later, we enjoyed a charcuterie board in the backyard by the fire pit.

When everyone got home, Cora and the boys needed to relax - they were exhausted! We later played a little pre-dinner Trivial Pursuit.

We made a few stops on our way home Friday - a park with a zip line, a little nature walk and a part of Big Bear Lake with a cool-looking island.

It was a great couple of days! More memorable than sitting at home would have been. And we're happy Cora was able to ski again.

Return to the Magic!

After being closed for a year, Magic Mountain reopened this past week, just in time for Spring Break! Cora was so happy - she's been missing her thrill rides big time. 

The park is limited in capacity, so you have to book a reservation in advance. My mom booked for us, and you're allowed four slots per reservation. Violet didn't want to go, so I took her to Liana's house for the day. My mom, Cora, her buddy Zach and I spent the afternoon in the park on Tuesday.

After riding a few rides and drinking through their water bottles, the teens decided to try a Monster energy drink for the first time. I thought it was pretty nasty, but they enjoyed the caffeine/sugar burst of energy.

After riding the rides, which are at limited capacity and frequently wiped down, Cora and Zach spent some time in the carnival game section. This was a first for Cora, but Zach is a competitive kid and definitely enjoys the games.

Here, he's celebrating winning this round.

Zach played baseball, so he was able to smash two of the plates with ease. See the ball falling here, with pieces of plate? Cora didn't have any luck knocking the plates off, but she was better at the soccer game.

No surprise!

Big-time winners here, folks.

I look forward to more trips to Magic after school the next couple of months, as the junior high gets out at lunch time.
 

Easter Sunday

We celebrated Easter with church and family on Sunday, including a little backyard egg hunt. 

Here, Melanie is showing Eloise a tiny pompom chick toy.

Ellie also got to meet the mice properly - she touched Copper so gently, with one baby finger. So cute!

Violet took it upon herself to fill the eggs - it's lovely that she's still excited for egg hunts!

Such a cutie!

My dad recently found a bin of old photos and memorabilia from his parents, including this fabulous photo of newlywed Grandma and Grandpa and some of his Navy buddies. It was taken at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., but no date is listed. The friends signed it, and Grandpa wrote "Your undeserving husband Jerry." Grandma wrote, "me!!!" Such a great snapshot of young love in the early 1940s.

Dad also found a folder with Christmas letters they wrote to the family in Michigan not long after they moved to California in the 1960s. I deeply enjoyed reading my Grandma's humor as she updated their loved ones on their lives, including my elementary-school-aged Dad.

Stace and Lisa at Easter, 2021

I convinced Violet and Cora to wear dresses to church, since it was Easter Sunday. And I even managed to get a photo back home, before Cora changed back into her normal clothes.

They get along so well most of the time! Emphasis on "most."

Home Improvements - In Progress

We've had thoughts of changing Violet's room for a few months now, and this week I saw two great deals on Facebook Marketplace for a bed and bookcase.

So, over the weekend, we began the process of dismantling her room and starting fresh. 

First, a few "before" pictures...

We cleaned up the furniture she was using and I was able to sell it on Facebook, too. This came from Stacey's bedroom in England! It had a long and useful life with us...
 

Here's Violet's new captains bed, with drawers underneath for her clothes and a cubby with a door where she's keeping her shoes. Stace modified her shelf, adding the hooks from her other shelf. We'll stain it to match the bed, and put it up close enough to her bed for her to use it for her glasses and a water cup and book.

And here's the new bookshelf. She wanted to put her stuffed animals on top, like Nan has her bears on her wardrobe. The mice fit on a shelf, so the cats can't jump on top of the cage anymore. And her fish is on the smaller bookshelves in the window area.

More changes to come...stay tuned!

We also have spent some time in the corner of the yard, one of the last places we haven't improved in the 12 years we've lived here.

Stace and the girls worked to take out the big push and clear out the weeds behind it, making room for...

...this sweet pomegranate tree.

Nearly done! The tree looks like a bush for now, but they are supposed to love our climate and grow quickly. We have the weed barrier in place, and are determined to start using the composter again now that it's easier to get to. Next step, adjust the sprinkler system and put down mulch.

Another Return to School!

The girls were definitely due for haircuts - they both had slight trims at the end of summer, well over six months ago.

That's better!

We finally returned to church, for the first time since Christmas Eve and the second time since the world shifted last March. L.A. County's Covid numbers are low enough that the sanctuary reopened in March. We chose to sit outside, far enough from other people that we could take off our masks.

It filled my heart to look over and see Violet snuggled into her sister's lap. If you know Cora, you know she's not a snuggly kid, but she didn't push her sister away. Seriously, these two hardly ever fight anymore. I love their relationship!

On Monday, Cora made her long-awaited return to her junior high campus. All year, the district has had a block schedule for junior high and high school, with three longer classes per day. She starts at 8 and ends at 12:15 - and now, on Mondays and Tuesdays, she goes in-person. (Everyone is online only on Wednesdays, and the second half of the alphabet is allowed to attend Thursdays/Fridays.)

It's not anything like last year - no brunch or lunch to hang out, her good friends aren't there the days she's there, and you're supposed to keep your distance and wear a mask all day. But, considering we feared she wouldn't make it back to her junior high at all before promoting in June, we'll take it!

She said it's definitely a better learning environment to be in the classroom, with fewer distractions. But she does miss her friends. I'm hoping hard that the district will relax a bit, and allow the students who want to attend in person, to attend every day instead of two days per week. 

We received the wonderful news that Violet's district will return to a normal, full-day schedule on April 19!

Violet has been creative again, lately. Here is her painting of a dragon's eye, surrounded by scales, and a seawing dragon, in the ocean.