Sunday Adventure

We went on a mini adventure Sunday afternoon, and had lunch with Colleen, Rigo and Liana at a BBQ place out in Soledad Canyon, just past Canyon Country off the 14. 

The food was delicious and it's beautiful out there in the canyon, with the Santa Clara River flowing on the edge of the grounds.

It's called River's End BBQ, and they have this cool threshing machine Stace was intrigued by.

The pretty stream, which the girls had fun exploring.

Just past the stream was the railroad tracks.

The girls were making their own bridges over the stream.

Earlier that morning, the girls worked together to make crepes with banana sauce.

Tidbits

He is suave.

He is regal.

He is debonair.

He is Sebastian.

Although Cora has switched schools, we still support the theatre department at her old school...especially since I'm still on the booster board and organizing restaurant fundraisers. So, I picked up Panda Express to support the booster club this week.

Violet and I walked in Quigley Canyon and noticed a lot of scat with these large pale seeds. Later, we came across this bush full of red berries, and realized the animals - coyotes probably? - were eating them but not processing the pit. We did a little internet searching and learned they are chokecherries. 

On Saturday, we watched Ellie for a few hours and brought her up to Santa Clarita. Stace, Violet and I took her to Placerita Canyon, where amazingly there was still water in the river, in nearly October! 

Ellie had fun! 

Cora wasn't with us because she had TWO birthday parties to attend, one right after the other. That was a bit of a strange situation as Cora doesn't do a lot of social things other than D&D.
 

Fright Fest 2023

Cora and I ran over to Magic Mountain on Thursday after school to see our favorite witch.

It was the first Thursday Fright Fest of the season, and being it was still September, we figured it would be one of the least crowded times to be at the park.

We were right! We had a great time together, and were able to ride seven rides with basically no wait time.

 

I was happy to be out spending time with my girl, and thought this Oktoberfest photo opp was screaming out for our photo. Cora obliged, kind of.

Woodsy Walk

 We took a lovely after-church walk on Sunday, and Violet brought her camera. Such beauty every direction

These giant garden spiders are everywhere, too.

We had such a great trip! Thanks to Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill for a lovely respite from the grind.

Kayaking at Rattlesnake Lake

 After the car show, we headed out to Rattlesnake Lake, a beautiful spot to take out the kayaks.

Violet really enjoyed her time on the water, kayak and tree stumps.

With her new camera, she also took some great photos of a nearby chipmunk.

Such a great day! Perfect temperature, beautiful scenery, great company.

Car Utopia

Redmond has a fancy car show most Saturdays, and we chose to come up this particular weekend because it featured a special focus on English cars. 

So many cars!! Uncle Bill, William and Miles all walked around with Stace. You can see Uncle Bill  with his arms wide out, in the grey shirt, in this photo.

Stace was impressed with this 1930s era Formula 1 car that won the 1936 London Grand Prix. He said that you can see old news reel of it winning the race.

He also liked these Ariel Atoms, made in Crewkerne, Somerset.

We had nearly a full day in Redmond on Monday before flying home, and Will came over so the three guys could work on the Firebird. Stace got filthy!

Men doing manly things.

Redmond 2023!

Stace, Violet and I made a took a long-weekend trip to Redmond, to visit Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty, and for Stace and Uncle Bill to attend a fancy car show full of English specialty vehicles.

Violet was happy to miss school for two days, while Cora felt like she really couldn't miss rehearsal for her upcoming play. 

We had a great time, soaking up the last bit of Northwest warmth with a kayaking trip, hiking in the woods, and seeing the cousins.
 

Alison, Tyler and Lupin spent one of the nights, and Alison, Vi and Aunt Patty created watercolor artwork.

We had a firepit one evening, with Will, Anna and Miles.

I was happy there were still a few blackberries to pick.

These little guys are so fun to watch! What a blessing they have, growing up together.

Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty fed and watered us well!

Blackberry crisp with the fresh blackberries, and a from-scratch apple pie. Oh my!

Saturday Fun with the Girls

We returned from our getaway Friday night, and on Saturday, had Ellie over while her parents worked. 

I woke up to Gregorny again hanging out in the microwave. I kept myself from screaming this time when I spotted him.

 

Liana came over for the day, too, and I took the girls to Hobby Lobby  and then to Seafood City next door. Ellie had a lot of fun shopping with the big girls.

In the evening, we went to the pool for a little while. Ellie loves the pool! She's in a floatie ring here in the middle, while Liana and Violet toss a football around (see it circled?).