Week In Review

Cora returned to the orthodontist on Tuesday morning, to have metal bands fitted to her back molars and a mold made of her mouth. With these, the palatal expander will be created. We'll go back in 10 days to have the expander put in.

The assistants also took detailed photos of Cora's teeth, for future reference.

Also in the world of teeth this week, Violet went back to the dentist for a filling between her molars. He reported that she did very well, even though she had been very nervous beforehand. She is now very diligent about flossing!

After the orthodontist, we went down the street to the library. The girls logged their progress on the summer reading program, which earned them both a free book.

They also checked out armfuls of books to take home. Oh, to be a kid again with hours of summer reading time! I love that they are such readers. Violet is now a big fan of the Rainbow Magic Fairy books, and she's been stealing her sister's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, too.

After our afternoon at the Aquatic Center, we went to Hot Dog on a Stick for free corn dogs. I don't remember what the company was celebrating, but I'd seen on Facebook that they were offering freebies. Perfect for a hot day when you don't feel like cooking!

Also this week, we dumped out our change jar (change carafe?) and counted it up. We've been saving for years, and with our Hawaii plans, this seemed like a great time to turn it into spendable cash.

For the girls' help, I paid them each 10% of the $84.50 we packed into paper coin rolls.

On Wednesday, my mom and Violet and I went out to visit my friend Melanie. Kelly and JT also came over, so it was a party with lots of littles, even with two absent. Cora had gone to play at Sophia's house, and Kelly's baby Ethan had a virus so he had stayed with his grandma.

It was great seeing Melanie adjusting so well to life with three - little Andrew is now four months old.

Here I am with three of my oldest friends, all of them bridesmaids for me nearly 13 years ago. Now we're all married with at least two kids!

Summer Water Play

For our family, summer evenings are made for the pool. Several times a week, we'll head up after dinner. I'll read, or judge diving competitions.

On Tuesday, we made our annual trip to Hurricane Harbor with Grandma and Grandpa, with tickets that they gave us for Stace's birthday.

This time, Violet was big enough to do a racing slide ride, and the family raft ride. Hooray! We all had fun in the lazy river and the wave pool, too.

And on Thursday, I set up a Mom2Mom playdate at the SClarita Aquatic Center, mainly because I wanted to take the girls since we haven't been for a few years.

In fact, the last time we went, Cora wasn't tall enough for the water slide. Three years later, she was happy to zoom into the water.

 The girls also played in the diving pool, after passing the swim test. We were so very proud of Violet for passing, by swimming the width of this huge pool - proper strokes, proper breathing, the whole thing!

My diving girls! Enjoy the videos of their feats. And, the yellow slide in the background is the one Cora is now tall enough for.

Until We Meet Again

Four years after we helped Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty unload their moving truck, this weekend we packed them back up and sent them back to Washington.

But first, a lovely dinner at the Social Tap, their "local," with fabulous happy hour specials.







We then walked over to dessert at Surf 'N Yogurt, a tiny shack of yumminess.

Walking back to their house, we enjoyed our last evening at "our" beach house, and went to bed early for the big day Saturday.

Starting around 8, we had breakfast and two of Uncle Bill's colleague friends came over to help out. Then, the dismantling began - couches, tables, chairs, beds - gone and in the truck.

Aunt Patty and I took the girls to the beach, just to be out of the way, of course.

We returned just in time to see the final things loaded in. Then, it was dinner time - Bill took his men out for steak, while Patty and the girls and I went for fish and chips.

Then, we loaded our own car - a side benefit of helping someone move far away - you get random rewards! We went home with a dresser, lots of food and a skateboard, something Cora has been wanting for a long time.










It's been absolutely wonderful having Bill and Patty down here. We love them dearly, and will look back fondly on these four years of beach living.

We'll really miss having them just an hour away, and it's been fabulous having them here for the holidays. But, we know we'll also enjoy trips to Washington in the future.

Week in Review

 Following our Fourth of July fun, we experienced a lovely, "normal" summer week.

We started with meeting friends at the beach on Tuesday. Colleen, Morgan, Lynnette and their kids provided plenty of companionship for Cora and Violet, who spent hours boogie boarding and generally frolicking.

We took Liana home with us for a sleepover. Since Cora slept at Sophia's house last week, Violet has been bugging me about having a sleepover, too.

This situation worked perfectly because on Wednesday morning, we were meeting at Morgan's for a summer Mom2Mom Bible study.

The girls had a great time, and even managed to get some sleep.

Though we said that one of them could sleep in Vi's bed, they chose to share the couch cushion bed on Violet's floor.

One morning this week, we got up and out for a rollerblade/bike trip together. I would love to make this a regular part of our summer...

On Thursday afternoon, JT, Callie and Jonah came up to play and swim. It was great to catch up and see each other. After swimming, they played with the Lite Brite toy.

Cora had gone bowling with Sam and Riley, and we took them swimming with us in the afternoon. Then we went to the Newhall Library, where a company was teaching Hawaiian dancing (see dance floor in background).

The girls didn't want to dance, but they had fun with a library scavenger hunt for children. (Stace is channeling his inner sulky tweenager. And Violet is about to dash off somewhere.)

On Friday, we met up with Mom2Mom friends for a park playdate. The kids painted on canvases, and then played in the playground and rolled down the hill.

Parks, pools, beach and friends - that is summer fun!

July Fourth Fun

After our strange skunky night, we still managed to get up and out early enough Monday for the annual July Fourth pancake breakfast in Old Newhall.

Despite growing up in SClarita and my many fond parade memories, I had never experienced the Rotary Club's pancake breakfast. This year, we wanted to change that.

We joined score of people in line, watching as the paraders assembled and got ready to march through Newhall. And the wait was worth it!

The traditional buttermilk pancakes, sausage, OJ and coffee hit the spot. Live music played in the tent. And we saw a few people we knew, giving it that hometown feel.

As we left, we walked along Main Street in Old Newhall with the parade, as it was now after 9 a.m.

At home, got on our bikes and rode to our preferred parade-watching spot on Orchard Village. Oddly enough, it was a cool enough morning to be comfortable in the sun, even as the parade continued into the 11 o'clock hour.

Grandma and Grandpa came, too, and brought Benny and Jake. When the parade was over, they treated us to Starbucks drinks and we sat outside the coffee shop and discussed our trip to Hawaii. It's coming up in a few weeks - exciting stuff!

After riding home around 1 p.m. - again, it was amazing that it was cool enough to do so! - we rested. Stace and I napped, the girls played. We were worn out from our crazy night!

In the evening, Stace took the girls swimming while I got some groceries. Then we grilled burgers for dinner, just the four of us. Melanie and Nick are back East, and my parents joined Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty in Ventura for a last hurrah before they move north.

After dinner, we parked at the YMCA and walked down to find a good spot to watch the city fireworks from the mall.

We had a great view, and a comfortable spot in the grass. Perhaps it was too comfortable - Cora fell asleep on the blanket! Through the fireworks!

My phone's camera obviously isn't great - no, the fireworks weren't all white. But there you have it, evidence that we watched fireworks.

It was a great Fourth of July, with all the traditional elements and good time with family.

Weekend Fun and Stink

Oh, those summer nights - perfect for grilling and dining al fresco. We had a weekend of catching up on little projects around the house, and ended Saturday with a lovely meal.

On Sunday, around church and Skyping with Nan and Pop, we went to check out the SCV Historical Society's train station and restored historic houses. It's all open once a month for a few hours, with volunteer docents.

Ring, ring!

We also had some adventures with a black-and-white striped creature this weekend. Seb accidentally spent Saturday night outside, and in the morning he smelled like he'd been sprayed.

On Sunday night, we went to bed with some windows cracked and the whole house fan running. Our sliding glass door was cracked, and Spencer likes to sit near the opening, feeling the breeze.

We were awakened after midnight by the most horrendous stench imaginable. I jumped out of bed and flipped on the lights, but the skunk was out of sight already.
We could see spray droplets on our slider, and Spencer was blinking hard out of one watery eye. Yes, apparently the skunk returned to attack the cat through the door!

We were up an hour cleaning the cat down, and shut off our room with the bathroom extractor fan on. Thankfully, Violet had moved to Cora's bed, so Stace and I shared her bed. Later on Monday, Stace cleaned down the door with bleach to release the strong oily spray. What a night!

Violet's First Week Home

Violet had a great time at VBS this week, especially with Melanie and Liana in her little group. Each day the children sang songs, heard a Bible story, played games and made their own snack (shown here).

I wasn't there, but Colleen and Christina shared these pics with me.

On Friday, Cora and I helped set up the family lunch and water play celebration after VBS ended. She had a great time on the giant water slide...

...while Violet enjoyed helping spray down the sliders with soapy spray to make them more slippery.

On Wednesday morning, our Chick-Fil-A had its final free breakfast in June, so Violet and I took part before VBS while Cora was waking up at Sophia's house.

Later on Wednesday, the girls went with Grandma and Grandpa to Disneyland, and they brought home this light-up, musical Ariel bubble wand. Violet was so cute with it, dancing to the music surrounded by bubbles. A picture of pure joy.

Back Home

Our trip home went super smoothly, and we spent Monday unpacking and doing laundry. Violet went to Vacation Bible School in the morning, while Cora stayed with me. We were all up early in the mornings, and tired early in the evenings.

Cora and I had a week with a lot of one-on-one time while Vi was at VBS. On Tuesday morning, we went to our church's cool coffeehouse with a gift card. I took with us a couple of gratitude journals my sweet friend Michelle gave us.

 Cora picked out a croissant for her treat, while I had a chai latte. We did our gratitude entries, and I flipped through the Hawaii guide book. We're getting ready for our next summer trip at the end of the month!

 Later on Tuesday, Sophia came over to play. The girls did craft projects, played with Stace's old Star Wars toys, and sang VBS songs together.

Cora ended up going home with Sophia and having a sleepover.

 On Thursday morning, I took Cora in to the bank to open up her own savings account. She's been doing paid chores for over five years now, and in her "savings" envelope at home she had accrued $120. We deposited that amount in the bank, in her own account. Big day!

We then went to the orthodontist - Cora finally lost the tooth on the top we've been waiting on, Wednesday night on the way home from Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa.

We started the orthodontia process Thursday, with little spacers in between two top molars. Next week she'll have metal bands put around those teeth, and the following week she'll have the expander put in. Then, in a few more weeks, braces on the top teeth. And later again, head gear. Poor girl. I was so very proud of her - she handled the news like a pro, though I could see by her face she was worried.

 On Friday morning, while Violet was at VBS, Cora and I went roller-blading. It's fun doing big-girl things with my big girl! This is something she mentioned weeks ago when we were thinking ahead to our time together.

 Not to say that Cora had all the fun! While she was at her sleepover, Stace and I took Violet out for ice cream.

Violet also had fun making a cat toy for Spencer.