Tidbits

On the first day of school for the big kids, a few of us moms went out for breakfast with the little kids - not that they're little anymore!

Before Vi went back to school, she earned a bit of money by repainting the gate. (Don't worry, the drips on the ground are on a clear bit of sheeting!) She did a good job!

A local web site I follow was giving away sushi from a new place in town, and I was lucky enough to get some! It was a huge roll, and big enough for Stace and me to share for dinner.

On Violet's last day of summer break, we went to Starbucks. Either the sun was in her eyes or she just doesn't like posing for photos.

Over the weekend, Rigo and Stace went to the weekly "Cars and Coffee" morning out. This takes place every Saturday, and it was nice for the guys to get together and hang with like-minded people.

Later on Saturday, Cora went to a Halloween monsters-and-ghouls convention with Grandma and Grandpa, so Violet went alone to our Cami's birthday party. 

Cami is Melanie's big sister, and her party had a Gilmore Girls theme. Vi and I watched one episode so she would "get" the thematic elements. She had fun and came home with some cute party favors.
 

Violet Starts Sixth Grade!

Cora and Violet are in different school districts, and Violet started two days after Cora. I actually like this - I get to spend all of Cora's first morning of school with her, and then turn my attention to Violet when it's her first day.

On Wednesday night, we went to Back to School Night, and miracle of miracles, it was IN PERSON and we got to be on campus and meet her teacher! (Small blessings we wouldn't have appreciated pre-Covid!)

We're very happy that Violet is in Mrs. Fusner's class. I've heard great things about her, and I know she's artistic, which will suit Vi perfectly.

Again, not to overstate the fact, but last year parents weren't on campus whatsoever, so it was lovely to step back into the classroom and see where Vi will be spending her days.

This was a project the graduating sixth grade class did the year the schools shut down. They weren't able to spend the money they'd raised on the fun activities Cora's year was able to do. But they gifted the school this mural, and I hadn't had a chance to have a good look at it yet.

Since she's entering her last year, time to get the cheesy sign photo!

We also sneaked into her fifth-grade class to have a peek, and saw that the dragon she drew Mrs. Dallaire is still up. 

On Thursday, Violet started 6th grade! Check out the cute photobomber.

One last pic before she entered the gates... clearly she was through taking photos.

Happy girls after school on Day 1 - I'm so glad Melanie and Violet get to share a classroom one more time! And no, they didn't plan to match!
 

Cora's in HIGH SCHOOL!

 Cora started school on Tuesday, and Stace took Monday off to hang out together as a family. We went to see the Jungle Cruise at our new Laemmle theater in Newhall - my new all-time favorite theater! Small, comfortable, clean, affordable. There weren't many in since it was early on a weekday, and everyone wore masks.

The movie was a fun watch, too.

After, we went to Big 5 to get Cora a new backpack and double-walled water bottle to keep her drinks cold. She didn't want to get any new clothing or shoes - my little minimalist - so a backpack was a natural purchase.

The big day arrived! First day of high school for our Cora Rose. Very hard to believe, yet here we are.

Cora went to school in her Critical Role hoodie, one of her favorite articles of clothing, and a gift from her dear friend Violet. The hat is her souvenir from Disney World, and it's from Pirates of the Caribbean.

The traffic was awful - stop and go for blocks. Cora hopped out and walked when we reached the park two blocks away. 

By afternoon when I picked her up, the sweatshirt was off. Cora was upbeat - her day wasn't as awful as she'd feared, and she'd found her friends and they ate lunch together in a shaded grassy area. She has three academic classes - AP Environmental Science, Honors English and Algebra - along with P.E., Show Choir and Theater III, the class which will produce the fall musical. 

High school is one of periods of life we all look back on - memorable for many reasons, positive and negative. May you make many more positive memories than negative, my dear Cora!

Final Week of Summer!

The girls head back to school next week, and - so far - it's looking like it will be full-day, "normal" school (with masks), so we're excited about that. Well, I'M excited about that. The girls are nervous - Cora starting high school and Violet not wanting to go back to school ever.

But, be all that as it may be, we enjoyed our last full week of vacation. Cora had registration at her high school, which involved getting her schedule, taking photos for her ID and buying PE and spirit clothes. It went well, until she ran into some snarky older girls in the library. Ugh. All the memories of why I didn't enjoy high school came flooding back!

After registration, we went to Hobby Lobby so Cora could get some supplies for a D&D craft project she's working on. She is so creative! 

While there, I noticed these gorgeous dollhouses and furniture, and immediately got that pang of wishing my high schooler were 6 years old again.

Violet spent many of the nights sleeping on the couch, so she could stay up late and watch her favorite show, Dragon Prince. Seb joined her and looked so sweet.

Violet saw her endocrinologist this week and she had a great two months of growth since her last appointment - a full inch! She's now a hair shy of 58 inches tall.

Our friend Liz had us over Friday for an end of summer pool party. After swimming, the big kids played Jackbox; later, they all played a live-action murder mystery game.

Here are the younger kids, still in the pool into the evening.

We didn't have big plans for Saturday, and Stace has hardly been to the beach this summer. The girls weren't that excited to go, because no friends were going. So Cora spent her time whittling a stick into a wand, to make her own Harry Potter-style wand.

Violet and Stace enjoyed the sea and frisbee before settling into a crossword puzzle.

Cora stayed dry, and later took a nap. 

We picked up dinner in Ventura and ate in a cool mist - crazy with how hot it is at home!
 

Here are some of the healing potion jars Cora made this week to take to share at D&D on Sunday. Aren't they so cool? She made resin, dyed it red and poured it into the bottom of the little jars. She bought red D4 dice and add them, and then melted red sealing wax to put on top of the corks. 

D&D on Sundays at Green Tower Games is the highlight of Cora's week. Violet goes most weeks, too.

Week in Review

The girls have been together a lot the last year and a half, and especially this summer. But this week, Cora had a school activity, and Vi and I got some nice alone time together. 

One of the mornings, it was cooler and cloudy, so we went to Bridgeport to take a walk around the pond and see the ducks.

She found a cattail plant, and tore it up to watch the seeds fly off. 

When we noticed some ducks eating rose petals, she decided to pick more petals for them. 

She wanted to feed them by hand, but was also nervous to do so. 

Meanwhile, Cora spent a few days with her new show choir classmates at a three day summer camp at the school. I'm still blown away to be taking her to high school. 

On the final day of camp, she got to go to a barbecue at one of the family's homes with a beautiful pool. (That's why she's in her swimsuit here...)

On Sunday, we went to the Queen's English car show in the San Fernando Valley. Stace had fun seeing all the gorgeous cars, including this amazing little MGB with an MG trailer. The trailer had been fashioned out of an old MGB - we'd never seen anything like that before!
 

Week in Review

On Tuesday, we had a nice treat, and went out to a fancy lunch with Stace. Gotta take advantage of the girls being home and Stace working so near!

We went to a newish place called Slaters 50/50, where their burgers are half beef, half bacon. This restaurant does Kids Eat Free on Tuesdays, so that came in very handy!

Violet was fighting a cold the second half of the week, so we didn't do much of anything. 

Cora worked on her summer assignment for the Advanced Placement Environmental Science class she's taking in the fall, and her science-expert sister helped her out.

On Saturday night, Stace and I met Keith at a charity car show at the mall, where the funds benefit the high school district's foundation. There were some amazing cars!

We've had a definite down year with our garden. For one, we didn't plant a summer garden, as Stace is trying to get rid of the insidious weeds that are ALWAYS there. 

For another, our nectarine tree out front appears to be dying, and the squirrels or whatnot got whatever was growing. And lastly, the local wildlife got nearly every grape on our grapevine! Look at what I was able to "harvest" off the vine!

We got this lemon from a friend - ummmm - not such a helpful lemon!

 

Week in Review

JT and Jim and the kids came out Saturday afternoon, so we could all go to our Concert in the Park. A U2 cover band was playing, the one we enjoyed at the Canyon club a few years ago. Hollywood U2 is excellent! So worth seeing, especially for free on a beautiful warm evening.

Our friends spent the night, and we were able to watch the England/Italy Euro 2020 final together. Keith came over, too. Sadly, the game didn't turn out so well.

The littles went to play Exploding Kittens at one point.

 

When Liana came over this week, she had the idea of creating a maze for the mice. Gosh, I love this girl! Watching them plan, cut cardboard and hot glue it all together was amazing.

And, Jade and Copper had fun, too!

We also made two beach trips this week. On Monday, we went with Jenn, Zach and Dylan to Oxnard, and on Friday, Violet and I went with Colleen and Liana.

Nice shot, Colleen! The girls, including one of Colleen's friends visiting from out of state, set up a long-jump contest. 

We ended the day with snow cones from an ice cream truck. 

Gotta love summer!

Oh, and I had breakfast with my girlfriends Friday before the beach! It's always great being back at Egg Plantation.

We were partially celebrating Sue's birthday...and summer!