Cora's Birthday Morning

Here's our girl with her special 18th birthday gift from us - a medieval replica sword, complete with a hanger and plaque.

It was a gift idea Cora had thrown around - you might say, "brandished" - and in the end, Stace and I went with it. A little unusual, but Cora is a unique individual.
 

Stace knew the shape of the box would give it away, so he made a little game for her birthday morning.

"Dear Cora, Wishing you a happy 18th birthday. Love from Mum and Dad"

Stace enjoyed personalizing this display piece, staining the wood and attaching the dowels and plaque.

Prior to the birthday girl waking up, Stace and I worked on decor. 

Happy Birthday, Cora!

 

Our Cora Rose is an adult! 

We are so, so proud of her, and grateful God chose us to be her parents. Cora is intelligent, incredibly talented and hard-working, loyal and trustworthy. Watching her shine onstage is my greatest delight. We are fascinated to watch her journey continue the next few years in her young adulthood.

Week in Review

 Violet has been sleeping on the living room sofa bed, and we're just leaving it out as a bed as we live in a temporary state of flux with the construction and Vi's bedroom a worksite as well. Evie looked so cute when I spotted her tucked in the other day! Neither girl said they'd tucked her in, so she somehow did it herself.

But this guy...

Not as clever.  Here, he's resting on a weird part of the frame of the couch.

We had more rain, and despite our contractor's best efforts, we still had water coming in. Oh, well, that's what we get for doing a project in winter! At least we were already planning to replace the flooring, and the furniture was out of the way.

Also this week, we had a parent meeting with Cora's theater teacher, about the upcoming district theater festival her school is hosting. I've never attended, as parents don't go, but because we're hosting, Jarod needs volunteers! Yay! Her last festival, I'll be thrilled to watch.

Violet and I got to do the Placerita Waterfall Trail on Friday, and the rains meant there was a nice little stream flowing.

Violet and I also went to the archery range and Quigley Canyon this week for PE time for her.

I made use of my Christmas present for the first time - trekking poles! I wanted these specifically for times when we hike around streams, so I can have more confidence in crossing.

Also this week, Cora finished up her 5-week dinosaur class at the college, to complete her science requirement. She got an A! This was despite some stress with our internet not working well, and she and I needing to spend time at Starbucks to use their WiFi on Friday while she completed a test.

And on Saturday, Stace and I went to the funeral for his coworker, who died from cancer at the age of 47. Sad, but inspiring to hear so many speak so well of this man who loved God, loved his family, and lived life to the fullest. 

Week in Review

Violet and I went out to the archery range and found two deer! The ran off before we could get any closer. Always some type of nature experience out here.

Also this week, we watched a Zoom online meeting at College of the Canyons for incoming students, to learn more about the process for Cora for the fall.

Cora finally returned to Green Tower Games for D&D after a few months off for Wolves rehearsals.

And I got together with Kelly while Cora was D&Ding and Vi was at youth group. We caught up and took a walk. I also visited with my friend Moira, and went to Monrovia to meet up with JT on Friday.
 

Violet started this digital drawing while we were with Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty. When she'd finished, I printed a copy of it to share with them.

I realized the kitties didn't have a lot of little toys around, and thought of getting out the yardstick to check under the stove. Sure enough! Look at all the things Winston had pushed under, out of his own reach!

When I saw them looking under my dresser, I found at least five little toys under there, too.

Stace and Violet went to the monthly car show at the Porsche dealership on Saturday morning. It's fantastic how she has taken an interest in cars! She'll look at his Bring a Trailer emails at night, too. 

And speaking of cars, look at this beauty! I mean, look at that beautiful driver!

Yes, Cora is now beginning her driving journey. Stace took her out this weekend, and she did very well. She's nervous, and very careful. 

On Saturday afternoon, we went to see West Side Story at the Canyon Theatre Guild with Colleen and Rigo. Our friend Coach Greg Hayes played the police lieutenant, and Cora's vocal teacher's daughter had the lead role of Maria. It was a great show!

After the musical, we went to Acton, with them and the kids (minus homebody Cora) for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It was great to hang out, and our way of thanking Rigo for dropping everything to help us pick up a Murphy bed in Acton the prior week. Gotta treat your friends with trucks well! We'd passed this restaurant on the way to the home where we bought the Murphy bed, which we got a great deal on.

Lisa and friends

Sue and Jen and a few other girlfriends took me out for my birthday, and we chose a wine bar across the street from where Cora was performing in her play. Besides not letting me pay for my meal, they got me a gift card to a nail salon!

After eating, we walked over and saw the show.
 

After the show, Sue and Jen stayed on chatting, and we went next door to the Newhall Refinery. When Cora was changed and ready to go, she came in and sat with us. It was really fun to hang out with her, with us! A taste of things to come as she gets older.

Silly girl, popping out from behind my head.

The following Saturday, I was invited to a birthday dinner for Christina and Tiffany. We had a great night celebrating them!

(I then returned home to the water intrusion in Violet's room - talk about a buzzkill! Ha!)

Jen also gave me this lovely mug, from her recent work trip to Hong Kong and China.

I am blessed with the best friends.

Cora's Wolves Fans

Cora's enjoyed her second weekend of Wolves, which got rave reviews online, and enthusiastic and appreciative audiences.

Above is the social media post about Cora and her character - yes, that description is of her character, not herself. And see the fun front window display at the Main?

It was so cool seeing her show in the lights on the marquee!

 

Stace and I caught both matinee shows Saturday and Sunday (the finale). 

Again, we are so thankful for our tribe for coming out to support our girl.

Besides the friends in the photos here, we also had a group of my girlfriends, when we went out to celebrate my birthday; Christina, Kelly and Brad, and Ellen, her kindergarten teacher. Cora had a few other school friends attend as well, including Jarod.
 

Sue and Jen were part of the group of my friends who came to watch.

Lucas, from Cora's school theatre group, bending down to not tower over Cora and Mackenzie.

It was fun for Cora and Mackenzie to have this experience together as they've done a lot of theater together at school, as well.

Guildenstern came!! Ben, Cora's costar her freshman year, 

surprised her and came to watch. Cora's big smile says a lot. Ben is a junior at UCLA, in the theatre directors program. 

Here are Mackenzie and Cora with Jeff, their director. He did a great job, as evidenced by the stellar production. 

Violet and JC came to watch...

...as did Rigo and Colleen.

Addition: Foundation

This week, we had our footings inspected and the rebar drilled into the foundation of the existing house.

Ready for concrete! 

 

The trucks showed up Saturday morning. It was another loud day.

The men did great work - looks fantastic!

Unfortunately - take note of the clouds forming in the background.

We were supposed to get rain on Sunday, but it came early, Saturday evening. Because we needed the concrete to harden, and we weren't expecting the early rain, we hadn't prepped the pad where the stucco was cut away at the bottom of the house. The rain pooled up in the corner and penetrated into Violet's room.

She and Stace were out to dinner Saturday night and when they returned, she noticed the carpet making wet spots as she stepped into the room. Uh oh!!

They moved the bookcase out, emptied the closet, and pulled the carpet up. They collected every towel they could find, but the water was still coming in. It wasn't great.

When I got home from an event, I shoved the wet towels into the washer on a spin/drain cycle and threw them into the dryer, so we could keep the process going.

On Sunday morning, Stace tried several types of fixes that didn't work, before resorting to a giant tarp that he nailed into the wall. That worked!

All the while, it was drizzling, and he was soaked. Ahh well, this too shall pass.