Mt. Pinos Camping

 We went camping with Colleen, Rigo and Liana over our long Memorial Day weekend, up Mount Pinos to a new-to-us campground. 

It was full of huge pine trees, loads of pine cones, beautiful views, and very quiet.

At 8,250 feet elevation, the campground got a little chilly at night.

There was a 1930s ski lodge near the property, and this cute little cabin was next door. Both have been abandoned for years, though in the cabin, there was evidence of squatters from about 10 yeas ago, judging by the newspapers inside.

We ate well, we relaxed, played games, and read. The sites were huge, and very quiet.

We enjoyed Colleen and Rigo's 1967 tent trailer again, perhaps for the last time, as they're looking to sell it. I'd love to buy it but we can't store it. It's really a joy to use and sleep in.

We were playing Triominoes, similar to dominoes. 

We had a lot of laughter playing Mad Libs around the fire.

It was a great trip!

Colorado, Cars and Cats

 Stace had another work trip this week - this time, to Fort Collins, Colorado, where his company has its headquarters, for a software training.

It was a short trip, but he really liked the town and had a good time walking around the downtown area in the evenings. 

He brought home a treat for us - flavored fudge from Buc-ee's.

On Saturday, Stace, Violet and I went to DeBellis Ranch and Acton Trading Post for a morning out. We then stopped at the Newhall Art Walk, where we saw art hanging on walls and being created in real time at various businesses. 

This woman was demonstrating how she makes print collages.

We then got dinner at Bricks, and old favorite.

We took Vi home and Stace and I went to a car show at the mall that benefited the high school district's foundation.

This was a 1927 Ford Speedster.

Stace loves this 1950s Jaguar XK140, which he has seen at other shows.

We spotted Seb spending time in God's Word.

Cora took Violet to the archery range on Sunday afternoon, and they took both bows so they both could shoot.

Horse Lessons

 Violet has been interested in taking horse-riding lessons for a few months, and I'd been researching different ranches in the area. There are a lot of them! One that I'd looked at on Yelp, with positive reviews, is very nearby in Newhall, a plus since most of the others are 20-30 minutes away. 

Then, walking to our car from the Cowboy Festival, we saw a flyer on a car window from this equestrian center, and it felt like a sign. I scheduled a tour, and we set up lessons - the first was Friday.

Violet is grooming Rocky, to get him ready for his saddle.

Cora is taking lessons too! This was her first time on a horse. She hadn't been interested previously, but because she'd like to try stunt work as a job, it seems prudent for her to know how to ride.

She is riding Chick, on an English saddle. Becky, the instructor, thought it would be best for Cora to learn on an English saddle, for her stunt purposes.

Violet is using a Western saddle, with the saddle horn and extra support. She got Rocky to trot and is learning posting, the rhythm of going up and down as the horse trots so it's less bouncy.

They both really enjoyed the lesson, and we look forward to more in the future!

Tidbits

I've used this KitchenAid mixer for a few years, after a friend gifted it to me when she moved out of state. It doesn't handle my whole wheat bread very well, and Stace has replaced the gears at least twice. It's making a funny noise again when I try to knead the bread, so Stace suggested I get a more powerful mixer.

I went with a suggestion on a blog I follow for home-milled flour, and purchased this Nutrimill Artiste. I was fortunate to get a $50 off sale price, with Mother's Day coming up. 

It worked well for my first try!

Speaking of Mother's Day, Stace treated me to a special coffee for Mother's Day, plus a lovely bouquet of roses from our yard. I'm a lucky one!

Later, we all met up with the rest of the family for frozen yogurt.

Stace used the borrowed pressure washer to wash two cars and thoroughly clean the driveway, blasting out the weeds and dirt in the tiny gaps where the concrete comes together.

 My parents were away for the day, so Violet and I went over to let Maverick and Summer out, and give them some love. Maverick loves to immediately drop onto his back, for tummy scritches. 

Later, Vi and I made our long awaited return to Quigley, after a few weeks' break with the craziness of theater tech weeks.

Still a number of flowers blooming, like the thistle below.

Evie, the queen of relaxing in positions that look uncomfortable...

We've not seen Seb inside the doughnut, because it seems too small for him. But the other day, we saw the end of his tail just visible from the opening! 

(By the time I got my phone camera on, he was crawling out.)

Week in Review - and Mean Girls

 Violet has taken an Advanced Placement art class this year, and on Wednesday, she turned in her portfolio for grading. To celebrate, we shared a steak sandwich at RJB Cafe for lunch after school.

On Thursday morning, Tiffany and I took a walk and climbed the Stevenson Ranch stairs. This is a long outdoor staircase, installed just for exercise, and this is the view from the top. 

My calves were sore for days!

Also Thursday, Cora's Shakespeare classmates all performed monologues from Hamlet. After, the students voted on their favorite, and Cora won the most votes again.

Stace and I went to the garden center on Wednesday and then stopped at Maginn's for happy hour, and dinner. The girls were busy at the final dress rehearsal for Mean Girls.

We then went home and spent the rest of the evening researching RV rentals for a trip we're hoping to take in June to a national park in Nevada.

And on Thursday, Mean Girls began! Cora was stage managing, and Violet was the stagehand. Here, they are getting the microphones ready for the actors following the opening night show. 

I helped Thursday and Saturday by running the box office - this was the most well attended show in the school's history, with over 250 attendees on Thursday and 300 on Friday night!

 

These are the notes Cora created for the actors and crew, saying what needed to move, when, and what the cues were. She spent hours on it, and is such a hard worker.

After the closing show Saturday, we all stayed an extra hour to quickly break down the set and get it cleared from the stage. It was a lot of work and it was late, but this meant the director didn't need to come in on Sunday/Mother's Day.

New Paint

Over the weekend, we completed a long-awaited project - we painted the back of the house, where the addition's new stucco didn't dry to match the rest of the house.

Over a few midweek evenings, Stace filled cracks in the stucco (not a problem in the new stucco, but there were some in the older sections). He then used a borrowed pressure washer to clean the surfaces. Nick and I moved everything away from the house in Friday

And on Saturday morning, Stace masked off the windows, doors and lights, and began cutting in the primer.

Melanie and Nick came over to help, as a thank you to Stace for all of his help installing shelves and curtain rods. On Saturday, we got the two sides primed. It wasn't a fun job, in the heat, trying to get the paint into the thick texture and crevices. And it took five gallons! I had to run to the paint store to buy more, midway through.

 Thankfully, it was much cooler on Sunday morning, even misty, and the color coat went on so much easier than the primer had. 

Our happy crew, nearly done!

Much better!

Meanwhile, Ellie colored, watched television, and the girls took her to the park on Sunday. Then Cora thought of introducing her to Castle Crashers on the PS4, and they had a great time playing together.

While moving things around near the house, in the mulch, we found this green lynx spider - beautiful! Never seen one of these before.

And we also found this woodlouse spider, which eats woodlice, or rolly-polly bugs! Interesting! 

So glad to have this job out of the way... so we can move onto my goal of constructing a catio outside against the dining room wall!