Halloween Fun

We had a really fun Halloween!  Bella was the Lavender fairy, Lala was the Rose fairy and Ceci, the Sweet pea fairy. I made Bella and Lala's crowns and wands from real flowers.  I made Ceci's hat from felt. I BOUGHT their costumes.  We did lots of fun stuff.  Our homeschooling group had a party and we watched Granada school's parade go by in front of the house.  Our dear friends, the Peays, had a really fun party which served dinner and then we all went trick-or-treating together.  The girls chose a few pieces of candy to keep but left the rest on our porch for the Halloween fairy.  In the morning they found that she'd left them a beautiful fairy tent!

Gymnastics Class

Well, today was the last day of a gymnastics class the girls were taking.  They enjoyed it a lot.  Their teacher's name was Logan and he worked really well with the kids.  We're taking a break for now just to be mellow for the holidays, but hopefully, we'll start back in the new year!

The Legendary Tom Waits

Today Craig and I had a fantasy fulfilled.  We saw the incomparable Tom Waits in concert.  He has not performed in California since 1999.  It was at the Bridge School Benefit put together by Neil Young and his wife Pegi.  We had the most amazing time.  We drove up to Mountain View to see this show.  Neil Young opened the show with "Sugar Mountain." It took our breath away.  We went on to see Regina Spektor, Sara and Tegan, My Morning Jacket, John Mayer.  But we were just waiting for Tom to come on.   In fact, I was just DYING for John Mayer to end because I couldn't wait anymore.  It was so great when Tom finally came out.  He was backed by the Kronos Quartet and they were fantastic.  Tom put on an incredible performance.  We loved every song and were so happy that he started with some old stuff.  He was also hilarious!!  Before he did his last song, he said "You know, . . . I learned at a very early age that I could hypnotize chickens."  He also went on about how he used to swallow dice during the prohibition and how it looks good on a resume.  The concert continued with performances by Jerry Lee Lewis and Metallica.  For all you Tom Waits fans out there, he did:

• Down in the hole
• Cold, cold ground
• Little drop of poison (played in Shrek II)
• The part you throw away
• God's away on business
• The day after tomorrow
• What keeps mankind alive
• Diamond in your mind
  

 If you care to, you should youtube this show.  It was out of this world!

I made a doll today!!

Today I went to an all day workshop where I learned how to make a doll from very basic materials.  We used all cotton fabric, 100% wool for stuffing, and needles and thread.  Our teacher told us that we were "ensouling' our dollies. (Giving them their soul)  It really felt like that.  I had the most wonderful time.  Once I had sewn on the eyes, I started to fall very in love with this baby.  I made her for Ceci so I tried to make her look like her.  I couldn't wait to show her to the girls.  They all loved her!!  I bought kits to make one for each of my big girls and one for myself!!  I hope I can make the time to have them done for Christmas!

Oak Glen Orchard with the Schof's

Today my dear friend Lorell Schofield and I took our children out to Oak Glen in Yucaipa where there are lots of apple orchards.  We went to a place where we could pick our own apples and watch them press fresh apple cider.  It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time picking and eating the apples.  We went to lunch and had grilled cheese with apples on it, and apple dumplings for desert!  It was a fun autumn thing to do!  

A Tea Party in Cambria

On the way home from the Renaissance Faire, we drove through Cambria and stopped at a Tea Parlor to have afternoon tea-- it was delicious!!

The girls were so well behaved.  We then took a stroll on the boardwalk and then down to the ocean.  Cambria is Beautiful!