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!

The Northern California Renaissance Faire

We drove up to Hollister for the Northern California Renaissance Faire.  After having gone to the one in So. Cal last Spring, we just had to check this one out.  We had a dreamy time.  The location is truly a fairyland.  It is shady and full of Oaks and Aspens.  Bella dressed up as a mermaid and Lala and Ceci as fairies.  The actors at the faire had a lot of fun with that.  We enjoyed great entertainment--comedy, dancing, music, a Punch & Judy show, parades.  We rode the swing and our big girls did a spinning swing!  They also painted some ceramic ornaments.  The food was delicious!!  We had Shepherds pie, Falafel, and Strawberry Shortcake.  The day went by too quickly.  I wish I could say that the last picture is a family picture.  Wouldn't it be great if Craig would dress up like that?  This is just one of the many actors joking with us on our way out.

My beautiful Edie!!

Since we went to Utah to attend Jesse's wedding, that meant I got to see my dear, wonderful friend Edie.  Edie is great with child, due in early November.  Edie is one of the most beautiful, fun, zesty, creative, sweet, kind, generous persons you could ever meet.  I am lucky to have her as my friend.  We got to spend lots of time together, going to the museum, to dinner, to tea.  I LOVE my Edie!!

Playing Pirates with our cousins!!

We had a really fun time hanging out with our cousins (second cousins?)  playing pirates!  Gabe and Sophia have a big booty full of pirate attire.  Aargh!

Grandma with Grandkids and Great-Grandkids!!

Got this great picture today!!

Our niece Jesse's Wedding

Yesterday, Craig's brother's daughter Jesse got married.  Jesse looked beautiful and it was a beautiful wedding.  It was a sunny, pretty day, and everything went so nicely.  Our girls had a great time playing with their cousins.  We wish the happy couple all the best!

Labor Day Swim Party

Today we had a the Peays, the Ramirez', the Evans, and the Ballentines, over for a little swim party to celebrate Labor day.  We BBQed and had a really nice time.

Coming home from our wonderful trip!

It was sad to come home after having so much fun on our trip, but it was a lot easier to come home to our beautiful sunflowers, that we had planted from seed, in FULL BLOOM!!!

Mendocino

This was our last official fun place on our trip.  It is a looooooong windy road to get here, but it was worth it.  We had never been to Mendocino before.  The town was charming and the beach was so beautiful!  We wandered the cute shops and health food store and played on the beach.  The next day we drove aaaaalllllll the way home.

The Drive-Thru tree!!

We had to stop and drive through the drive-thru tree!!  If you click on the pic of the car going through the tree, you will see Craig and the girls in the car!!  We also had to play a bit in the little houses built out of giant hollow redwood stumps!  The big one had two floors.  So cool!