Back to School 2023

 The two weeks before school starts are always filled with "Band Camp." Lily stayed behind while Dad and Gem went to England so she wouldn't miss band camp. She is in RSL which is their leadership group for the year. Her friend Sophia is the leader of their section but at the last minute Sophia had to miss all two weeks of band camp so Lily was in charge of their section by herself!

Westlake rebranded their logo to remove the native American arrow and feathers and now has a new W. It really looks like two V's though. So we got some new swag and some old!

At the end of band camp they have a parent preview night to show off what they have been working hard on for two weeks. It is grueling 5 days a week 8 hours a day! 

Gem and Dad landed at the airport and made it back home just in time for the parent performance. 

It is always cute they invite the families down onto the field to practice with the kids and see how hard it really is. Gem was wearing her new "old" logo Westlake hoodie. 

Sunset is just gorgeous out on the field. 

Then we got to watch them perform the first small section of their routine. It is a Wizard of Oz theme and it is called "We're not in Kansas anymore.." They have a new band director this year, Mr Karlin. He moved from Indiana and has been leading band for a very long time. 

We had to get ready for the next day when Hurricane Hilary was due to hit S. California. We were ready to get flooded away but it was a pretty decent amount of rainfall and no terrible wind so that was good. 

Lily made us one of her charcuterie boards. We have named Sunday as Charcuterie Sunday and she picks a new board from her book to produce for us.

This one was an Oktoberfest theme with beer cheese fondue dip and all the dippers. Sausages, potatoes, plus plenty of pretzels. 

Then the week of school began with make-up orientation day for Gemma. She missed orientation while she was in England. Mostly she just picked up her books and got her locker. Crisis averted when they accidentally gave her a 6th grade locker assignment!!! Glad we got that fixed.

Lily had school yearbook pictures taken the week before at registration. They sent the preview sample and you can choose from so many "unique" backgrounds to purchase! Hilarious!

Finally the first day of school was here. I don't think anyone was too thrilled about it.

Gemma was giving the hurry up and get this over with vibe.

We've got the same backpacks and same clothes from last year pretty much. 

It is nice not having any new schools to adjust to. 

Lily got dropped off first this year. Her bell schedule changed slightly and Gemma doesn't have an "A" period this year so she starts later. It's 8:30 for Lily and 8:55 for Gem.

At middle school we met up with Liv and her friend Mia to walk in for the first day. They were cooperative enough for a photo before quickly darting into school to avoid a picture with the Principal.

Running past Mr. Klinger with about 9 minutes to spare before the bell rings. 

Gem and Dad take on the UK!!

England Trip

Before the summer the holidays came to an end Dad and I decided to take a last minute trip to England to see Granny and Grampy.  We left LAX on a Friday evening and arrived the next day around 3pm where Granny and Grampy were waiting for us.

This was on the first day that we had arrived. We had decided to go to a garden center and pick out some plants to plant. The garden center sold all sorts of cool stuff including sheds and tons of food!

A little later that day we went on a long walk to get ourselves adjusted to the time change. We walked all this way to a beautiful old church. They only have one service there all year and its on Christmas. It was super cool and we got to even walk by the river.

On our second day it was cold and rainy so we had to come up with something to do that would keep us from getting wet. So we decided to go to an indoor rock climbing place. I chose to do bouldering which is where you have no ropes but a squishy mat under you.

It was super fun and I climbed a ton of walls. In the end my hands were so sore but I was very proud of how well I did.

After that on our way back home we stopped at an old barn t(The Tithe Barn) that was super big and very interesting to look at. I learned that they used to grow wheat and store it here. Dad even said that when he was a kid he would go there, that just shows how old it is!!!!

When we got back we did a couple more jobs around the house that included origami, and hanging up paintings that Lily and I had made a long time ago and planting the new plants we had purchased at the garden center the day before.

On the next day we went to a little town called Cirencester or Corinum in Roman time. They had these gems and jewels at the Roman museum that were found in Lechlade and were supposedly priceless.

We found a collectables shop and got Lily a Pokemon card, we can't wait to take her back when we go to England next time we know she would really enjoy it.

There was a cute old coffee truck that was fun, it had been converted and it looked old in a way. We treated ourselves to "elevensies" at a pink cafe with cute drinks and was all pinked out!

On the following day, and my favorite day, we went to Paultons Park which is home to the Peppa Pig World. It was so much fun and a dream come true of mine. You can win stuffed animals, go on little rides, and even have a meet and greet with Peppa and George. I had a great time at the park and was very thankful I was able to go.

This was the meet and greet you could wait in line for but I think I still got a cute picture even if I didn't wait in line.

After we went to Peppa Pig World we stopped at an old pub on the way back and they even had a place where dogs could drink water called a puppy pub. For a minute I thought there was actual beer in it.

 

On our last full day in England we went to Oxford for the day and went on a double decker bus tour around the city. It was very busy in the town so you have to take a Park-N-Ride bus into the center. We also went on a boat ride (punting) where you have to stick a pole in the river and push from the bottom. It so much fun.

Dad was our pole man and he did a great job at it, he didn't fall in the water once and he didn't even lose the pole. He almost fell in once but we were ok. I made friends with many ducks and had a fun time naming them as we went along.

We stopped at one of the University Colleges to look at the pretty garden and take a cute pic. There are many Colleges all over the town and there are so many you can look at. They all have such a beautiful garden area called a quad.

In conclusion I had a great time in engalnd. I can't wait to go back and wisit Granny and GRampy again. We flew Virgin airlines back and it was very nice. I did so many amaziing things well i was away and I know ill do more fun things the next time I go.

Lemonade out of Lemons

 We were supposed to spend a long weekend in Lake Shasta, CA with our besties the Brady Family. Sadly the day before departure Ann tested positive for covid. Seems like it is still ruining plans three years later. 

So we had to pivot and find things to do at home to enjoy the last fun of summer.

The Ventura county fair was in town and it had been several years since we went. We decided to go, alone with the entire Ventura county it seemed. Boy was the line long to get in.

Once we were in we wasted no time checking out all the exhibits. We like the animal barns where kids raise animals through 4H to compete for ribbons. 

Rabbits, pigs, goats you name it!

There was even a pig race!! It was definitely more than a little corny but still fun to watch. 

They had competitions for succulent gardens, plants, flowers, baked goods, jams you name it. We've decided we could definitely enter some of these competitions and win a ribbon!

Gemma is ready to become a farmer. 

After some fair inspiration we decided to spend the next day doing a baking competition. The girls each baked a cake, chocolate for Lily and Funfetti Sprinkles for Gemma. 

The real fun comes in decorating. We visited a baking supply shop and bought a ton of themed decor and some frosting. 

Gemma went with "preppy baby 1st birthday"

That was pretty much an excuse to buy all the pink decor and a naked baby doll decoration. 

Lily went with the more mature theme of outer space. 

She created a color swirl of frostings and made fondant planets and star sprinkles. 

They both turned out beautifully and tasted great too. 

That night they attended a teen painting party at a local art space. They had pizza and did a painting. They were doing a directed paint of sea gulls as you can see in Lily's piece. 

Gemma was not interested in doing sea gulls and make her painting a preppy jalapeno!!