Carly visits!

Carly came to town for thanksgiving! Of course, the only photo I took was of her backside while she tried out violins. We took Q with us to Palmer’s violin shop and she had a blast playing a gorgeous 400 series cello….it was amazing! And it was $3600 🤣 

But she enjoyed playing a nice upgraded instrument, and Carly did find a violin so it was a big win! 

She had a little jam session with Quincy to accompany her on a challenging piece she’s working on for Christmas.  

We also had dinner and games with both Pendleton families, played in a pickleball tournament, and Carly took our family pics.  I can’t get enough and need to figure out how to get them back here!  Our kids had a lot of fun together, too.  The best friendships are the ones that pick right up where you left off. (Or in our case, finish the Marco Polo we had 2 days ago 🤣) 

Crafty morning at the Shaws

We had a crafty morning at the Shaw’s home, today.  Reese, Quincy, Corbin, and Soren worked on ornaments and I stitched a few names onto stockings.  


Clary supervised.






As soon as I finished Quincy’s stocking, I cried because only then did I realize I had put her name on the wrong side of the stocking! So disappointing. I’m considering just giving up until next year. 🤣

Here’s a throwback pic of the old stockings, with names stitched on the correct side. 

Things that are the best

1) homemade pumpkin purée is the best. 

Esme helped me gut and roast our two pretty Cinderella pumpkins that I bought for decoration. We scooped and blended it up into 5 quarts of vibrant pumpkin puree! 

2) Sloane reading poetry is the best. 

My mima read these poems to me (and my siblings) as a child and I can still recite bed in summertime. I love hearing Robert Louis Stevenson’s treasures roll out of little Sloanie’s mouth. 


3) Veterans and class parades and fun third grade teachers are the best. Soren’s class did a study on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and they created floats of their own.  Sweet Soren made his float a Veteran.  I miss being Soren’s homeschool teacher. He’s earnest and delightful and a lot of fun to learn with. He did a worksheet about veterans at school and took it to our neighbor, Terry.  Terry showed him photos and his old uniform from his years in the service. 






4) the willardson ghetto Christmas lights are the best. We’ve blown 2 fuses and the garage outlets now are not working. They only go halfway across the garage. They are glass and so fragile it’s ridiculous. We’ve already replaced 4 broken bulbs this year. But we love them. 


5) white chocolate dipped, sprinkled ginger softies for the orchestra concessions bake sale are the best.  I’m doing my best to be a cool SBO mom and attend parent meetings and volunteer for stuff. I worked at all region auditions, baked a few dozen of these beauties for the concert, and procured some products for the silent auction. 


6) Metfield Ward Primary Programs are the best.


7) neighbor kids growing up together is the best. 


8) a November bell pepper garden harvest is the best! 

9) getting closer to being a forever family is the best! 

Just 4 reams of paper for some light reading material. I am 75% through with this disclosure packet. The more I read, the more angry I get that my children are still trapped in foster care. 

10) Quincy in a romper is the best! Q kindly asked if I could find her “a black romper to wear to her orchestra concert tonight.”  I accepted the challenge and actually found one!  The only one in the store, in fact. And she looked adorable. This girl loves fashion and pulls off the cutest outfits. I love her style and her confidence. 

All Region Orchestra

Quincy and Corbin auditioned for All Region Orchestra a few weeks ago. They worked so hard and I’m impressed by their efforts.  My mom and I volunteered a good portion of the day doing concessions.  The kids had a really fun day with their orchestra pals. 


Dan H, Lynda B, Luke H, Corbin.

Millie K, Savanna H, Q right before their auditions


Corbin made 4th chair in the Cadet (7th grade) Orchestra! 

Last week, he spent Friday afternoon andSaturday morning at the All Region clinic and we got to enjoy the concert Saturday afternoon. I’m so amazed by what these kids can learn in just 24 hours.  They performed 3 pieces and we were wowed. He said he learned a lot and liked the challenge. He is also happy to not have early morning audition rehearsal any more because now he has time to do quiz bowl before school. 😂

Great work, Corbin! You sound so good! 

Big Girls Trip to California: Sunday

On Sunday morning we didn’t have much time before we had to get to the airport, so we decided to just soak up as much nature as possible.  We started in Pacific Grove at a monarch butterfly sanctuary. This was super cool and my photos are garbage. We saw hundreds of migrating monarchs clustered together. It also smelled absolutely heavenly like eucalyptus, which was a nice relief for Quincy who had a cold all weekend. 






We drove over to Point Lobos and checked out the tide pools, which didn’t give many shells because it was almost high tide, but because it was almost high tide, the waves were amazing.  We saw grey whales and watched them for a while. 





Quincy ran to this rock at hidden beach, climbed up, got a pic, shook the pebbles out of her crocks, and climbed back down in between huge ocean swells that crashed halfway up that rock. When she saw how rough the waves crashed around it and then swiftly swept back out, she realized why I was an anxious wreck while she climbed up there. 

Oh beautiful China Cove. I love you!  

The stairs and beach access are now gone and blocked off here to protect the seals who have made this beach their home. We watched mamas napping with their calves and I reminisced about all the childhood days I spent there with Sara Parker and Katy Myrvold. We hiked down the zillion steps to Gibson beach for a walk and because I wanted the girls to feel the soft sand there that is more like the Florida beaches they are familiar with.  The water was FRIGID but so clear blue and full of life. From the trail above, you could look down and see the tops of kelp forests, and otters and monk seals diving around for their lunch. 

I’m so glad we got to take this trip together. I love my daughters so much and this time together was so chill and so special. And the food. Pretty sure we are still bloated weeks later. It was a magical weekend and we already miss the sounds of the sea. And the Slurpees. 

Big Girls Trip to California: Saturday

We started out our morning in Watsonville with a walk along Manresa Beach. The beach was super dirty and the tide was moving in really quickly but the sky was so clear and waves were huge. A dozen surfers, dolphins, and killer whales were taking advantage of the wild surf and put on a nice show for us so we stuck around to watch for an hour. We couldn’t take ourselves away! In Florida, you’ll get a glimpse of dolphins every morning and evening, but these dolphins were everywhere and jumping completely out of the water. It was amazing. The surfers approached them and they all caught the same waves. Unforgettable experience. The girls couldn’t believe how every few minutes, the 5 foot waves would build up and bring in a huge 8-10 foot swell. They don’t see those on spring break in Florida, either! What a spectacular morning. They couldn’t get over the coarse, dark granite sand, the colorful ice plant, or the kelp everywhere. 

All weekend long, I pointed out the source of the nations food as we drove by fields and fields of the brands they recognize like Driscoll, Taylor Farms, Giant, Christopher Ranch, and Martinelli. I took them through Tortilla Flat, Castroville, Prunedale, and Moss Landing. The girls recognized the cultural diversity in that they were the only white kids everywhere we went, and English was not the primary language being spoken in conversations around them. We passed cemeteries absolutely covered in bright Orange marigolds. We hit lunch in Watsonville and there was a straight up 12 piece mariachi band having lunch. It was amazing. Quincy was dying to get a pic with them but didn’t want to ask, so she got a sneaky photo of one of the guys who was sitting alone.  The were like, “Mom, is this for Dia de los Muertos?”  No girls, it’s just Saturday in Watsonville.  When we stepped out of super taq, there was a Quinceañera happening at the giant Catholic Church across the street!  They soaked in every sight and sound around them and got a little taste of the beauty of the culturally rich atmosphere I was raised in. After our drive, we popped into Gizdich Ranch and ate homemade pies right in the middle of an apple orchard. There were zero bugs and the weather was perfect all weekend.  We just couldn’t get over the non-existence of autumn. Everything was still so green and vibrant.  By the end of the weekends, each of us mentioned how much we missed the oranges and reds and all our trees. 

I found the trees when I drove over the Santa Cruz mountains to Gilroy, that evening. I cannot believe I used to drive over Mt Madonna on Hwy 152 as a teenaged, inexperienced driver. It’s just like the windy roads of Bella Vista, but at high speeds and with a lot of other cars. 

I caught this gorgeous pic to show the girls the giant redwoods. We saw a few when we were up in San Francisco, but I don’t feel like they got to see the grand scale of these majestic trees. In Gilroy, I met up with Annie (grover) Gilbert and went to my High School 20 (well, 21 due to covid) Year Reunion.  Class of 2000, baby!  It was fun and interesting to see old friends and classmates.  Annie of course, and Emily Hepner and her boyfriend Ali, Sarah Claspell and fiancé, Clay, Michael and Gloria Horta, Sheena Torres (fellow chamber choir member and my badminton partner when we dominated in girls doubles), Mike Smith and his lovely wife, Karen, Jeremy Novara, Jenny (Livingston) Main, Don Darling, Dana Guerin, Ui Ka’anapu (my badminton girls singles rival), Leslie (benson) Galvin.  I missed so many who couldn’t make it, and some who didn’t come last minute even though they live like 2 minutes away (I’m looking at you, Laura, Sara, Lucas and Corinne!) but overall it was a memorable experience. 



Look at us! I’ve known these ladies since 2nd grade. It was good catching up.