Emma is performing in her very first school play, a performance of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She will be playing a Wonka Bar and has been practicing relentlessly for weeks. Here’s a little preview.
Last weekend I volunteered at the Twin Peaks Ultramarathon. The race is practically in my backyard, taking place in the Cleveland National Forest around Saddleback Mountain. The course is scenic but brutal. The 50 mile race has 17,000 feet of total elevation gain!
Emma joined the Rancho Santa Margarita Dolphins swim team this year and took to the water like, well, a dolphin. She practiced multiple times per week focusing on the 25 m freestyle and 25 m backstroke. Despite being the shortest person on the team she wasn’t (always) the slowest. By the time for the first meet her body was tan and her stroke smooth.
After a thorough soaking Friday and Saturday the clouds parted in Southern California making Sunday a beautiful day. This was good, as I was at the starting line preparing to run my second marathon on Sunday in Huntington Beach as the sun rose.
Quick pop quiz! What do these three things have in common?
I was introducing the kids to some Simon & Garfunkel the other night and Cora started dancing when “Cecelia” came on. She stopped dancing immediately, of course, once she saw that the camera was rolling.
We’ve belonged to the CSA program (community supported agriculture) that South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano runs for almost five years now. Every other week we get a giant basket of yummy fruits and veggies, largely picked straight from the farm that day.
Since our trip to San Francisco last year Emma has been in love with trollies. When searching for a place for her birthday party this year it was natural to choose The Old Spaghetti Factory in Newport Beach. The trolley dining car in the middle of the restaurant was a dream come true.
I played hooky from work one day to go with Henry’s pre-school class to Centennial Farm at the OC Fairgrounds. His teacher, Mrs. Carrie, laid down the ground rules prior to us entering the farm and then we were off!
Easter this year was a giant feast, attended by both my family as well as my brother’s. Bonus guests were my sister-in-law’s parents, making this one of the largest Easters on Northcutt record.