2015 school pictures

 Second grade, Ms. Sullivan. 

Fifth grade, Ms. London

Bridges, butterflies and bows

Andy had a great time last week at Amalia's class field trip to Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz.

 Looking for monarch butterflies as they return from the Rocky Mountains. 

 Getting a different perspective. 

Second graders with some natural bridges in the background. 

On Sunday Lily avenged her loss last year in the Black Mountain Bowmen Trick or Treat trail shoot. Last year, Lily lost to Lillian by 1 point. This year, she improved her score by more than 200 points (and beat Lillian, even though Lillian now shoots a compound bow).

From left to right: Jenny, Lillian, Lily, and Daria. 

 On the trail, target 20-something. 

 Heading up to retrieve and score the arrows. 

Outstanding in her field. 

Beach babes

There was an effort to capture some nice photos of the girls with their friends Sydney and Caroline this weekend. Kids being kids, just about every picture had someone doing something to sabotage a "nice" picture. Still pretty fun, though.

Ranch hands

On Saturday we went with Sydney and Caroline to visit a friend who has a 7-acre ranch in Moss Landing.

 Caroline and Amalia got to help with Flame, a lovely horse that boards there at the ranch. 

 There are several rescue dogs on the property. I don't remember this one's name. He wasn't very nice.

 One of the highlights was feeding carrots to the horses. 

 Sitting down for lunch. 

 More horse time. 

 Big sisterly advice, perhaps?

Another highlight--holding the chickens. Well, it was a highlight for the girls. I don't think the chickens were quite as fond of it.

Mother-daughter glamping

Last weekend, Amalia's Girl Scout troop went on a Mother-Daughter "camping" trip to a nearby campground in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was beautiful, but we were hardly roughing it. This is a picture of the dining hall. 

Hanging out before a hike. 

I'm not sure what I'm reacting to here, but I'm sure it was fascinating...or repulsive.  

 Our hikers.

Adrian was our knowledgeable guide. He may or may not have needed a bit of help bringing his information down to the level of his audience. He kept asking if people knew what cells were...or photosynthesis...or procreation...

Moms and girls. 

 Candle-making fun. 

 

The 'mole hole." A super long tunnel slide on the side of the hill. To go down it, you had to put on a helmet, elbow pads and gloves, and sit on a plastic sled. A man-boy at the top asked how hard you wanted your push to be (small, medium, big or self-push). I opted for big. 

The girls were excited for the 7 a.m. polar bear plunge.  

The moms not so much. 

But we did it anyway!

Getting ready for the 80s themed dance party. 

 I went preppie; Amalia was more Physical, a la Olivia Newton-John. 

Thriller!

80s girls.

I couldn't seem to find my lunch table in the dining hall. Everyone else was neon/Cyndi Lauper. I apparently opted for the class president role.  

Morning Brownie circle on our last day, where patches were handed out, and songs were sung. 

Knocked out on the drive home. The sign of a good weekend.