Birthday Girls

With the Watson women having birthdays just four days apart (with Easter and Spring Break being thrown into the mix this year) it was a busy week.

I spent my birthday in LA, walking up before dawn and heading over to the Access Hollywood Live studio where Valerie was filming a segment on Easter entertaining. It was completely fun to see it all come together on live TV after planning and practicing. Val did a great job and it made for a memorable birthday morning and one tired mama come birthday night.

Clara woke up on April 1^st a five-year-old. How did that happen? She requested breakfast in bed with mom (love you!) and opened gifts that mainly consisted of sharks, dinosaurs, ninja turtles and cars and a new hairbrush—her request.

She continues to be our tender tomboy, equal parts rough and tough but also thoughtful and sweet. Clara is our old soul, our artist, our cuddle bug, our encourager and our most delighting source of entertainment. It took her a few days to "really feel five" but she has grown into this new number with her usual spunk and grace.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl.

Easter

It rained on Easter, pouring rain, which has never happened for us in Santa Barbara before. It didn’t stop us from celebrating, we went to church and then had brunch and an egg hunt over at AJ & Val’s. It still is strange on “big church days” to have Mark sitting in the pews instead of up at the pulpit. But we are finding a new way of being in church, and have to admit that it is nice to be a stress-free “civilian” on holidays. As always, the hospitality at Casa Rice is over the top delicious in every way.

We celebrate another year of hope and faith that all the rain, all the emptiness, all the pain will one day cease and be replaced with bright, complete love. In the meantime, we do our best to claim the joy of here and now…and what better way to start than with dessert?

Horse & Carriage

We all went to a birthday party at Charlie's horse ranch (where Clara has ridden before) to celebrate a buddy in Clara's class. The day felt like a scene out of a movie— sunshine, cuties in cowboy hats, giggling kids riding around the ring, parents chatting and looking to the hills dreaming of a simpler life.

Then, it really turned into a scene from a movie and not in a good way. At the very end of the party Charlie told Ben and Clara to hop in the buggy cart for one last ride with Sprinkles at the lead. There had been buggy rides all afternoon, but they had not had a turn together. The three of them go down the trail and a few minutes later Sprinkles comes bolting, BOLTING down the road, galloping at high speed with a flying buggy behind which was totally empty.

There was a moment of shock watching this powerful animal running wild and then it hit, Ben and Clara were on that buggy. We took off running down the trail filled with total fear. Oh the relief of seeing our two kids come walking around that corner with no broken parts. We had parents at the party e-mailing us all weekend to check on us, because it was just that scary.

On the ride, Sprinkles had gotten spooked by something and thankfully, so thankfully, Charlie knew what to do and was quick. There was a split second pause before Sprinkles bolted. Charlie instructed Ben to jump out and sweet Ben followed instructions with no questioning and leapt out of the cart. Clara was frozen, so Charlie scooped her up and tossed her out of the buggy on to some grass and horse poop—which actually broke her fall.

Charlie then leapt out, taking the worst fall (he's OK, was just very sore and a banged up a bit). But the kids were fine, in shock and Clara was sore, but oh my goodness, it could have been beyond tragic. We found out later that Ben and Clara were on opposite sides of the road and Sprinkles was circling and Ben yelled over to Clara, "Stay where you are! Don't cross the street!" This moment of big brother protection is what gets us, every time. (Teary right now.)

We still tremble and shake when we think of what could have so easily happened. We know we used up some sort of angel pass that day, I just hope it wasn’t one the kids need when they start driving or something else down the road. Charlie was a true hero and we are beyond grateful for his quick response and putting the kids’ safety first.

Clara doesn’t want to talk about this and is a little shy about getting back out to the ranch to ride. We are letting her set the pace on that one; we need a little time too. But thankfully, the last scene of our movie sequence ended with warm baths, cuddles (and yes, some tears), a batch of cookies delivered to Charlie and a fat glass of wine for mom and dad. 

Note: Sprinkles is fine, she made her way back to the stables after she calmed down and luckily there were no people in her path. The buggy however, was found in pieces on the other side of the property. Did we mention we are thankful??

Spring Break

Spring Break had us heading up to Northern California for a few days. Thanks to the awesome hospitality of “Auntie” DeLayne, we had a great spot to stay just a block from the beach in Santa Cruz (thank you!). We hit the redwoods, the boardwalk, reconnected with dear friends from Saratoga Presbyterian and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Memories were made, memories were remembered, hills were hiked, snow cones were eaten…a ferris wheel perched above the ocean, penguins and jellyfish amazed and of course, we made a stop at Pizza My Heart. It felt like spring and it was a true break.

With Ben’s help and hand holding, Leah is conquering her fear of heights. How can you be scared when you have this sweetie sitting next to you?

No stop in the Silicon Valley is complete without a trip to the Apple store.

We shared an awesome Sunday with our dearest friends from SPC. Driving into the church parking lot for the first time in seven years, Clara looked out the van window and said, “My heart knows this place.”

We told her she probably did know this place, because the love, prayers and friendship of these special people are part of who we are, and in turn, part of Clara…the communion of saints is an incredible thing.

Our trip to the aquarium had a special guest star; Pop Pop met us for the day. It was a trip down memory lane to visit the aquarium, this time with our own kids. The jellyfish and seahorses were the highlights…and the dolphin and shark that came home from the gift shop—thanks, Pop Pop! 

March Snapshots

Ben celebrated the birthday of one fabulous Dr. Seuss:

It was exciting to attend the opening of one of Judy’s art shows. The minute we walked in the door the kids immediately knew which pieces were Juju’s: 

Clara’s preschool hosted a Mad Men themed fundraiser at the Coral Casino. It was a total blast to get dressed up and spend the night dancing. We came home late, tired, a little tipsy and the promise to have “grown-up fun” more often: 

Green crepes for St. Patrick’s Day:

Clara proudly constructed this “cool” house for her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle:

Ben was thrilled to receive a letter and pictures from his best NC buddy, William:

A fort made out of chairs and sheets never fails to delight:

You never know what traditions are going to stick the most, here our annual batch of bird nest treats for Easter— the kids now won’t let a Spring pass without them: