Over the weekend, we had fun exploring the Santa Clarita Valley which is where Valencia is located. The valley is north of the Los Angeles basin so it is nice to be somewhat separated from LA proper. We went hiking at Placerita Canyon and enjoyed learning about local plants and wildlife. (You'll have to look on the Placerita website if you want to see pictures as our camera ran out of battery power.) We also learned a little California history. The Placerita Canyon is the site of the first documented gold discovery in California. It was actually discovered there several years before the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill which started the California gold rush. The canyon's next door neighbor is Golden Oak Ranch which is owned by Disney. Apparently, numerous shows/films have used the ranch including Old Yeller, Bonanza and best of all, Little House on the Prairie. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be open to the public. We're definitely planning to go back for some more hiking in the future.
On Friday, Alex will make his California piano debut. He is playing a piece at the school's talent show. Amazingly, there are 78 acts in the show. That's a little different from the 10 acts at his talent show last year. He is also getting started on piano lessons this week. I think he's anxious to get going after having the summer off.
The kids have made their choices for their fall arts classes. Emma would like to be in the chorus and Alex wants to do WikiWeb design where they learn about designing websites, etc. They're also excited because they each got to choose one after school enrichment class. Alex will be going to chess club and Emma is taking a clay sculpture class. I think it's a great opportunity for them to do something fun and a little outside their normal activities for an hour a week. Each class is provided by either teachers from the school or outside instructors for a minimal fee.
Over fall break Alex is going to make his long awaited trip to the Midwest. Due to all of the goings on over the summer, we couldn't find a very good time for him to go on his yearly trip. Fortunately for him, the school calendar out here has a one week fall break in October. Grandpa Hested is busily making plans for them to attend a car tour in Iowa, do some fishing, visit Grandma and Grandpa Buckley and go to the planetarium in Chicago. I'm jealous already!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
California doings...
Posted by Julie at 11:17 PM
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3 comments:
I want to go too Alex! Maybe next year Zack can join you guys. He should be old enough for Grandpa and Grandma to handle both of you.
The kids' class choices sound great, I'm anxious to see some of Emma's clay sculptures, that should be right up her alley.
As usual Dad has so much jammed into Alex's schedule that we'll hardly get to see him. I think we get to squeeze in a visit on the Saturday before he leaves. It's awesome that Alex gets a chance to do this every year, treasured memories for both of them for sure!
All the extra activities for Alex & Emma sound great! We definitely want Henry to learn how to play one instrument. I hope its piano!
Great update! Love, Aunt Dude
Sounds like you are enjoying your new home and the surrounding areas. Good luck at the piano recital Alex. Lucky kids having a week break in October from school. Thanks for the update.
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