ANOTHER FEW LAZY DAYS IN SOUTHERN California, but the blog must go on . . .
Love babysitting little Miss Mary
two times a week!
Friday's usually mean SLEEPOVERS with Jacob!
One Friday, we started with
miniature golf in Ventura
Proud after sinking yet
another par putt
Well, there's par and
then there's par . . .
Sleepovers are highlights
You had to be there
Santa Clara Elementary School
Fund Raiser
Chocolates are the building blocks of a healthy Catholic body according to an encyclical by Pope Francis.
Last Friday's Sleepover started
with the movie "The Boss Baby"
We both liked it.
Get a good meal soldier
Saturday was April 1st, aka, April Fools Day in the USA.
We were foolish enough to take Jacob and go to not one but two major events in Ventura County on this glorious Saturday.
Up first was . . .
The 42nd Annual
Scandinavian Festival
at California Lutheran University
Cool Viking Encampment
Great storyteller explaining how
the names off the days of the week
coming from Scandinavian lore
For example, did you know that Thursday comes from Thor's Day?
A boy and a dead Wild Boar
A KUBB FIELD!
Kubb, aka, Kill the Peasants, is a great game that Jacob loves to play in our back yard.
He had fun executing a few peasants before lunch.
Viking Weaponry
Colorful Viking Tent
Jacob wanted a photo of
this pig head
Nice outfit
Not sure if it is truly seaworthy
A boy and a steam begging
to be crossed
Sweden soon
Did you know any of these Swedish facts?
Under its Constitutional Monarchy, the Sovereign of Sweden is King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Sweden is a country made up of 158,927 square miles making it the fourth largest country in Europe and about one tenth larger than the State of California.
The population of Sweden is approximately 10,015,000.
While the nation's capital and largest city is Stockholm, the two most important cities from both historical and athletic perspectives are Uplands-Väsby and Hässleholm.
You could look it up.
CLU's giant Martin Luther statue
wearing the Noble Prize
Bob Dylan winning the 2017
Nobel Prize for Literature
was interesting
Jacob could win one in 2063
Time to hit the kids' craft making booths.
Sanding down a
wooden butter knife
It was INTENSE work!
Time for a snack break
A healthy cold plate in the sunlight and a delicious bowl of Swedish meatballs, lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes in the shadows.
The booth to make Swedish
Christmas tree straw ornaments
was packed
Denmark, not so much
Making a Danish fish
Sort of a Danish origami feel to this.
Jacob and the Fish
Sounds like a Disney movie.
Making a Norwegian rock troll
A call to . . .
. . . dance?
. . . to eat dainty Swedish pancakes ?
. . . to start gorging on sausages?
. . . NO, it was time for an
old fashioned Viking battle!
I lost my wing man early
in the fighting
DAMN THE ENGLISH!
We had a GREAT morning at the
Scandinavian Festival!
Now it was time to drive about 15 minutes to beautiful Moorpark, California for . . .
16th Annual The Blue and The Gray
Civil War Battle Reenactment
The Battle of Antietam is
THAT-A-WAY!
Private Billy Otis Streeter
of the 2nd Vermont Volunteer's
Company E
He eerily looks a lot like our son Michael.
Practicing their battle techniques
Or maybe just trying to impress the ladies.
Jacob helping Billy Otis
to set up his camp
Jacob and Billy Otis Streeter
Is that a Civil War era laser
beam on his hat?
This General likes to relax by
smoking a pipe before a big battle
This like a stogie instead
Laurie liked these lace sun umbrellas
They are quite fancy indeed!
The Union forces marching
into battle to face . . .
. . . the undermanned Rebels
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
What does that mean?
It means KABOOM!
More Union troops
The Battle was on now!
Reb cavalry behind the Union line
Colorful
Billy Otis SURVIVED the battle!
Jacob joined Billy Otis on the
march back to the Union camp
Saturday was a loooooong day but we had a lot of fun, being grandparents can be daunting at times.
Now we absolutely need to get out to Las Vegas soon to see grandson Kevin and his Mom and Dad.
Reading Is FUNdamental
Swedish Noir at its finest
The 20th of the 22
Jack Reacher novels that
I have read
This is all Mike D'Antuono's fault. I only need to find the two newest Reacher novels to finally catch up to Lee Child's writing efforts.
Not the best story in the series but Reacher did have an amazingly high body count to offset any holes in the story.
Another Mike D'Antuono
recommendation
Actually, it can.
Published in 1935, this work has some amazing parallels to today's zany, volatile American political scene.
