It amazes me that these animals ALL have come from abuse, neglect, animal hoarding or slaughter and have been rehabilitated and regained their trust in humans.
{feeding carrots}
{petting Portia & Ellen DeGeneres’ cow, Holy}
{Yoda the emu}
The kids were a wee bit overdressed for such a place.
I had visions of a possible Christmas card photo shoot, but I think Jay’s mind was on getting home to watch the Chargers rather than snapping a bajillion photos in a petting zoo of sorts.
{on an old red tractor}
On Elliott:
Big Red Bow ~ Cheapy accessory store from a mall in Charlotte for $1
I really enjoyed this place and would like to go back and spend more time.
Maybe a Sunday during football off season! 😉
Only open on Sundays between 10am and 2pm….
*****
It’s so wonderful to think what this couple and all the volunteers do. To know that these beautiful creatures have come from unthinkable situations and are now literally eating out of our hands makes my heart so happy.
An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language ~Â Martin Buber
{this trip served as our [visit local animal shelter] task on our summer to-do list}
My Mom/Gramma celebrated her 70th birthday over Labor Day weekend.
We knew all along, obviously, that we wanted to do something extra special to celebrate and toyed with the idea of a surprise party, a gathering at a fun Mexican restaurant overlooking Lake Hodges, a formal dinner party or appetizers at sunset. We decided {just 2 weeks before the party} that it would be a beachy brunch.
I sprung into action and set out to find all things turquoise, blue and green! I picked up these simple seashell notecards at Michael’s for just 75¢ a pack, quickly drafted up the inside, printed them and popped them in the mail.
The same day I found the invites, I also picked up four colored glass bottles at Ross on clearance for $2.49 each…
You can see a couple of them in the pic above ~ the other two were perched on the mantel and in the entry way. I also found a cute, beachy sign that said “Sands Of Time” that I leaned up again the bottle that greeted the guests at the front door {unfortunately no pic, but that was also just $2.49}. The turquoise branches were recycled from Elliott’s party in May.
The tablecloth was just a huge piece of burlap that I bought at Home Depot thanks to the idea from my good friend and fellow party planner, Lisa! It was less than $4 and fit the table perfectly. I liked the fact that it was rustic and wrinkled and gave the impression of sand on the beach.
I tried to keep the menu easy and delicious, of course. I chose to do a couple of the breakfast casseroles that can be prepared the night before and taken from the fridge to the oven the next morning for stress-free entertaining. I did one with sourdough, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and feta adapted from here. Then I did one with the hash browns, sausage, onions, red peppers and cheddar. {see how it comes together in the link above} They were both a huge hit. I named the menu items after San Diego beaches ~ Coronado Breakfast Casserole, Wind N Sea Breakfast Casserole, Fiesta Island Fruit Salad and Mission Beach Monkey Bread.
We sipped on champagne drinks ~ mimosas {OJ} and hibiscus {cranberry juice}
For desserts I made the cake batter blondies, picked up some mini cupcakes and a mini new york cheesecake…
I used some coordinating ribbon {75¢/roll} and made some little picks for the desserts.
It was great to see so many friends from throughout the years…
{Playing “Happy Birthday” on the maracas!}
Singing, making a wish and blowing out the candles…
*****
I really did enjoy throwing this together at the {last minute}. I did what I could here at home like make the paint chip buntings, plan the menu, make the blondies and shop for a few decorations. I made my grocery list, shopped in San Diego and knocked that out the afternoon before the party via Trader Joe’s and Albertson’s. What I love about brunch is that it is extremely affordable ~ all the groceries for about 40 people were approximately $75. I decorated and prepped the casseroles the night before so all I had to do before the party {started at 11am} was put together the fruit salad {bought pre-chopped melon and added grapes} in the glass jar, make the monkey bread and plate the desserts.
Invites, paper plates, napkins, utensils, cups and decor were about $30…everything else I already had or utilized from my mom’s already beachy house!
It was the easiest, breeziest {to-go} party and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Mom/Gramma, we hope you enjoyed visiting with all your precious friends and neighbors. Here’s to a wonderful, fresh new year ahead for you! We love you very much and are fortunate to have you in our lives.
*****
I could never stay long enough on the shore, the tang of the untainted, fresh and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought. ~ Hellen Keller
The sea, once it casts it’s spell, holds one in it’s net of wonder forever. ~ Jacques Cousteau
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Looks like we’re already sliding right into September!
{thanks for the photo, Wendy}
Good bye, August.
Good bye sno-cones, slip-n-slides, concerts in the park and carefree summer days.
Hello homework, reading logs, collecting Box Tops and searching for items for {share day}!
September is full of all sorts of good stuff like play dates, dance classes, celebrating Gramma’s milestone 70th birthday, the kids’ first Padre game, picture day, the beginning of religious education classes, a visit from Popsi, more birthday parties and my first blog conference, Blog Sugar.
I’m sure the next 30 days will also be a blur, but trying my best to slow down and ENJOY each day.
I just realized that I haven’t really been posting much on the weekends…not my intention, but I guess it’s OK because that means that we’ve been busy and still enjoying summer even though school is definitely in full swing again.
*****
Today marks day 28 of my 30 Day Shred.
I have to say that I have been MUCH better this time around. I did take a couple days off due to my knee bothering me, but I did something in lieu of the DVD those days ~ either biking or walking the big loop in our development at night. I love that the DVD is only 30 minutes and I really try to give it my all and make the most of the half hour with Jill and her girls. Also, I’ve been using 4 pound hand weights and I can probably go up to 5 pounders. Today the kids did it with me and used the Handy Manny plastic tools as their hand weights…yes, Squeeze, Pat, Felipe and Dusty joined in on today’s shred ~ WHATEVER works.
I feel great, though and can tell a difference, but I certainly need to tighten up the eating. I was doing great with that for the first two and a half weeks and then got a little lazy.
*****
Speaking of eating better, I have a couple healthy recipes to share since the last couple were far from it…
Spicy Honey Lime flank steak and this quinoa salad from Pinterest {thanks Erma for pinning it!}…
I marinated the flank steak in 1/4 cup honey, the juice of 3 limes, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp Sriracha for about an hour and a half, flipping from time to time. Jay grilled for about 6 minutes on each side. Will make great salads and sandwiches throughout the week.
It’s verrry healthy if you don’t put anything on it! She topped it with some polenta croutons which looked amazing. I, however, threw on some cheese & garlic croutons from my pantry. Would also be nice with a little dollop of light sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips.
The perfect summer soup since it’s served cold and has a nice refreshing kick to it.
*****
LOVE this pic of Holden and me taken this weekend at the concert in the park…
{yes, I am fully clothed and no, Holdy is not drugged}
*****
This week is a jumble of the new school schedule, homework {already!}, pool time {if they behave!}, park play date, dance class and two birthday parties this weekend.
These pics were taken almost exactly SIX years ago.
It was an impromptu photo shoot at Pottery Barn Kids that we were pressured into unable to say no to and ended up costing me a huge chunk of my last disability check….but in hind sight was worth every penny.
I can never get back those {3 month old} days.
Those little arm rolls. Those chubby cheeks. That teeny tiny hair clip holding down that ornery hair.
Yesterday afternoon I took her to see who her teacher is. I picked her up, pointed to her name, ran my finger along the page to the {teacher} column and asked her to tell me what it said. She read it, seemed a little puzzled and then realized that she has the same teacher this year as she did for kindergarten. She was thrilled. WE are thrilled.
I got choked up as I explained to her how special it is that she gets the same, wonderful teacher this year. I told her that I was so proud of her and for all she learned, the friends she made and the person she became in kindergarten. She told me she was happy that she had Mrs. H again and that there were some familiar faces in her class. “I’m not scared anymore”, she said. That makes this mama so happy.
She’s in a combo class this year with second graders which is obviously new to us, but I am confident that everything will be fine since we adored Mrs. H last year.
Here’s to another year of 7am wake up calls, early morning walks to school, scratching my head for some {new} lunch box ideas, homework, volunteering, spelling tests, field trips, etc.
She has a fresh new haircut. Her outfit all picked out for tomorrow. School supplies tucked into her backpack. New lunch box ready to carry all the wonderfully creative and never duplicated {ha!} snacks and lunches.
Last year FLEW by and I am certain this one will too.
My FIRSTborn is now a FIRST grader….
Today, this official last day of her summer, is a reminder to relish these days because in the same time from when she was only in a diaper on that fuzzy white blanket to now, she will be 12 years old and going into 7th grade. Gah!
*****
“I am not a perfect mother and I will never be. You are not a perfect daughter and you will never be. But put us together and we will be the best mother and daughter we would ever be.” ~Â Zoraida Pesante
