Coming off a {party high} with family visiting last weekend and then {celebrating the life} of a dear, dear family friend on Wednesday.
I’ve looked forward to this long Memorial Day weekend with absolutely NO plans. Usually we celebrate Elliott’s birthday, but decided to do it a week early this year.
Although there have been ideas tossed around of what we’re going to do, nothing is set in stone.
We’re at a fork in the road and we can decide which path we’ll take.
{taken about a year ago at Placerita Canyon}
So far we’ve taken the path with silver dollar pancakes for breakfast.
An impromptu trip to our park for lunch where we unexpectedly met up with several other fellow kindergartners.
And an Easy Bake brownie making session before dance class.
We may continue down this path or decide to double back and discover what lies ahead on another path.
Of course, there are a couple more birthday goodies along the way on Sunday.
*****
If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one ~ Dolly Parton
Here’s to the 3-day weekend…may the path you choose leave a smile on your face and a spring in your step.
Placerita Canyon State Park was buzzing with little nature goers Saturday afternoon.
So many sweet friends came out and kicked up dirt or fell into the creek ~ all to help Elliott celebrate {SIX}.
{Mr. Owl, the party mascot}
Again, I kept the invites on the cheap and found some cute blank note cards and affixed the following message inside:
I wanted to keep the decor and food semi-simple since we had to transport everything. I decided to just provide grab and go type snacks…for the kids, I found some organic puffed rice bars with dried berries. I also had prepackaged Ritz cheese and crackers, Florida’s Natural fruit nuggets and frozen yogurt tubes.
For the adults, there were Larabars and some flax trail mix bars ~ chocolate coconut & pumpkin spice. I also threw together a HUGE 7-layer dip {refried beans, Trader Joe’s spicy guac, light sour cream with a little taco seasoning mixed in, raspberry & pineapple salsa, cheese, green onion and fresh tomato on top}
Beverages were just Lemonade Capri Sun, little Juicy Juice boxes and bottled waters.
I wanted to make my own trail mix, but then thought it’d be more fun to have the guests create it themselves.
I found the little green and yellow snack containers at Dollar Tree in the baby aisle. I thought they’d be perfect little containers to scoop the trail mix into.
{the frame says, “Not just for squirrels anymore…help yourself to some acorns & twigs!”}
For activities we had hula hoops, horseshoes and Pin The Fairy On The Flower…
We all did a mini hike and headed to a live animal presentation at 1:00…
Everyone sang Happy Birthday to our little nature girl.
Then they brought out a little falcon, a snake, a tarantula, a tortoise and an owl.
After the animals, we headed back to {camp} and had cupcakes….72 of them to be exact!
I went back and forth with baking my own cake, having one made, baking cupcakes, buying cupcakes…then I remembered the little {two-bite} cupcakes…I thought they’d be perfect for the outdoorsy picnic. No cutting, no serving, no plates. I bought 6 dozen at Smart and Final. Best. Idea. Ever.
Small enough to have a couple and not feel too guilty!
*****
I love how children’s parties kind of immediately take on their own agenda. You can have everything perfectly orchestrated in your head and then before you know it the little snack containers that were supposed to hold hand crafted trail mix are now home to tadpoles! And the big black sharpie that was supposed to be used to write names on water bottles was used to write “Allyson’s Tadpoles” or “Blake’s Tadpoles” on little green and yellow cups.
Love it. Never in a bazillion years did I think we’d be catching tadpoles!
I had to apologize to the parents for wet kiddos and muddy shoes {or muddy barefeet}!
Holden was so busy huntin’ tadpoles he missed singing to sissy and he wasn’t happy about it.
I loved seeing a majority of her classmates, dance friends and our oldest group of SCV pals come together and celebrate…
I kept the party favors simple ~ froggy yoyos, Ring Pops, pixy stix, fun dip and a little toothbrush and toothpaste combo!
*****
We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather.
Thank you to ALL {36 kids & 31 adults!} who crossed the creek to come party with us!
{and a special thank you to the friends who helped set up and break down and to my family for helping me get all the breakables to and from without a single thing being damaged…whose idea was it anyway to bring so much glass to an outdoor event? 😉 }
When I asked Elliott what her favorite part of the party was, she said “when we were catching tadpoles!”
Of course.
Please note: NO tadpoles came home with us. The {Park Ranger} said that they needed to be returned to the creek. {wink, wink}
15. Go to a baseball game {this one was left over from last summer}
Along with a trip to the Carolinas and summer camps, this list is pretty lofty, but we’re going to do our best to fit these little bits of fun into our June, July & August!
What are you going to be checking off your list this summer?
Life got a little hectic all of a sudden and I don’t quite know where to begin.
The weekend was great ~ t-ball opening day and Mother’s Day.
We were up bright and early for the annual parade and opening ceremonies followed by the first game.
Please excuse the barrage of t-ball cuteness to follow:
{lining up with buddy, nicholas}
{parading around the field}
{sitting with his teammates}
{national anthem}
{getting into position}
{up to bat}
{running home}
{praise from coach}
{thanks for the helmet, lolo!}
{goooo orioles!}
It really was too cute for words. A few times I thought I was watching football ~ the kids would all run for the ground ball and then dog pile each other! Saturday mornings are going to be so fun for awhile.
*****
After our big t-ball extravaganza we hit up Panda Express {Holden’s pick} for some lunch and then cruised the ‘hood and rummaged through some garage sales. To this point, I have preferred hosting the garage sale, but I have to say it was fun seeing what everyone was trying to get rid of….and there is always an offer to me made!
Then the girls {Gramma, Elliott & me} went for pedicures and an afternoon Starbucks.
*****
Mother’s Day was nice with morning coffee and monkey bread and a Mexican food lunch complete with margaritas…
I never thought the words “Gramma, finish your margarita!” would ever come out of my mouth…
We dropped Jay and the kiddos off and then {tipsy} Gramma and I toured an open house and did a little shopping followed by another afternoon Starbucks pick-me-up. Jay made some homemade pesto, grilled some pizzas and made a salad for our special dinner.
Another wonderful Mother’s Day down in the books…
*****
Monday night was filled with an unexpected twist. My friend, Hollie, got some tickets to an audition taping of Simon Cowell’s new show “The X Factor” at USC’s Galen Center. My {celebrity sighting resumé} is picking up a bit. I stared at the back of Simon’s and Paula’s heads for about 3 hours. Ha! We were WAY up high in the nosebleed section as we got caught in traffic and were a little tardy for the party.
But it was fun and there was some decent talent…show airs this fall.
Here is my dorky pose before I hit the road for the night:
*****
Things have been a little topsy turvy lately, but it has become clear that it’s time to refocus and buckle down for awhile.
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue. ~ Henri Matisse
If you’re like me, you have the best intentions with the reusable shopping bags.
We own like 50 of them.
But 10 are here. 10 there. 5 over yonder. 7 in the garage. 3 in the pantry.
But ZERO in the car when you need them.
I’m getting better. I unload the groceries, fold up the bags and return them to the coche, pronto!
Especially since Ralphs gives points for using them with the rewards card ~ LOVE that.
But points or no points, we all should be using them. I tend to forget them when I go to Target {which is A LOT} and I am going to be better about that. They’re certainly not just for groceries.
If you don’t want to make your own, just grab some at your local Trader Joe’s….this stuff is unbelieveable! We tried it for the first time last weekend and I’m still thinking about it. I’m starting to read labels more and if I remember correctly, I could pronounce and comprehend what 99.9% of the ingredients were. Goes great with their pita crisps with sea salt….or they sell tiny soft pita bread rounds that would also pair well with this spread.
*****
So remember to turn off the lights when not in use, combine errands to save gas, reduce, reuse, recycle, walk or bike to school, work or the store, drink out of reusable bottles, zap the ziplocs and use washable plastic containers instead, take a shorter shower, make sure your trash goes IN the trash can {can I just tell you that I HATE when people litter! Not that any of you floppers do, but I’m just sayin’. Hate it! Like I have seen people cleaning out their cars at stop lights and tossing Burger King trash out the window!!!!! Ugh! Hate, hate, hate!} and don’t forget your cloth shopping bags! 😉
Most of all, get outside, enjoy the sunshine and LOVE our Mother Earth.
E.B. has a sweet tooth like no other, loves to bake and can go through a box of Chewy Lemonheads in no time flat.
But, when it comes to filling baskets E.B. tries to make some better choices than just Peeps, Cadbury Creme Eggs, jelly beans, speckled robin’s egg malt balls, chocolate bunnies and bubble gum.
Generally, our Easter baskets are filled with useful goodies rather than a boatload of candy and little unnecessary toys.
Here are some suggestions for Easter basket stuffers with less sugar and less likely to end up on the floor after a day…..
Sunglasses for the upcoming summer months
Flip flops
Tooth brushes
Band-aids {our household goes through these like they’re goin’ out of style!}
Summer jammies
{both from oldnavy.com}
Reusable water bottles
Sugarless gum
{Washable} crayons or markers
Coloring books
Bubble bath {we don’t use this regularly so it’s a treat}
Of course, it’s OK to throw in a few Dum Dum lollipops or some chocolate eggs. We don’t want the Easter Bunny to be a total buzz kill.
After all, that’s why he put a new toothbrush in the basket!
It was a gorgeous day for the 5K trail run which included short walls to scale, a waist deep wade through the lake, a rope wall and then the final mud crawl before the finish line.
{the perfect place for [a kodak moment]}
{thank goodness for bandanas}
{“go daddy go” ~ bib #1620}
{in the white shirt…off to get into his corral}
{in the far lane behind the person on their knees in the orange shirt}
{i don’t know why they bother passing out bibs}
{off to the showers}
{cool dog tag medal}
{quick picnic before heading home}
By the way, the edamame hummus at TJ’s is AWESOME!
*****
Jay did great and wants to try the 10K next year.
I’m going to definitely do the 5K and see how that goes….better work on my upper body strength!
The nice thing is that the lake is literally 15 minutes from our house.
Anyone wanna get a little team together, dress up and do it with me next year?
Put aside an old pair of tennies and let’s get dirty!
This morning as we were walking to school, my {most worn} pair of black Havs broke.
Just like that.
We were about 2 minutes into the stroll and boom…the little between-the-toe part gave way and snapped in two.
I was bummed…we turned around and walked home, carrying the retired right foot flop.
Why couldn’t it have been my $1 pair from Old Navy?
Anywhoo, Elliott suggested we drive so we wouldn’t be late as a result of my faulty flip flop {She is SO my daughter! All my “C’mon, let’s go! We’re going to be late!” panics must have sunken in}.
R.I.P old black ones.
*****
We survived our first t-ball practice last night.
So cute….
{warming up}
{batter up}
{learning to field the ball}
Great team with nice parents. Should be an awesome season…
Go Orioles!
*****
Looking forward to a busy weekend.
Friday afternoon playdate. Dance class. Souplantation for din din. Mad Hatter Tea Birthday Party tomorrow. Errands. Jay’s doing a {fun} 5K {I should be doing it, too!}. Picnic at the lake on Sunday afternoon.
*****
This morning I got rid of more crap and did my S.V.S. {sweep, vacuum, swiffer} and if I missed anything, too bad! It’ll still be there on Wednesday when I do it again to get ready for Lolo, Lola & Gramma K’s arrival for Easter.
Oh, and the Easter Bunny will be picking up a few things this weekend! He just did the math and realized that baskets need to be filled in almost a week!
Checking into your {hotel} and finding this on the dresser:
Sitting out overlooking a full Lake Hodges, flipping through months of Coastal Living mags and sipping wine while Gramma and the kids are at the park.
Putting the Sea World passes to good use:
{if a wedgie prevents your child from ending up in the dolphin tank, I’m all for it}
Spring Break means meeting up with dear friends from back in the day and realizing that you could stay up all night chatting:
{OK, so some cell phone pics are better than others…..}
Spring Break means visiting your {almost} 102-year old great great cousin at the old folks home and forgetting the camera {shame on me!}. The kids blew bubbles in the dining room while the residents looked on, laughed and waited for lunch to be served.
I overheard two little ladies exchanging thoughts and information…one asked, “How long have you lived here?” The other answered, “Forever and two days!” then laughed a little as if she knew there was nothing she could do about it but make the best of it all.
{Pardon me while I go off on a little tangent}
When Elliott was only about 2 months old, Jay accepted a job in San Jose. It was a new chapter we were excited about, but at the same time leaving San Diego was hard. We wanted to share all our favorite things about America’s Finest City with our new daughter, but soon found ourselves creating new memories in the Bay Area.
Moving from SD was the LAST thing I wanted to do after just having Elliott, but it’s what came to us and with no regrets we made the most out of 3 years in Nor Cal. Now, after two and a half years back in So Cal, we’re knocking that out, too. But it’s always good to go back to visit and reminisce.
{OK, we’re back on track}
Spring Break in San Diego also means grabbing Happy Meals and sushi and heading to the very park that you rollerbladed by a million times back in the day {15+ years ago to be exact}…
Spring Break means doing a drive-by of the {beachy slum} apartment you used to rent and finding out that it’s getting a facelift NOW {rather than 15+ years ago!}
Haines Street
Spring Break means stopping at Mr. Frostie for a chocolate dipped cone {the same one mommy went to 30+ years ago!}…
Double-frosty fistin’ it…
And while in Pacific Beach, we drove by the little townhouse that I lived in until I was almost 8 years old…
Wanna know something cah-razy about this little townhouse? Per zillow.com it was valued at almost a million dollars a few years ago!
It does have a gorgeous view of SD bay, coastline, downtown skyline and beyond.
Location, location, location! View, view, view!
Hard to believe that is where I came home from the hospital to…
Spring Break means watching your kids b-line it to the pool and find that they’ve remembered {how to swim} from last summer. Still not water safe by any means, but didn’t forget what they learned 8 months ago.
*****
Spring Break is just a little halfway over and already it has been more than I ever imagined.
Getting together with friends that you haven’t seen in {YEARS!} like it’s nothing. Just meeting up at the same hole-in-the-wall, bellying up to the same place at the bar and getting caught up. Pure and simple. That’s how all friendships should be.
Taking your children back to where you lived and showing them where you went to elementary school, for me, is such a treat. Spending a couple hours at the “beach park” beats Shamu any day!
These things that we did with Elliott and Holden are a mere drop in the San Diego bucket. But the older they get, the more fun it is to show them {my town}.
Although it has been {forever and 2 days} since our address was in SD, it feels just like {yesterday} when you meet up with good friends and return to the places where beautiful memories were made.
And that’s just the way it should be!
Off to see what fun we can have during the rest of Spring Break…
