Jack's 7th Birthday

There was all sorts of celebrating.  We started at his school on Friday.  Passed out pencils and sang the birthday song. 

No cupcakes or cookies in California schools!  Pencils or erasers, please.  :)

Disneyland up next....the happiest place! I love it. 

Had a great celebration of Jack at the park.  Disney does it so well.  The birthday button garners so much attention.  Several people greeted him.....which turned into talk about his bowling party......all so fun.

Kelly and Maggie Beau joined us. 

Maggie turns 1 soon, so we bought her Mickey ears.  Makes me so happy.

She and Laine are wearing matching "Tomato Jane" (Lainey's terminology) dresses bought by Kelly.  Maggie is Lainey's honorary little sister.  :)

How handsome is this guy getting?  He'll be a teenager in 7 months!  I am loving the 'big kid' years.......so fun to enjoy our three out of diapers, complicated car seats, and strollers. 

Still spinning......before the parade......with bubbles.

A duck joined the parade during our visit!  Very entertaining.

Disneyland was a ton of fun.

 And, I got this awesome pic from the day.  LOVE!!!!!!!

So very Carter, Jack and Lainey.....all in the perfect representation of their personality.

We woke early the next day to wish Jack a happy birthday.

And, he grew overnight!

Opened lots of presents from family near and far.

Blake found a special gift at Toys r Us.  Went to pick it up.....Jack received a balloon and crown and a special announcement on the PA system.

All smiles.

And, finally.....it was time for the bowling alley party!

He LOVES this bowling pin.  Part of the party.

He was so happy the entire time.  Blake and I couldn't stop smiling, either.  Nothing warms your heart more than seeing your child light up like this.

Lainey channeled Grease 2 all night, even though she's never seen the movie.  She was quite the scene.

And, this made me tear up then and makes me tear up now.  Our grumpy guy overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness.  Such a special, sweet little soul.

With the crew.  That's "Meow", Lainey's beau on the right.

Still at the claw machine.  With his bowling pin, which he carried everywhere.

Awesome shirt.

Kindergarten romance. Even though I think they broke up.  Never sure.

Major highlight......the glow-in-the-dark bowling shoes Caroline sent Jack.  Totally hip.

Finished the weekend at the beach.......kids explored the tide pools while I caught up on some reading.

Life is good!  6 weeks until summer. 

Jillian arrives on Wednesday.  And, we have a girls getaway planned.  So ready!

Back soon.

I'm Published, Yo!

 

 

 

 

 

So excited to share with you my debut on Dwellable.

 

It's HERE!

 

 

 

 

Hopefully more to come with this site.

 

Off to Disneyland for Jack's birthday visit.

 

He gets to wear the birthday button.

 

First a dead duck at the field trip.  Now the birthday button. 

 

Life is good!

 

 

 

 

Field Trip

It's the week of Jack!

First up, his very first field trip.

I think it's pretty much the biggest thing that has ever happened to him.  I was so happy to be part of it!

We took a Nature Walk to better understand California wildflowers.  Amazing things grow here......with little rainfall.......I learned a lot!

Our little guy volunteered several times to pull the lunch basket.

On the left, hat on backwards.  So cool.

 

We identified palms and all sorts of poisonous plants.

 

Walked around the pond and even saw a dead duck!  Totally the highlight.

 

Jack made lunch for us both and wrote our names, too, on the bags.

 

In honor of Earth Day, we cleaned up the park.  

Kids ran wild and enjoyed the pretty day!

 

Next up is a birthday celebration at school......then Disneyland......then his big party on Saturday.

We visited the Bowling Alley yesterday to confirm party plans.  While there, I gave Jack $1.00 to spend in the arcade.

He won something from the Claw Game. 

Now, for the rest of his life, he will not believe me when I tell him that those games don't deliver toys.  Damn.

 

Back soon with more party updates!

Scoop

Have I mentioned lately how much I love California?

Took the kids recently to Belmont Park in Mission Bay.  So very California-esque.

Who doesn't love a restaurant where your feet rest in the sand?

And, one that has a wave machine?

And, a giant chess board!  We played ping pong here for hours.

I felt the need to take a spin on the Tilt A Whirl in honor of the Griswolds.  Remember that line from Christmas Vacation?

Sweet Jackie was so excited for this big boy ride.  Laine did not share the same enthusiasm.  In fact, she was furious.  Not easy being the littlest.  

Happy to see her loving this one. 

Fish and Chips for dinner!

My ping pong opponent.  So cute.

Walked down to the beach.  Found some huge kelp bubbles.

Love this beach.

Spent Sunday afternoon at a beautiful resort in Carlsbad.  The flower fields were just below us.....

Blake wanted to kill me before, during and after inflating this raft I bought for the pool and ocean.

I don't know why?

Busy week here.

Jack's first field trip is tomorrow!  First ever.  So glad I can be there for it to help.

Carter is busy with school.  Made the honor roll for achieving a gpa above a 3.3.  His transition into 6th grade has been a tough one.  But, he's finally got the hang of it and is excelling like normal.  

Lainey is switching boyfriends.  Moving from one Nicholas to another.   Hard to keep up!