Water, Sand, and Sunshine…

What more do you need to make a perfect ‘summer’ day in fall??  Family of course!! 

Last weekend I needed to make a trip to pick up some ceramic supplies, so we packed up the fam and off to Orange County we went.  Great weekend to go… the studio was having a big event… lots of sales, demos, and free bbq!!   Of course while we are in the area we have a couple other stops to make… Ikea and the beach!!

Rylan has had this recent obsession with water! Every time he sees a running sprinkler or the little canal on our way to take sis to school all I hear is “water, water, water!!” Even when he goes potty he calls that water!! Since he has never seen the ocean before I was really looking forward to his excitement when he saw the BIG water!!  After we scored the perfect parking spot right next to the beach access area, the big moment I was waiting for….

This was NOT the reaction I was expecting! I think it was all just too BIG and loud!!  Brooksie on the other hand was more than excited to be at the beach!!

Maybe he just needed a little pep-talk from mom…

and some guidance from dad and sis…

It wasn’t long before he was chasing birds….

 

and eating seaweed…

That doesn’t taste so good… BLEH!!!

And splashing with big sis!!!

Another beautiful day in sunny California with my family!!!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!

Even though Brooksie’s birthday celebration was our trip to the zoo last month, we decided to let her have a little, low key get together… just to invite over a few friends and have some ice cream. Now, for someone who loves to party plan and entertain a ‘low key get together’ is bound to become a full blown shin-dig!!

Trying to find a party idea that’s different from the many parties we attend is no easy task so the ice cream party was perfect (yes, we’ve upgraded from low key ‘get together’ to a ‘party’!!) I found lots of super cute ice cream party ideas online… pink, fluffy, foo-foo ice cream party ideas!! Anyone who knows Brooksie knows she’s no girly-girl and hates pink!! How do I make this a party for and about her….? I’ve got it… make it gross!! Which, to Brooksie, was a totally awesome idea!!!

Our toppings became items such as worms (gummy worms), dirt (crushed oreos), snail eggs (m&m’s), rainbow rocks (nerds), bear bits (teddy grahams), monkey brains (banannas), and no ice cream is complete without a bull’s eye (cherry) on top!!

It was a perfect “Brooksie” style party!!

Come on in….

topping table…

Ice cream cake pops, inspired by Bakerella…

Brooksie with the “snot” (aka dyed marshmallow cream)

The kids LOVED piling on their own topping!

This is how you do it… an ice cream in each hand!!!

Thanks for coming, don’t forget your goodie bag!!

A Day with the Animals…

We decided to celebrate Brooksie’s 7th Birthday a little early this year at the San Diego Zoo. Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse were coming for a visit from Utah (Uncle Travis had to work so he didn’t get to come this time) Aunt Kathy and cousin Jesse were also in CA visiting from Texas! Her shock when she opened the door to find Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse standing there was priceless!! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, Brooksie had her taekwondo belt testing the next day! She was very excited to have them there to watch her test!! (that will be a post for another day) After TKD Brooksie’s buddy Jayden came home with us to go to the zoo the next day. The kids had a blast having a big sleepover in the living room! Reminds me how much I miss having family close to us.

Uncle Jesse, Jayden, Brooksie and Rylan at the San Diego Zoo

Uncle Josh, Aunt Shelia, and the kids met us at the zoo too! They brought us some YUMMY Submarina sandwiches for lunch. After sandwiches and cake pops we were off to see some animals!!

Rylan really enjoying his sandwich!!

Brooksie loved the kangaroos and Jayden thought the flamingos were really cool, Rylan kissed a sheep in the petting zoo, and Jared and I saw the jaguar up close, what a gorgeous animal!! We saw lots of cool things we hadn’t seen before! Brooksie was brave and decided to ride the sky tram with Granddaddy and Uncle Jesse!! The kids had a great time and were so good!! It was a perfect day at the zoo!!

Monkey see, monkey do… Brooksie and Jayden just hangin’ around!!

Bri, Jeremy, Jayden, Brooksie, and Rylan

Dad, Mom, Rylan, and Brooksie

So I don’t overload this post with pictures more than I have here is a video of some of the animals we saw…

San Diego Zoo 2011

A Little Family Fun….

For months Brooksie has been begging to wear on of the little sticky mustaches Jared got for Christmas!! We decided to turn it into a little family fun, well fun for most of us, Rylan wasn’t diggin the whole experience!! In honor of “Mustache May” here is the Goldman Family…