San Diego Fair!

This past weekend we went to the San Diego fair. It's an annual tradition we have where we go and experiment with the different and new foods they create, visit the animals, and check out the exhibits. We don't do games or rides because we are too afraid and we end up being too tired after all of the crazy food we eat and walking through the many exhibits they have. This time when we got to the fair the first thing we did was check out the Alice and Wonderland exhibit filled with original artwork, life-sized cards and chess pieces to play with, picture opportunities with various characters from the book/film and fun props and lighting effects.

Next we made our way over to the food so we could indulge in our first meal of the day....Fried shrimp and rice balls and Deep Fried Pineapple. I have to say....both were extremely yummy and I could have eaten the rice balls all day long. Best way to start the day!

Our next meal was what I came to the fair to try and super excited about...Kool Aid hot wings and Chicken in a waffle on a stick! Both were delish and by far our favorite. Caleb couldn't stop eating it and it even came with French fries that had kool aid sauce drizzled on top. Soooo good.

We decided to take a break from food and venture on over to Caleb's favorite...the animals. Caleb was in heaven as soon as we first walked in. Lo and behold a Bug area with bug tasting and products you could actually buy! He really wanted to buy chocolate covered grasshoppers but it was so expensive and I just knew he wouldn't like them. I told him he had to taste the bugs first because I knew he wouldn't like it and sure enough..he said it tasted like the smell of hay. Yuck. After the gross bug tasting we saw rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep, cows, and pigs. So cute.

It was time to eat more food so we made our way over to get some food that we tried last year and absolutely loved....pulled pork mac n cheese grilled cheese sandwiches and on the way we happened to see deep fried lemonade. Well that wasn't something we planned to try but we couldn't resist so we got one and absolutely LOVED IT. And then of course right next to it was chocolate covered frozen cheesecake on a stick and a smore's ice cream sandwich which were also extremely delish.

By the time we were done eating we quickly checked out the Bing Crosby Hall that had products to sell and bought a mop for the house and then called it a day. We were so tired from walking around and stuffed from eating that it was time to go home and crash. We had another successful time at the fair and can't wait to go back next year!

Zoo Time!

Last month I took the kids to the San Diego Zoo for a few hours in the morning to kill time before we headed to a friend's birthday party. I always love going to the zoo right when it opens because it's not as crowded, it's not too hot, and the animals are more lively and eating their breakfast. We stayed for about 3hrs and saw pretty much everything there and had such a good time. The tigers were out which rarely happens when I go, the Lions were out and up close which doesn't happen, and the polar bear was swimming and playing with his ball in the water which again....DOESN'T HAPPEN. I felt like it was a good day to go to the zoo and a good time because we got to experience the animals in a way we never get to when we go other times and it was nice to spend quality time with my kids without the chaos of everyone else. Caleb is so smart when it comes to animals that he was teaching me stuff about everything we saw and took pleasure in reading the information displayed for each animal and exhibit. We wanted to stay longer just to read everything that was there but it was time to go and I promised them I would take them to the Wild Animal Park next time. To my surprise neither of them threw a fit and it turned out to be one of the best times we had at the zoo.

Perfect Attendance and Math Awards

We couldn't be more proud and excited to see Caleb get two awards after only being at his new school for 4 months. It was a complete surprise and shock for us when we heard he was receiving them. Caleb is such a smart boy and I am so thankful I was blessed with him as my child. I never have to help him with his homework and he never has to study or make the extra effort to understand or complete his academics. Math and reading have always been his strongest subjects and it's nice to see that he hasn't stopped excelling in these areas. I don't think there is anything Caleb can't do once he puts his mind to it and these awards are proof! Great job Caleb! Don't ever stop!

4th Grade Mission Project

This brought back memories from when I was in 4th grade doing the mission project! Caleb had to choose whether to do a poster board, scrapbook, or an actual model of the Mission of San Diego Alcala. Of course he chose a poster board which was the easiest of the three and because he's not really into arts and crafts. In order to help him create the poster board, we took him to visit the Mission of San Diego Alcala so that he could learn the history and know what to write about as well as take pictures and get a pamphlet or further documentation of the Mission. Caleb was super excited and completely fascinated with the history of it and took so many good pictures while we were there. He learned a lot and was able to write up his report and create the story board with no problem. He got 97% and displayed his project at open house for everyone to see. He did such an excellent job and we are so very proud!

The Big 10!

On February 22nd, 2016, Caleb turned the big 10! It was perfect that we had just moved in to our new house that we were able to host a big party for his special day. He wanted a Harry Potter themed party so I set out to create Harry Potter decorations, treats, and games.

To begin with, guests had to enter through the 9 3/4 station to get to Hogwarts Hall.

The banquet hall was fully decorated with banners from Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff and yummy treats of Butter beer, chocolate frogs, and Pizza!

After the feast of yummy treats, the kids set out to discover which team they would be on for the festivities by going on a scavenger hunt collecting magical horcruxes and finding the sorting hat. Everyone put on the hat and picked an easter egg and wand. Inside the egg was the team name and on the wand was a tag with the name of the wand. After they found out which team they were on they received a magic spell created just for them.

We played Harry Potter bingo, guess the jelly bean flavor, bamboozled which is a gross tasting jelly bean game, and did an obstacle course. Many prizes were given away such as coloring books with markers, candy, Carl's Jr. giftcards, toys, and paints. Everyone had a really good time playing especially the bamboozled one. Some of the jelly beans tasted like throw up and dirty socks...gross.

After food, games, and prizes it was time to eat cake! Oreo cookie madness.....so delish. At the end of the party everyone lined up to enter the Chamber of Secrets to get their fortune and goodie cauldron. The mini cauldron was filled with stickers, tattoos, and candy. Caleb said this was the best party he ever had and I'm so glad we were able to give him a wonderful and memorable day for the big 10.

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I'm Back!

So I see that I kind of slacked on keeping this blog up to date but now I plan to start up again and continue. I apologize for the huge gap but here are some pictures to capture Caleb's growth over the years and fun times we have had. Enjoy!

4yrs old

5yrs old

6yrs old

7yrs old

8yrs old

9yrs old

Caleb's a big brother, travels to Costa Rica and graduates Cubscouts!!