Auntie Kim had a special treat planned during their visit. She has been keeping up-to-date with Madelyn's love of baking. I mentioned to her that since truly she and Grammy were the Betty Crocker’s of the family, Madelyn really ought to experience some baking with the experts. ;)
Auntie found this adorable recipe online and decided it would make the perfect baking activity with all the cousins. It was a several step process, but it gave the kids time to do a little baking, then jump in the pool for some playtime, and then come back to the baking. Auntie Kim is very patient.
The treats turned out so cute! Many friends have asked for this recipe, and have even given them a try. It was not hard to impress with these mini cupcakes on a stick. And the kids LOVED them, too! J
Disclaimer: I realize this is a couple months past due, but I have been having technical difficulties with converting the videos clips.
Madelyn has been going to dance classes for about four months and loves it! Soon after we enrolled her in the class, we had to decide whether or not she would participate in the dance recital this month. After a bit of hesitation, we said yes. As much as I love to see her dance and twirl around, I truly was not looking forward to the pricey costume and recital fees. But alas, we did it anyway.
When we received the paper detailing the requirements for the recital I started to regret the decision to have her participate. Full make-up was the first thing that caught my attention, and I really, seriously did not want that. I talked to a couple other moms who said they felt the same way, but many were okay with the idea. I decided to be the natural-born rebel that I am, and skip "full" make-up. I did let Madelyn have a little fun, and we applied a wee bit of foundation, a dab of blush and some lip gloss. She was definitely the girl with the least amount of make-up, which made her the cutest kid there! ;) She was most excited to have curls put in her hair! Fortunately, I had the dress rehearsal to practice the curls. Unfortunately, her hair is so fine that by the time she started dancing, the curls were nearly straight.
Proof that I did actually manage to do curls.
I think the thing that amazed me the most was at the size of Madelyn's entourage. How on earth is it that a three-year-old could possibly have so many attend her dance recital? Well, it is Madelyn after all, so I guess it's understandable. ;) For the record, the following people came to see her dance: Grammy, Papa, Grandma & Grandpa N, Auntie Kim, Mac, Ethan, Donna, "Grandma" Louise, Edie and of course Mommy and Daddy. And if you were counting, that makes twelve.
And I will say (but please don't tell anyone-wink), I did get a little tear in my eye when Madelyn did her dances. We laughed so hard at some of the things she did. She was so cute. She is already talking about her next recital, which thankfully is not until Christmas time. She'll be starting preschool soon (Eeek!), and I'm not sure how she will do without a nap everyday, so dance classes may have to go on the back burner. We'll see though....
This year has been an incredibly crazy one for us, and because of that, we decided that a California trip was just not in the cards. However, as summer surrounded us with busy schedules and higher than average temperatures, we decided to look for a last-minute deal online.
Thank goodness for vbro.com, one of our newfound favorite sites for travel. We found a great deal on a beach condo in Carlsbad, California.
Before we headed out on the road we met Grammy and Papa for breakfast. It had been a month since we'd seen them, and all of us needed a quick visit.
We stayed just a short walk from Carlsbad State Beach, and although the condo was less than impressive (you really do get what you pay for sometimes) we found it to be a fantastic reprieve from work schedules and 112 degree temperatures.
Once we unpacked everything we took a walk to the beach to watch the sunset.
The next morning we got up early and had breakfast, and were ready to hit the waves! The beach was fantastic!
We were lucky that Uncle Rick, Auntie Kristin, Olivia, and Owen decided to join us a couple days into our trip. They had planned a stay in Oceanside, and decided to start their trip a little early. The kids had so much fun on the beach together, and the adults enjoyed some great conversations and well-deserved relaxation.
Waiting patiently for the cousins to arrive.
We had a blast with the cousins all day long. But we couldn't get enough of that soft sand between our toes so after dinner, Auntie Kristin, Owen, Madelyn, and I went for a walk down to the beach. You can't really get too many beach sunsets when visiting California!
Best Buddies
We spent the 4th of July heading to the Del Mar Fair. After last year’s day of play we knew this would need to be included on every California summer vacation. And our cousins had never been, so we had all the excuses we could possibly need!
We decided rather than trying to fight the whole parking lot fiasco, we’d take the Coaster to the bus station and then ride the shuttle to the fairgrounds. This was a brilliant idea….for the ride TO the fair.
The ride home was not such a grand idea. The shuttle was overstuffed by about 30 people and we ended up stuck (most of us standing up) for over an hour as the shuttle tried to make its way out of the parking lot. The poor kids were exhausted and could barely keep their eyes open. A couple didn’t. Everyone was going a little crazy...
We were supposed to head back to Arizona on July 5th, but the California cool breezes persuaded us to stay. Auntie Kristin invited us to stay with them at their condo, and who were we to say no? We added on an extra night, and then one more. It was so terribly hard to pull ourselves away.
We are blessed to have been able to squeeze this trip in this summer, and we’ve learned that we just need to plan ahead so this can be a trip we continue every year as we have for the last seven.
