The weather this week has been odd. It seems we're getting the June Gloom already. Usually the clouds blow off by afternoon but on Friday they lingered all day. It wasn't entirely cold (we wore shorts with long sleeved shirts) but it was gray and dark enough that on top of making cookies with the kids, I made this after dinner:
and had a late night sample.
Nothing says May 30th like a pumpkin pie graph.....
Two things were certain today:
Lucy is kooky.
And Lucy likes cookies.
She's been in a really silly mood these days. Making little jokes, laughing at herself, dancing around and acting silly (though that's not really new), and just being funny. And since it was a cloudy and gloomy day it seemed the perfect afternoon for baking cookies. So we did. And we ate them in the kitchen.
I love this personality.
Memorial Day and Labor Day are the perfect holidays for family, sunshine, and bbqs. And we were able to do all of the above!
We drove down to OC to hang out with everyone. And while Eric and Laura went house shopping, we and my parents took all the kids to the RSM lake to ride the paddle boats.
One of my all-time favorite people, my dad:
The boats were only $1.25 for a 1/2 hour. A dollar twenty-five??? Really? They could have said 5 bucks and I would have said, sure. The lake was popular that day so we had to wait 20 minutes for our boat. The kids were getting restless....
but Casey created entertainment:
Then we geared everyone up in their (required) life-vests. Lucy and Ava loved them:
Owen was less than thrilled:
But he didn't complain when Casey did this: 
He just hung there and took it like a man. Not sure which looks worse, his squished nose or the strap riding up his crotch.
Three little monkeys, ready for the boat:
And three adults ready to chaperone:
And we're off!
It was actually a workout cycling those pedals (and holding a child on our laps). I'm embarrassed to admit that after 10 minutes, I was worn out! A well spent $1.25 though. We'll have to do it again.
Next we skipped, jumped, danced, and hopped over to the ducks. Lucy NEVER stops moving.
The ducks were marginally interested in our food (I guess that's what happens on busy holidays). But there was one big goose that kept coming back for more.
And Owen found him comical. 
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Back home, we had a real cookout with my parents' portable fire-ring. Bryan and Rich got the corn roasting on coals:
Meredith continued the legacy of styling her nephews' hair. Often you'll find Jeremy with a crazy do, but I guess Owen's old enough to join the club.
Thanks Mere Pear!
Owen couldn't get enough of the red soda:
(no matter who was feeding it to him):
And we all enjoyed a yummy meal of hot dogs, hamburgers, smoked corn on the cob, watermelon, smores, cookies, and cherry cobbler. Aunt Karen:
Meredith and Camille:
Eric and Laura:
And even Lucy got in on the action. I thought she would have forgotten about the time she tried corn on the cob last year and liked it. But I guess she didn't!
We love living close enough to both our families for fun days like these. Thanks mom for all the yummy food, thanks everyone for the good conversation, and thanks to all those who gave their lives for this wonderful country. Happy Memorial Day!
Our Saturday was jam-packed and I loved it!
It started with Lucy waking up earlier than normal. But instead of fighting it (with her watching an hour of TV while I tried to continue sleeping) I got up, showered, and got things in motion. The kids made eggs with dad, I packed up our day-bag of snacks, etc. and we were all dressed and out the door by 10am. Quite an accomplishment for a Saturday morning.
Casey found a cute Strawberry Festival online so we drove down to Garden Grove to enjoy it. Everything about their main street, old-town drag spoke of strawberries:
That's my kind of fire hydrant:
There was a parade down Main Street with all the regulars.....and Casey's favorite: a bunch of Shriner's:
Then we hit the carnival for all sorts of rides and treats.
should Casey need to use the facilities....
We all got something fun out of the day. Lucy got to go on two rides (which were way more money than I care to tell). First, Dumbo with mom:
Then the Merry-Go-Round with Dad. She told us 10 times while waiting in line that she wanted to get the blue dragon. And since there was only one on the ride, she was worried:
but........Phew! Got him:
Owen's treat was, hmmmm....hanging out and taking in all the sights:
(he took a face plant on Friday and his upper lip is quite red. I'd like to say it looks better today, but after taking two more falls this afternoon he only looks worse. There are all sorts of scratches now on the left side of his face. The joys of being 18 months old):
Casey got his mountainous Strawberry Shortcake:
which he kindly shared with me and Owen. Lucy wasn't into it (shocker):
And my treat??? Kettle Corn, of course! BUT, not from the fairgrounds. There was none to be found. But since we were so close to Disneyland, I made Casey stop at Downtown Disney while I ran in and picked up a bag. It really didn't take too long and was so worth it.
So while we did this on the car ride home:
The kids did this:
It was a joyous hour.
Later that afternoon we ate leftover homemade pizza in the backyard. (Casey doesn't always look mad while he's eating)
Casey and the kids washed both the cars! (I didn't even have to help)
And we worked on our latest project....stripping, sanding, and giving a new-life to this awesome table I bought at a garage sale two weeks ago:
we found the actual wood under all those layers of gunk:
I just can't decide what color it will be?? Here's the before:
The after will either be all-white (maybe with bright colored chairs) or all-yellow (lemon yellow). I won't paint it till we have an actual house to put it in and I get a feel for the dining room. But there's plenty of work for me to do till we reach the painting stage!
We finished our day with some laundry, movie watching, and panda express for dinner. Mmmm, I love a busy day. And I love a warm shower at the end to clean it all off.
