Father's Day Prep and ideas

You may remember THIS POST about my husband's latest obsession with creating cool pancakes. Well, it gave me the perfect Father's Day gift idea! I gave each girl a Wilton's squeeze bottle, (the 2-pack cost me just $1 with my 40% off JoAnn's coupon!) I drew my design, as well as the words "Papa's Pancakes," and let them trace with puffy paint.


Allison was able to trace pretty well. Natalie... not so much. But, they both turned out pretty cute. I think Papa will love his surprise!



I saved the clear bag that they came in, and am planning to use THESE LABELS, (which I've already printed), to put on the bag once the bottles dry. I am also planning to use the labels on all his favorite goodies I bought at Trader Joe's Today. I have one more surprise I am working on for him, but I'll save it for another post. In the meantime, if you need some fun Father's Day ideas, here are a bunch I found:

• "idad" card
  

• Martha Stewart labels and other ideas
  

• circle cupcake tags
  

• shirt and tie card
  

• shirt and tie gift boxes
  

• other shirt and tie ideas
  

• neck tie card
  

• coupon book
  

• kid coloring pages
  

• another coupon book
  

• chocolate bar wrapper

• sampler card
  

S and T

WARNING: If you lick Sierra....

You might get your face squished!

Hot Rock Art

Today the girls were asking to paint rocks, which we have done countless times. "Let's try something new," I suggested. So, we colored hot rocks with crayons! It's been one of those ideas I saw somewhere and have kept in the back of my mind, that just happened to work today!

The rocks were heated in our toaster oven at 350 for about 25 minutes. I made sure the girls wore gloves for added safety against burns.

Meanwhile, it's nice to be able to put Sierra down anywhere and not worry too much about her falling over anymore!

I think next time we may try foil wrapped around cardboard... I remember doing something like that when I was little. For now, this was a fun project!

Harvest Time...

... Again! We've said goodbye to the peas, the broccoli, the apricots, and the radishes. Today we harvested the last of our carrots... (and a few tomatoes, but we should have many more to follow!) So, Papa was sweet enough to plant zucchini and green beans with the girls today for "Try it Tuesday;" (Two things we have never planted, before). Looking forward to more garden goodies to come!


Allison was excited to use her new gardening gloves, apron, and shovel she got from our dear friends for her birthday.



Sierra had her first play time in the sand box. I think she enjoyed it, but Mama was stressed every time she attempted to eat the sand - maybe not yet!

Origami Offering Box

Our children's program at church has a special offering designation for the summer called "Project Pollito." The money raised will be used to help purchase baby chicks for an impoverished community in Baja, Mexico. The first week already passed with me forgetting to give the girls money... (oops!) In order for us, (me), to remember, I decided to do a meaningful Monday project. Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered how to make origami "balloons," and thought they would work perfectly for special "banks." The girls put chicky stickers on them, and then got right to work o projects to earn coins to put in them. (You can see how this is a win-win situation all around!) Tonight as I was nursing Sierra, I came out to find the big girls with their jammies on, teeth brushed, and they had folded and put away an entire basket of laundry that was on their floor. Hooray for Project Pollito! You can find instructions on how to make your own origami balloons here. (They are really quite simple!)

SCRATCH ART

I remember loving to do scratch art as a kid. The colors shining through the black always seemed more brilliant. The girls were scribbling hard when we went out to dinner the other night, and it inspired me to do scratch art with them.


I think Grandma did the best job...

Once we colored away, we painted over with black acrylic paint. (messy, messy!)

Once the paint was dry, it was time to scratch a design. We discovered credit card edges worked better than coins!

Tea with Grandma!

There is one thing Allison wanted more than anything else for her birthday...
It was NOT the bike...
It was a 10-day visit from Grandma... and she got it!
Grandma also brought her a Madeline tea set, and inspired her to have afternoon tea. (She brought Natalie a tea set, as well!) How sweet Grandma is. She bought special tea from the tea store, and even cut fresh flowers! She made it so special that the girls requested it to be a daily event. What sweet memories they are making. The girls are so blessed to have a grandma who cares so much about them!

A Ritzy Getaway!

Did I ever tell you that back in October I won a night at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point at Daniel's firefighter picnic? We decided to use it to extend Allison's birthday celebration, and even though it was only a night, it was INCREDIBLE!!! We first stopped at 85 Degrees in Irvine, and I found a new love -- sea salt coffee! Wow, is it incredible! I will find a way to replicate it and let you know! Not to mention, the pastries at this place... glad I don't live closer, or I would weigh twice as much!

The royal treatment began the minute we arrived at the hotel. Everyone somehow knew it was Allison's birthday, and she was greeted with a bouquet of lollipops! (Of course, Natalie benefited from the royal treatment, as well!)

Look at the sweet baby girl on our lush bed! Just wait until you see the view from our room...

Ready....
Tada!!! Incredible!

A little shuttle took us down to the beach, where the royal treatment continued.

We were hooked up with buckets full of sand toys, beach balls, and bubbles for the girls. Water botttles, chairs, towels, and umbrellas were also provided.



Natalie's pose says it all... It couldn't have been more perfect!

We went from the beach to the pool for our first swim of the season. (And, Sierra's first swim, ever!) Allison met a new friend right away. So, Natalie and I enjoyed a mother-daughter swim! At the pool, they brought us some gummy candies and popcorn for the girls, as well as t-shirts, hats, and bracelets. At this point, we were wondering if it could get any better?!?!?

Bath time!
When we got back, among other snacks, Allison was brought cupcakes for her birthday. Unbelieveable!

My romantic husband decided to take us a mile down the road to Gen Kai for dinner; the first sushi we ever enjoyed together! Oh my goodness, was it yummy! The perfect end to a great day!




I even ate the deep fried shrimp head this time! I was hoping to shock my husband, but it was no big deal to him!


An evening on the terrace...


Good morning! Day 2: more of the same! Swimming and the beach...

I had to take a picture of some of the details in the hotel. See those caramel apples? Those are GOLD specks on them! And, that table? That's where we ate breakfast. What a view! (The little black specks in the water are surfers!)


Morning stroll...


And, our sweet baby finally passed out in Papa's arms. Thanks for the amazing trip, OCFA! We're definitely buying more raffle tickets next year!