Endless Summer Fun {Part 3}

**Sept Fun 2013**


Pool Days are ALWAYS fun:



Such treasured times with friends:



Park days without a care in the world:



Silly faces at school:



And little things in between:

Kapri's 1st Flight!

Keeping a secret is hard enough, let alone one for your child that you KNOW they will be super stoked about. My sister & I had planned a trip to go visit her while she's temporarily in Arkansas months ago... so I, like most parents, knew I'd have to wait until the very last moment to even mention our exciting plans. Otherwise, you'd be inundated with the kid asking everyday if it's "time to go yet?" and/or run the risk of their inability to fall asleep the night before - no bueno!

She'd asked about going on a plane dozens of times...to which I would always reply "someday honey". A couple times over the past few months I couldn't help but sneak a smile when she'd mention 'missing SiSi' or her seeing a plane and wanting to go on one. Sneaky mamma & auntie...what a ride we had in store for her!

So on the morning of August 31st, after secretly packing both hers & my stuff over the prior week, I woke her up around 4:45am. With James capturing the moment on video, I told her that it was time to wake up, get dressed and hop in the car....because we were going on a PLANE to visit & have a 4-night sleepover at SISI's house!!! She was mega-happy...but did tell us that since we woke her so early, she "thought it was Christmas" - LOL! Silly kid

Being in the airport was of course so fun for her as she watched every single plane glide down the runway & take off in flight. When it was our time to board our plane she couldn't contain her excitement! I let her pick a window seat and get cozy.... this mamma was super prepared - here was my carry-on list of necessities:

• New coloring books/crayons
• Dollar store puzzles in little tin containers
• Her 'lamby' and a light blanket
• An extra change of undies & clothes - just in case
• A stack of new books I scored for ridiculously cheap at a local re-sale shop
• Her iPhone (my old one) full of educational apps (plus 2 new ones she's now obsessed with)
• An external battery to charge our phones
• TONS of little snacks & bars...including our fav watermelon gum to chew during take-offs & landings
• And a new portable DVD player with 4 new movies - seriously the BEST investment I've ever made - such a life saver....AND it has a mount to install it to the seat of my car - perfect!

I am happy to report that she did wonderfully during both flights, there & back - first was about an hour to Phoenix... then hopped onto another plane from Phoenix to Little Rock, which was about 2.5 hrs. Super proud of my little flyer....she listened & she was brave...it was awesome!

We spent the next few days all over Searcy & Little Rock... exploring "Sandy Beach", which is a little lake in Herber Springs...including picking up a little sandy froggy that crossed our path. Tasting local food {and a pretty spectacular Honey Vanilla Bean Latte from the Midnight Oil Coffeehouse...mmmm}.

Escaping the heat & humidity at Wild River Country water park in Little Rock - which was a first for Kapri - and she had a B.L.A.S.T., especially loved the wave pool and went down some BIG water slides!!).

Playing with my sister's cat Pumba (tirelessly) and making healthy food, fresh apple juice & yummy homemade fruit sorbet with SiSi's crazy-awesome juicer!

Walking around Little Rock...in blistering 90-ish (felt like 150) degree weather...what troopers we are:

...finding a truly unique little gem of an eatery called "The Root Cafe" - so delish! I was just obsessed with all their vintage nic-nacks... mason jar & bottle collections, and just overall coziness of this place. They had open stock of smaller mason jars to fill up your water with, and adorably mismatched silverware & cloth napkins - such charm!

We also checked out an eco-friendly store across the street  from The Root Cafe, called "The Green Corner Store" - complete with a full ice cream & soda-fountain bar, and tons of locally-made organic gifts & products! Just ooozing adorablness!

We also got to see the movie "Epic" at a super old movie theater, "Cinemark Tandy" that only cost one...I repeat...ONE dollar per person...whatttt?!!

It was a busy few days, but we enjoyed every second...making it SO hard to say goodbye to our beloved SiSi. Quality time with family & loved ones is seriously so important...we were so lucky to be able to visit & cannot WAIT for her return to SD in Dec., and hopefully another plane trip in the near future!

Endless Summer Fun {Part 2}

**August Fun 2013**

Family Beach Day at Ponto:

Kapri's school buddy, Jordan's birthday party:

Girls Weekend in Santa Monica:

Pool Day, Girls Happy Hour, and Day at the Del Mar Races:

Officially in the 'big kid group' at Preschool....one year left until this munchkin is a big Kindergartner!!

Endless Summer Fun {Part 1}

Summer time is always filled to the brim with fun activities, events & booked calendars... leaving my mind in a blur - so I thought I'd break down July-Sept with 3 'parts' of blog posts, all pictures-only to document what fun we've had all summer....enjoy!

**July Fun 2013**

Mommy/Daughter Cardiff Beach Stroll:

Jazz in the Park & Pool Day with the Redings:

Hubby/Wife Date Night:

Movie in the Park & Oceanside Pier/Park Day:

First Official Haircut/Style!

I cannot believe we've gone FOUR years without one single hair cut for this kid!! We did do one teeny tiny one around her 1st bday, but that was more of a clean up to the weird, long-ish mullet thing, that started growing at the nape of her neck, so I don't count that as an 'official' cut!

It took a few weeks of persuading... of course James that he'd be funny & say "yeah, go get a hair cut so you can look like daddy!" Mind you, he shaves his head.... needless to say, she was a bit apprehensive after that silly comment from dad.

But finally, after I reassured her for the,  415,837th time, she agreed to "just a little 'twim' mom!" haha, love it!

So with the recommendation of a friend, I made an appointment for her the next morning at "Chloe's Carousel", which is a good 30 minute drive away from our house, but it was SO worth it! This place was so enchanting & verrrry kid-friendly. Tons of toys in the waiting area (though we didn't have to wait at all!), fun chairs that looked like horses from a carousel, pretty mural paintings on the walls and DVD players at each station...they've thought of everything!

Our hair stylist did a wonderful job, as she put a Dora show on for Kapri, she was patient and gentle. She even made sure to compliment the colors of her black/white/pink outfit, with the little flowers & ribbon she selected for her hair:

Afterwards, Kapri was in LOVE with her hair and the wrap-around braids...oh and the "fairy dust"!! We opted to do the light sprinkle of glitter along the top of her head, which she just thought was awesome!

See - just a 'twim':

I'd love to go back around her 5th birthday for another trim, but also maybe have a small party there for her as well! They have a little room that can accommodate up to 10 girls and they all get their hair styled and nails painted, with a special themed craft & activity - that sounds pretty fab to me!!

As we were leaving, she was desperate to play with all the toys in the waiting area...so I gave her a few minutes to hang. I just wanted ONE good pic of her hair to send to grammies & aunties...she likes to tease me a bit:

Ahhh finally...a smile! Pretty girl :-)

Then we went to surprise dadda at work...he was a happy camper & she was so proud to show off her stylish hair to all his employees:

To end our mamma/daughter day...I thought we'd try out a local 'gluten-free' bakery called "2 Good 2 Be" for some adorable mini-cupcakes....they were actually pretty tasty! Great way to end the day & reward a very brave little girl, who was a bit scared to loose any length of her beautiful hair!

BFF Playdate

Kapri & I had the pleasure of having her friend/school-mate over for the entire day last Friday. As school was closed both on the 4th & 5th, I had taken the 5th off & offered to have Chloe over for a super fun playdate.

We started the morning with some banana/coconut bread & a movie on our famous 'couch bed' assembled on the floor. Then the girls played both upstairs & down....dress up, dolls, puzzles...you name it!

Then as the sun decided to come out we got in our bathing suits & walked over to our pool - which we had all to ourselves most of the time!

As we walked back home, the girls found flowers to pick to make a special 'mommy bouquet'...too cute. I was the 'picker' and they were the 'holders'.

Then we changed & took another walk down to 7-Eleven for a special afternoon treat to cool off... yay for popsicles!! I know come prepared for such walks... my fab plastic-lined burlap bag to hold a small produce bag (for trash after), my money, phone, and TONS of napkins & wet-wipes! We showed Chloe our 'popsicle tree', that K & I like to sit under while we indulge....it's the best little shaded spot. Thank GOODNESS for napkins...I used every. single. one.  Those popsicles were melting SO fast, dripping down little fingers, hands & arms... down to knees, shins & toes... loved their adorable strawberry-bar covered faces afterward! Ahh summer fun.

Then we walked home & took turns racing up & down the sidewalks & green belts....getting out all the sugar-fuel....hoping that'd help with each of them falling fast asleep later that night!

Finally we started our "Pizza Friday", with dough & ingredients from our fav - Trader Joe's...along with my delish homemade almond pesto! As we were finishing up, Chloe's mamma arrived & we all had our homemade dinner together. LOVE these kind of days!!! And could these girls be any cuter?? Such fun!

PreK Ceremony 2013 {Teacher Gifts & Potluck}

Another 'school' year has flown by... and Kapri was so excited for this year's preschool graduation performance. Last year year she was SO shy, didn't sing, dance...barely moved basically.

Happy to report that this year she was clearly much more comfortable & did a stupendous job in her part of the "Peter Rabbit" performance. She was a raddish, haha! All the 4/5 year old kids that are heading off to kindergarten have a lead role, while all the younger kids have side parts. I can't believe next year she will be up in front...hopefully coming out of her shy-bubble even more!

For teacher gifts I found an idea on Pinterest for little tumblers with a Jamba Juice gift card inside, and a note on the outside that read "Thanks for sparking my creative juices this year!". I thought it was adorable & so perfect! So I made my own version of the note card on PicMonkey, secured by some twine around the tumblers....just love how they turned out!

Gotta put my own twist on things, but you're welcome to save this image to your computer & use it as well ;-)

For the Potluck, I decided to finally try out the mini spinach-artichoke bread bowls that I first pinned almost 2 years ago...here.

How adorable are they??

And they were DEEEEElish! Definitely making these again soon.

I just love her little school, prepping her for a successful future at "big kid school" as Kapri calls it! I can't believe next year she'll be in the lead group of the graduation performance, ahhh!