Sleepover!

What an adventure!  Quinn had his first sleepover with his buddies Kinley and Bella.  I wasn't quite ready to send him off to do this solo, so I had a little sleepover too.  We had no idea how the kids would do, but they were awesome!  They ran around outside playing in water, had a yummy dinner together, played dress up, took a group bath, did puzzles, watched a movie, and then off to bed with the boys sleeping on the floor.  They whispered and giggled until after 10pm, but eventually went to sleep and we all had a restful night.

BMX Fun!!

We had the fortunate experience this afternoon of being invited to a BMX birthday party.  Quinn's buddy, Madin, has a big brother who just turned seven.  This was his party and we were invited so that Madin would have another boy his age to play with.  Neither Quinn nor Madin had ever tried BMX biking before, so we had no idea how it would go.  

They had a BLAST!!!  The rode pretty much non-stop from 4-6pm.  The boys had multiple races around the track and enjoyed exchanging turns being the victor.  There were a handful of spills too (I was thankful for those full-face helmets!), but everyone just hopped right back on and started riding.  I'm seeing more of this in our future.  Below are a handful of photos and one video.  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Biggy!

Biggy's birthday was May 31.  

This was our first year without him, so my parents planned an afternoon toast to him via FaceTime with his brother, Don and Don's wife, Janet.  We all donned Mardi Gras (aka Biggy Gras) beads, poured champage, and toasted to Biggy.  Additionally, Dad lit up an old cigar that was found among Biggy's things that has his initials across it.  It was a nice way to remember such a special man.  

 

Nana and Gogo in SD

Mom and Dad came out to San Diego this past week to help take care of Quinn while Jeff was away on a short business trip.  It is always great to have my family together.  This year we've managed to see quite a bit of each other and I hope that trend continues over the remainder of the year.  The first stop on the tour of SD was Phyllis's/Grammy's house for a Memorial Day BBQ.  Quinn and his cousin had a wild time launching themselves off of their playhouse.  

Next up was planting the Earthbox that Nana had given Quinn for his birthday a few weeks ago.  Quinn decided that he would like to plant strawberries, so Nana and I went out to find some small plants to add to the Earthbox and the two of them set to preparing the box and getting the plants in the ground.  Quinn is very proud to announce that he already has 1 strawberry growing and as of yesterday it was already half red.  

This is a typical scene in our house when Nana and Gogo visit.  Quinn enjoyed bedtime stories with both Nana and Gogo.

We managed to squeeze in one nice dinner out.  For Christmas we received a gift certificate for 3rd Corner wine bistro in Ocean Beach, so we finally had the opportunity to use it.  What a treat!  We had some great wines and a very good meal.  Thanks again, Phyllis and Jaime!  

The kid who enjoys cheesing it up for the camera also enjoys a good silly face.  These are the photos I'm capturing more recently.  

Another thing we all usually enjoy is a trip to the SD Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.  It's a treat for kids and adults alike.  The house below is a demonstration of a landscaping for fire safety on a miniature scale.  They also have a garden that resembles an undersea-scape, a beautiful waterfall and two impressive children's gardens.  

After the gardens we met up with a highschool friend of my mom's (Georgia) at a Fide's Mexican restaurant in Solana beach.  It was great to meet someone with whom my mom shares so much history. Quinn was enjoying showing off his new short hairdo.  

Mowgli knows how to win over the grandparents.  They tried to take him home with them, but I had to put my foot down.  :)  

 

One of my favorite things about this trip was how much Quinn and my dad seemed to enjoy each other.  This was their typical hello and goodbye greeting.  Glad I managed to get this video so I can remember it.  :)  

        

4th Birthday Party!

Well we finally did it.  We threw Quinn a real birthday party.  At this point he's attended parties for many of his friends and had begun asking when his birthday party was going to be, so I figured it was time.  We decided to have the party at Van Ommering Dairy Farm and it was a great setting for the kids!  

Of course, since it is a working dairy farm, there was some practice cow milking.  

But in addition to the more traditional farm setting they had many other awesome kid offerings, such as the cottonseed mountain...

...and a pretty cool racetrack that was fun for kids and adults alike.

Of course there were critters.  Goats and calves for petting...one mischievous one tried to eat my "happy birthday" banner...

 

We had a great turnout of kids and I think it's safe to say that they all had a great time.  There was something for everyone!  

Of course we had to have some cake.

Farmer Dave gave us a hayride and tour of the dairy.  We got to see a newborn calf that had been born early this morning.  It was pretty cool to see the workings of the farm and to meet some of the cows.

Jamie

Felix, Madin, Luke and Quinn

Madin, Serene, Jaime, Kellan, John and Jeff

Eva, Sara and Kaia

Emily and the Headdens

And not a bad view, eh?  We will definitely be headed back to this spot in October for the pumpkin patch!