Last month we hosted k’s Brownie Troop for a meeting/Daisy Song Fest Rehearsal/Pizza/Parrot-Toy Making Party.
Hosting ten girls is tiring, but it was fun!
Our First Scout-O-Rama
Last month we went to the Orange County Scout-O-Rama. We had never been before, so we were not sure what to expect. Due to rain the night before, the grounds were extremely muddy. My ballet flats were not prepared for that! There was a $10 per family admission and $10 parking fee. We had fun and hopefully we can go again.
There was a really cool Boy Scout/camping Lego exhibit.
My favorite part was the camp cooking booths with free samples!
Biscuits on a stick!
Dutch ovens galore!
Funnel cake and homemade ice cream. (We had a close call with unlabeled rocky road ice cream with nuts!)
Chick Fil A App Is Here!
The app I talked about yesterday is here! http://bit.ly/1P5fyde D and I are excited to get our free chicken sandwich. Also, for local peeps, Receipt Day is June 10 at the Marketplace. Whatever you buy on June 10 is free if you present your receipt any day in July!
Chick Fil A Moms DIY Upcycling Project
As a Chick Fil A mom, we were challenged to create a project that reuses the plastic container from their salads. I decided to make a bank that we can store extra loose change and bills in. I called it our Rainy Day Fund, so we have some extra cash when we want to something fun. As an example, for Memorial Day yesterday, we went to Yogurtland. Maybe with our future savings we can go to Chick Fil A! Also, I am curious to see how Chick Fil A’s new app works out. It rolls out tomorrow, and I believe you can get a free chicken sandwich with it. I do not have much room on my phone, so an app needs to be really useful for me to keep it. #chickfilamomsDIY
Team Mazda
We celebrated our twelve year wedding anniversary at the Long Beach Grand Prix since Mazda gave D two tickets. The tickets came with meal vouchers. For lunch, we split a mediocre salad and sandwich.
Next we checked out the Mazda tent and said hi to some of the drivers, who were signing autographs.
We watched part of a race with jumping mini trucks.
Then we headed to the exhibition hall and hung out in the Mazda lounge for a bit since it was nice and air-conditioned with one of D’s co-workers. We also ran into one of our church friends who works for Mazda’s ad agency.
After that, we walked around and took in the view of the Long Beach Harbor.
Finally, it was race time. We used up our other voucher on hot dogs for dinner. Mazda had a pretty decent showing, so that was exciting. Of course, it was incredibly loud. We didn’t stay for the whole race, but it was an enjoyable day.
Baba’s Birthday
I’m skipping ahead a few posts to wish my dad a happy birthday. We had a combined early celebration with Mother’s Day. That is what happens when we have so many things to celebrate!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake–not sure why it has five candles. I really appreciate the special bond between my kids and my dad. Happy birthday!
Jelly Belly Factory With a Camera
Since it was on the way back to Napa, we stopped in at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield again. Last time, as you may recall, I was upset because my camera broke right before we went last time. It turns out that they do not allow cameras on the tour anyway, so I was not too upset. We took the tour again, but this time it was self-guided, so we could go at our own pace.
Still have no desire to try these absolutely disgusting flavors!
Resting in Redding
We were able to redeem a free night at a Fairfield Inn in Redding. They offered a free dinner, but it was kind of sad: pulled pork sliders, lettuce (not actually salad), soda and tortilla chips. Later they ran out of rolls, so they offered cheez sauce for nachos.
This meal did not quite satisfy, so we went in search of dessert.
On the way we passed by Lim’s Café, which according to the sign, serves Chinese and American food.
I wanted to try out Dutch Bros. Coffee, which is a small chain that started in Oregon. It has not made its way down to Southern California, so I was curious.
We ordered a “picture perfect” Dutch Freeze for us, and a mango smoothie for the kids.
What sets this place apart is the customer service. I have never experienced anything like it. It is a drive thru kiosk, and they play their own Dutch Bros. radio station loud. The workers are all young and are quite chatty. I had read thhttps://flic.kr/p/GU27txat if you mention that it is your first time, they give you a treat. Since chit chat is one of D’s specialties, this was no problem. They gave us two filled stamp cards so we could get free drinks the next morning. Score!
We enjoyed another free breakfast at the hotel. The staff person there was quite helpful, as mentioned in all the Trip Advisor reviews. She gave the kids coloring books and crayons which was a nice touch.
When we tried to redeem our Dutch Bros. cards, they said we actually had to buy one more drink to get another free. When we told them that the person the night before had said we would just get two free drinks, they agreed to let us have them for free. This time, the kids shared a strawberry smoothie, which was as big as n’s head.
Our last stop in Redding was the Sundial Bridge.
Lady Bird Johnson Grove & Shasta River
Our last stop in the Redwoods was Lady Bird Johnson Grove. We borrowed a pamphlet and read about the various markers.
We were coming to the end of the hike when I commented that we had not seen much wildlife. Not a minute later, a family we had passed noticed a salamander and pointed it out to us. We would have walked right past it otherwise.
That afternoon we had a lengthy drive to Redding. Our route basically followed the Shasta River, which is quite pretty. There were a lot of purplish trees that perfectly matched my shirt (as seen on the left of this picture). We passed through impossibly small towns which prompted D and I to imagine what it would be like to live there. Conclusion: we couldn’t!
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
After the Trees of Mystery, we went to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. They have a program called Redwood EdVenture Quest, where kids can take a pamphlet, follow the clues along a trail and receive a patch for finding the clue at the end. The kids were really into it; they are the perfect age for this type of activity.
Looking for clues.
It really felt like we were on set for Return of the Jedi with all of the ferns on the forest floor and the towering trees above.
We also saw some elk as we were leaving the parking lot.