Just a short drive from the main town, is Mendocino State Park.  We basically just parked in the (free!) parking lot and hopped out for a few pictures and to take in the view.

Then we drove north a few miles to Fort Bragg in search of Glass Beach.

We climbed down a small cliff to find this secluded cove.  There was a couple looking for sea glass, and friendly D struck up a conversation with them.  They had driven from Los Angeles with the sole purpose of looking for sea glass to make jewelry.

It is pretty fascinating that beer bottles, etc. that are carelessly thrown into the ocean can become such objects of beauty!

k said Glass Beach was her favorite stop of that day.

Photo credit: n!

Sunday morning we left Napa bright and early at around 5:45.  It would be another full day of driving for us.  Our first stop was Mendocino.  This stop is not on the most direct path to Redwood National Park, but D and I wanted to see what it was all about.

Although we brought along food for breakfast on the road, we stopped in at GoodLife Café and Bakery for a breakfast treat/bathroom break.

This blueberry Danish was one of the best I have had, mainly due to it being chock-full of juicy blueberries!

We also shared the more subtle orange cardamom morning bun.  The cardamom was a nice twist, but I could have used a little more orange flavor.

I believe the café is on the main drag of “Mendo”, as D and I came to affectionately call it.  Look at that view!

I believe this is the bank.

Even the fire station is cute!

We’re back from our spring break road trip!  Our first leg of the trip was to Napa, to visit D’s parents.  D’s brother and his son also met up with us there.  We ate at a new restaurant, Heritage Eats.

The restaurant is fast-casual, and the food is prepared Chipotle-style, right in front of you.  We ordered a falafel pita, lemongrass pork Banh Mi

Celebrating Easter in March felt so early.  However, it is never too early (or late) to celebrate Jesus’ victory over the cross!

On Good Friday, we went to service at church.  There was a speaker from Jews for Jesus that explained the meaning behind the traditional Passover meal.

The kids’ Easter baskets consisted mostly of my prize winnings; hehe.  I did add two crocheted bunnies made from the pattern written by Posie Gets Cozy.  Having never crocheted a three dimensional object before, I did not really know what I was doing.  I think they came out pretty different from the original, but they are still super cute!  And they made fun photo props!

n had two more birthday celebrations: one on his actual birthday at home and one the weekend after, at my parents’ house.

Here’s a leftover picture from his Chuck E. Cheese party.

k made him a sweet card.

I know I say it every year, but I cannot believe that n is another year older.  He is still my little guy, and I love that he: still likes to cuddle and snuggle; is funny like D; is becoming quite a bookworm; is always a willing helper; has a kind heart.

I must admit, planning kids’ birthday parties stresses me out.  I worry too much about the details, that people won’t be able to come, that it won’t be fun, etc.  We told the kids they could have a birthday party with friends every other year.  It has been a good compromise, since k and n’s birthdays are only three months apart.  This was n’s year to have a party.  I had some gift cards to Chuck E. Cheese, and n had never been before,

Last month, I won tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Honda Center.  I wanted to surprise k and n so I joked that they should put blindfolds on so they would not know where we were going.  They took me seriously.  Good thing no one thought we were kidnapping them.

With the help of our den leader’s husband and his garage/woodshop, n and D built n’s first Pinewood Derby car for Cub Scouts.  D never did this as a kid, so he really had no idea what he was doing.  I helped n paint it, but that was the extent of my involvement.  We really had no idea what to expect.

This was the first year that we had two scouts participate in Scout Sunday at our church.  The scouts helped pass out the bulletins and passed the offering  plate to the congregation.

It was nice that Valentine’s Day was on a Sunday this year.  Even nicer was that the kids did not have school the next day, and D took the Monday off.

Both kids are fortunate to have great room moms who plan fun parties.  It is always fun to volunteer for holiday parties and it brings back memories of how much I used to enjoy classroom celebrations.