"Pinterest"ing

For the longest time, I have filled my favorites folders on my computer with great ideas-scrapbooking pages, recipes, craft ideas, party ideas, destinations, etc... There is tons of inspiration in those folders. The problem is that they are in those folders and often forgotten or difficult to access.

And then came Pinterest. I seriously think this is the best thing since sliced bread and maybe even better. The best explanation I could give is Pinterst is like a virtual bulletin board. If you find something on the web, you "pin" it on your board. There will be a little picture to represent your idea and when you click your picture it will take you back to the original website. You can also create different boards to help you keep everything organized and easy to find.

Since I've been pinning, I feel like I've been more likely to try some new ideas. and I've made some new recipes. It has definitely provided a creative burst.

Well this whole explanation to share one of my pinned projects. I saw this picture and thought it would be a great summer activity. It was linked back to a Family Fun article with all the instructions.

So, with the whole family involved, we did it. And boy, was it worth it!









After the "cars" were all clean. We moved it over the grass and put the slip and slide under it and had a ball.







***Just a side note-if you decide to make this, the webbing straps are impossible to find. 4 big box stores, a couple phone calls-I finally located some on the web, but it was over $60 for a roll. We opted to take an old beach towel and cut it in strips and it worked just fine.

We Went to Cayucos Last Week

And we laughed.

Are We There Yet?

I'm definitely behind sharing, but thought I'd start with this cute video.

Jack and his cousin Arianna had a lot of catching up to do :-)

My 3 on the 4th

We're kind of creatures of habit around here. Our Fourth of July always ends with a big fireworks show. And before we head out, I try to get a picture of my 3.

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007 (Jack about 2 months away from joining us :-) )

Paia-Part I

I've been meaning to add some pictures from our trip to Maui. We started planning this trip almost a year ago to celebrate our 20 year anniversary. When we started talking about destinations, we settled on Hawaii for a couple reasons. 1) We could get a direct flight and the travel would not be exhausting like it was last year. 2) Our primary goal was to enjoy a relaxing trip that would include lots of down time and some activities.

We decided to break our trip up into two parts-Paia and Wailea. Although we've been to Maui many times, we've never been to either location. Friday through Monday we stayed at the Paia Inn in Paia. We discovered this boutique hotel on Trip Advisor and it was one of the highest rated hotels because of the small setting and charming location. Most people have never heard of Paia-it's often referred to as the hippie town and if that doesn't ring a bell, it's a couple miles from the famous Mama's Fish House. It's a very small town fill with small clothing shops, art galleries, organic shops and some really wonderful restaurants. It's the last stop on the road to Hana and if you're headed in that direction it's really worth a stop.

The hotel was very nice. We had a studio and it was very spacious, quiet, and clean. The furniture was nice as well. The hotel is not on the beach, but there's is a long path that takes your right to it. They provide beach chairs and other things you might need. We went for a few walks, but the weather wasn't too cooperative and we had lots of activities planned. They offered a continental breakfast each morning on their patio and a refrigerator full of pineapple. It was definitely an adult destination and we felt it was the right place for our getaway.

Summer-ventures- June

I think this summer we've fallen into a good routine. Can't take the busy away, even in summer, but there's been some down time and a few fun things thrown in as well.

Just after school got out Morgan had her first dance recital. She loved taking Jazz this year and will continue on next year too.

Garrett finished the spring soccer season with a 3 day tournament in Turlock. If you've never been to Turlock, it's hot and really not a summertime destination (and probably not a wintertime for that matter), but they have built some awesome soccer fields-kind of field of dreams style. Anyway it was an exciting tournament and Garrett scored two goals.

Morgan headed off to church camp. She had a blast and can't wait to go back next year. "The boys" and I had a little daytime excursion. We drove to Jack London Square in Oakland and took the ferry across the bay to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I had never been there before and would love to go back and wander a bit more slowly-boys are not wanderers :-/.

But boys will not turn down a good meal and we really enjoyed the food at Mijito.

Then we walked a mile down to Pier 39 and while the big boys wandered off, Jack and I watched the sea lions and then rode the top story of the merry go round.



And then we were able to catch the ferry from here and head back home.

Jack went to Aloha Camp for a week too.

We already have lots of things on the calendar for July. Still need to find a day to take Jack to see some dinosaurs :-)