Beautiful Afternoon

Last week, I dropped by my parent's house for my mom's birthday. She & I went to one of our favorite outdoor gardens for a few hours-- Summers Past Farms. It was so relaxing and so gorgeous out. They make the most yummy mango tea garnished with mint leaves & flowers. This is where we attend the annual "Fairy Festival" and sometimes their "Lavender Festival" and Mother's Day Brunch. But throughout the year I am always tempted to attend their other many events & classes-- especially the soap making & wreath making workshops. I wish I lived closer! Here are a few pictures I snapped as the boys enjoyed running around & exploring. Jake loves looking for animals-- there are often bunnies, chickens & cats lounging in the gardens.

Checking in... with a lotta photos!

Holy Shmoly! It's been a busy week!! (But fun.) Blogger is giving me problems right now... I can't arrange my photos. So they are all out of order! WAAAY out of order!!! My sister & friend have both sent me extra photos from our recent park trips and fairy garden trip. So I'm posting some of those.

Some of you have also inspired me to do some gardening-- so I spent the afternoon of Father's Day (while Kevin was sleeping) in the garden. I worked SOOO hard pulling weeds and working in the soil. Jake had fun playing with the soil too. I uprooted most of my mint (which had been wild, as mint is most of the time). And I planted basil, cucumber, 2 tomato, 2 bell peppers, white onion, and lavender plants. I also planted seeds for green onions, lettuce, and green beans. I'm so excited to see how it goes! The next gardening task is to prepare some more soil for when I need to thin the little seedlings. I'm also going to scatter some squash and watermelon seeds in an area that I don't mind being 'taken over.'

Also pictured below, Jake's 2nd time to the barber (& 4th haircut). He didn't like it, but was such a trooper! The first half he sucked it up so good, and just sat there fighting tears. When she used that little blower to get rid of the hair, though, he lost it. So the 2nd half he spent on Daddy's lap. He looks so cute in that big barber chair!

And lastly, the DOC Band (aka: 'helmet') that Austin is wearing. He's had it about two weeks but I haven't posted pics because I didn't have time to write anything about it. He had a little plagiocephaly (asymmetrical shape of the head), possibly caused by torticollis (unilateral tightening of the neck muscles), which the chiropractor noticed at 6 weeks & said that usually it happens in utero. He also had a little flattening in the back, despite aggressive positioning & babywearing as much as possible. We weren't going to do it because it wasn't that bad, but the deciding factor was that the insurance covered it! So the monetary coverage, coupled with the idea that they must have thought his measurements made it medically necessary, made it a "no brainer" for us. It doesn't bother him at all and it's only for 4-6 weeks. It's not a big deal at all! But some people are a little intimidated to ask questions about it because it looks so "medical". So ask away if you are interested. I painted it blue and added a little "A" in the back so it wouldn't look so sterile & medical.

P.S. About two of the silly pics you'll see below: Jake always wants what Austin has. He wanted the helmet when Austin got it-- so I got a picture of him trying it on. And then when I put the "A" sticker on it, Jake wanted one too. So I gave Jake a "Z" sticker. It was funny when he put it on Austin's back... A to Z. So snapped another little pic.

So here are all the recent pictures. I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day. We did! Lots of relaxing. My Aunt was visiting from New York too, so we spent the last few days together. It's been wonderful, but we are tired! I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things (which will probably happen next week, around Wednesday... yes!)

Have a great week! I will try to post something interesting around here some time soon... Uh oh! Now I have all the pressure! :) Have a great week~*

Fairy Gardens 2008

It's that time again!!! The Annual Fairy Festival at Summers Past Farms, a tradition my family has kept for at least the last 7 years or so.

Jake & his little cousin Bailey were SO cute, holding hands and giving hugs and kisses!

A few minutes after this photo was taken, Bailey did the QUICKEST strip-down I've ever seen. I saw the lightbulb go on, and she just pulled her dress off (lightning fast), her undies off, and unfastened her diaper- saying "water!" "water!" She was determined, I've never seen anybody move so fast! Luckily, my sister grabbed her before she actually jumped in! It was adorable- my sis snapped a quick photo as she raced over ot her. You know how important pix are!

Here are a few pictures of my {COMPLETELY} uncooperative boys. I *had* to do a little photo shoot of them because their outfits coordinated. But it was at the end of a busy{fun} (and virtually napless) day. They were both super sleepy and distracted. We could NOT get them to look at us OR smile. We looked like lunatics, a throng of women behind cameras- all jumping up and down or making arm gestures- and all making every type of crazy noise you can imagine - of course to no avail, because the kids didn't pay one bit of attention to us. I wish we had a picture or video of the adults though!

Once again, I didn't take any pics of the amazing grounds, but here are a few that I came across on the internet.

Above: part of the garden. I love this place!!! Below: the quaint little soap shoppe. I went in and didn't want to come out! They also have a darling little "country store" and an outdoor coffee bar that has the most delicious mango iced tea garnished with fresh mint leaves (for $1.50!). The petting zoo was a bit smaller this year, with just bunnies, chicks & turkeys. That's okay. If you know me and my fear of animal poop, then you know that I was completely fine with that.

On top of all this, they have a nursery and a sunflower maze! (They're so tall and, I hear, easy to grow) I always love watching the little kids dancing around to the live celtic music and walking through the rows of mini fairy gardens that people entered into the contests (like the one below).

This last picture pretty much sums up how Jake spent his day. These girls loved on him and doted on him ALL day long! I barely saw him! (Which made me a little nervous! But I knew he was the absolute center of their attention so he wouldn't be going astray.) They thought he was their BABY! They fed him berries and fruit and played house, rocked him in a chair & took him on wagon rides... oh did he ever love it! I loved hearing that little laugh in the distance as I sat and chilled on our picnic blankets. Can't wait until next year already! (Although next year I won't forget to sunscreen myself ... I'm majorly burnt. My kids, though: not an ounce of pink, thank goodness!)

P.S. What's the deal with Sodium Laurel Sulfate? From an avid internet researcher who doesn't have time to research things anymore. Is it really that bad? I thought my soap was all-natural and healthy, and I just found out that this lovely ingredient is listed SECOND! I assumed since I got it at the soap shoppe that it was fine. Ugh... Why is it in EVERYthing!?!?!

Fairy Festival 2007

Fairy Festival at Summers Past Farms




Every year my family gets together and spends time at our favorite quaint little garden in San Diego. They throw a wonderful fairy festival (in addition to all the other neat events and workshops they hold). All the kids (girls) dress up as fairies and create 'fairy gardens', which are entered into a contest. They have live celtic music, petting zoos, picnic areas and a darling little brunch... it's such a beautiful and relaxing time for all ages. Here a few of the (many) pictures that we took.

This is the first year that our little fairys didn't wear wings!



Jake & I dancing! I wish I took some pictures of the actual gorgeous garden grounds and the soap shoppe! Then you might catch a small glimpse of the magic and charm this place holds!