Strawberry Fields Forever

Tuesday morning Gabe & I went with our plalygroup to the Strawberry Fields in Carlsbad. I can't believe how many rows and rows of strawberries were growing there!! It was so neat, you just buy a little (or big) bucket and they let you loose to pick your own strawberries. Gabe picked them all himself and I must say, he did a great job because all of his berries were shiny, red, and sweet!! It didn't take us long to eat them!

Gabe in a row of strawberries.
Filling up his bucket.
Check out this one, Mom!

I definitely recommend doing this, whether it's strawberries, apples, whatever... picking your own is really fun for the kids and the rewards are almost instant!

2 Kids and a Baby

Our great friends Ryan & Danielle came to visit us this month and baby Anthony was such a big hit with my kids! They both love him so much! Ashlyn told me that she missed him 5 minutes after they left and Gabriel just asked me tonight (out of the blue) if we could go see Baby Anthony tomorrow. I have never seen my kids take such a huge interest in a baby before. It was really cute... they even fought over who got to feed him!

Gabe with Baby Anthony
Ashlyn feeding Baby Anthony

We went to dinner at Fred's Cafe in Old Town (YUM!) and of course, there just had to be a balloon guy there! Do your kids sucker you into these things? They get us every time! Gabe got an alien guy and Ashlyn got a pink unicorn. I thought I had a pic of her with her balloon, but apparently it didn't turn out. :(

Gabe's alien guy

The group (minus me) toasting.

Thank you so much for coming to visit us Ryan, Dani, & Anthony!!! We miss you so much!! It was so great to get to know Ryan better... we love him! Can't wait to see how big Anthony is in July!!

Legoland

Gabe and I went to LegoLand a couple of weeks ago with some of our playgroup friends. We had a lot of fun! I can't wait until Ashlyn gets out of school... I really miss her being with us when we go out for these activities.

Dig those dinos! Actually, Gabe didn't really enjoy this activity all that much.
Look how mad he is that I was trying to help him. My friend caught this pic as I was laughing at his sheer resistance to my assistance.
Gabe is finally old enough to drive his own car around the track!! He was so excited and actually did pretty well considering he is only 3 and had never done this before. Oh, and before you comment about the hair... long hair is making a comeback!! Hello 1970s! ;)

New post for May

I know I haven't posted much this month, so I thought I'd stop in while I have a little time and actually blog something!
We've been keeping pretty busy with our normal activities and with the weather warming up, we've been even busier with more playdates! And since Gabe got his bike and scooter for his birthday, we spend a lot of time outside!!
School is nearing an end. This week was Ashlyn's last official week of homework although she doesn't get out for the summer until June 16th. I enrolled Gabriel into a gymnastics class and he's been doing that for about 2 months now. He really enjoys it. He's really good at walking the balance beams without any help and of course he loves the climbing!
We are excited to make our way to Utah for the 4th of July this summer and spend the holiday with the Healeys. Ashlyn is excited because she gets to stay in Utah for 10 days after we go home and spend time with all of her grandparents!

Our good friends Danielle and Ryan are flying in tonight with their little baby boy and spending the weekend with us before meeting up with their family in Laguna Beach. Then we'll meet up with them again to go to DisneyLand next week! I just love it when friends and family come to visit us!!

Gabe's Birthday Celebration

That's right! Gabriel is turning 3!!! We had a great party at our swimming pool today with some of Gabe's friends. (I didn't ask permission to post the other kids' pics so I just put up pics with my kids). We spent about 3 hours playing and splashing and the weather was just perfect for it!

Here's a good pic of Gabe between the hot tub and pool. He likes to go back and forth.

Here is a shot of Ashlyn playing with her fun noodle.
Blowing out birthday candles! Gabe's little friend's birthday is just a week before his so for the past two years, we have shared a party with him. It works out well because they have the same little friends!
These are the cupcakes that Amy and I made. We made the dolphins and starfish with some cute molds and white chocolate.
Gabe really really enjoyed the frosting!

We had such a great day and Gabriel got some really nice gifts. We gave him a new bike this morning, Papa and Nana gave him a scooter (he loves it!), Ashlyn gave him a neat Diego toy that he can use in the tub, and Grandpa & Grandma Pead gave him a "Cars" racing set. His friends gave him some great new toys to play with too! One thing is for sure, when that sugar high comes crashing down, this kid will be sleeping like a log!!

Happy Birthday, Gabriel!!!!