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Balance Bikes: The Best Way to Teach Your Child to Ride A Bike
We are now done teaching child #3 how to (successfully) ride his bike… at the ripe age of 4. In fact he just turned 4 almost exactly 1 month ago. We had #2 riding her bike at the age of about 4.5. And our first was riding at the age of 3!!! No, we don’t spend an extraordinary amount of time riding. No we don’t go out every day. And no it doesn’t take longer than about 30 minutes to get it down. The secret? Balance Bikes!!!! There are different brands you can use. Strider bikes (which is what we have), Shwinn, Banana and more. But, I don’t really think…
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The Most Beautiful Springtime Flowers In Southern California
Check out the Carlsbad Flower Fields Edited March 2, 2022 Welcome Spring! Which means it’s the beginning of warmer weather, buds on the trees, the beginning of new life, daylight savings time! and blooming flowers. And if that last one appeals to you even in the slightest, have I got the place for you! Imagine nearly 50 acres of one of natures best, most colorful shows of natural beauty. This spectacular display is one of the best you will see anywhere in the world!!! For approximately 6-8 weeks the Giant Tecolote Ranunculus will bloom (from early March to early May) and visitors from all over will flock to enjoy the…
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Finding the Light in the Darkest of Times
It seems that every day we wake up to find the world a little crazier than when we went to sleep. In the last week California has gone from buying an obscene amount of toilet paper unnecessarily, to hoarding food, to schools closing, to social distancing and now full on house arrest and everything shutting down. The world stopped just like that. People are working from home, if at all. We keep hearing about more infected and life just seems crazy, like a strange dream void of reality. I didn’t even know we were capable of doing what is now being done. And yet, here we find ourselves, toilet paperless…
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Social Distancing
Corona Virus social distancing got you down? Are you now homeschooling kids without feeling adequately prepared? Going stir crazy but want to stay away from the masses? I hear you loud and clear. I think for many of us we are still a little unsure what we are supposed to be doing. We don’t know what this virus is exactly, or what to expect; and because of that we aren’t really sure how to live our lives. Should we be stock-piling toilet paper and canned goods, or will life be back to normal in a couple of weeks and all this chaos will have been quite unnecessary? We will just…
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Ladder Hike in San Diego
Annie’s Canyon is a family friendly hike near Solana Beach that brings the fun! This hike is nothing short of a gem. Located near Solana Beach, San Diego County this trail gives you panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, San Elijo Lagoon, narrow slot canyons, and a ladder climb through the sandstone all in less than 2 miles, 100 feet of elevation, and it’s easy enough for the whole family to do together; but fun enough that everyone (teenagers included) will enjoy it! This trail in essence allows one to feel like a true adventurer without really having to have any training or skill whatsoever. My kids LOVED it, we…
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3 Ingredient Shamrock Shakes
Happy National Oreo Cookie Day!!! America’s #1 cookie. Who doesn’t just love those black and white cookies? I prefer mine with a big glass of milk to dunk them in. And I can’t ever go back to single stuffed after having the goodness of the double stuffed Oreo. The cookie to cream ratio in them are perfect……. in my humble opinion. And since it just so happens that this celebration lands in March, we love to use Oreos to create a seasonal family favorite dessert: The Oreo Shamrock Shake! An easy addition to make on St. Patrick’s Day. We made ours tonight as the kid’s worked on their leprechaun traps.…
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The Sunken City of San Pedro
A once thriving neighborhood destroyed back in the 20s; the end result is an amazing colorful display of history with pieces of an older time literally falling into the Pacific Ocean. This California hidden gem is a small piece of history and cruel beauty. The area is CLOSED! THE SUNKEN CITY IN SAN PEDRO, CA The area is fenced off and not open to visitors. Now, I am sure many of you won’t know much about the “Sunken City” so I am going to provide a brief history lesson (thank you Wikipedia). In 1929 a landslide took out a community of exclusive homes. The landslide caused two houses (which couldn’t…
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OC BubblePOP: The Unique Indoor Bubble Experience For the Whole Family
One of my all time favorite parts of the Wizard of Oz was when Glenda the Good Witch of the West came floating into Munchkin Land in that awesome bubble of hers. It was just so magical. I’m not going to lie, even as an adult I’ve often wondered how the crew pulled that one off. I mean, color was a pretty big deal back then, so I am pretty sure they didn’t have the CGI technology to put that bubble around her. And it looks pretty legit. Like, how?! Now I am wondering if they somehow got the same tools used at the newest indoor playground, BUBBLEPOP! Because that…
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Where to eat out with Kids for CHEAP! And sometimes even free!
I mean the best answer is obviously…DON’T TAKE THEM! But, when you have them, they expect to be fed like 3 times a day with at least 50 snacks scattered throughout that time. It can be exhausting. Then you have to clean up after them, which is basically a full-time job. Am I right?! So, when I can successfully wrangle them all up and go out to eat as a family; It is a welcomed time off for this mama. Actually, my job shifts from chef and bus boy to clown as I try to keep them quietly entertained until the food comes. But it can also get pricey. So,…
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Giveaway to The Aquarium of the Pacific
We love the Aquarium of the Pacific in downtown Long Beach. There is so much to do and with the recent addition of the Pacific Visions Wing (read more about that here) it is full of fun technology, information as well as all their amazing sea creatures. The aquarium is a full day of fun! Get up close to the many aquariums full of spectacular sea creatures hosting sharks, rays, fish, eels, crabs, sea stars, sea horses, penguins, sea lions, seals and so, so, SO much more! Some of the touch tanks let you handle these creatures in a way you never could in nature. It’s an amazingly fun and…
