Our Trip to Point Reyes

September 13, 2013 by Mom on the Make Leave a Comment

Last weekend the weather reports were predicting 90-95 degree temps for Saturday and Sunday. I told Mountain Man that we needed to get away, perhaps to the breezy Pacific ocean.

We batted around ideas. San Francisco is usually a lot cooler, but most of the hotels were booked due to the Final Races of the America’s Cup starting last weekend.

We remembered going away to Point Reyes seven years ago for a getaway, and decided this would be perfect for us and our three adventurous kiddos.

So, we booked a cottage at the Cottages at Point Reyes Seashore for Saturday night and headed over to cooler lands after all three soccer games were complete Saturday morning.

Cottages at Point Reyes Seashore used to be called Inverness Valley Inn. The new name was recently implemented when new owners took over earlier this year. The owners are doing a Wonderful job with the Inn. Everything was in great condition. This a is a perfect spot for a couples getaway, family getaway or corporate retreat. So serene and away from it all. Yet, so close to many fun activities.

After arriving to Inverness and checking into the Inn, we drove about 5 miles to North Beach, and were mesmerized by the cool breezes and rough waves of the Pacific. It was perfect. The breeze made the 60 mile trip totally worth it.

Here’s a few photos from our journey….

Photos of Cottages at Point Reyes are below. This is a beautiful 15 acre property surrounded by Redwood trees. While walking around the trails on the property, there is a canopy of beautiful trees shading you. You really feel like you’re getting away from it all. There is also a pool and hot tub, and tennis courts on the property. We ALL loved it here and will definitely return soon.

Cottages at Point Reyes Seashore is directly across the street from Chicken Ranch Beach, a gorgeous setting on the peaceful Tomales Bay.

On Sunday morning, we headed out to the Lighthouse at Point Reyes. Quite Amazing. The fog in the morning is dense and chilly (loved it).

The Pacific Ocean never looked so beautiful. These are photos from North Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore stretch of beaches.

Kids are funny

August 27, 2013 by Mom on the Make Leave a Comment

Well, we have finally reached the last day of summer vacation. My three kiddos are headed back to school in the morning and they cannot wait.

After some last minute school errands this afternoon, I took them out to lunch at Panda Express.

Towards the end of lunch after enjoying our mushroom chicken, noodles, honey walnut shrimp, and black pepper chicken, Bam Bam looks across the table at me and says, “Mom, are all bunnies magic?”

This question just absolutely slayed me……….

The obvious answer I heard coming out of my mouth was “Of course.” 🙂

I just love having a five year old.

What’s For Dinner Tonight?

April 18, 2013 by Mom on the Make 1 Comment

Its that time of day.

My two older ones are going to be running through the front door at any moment, and I still do not have a clue what we will be having for dinner tonight.

I think deciding what to make every day is the most difficult part.

I decided to consult my vault of recipes on this blog to get inspired, instead of resorting to my freezer for a frozen Trader Joe’s dinner.

Rotisserie chicken was sounding really good to me earlier today, so I am opting for the Chicken and Israeli Couscous dinner tonight.

Protein, veggies, couscous, its all good.

Hope you’ve decided on your dinner for tonight. If not, check out my recipes for some ideas.

If you have a great last minute dinner idea to share, please share in the comments below.

Tom T’s Hat Rack, by Michele Spry

April 18, 2013 by Mom on the Make 1 Comment

I had the pleasure of reading the heartwarming story, Tom T’s Hat Rack, by Michele Spry, this past week and wanted to share my thoughts with you.

The story is about a delightful fourth grader, Shelby, and how she tackles and completes a very meaningful project during her summer vacation.

This is not an ordinary summer project. This is a project that focuses solely on giving back to her community with the help of her good friend, Mr. T.

When all of the kids in her fourth grade class are talking about their grand travel plans for the upcoming summer break, Shelby is excited to stay in her home town and spend time with her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. T, who also happen to be her babysitters while her parents are at work.

Little does Shelby know what Mr. T has in store for her during this particular summer when he asks her to help him with a building project. Even though Mr. T keeps what they are building a secret until the very end, Shelby dives in, works hard, and helps Mr. T build every day during her summer break.

When the great reveal of what they have built takes place, Shelby is overwhelmed with delight. Showing her caring nature, she comes up with another project to complement the one they completed which will help even more people in her community.

The character of Shelby is simply wonderful. She thinks about others before herself and displays a positive attitude wherever she goes. Her effervescent personality puts smiles on faces and spreads a warmth that is eagerly received by others in her life.

She is trustworthy, hardworking, creative, and kind. As I read through the story, I found myself hoping that elementary and middle school age kids read this book and receive the message of giving back, hard work, persistence, and kindness.

I highly recommend this book for elementary and middle school age readers. They will be taken through a well written story while learning the valuable lesson of giving back.

The illustrations throughout the book are simply stunning. They are incredibly lifelike and unique. Very impressive indeed.

We will definitely be on the lookout for more heartwarming stories by Michele Spry in the future.

Legoland is Awesome

April 8, 2013 by Mom on the Make 2 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, we just returned from our spring break trip to San Diego.

Legoland was the focus, as Bam Bam is at the prime age for visiting the park. He is a lego fanatic and visiting Legoland is like a dream come true for a kid who spends several hours a day building with his legos.

We purchased the two day hopper pass through the Legoland site, and were very happy with this decision. There is just too much to take in for a one day visit.

In addition to the main park, they have a full water park attached to Fun Town in the upper left section of the park. We highly recommend doing this at the end of the day, so that you can go straight to your car after getting wet at the slides.

With the two day pass, we were able to visit the main park and the water park on Tuesday, then on Thursday, we went back to cover the rides and attractions that we were unable to visit on Tuesday.

There are many spots around the park to just play with legos, which Bam Bam relished. He especially enjoyed the test and drive attraction where you build a car lego and race against other kid’s cars. Really, really fun attraction where we spent at least an hour of building and testing.

My daughters, ages 11 and 9, were able to participate in a mindstorm class where you learn to program a lego robot to complete several simple tasks. Very cool.

We also loved the miniland where there are lego replicas of many major cities. You’ll see some of these cities in the photos below.