Memorial Day Weekend Festivities

So I totally got in trouble for not posting last weekend (happy Christina ...lol) but everyone needs a vacation and Eleanor and I had gone to Washington. Gavin unfortunately had to stay back in California because there's no rest for a car-guy during a holiday weekend -especially the first one of summer. So off to WA we went to spend a wonderful weekend visiting family, playing at the lakes, and enjoying a peaceful sunny weekend.

Then we got there and I remembered that it's never sunny in Seattle on Memorial Day weekend. 

First on our trip was a day at the family campsite by Lake Stevens. Eleanor had been there before by this time she could walk and play and eat twigs (no joke, she tried a few times). Too bad it was too cold to swim but we enjoyed our time worth Dad, Jen and the kids watching movies and making s'mores. 

The only downside to camping was sharing a bed with Eleanor. That girl wiggles and jiggles and scoots all over the place! It was already uncomfortable on the converted table, but kiddo wouldn't stop until she was right in my spot, pillow and all. Little Dr. Cooper in the making ...

Sunday we spent a day out at Papa and Nana's on Mason Lake. Seriously, I packed all Eleanor's swim paraphernalia but we didn't get to use any of it due to it being too cold. Major bummer. But we had an awesome time hanging out with the family -especially watching all three of the little girls interact with each other. 

Monday and Tuesday we didn't do much. I went and saw Pitch Perfect 2 with Jennie and Michelle. It was a good movie, but nonetheless it was still a sequel and we all know the sequel is rarely as good as the original (Harry Potter, LOTR, and Avengers are amazing exceptions in my book). It was a good girls date that involved waaaaaay too much candy, but a lot of laughs, especially from Michelle who always laughs super loud during movies. Plus, my Dad for some good papa-granddaughter time in. Tuesday was even more chill with a visit to Papa and Grandma Gill's house in Enumclaw. Eleanor entertained them by running around the house for over an hour and playing with Toby the cat. She also got to play the piano and play in a box Grandma got for her. Great day for a 14-month-old. 

Alas, we flew back to Gavin (and sunshine) on Wednesday morning. I have to give a shout out and major kudos to TSA at Seatac Airport this trip. They were incredibly helpful getting me and Eleanor through security, which always the most stressful part beside the flight itself. Props to Alaska Airlines too; they're ALWAYS super helpful and this flight was no exception. 

Cheers! 

Weekly Update: The rest of the Fam Bam

Eleanor's milestone aside, it was an eventful week for the rest of the family too. We celebrated Gavin's 25th birthday and Mother's Day. And because Gavin and I are both horrible at waiting for the special day to give presents, it was more of a Birthday/Mother's Day-week in our house.

Family photo on Gavin's 25th Birthday!

I made it myself ... kinda.

We celebrated Gavin's birthday a day early due to his work schedule. We spent Thursday morning being lazy and hanging out. Gavin actually surprised me with breakfast and Starbucks and we had some good family time. Birthday lunch was at BJ's Brewery before we dropped Eleanor off to Sarah for some bonding while we went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron -which was A-mazing! We followed that up with a nice homemade dinner and an intense conversation about the Marvel Universe, Joss Whedon not being involved with the next Avengers movie, the overall awesomeness of both Joss and Marvel, and the correct order of the Marvel films (for which I found an awesome infographic that displays the timeline and cleared up any disagreements). Since Gavin isn't a huge fan of cake, we had Birthday Brownies and I sang happy birthday.

Friday was Gavin's actual birthday and we celebrated with a birthday Breakfast at Mary's Gold Miner Cafe, which is our favorite spot in Folsom so far. Eleanor and I gave Gavin his presents over a few days, because I'm really bad at keeping them to myself. He may have picked out the KC sweats I bought him, but I think he was happily surprised with the latest Vikings and SOA seasons, and the new wire BBQ skewers I found -which look really cool and I can't wait for him to use!

Zoodle/squoodle combo with shrimp

 Our Mother's Day celebration started earlier in the week when Gavin gave me the spiral slicer I've been saying I wanted. If you don't know what that it, its a neato contraption that turns unsuspecting veggies into noodles -among other things. so far I've made zoodles (zucchini noodles) and squoodles (summer squash noodles). Just spiralize, saute, then toss with some sauce and you're good to go! I'm pretty excited about all the possibilities; I'm making sweet potato "nests" tonight.

Mother's Day gifts <3

Moving on, Gavin was a good spoiler all week, surprising me with Starbucks and breakfast most mornings, and spreading the gifts out over a couple of days -seriously, waiting until Christmas morning is sometimes brutal for us. Haha! My loot contained Marvel movies because we're nerdy like that, a new cookbook, and a beautiful bougainvillea plant. I also got to go shopping by myself! Ive wanted an herb garden for a while, so I picked up some thyme, basil, and rosemary to start, and a nice big pot to plant them in. Oh, and a hummingbird feeder that I'm very excited about too. Christina surprised me with a Starbucks gift card in my inbox. She understands my need for afternoon pick-me-ups.

We hope all the mothers, step-mothers, almost-mothers, and mothers-to-be were celebrated last Sunday (and every other day)! I never really understood what being a mother encompassed until I was one, and I discover new things about myself as a mother every day. I'm honored to have two amazing mothers in my life who helped mold me into the mother I am, just as I'm fortunate to have a fiance and daughter who love me as much as they do.

Happy (belated) Mother's Day and Happy (belated) Birthday Gavin!   

Me and my kids on Mother's Day.