What Happened in May? Crazy Ice Cream Day!

You may remember we have an annual Thiel holiday, created by Carley: Crazy Ice Cream Day. Usually we celebrate during the last weekend in April but this year it was postponed a weekend. 

We held our 3rd annual Crazy Ice Cream Day the first Sunday of May. 

This year the kids invited a couple more friends to join us. I put together a couple games to make the event more fun than just eating ice cream. 

I think the mini-party was quite a hit and the ice cream was delicious, of course. Just looking at these photos makes me smile, especially the ones where you can tell the kids are really having a good time. 

Pin the cherry on the ice cream.

Our sundae bar.

First person to get the cherry out of the whip cream and stand up wins!

Rounding Out April

Obviously I'm still having the love-hate relationship with this blog. I am still slowly posting but it is so sporadic and for that I apologize. 

I already posted about two events that happened in April: a Taekwondo tournament and our trip to Carpinteria. Believe it or not, other things happened too! 


First of all, I cannot believe I have not yet posted the April Fool's Day food that I made for the kids. Originally I didn't think I would continue the tradition, mainly because I was so busy with work and life, but I could not quit this fun holiday just yet. 

The kids knew it was coming this year. I offered them juice when they got home from school and  right then they figured I was up to something. 

"Juice" was actually Jell-o that was cooled with a straw inside.

"Fried Egg" Sundae is pudding, marshmallow cream and ice cream.

I also checked another item off my Life List: #89 Bet on a Live Horse Race. My youngest sister, Ashley, was in the Bay Area for work. My schedule was crazy busy that week so we decided to meet up Sunday afternoon at Golden Gate Fields to watch some horse races. I had so much fun! 

It was Dollar Day that day so parking, admission, beer, hot dogs, etc. were all just $1. I decided I was willing to lose $20 on bets but ultimately ended up winning most of the bets I placed. I think I walked away $4 ahead. 

My first bet!

It's a winner!

Me and Ashley

The last post-worthy event was a 5K race that the kids and I ran to support the local school district: Race for the Stars. It was a cold, cloudy, drizzly morning and we were feeling lazy but we braved the run anyway. 

Josh ran the full 3.1 miles without stopping to walk and finished at about 29 minutes. Carley's leg was bothering her and it was painful to run so she and I walked the majority of the race and finshed at 50 minutes. 

As usual, we hung out at the post-race expo for a little while before heading home. There was a bike raffle, which we knew nothing of, and in the background I hear Carley's name being called. Apparently all of the children racers were entered into the raffle. Sure enough, Carley won a bike! It is a little big for her but she is outgrowing her small one so the timing couldn't have been better. 

Pre-race

Josh at the finish line.

Sweaty hugs

Feeling proud

Carley's new bike

Wait. There is one more thing to post about, Easter! Our Easter was pretty simple. We dyed a dozen eggs, the kids got simple and small baskets, and the family went to Sarah's house for an Easter potluck meal. 

And that wraps up April. 

Way Back in January ...

Most of you know that I had a birthday in January. The big four oh! 

Talk of how to celebrate started months before my birthday. After several ideas, plans settled into a limo wine tasting trip with close friends and a big bash at home later that night. 

Two of my sisters made arrangements to fly in for the weekend. The limo had been booked, alcohol and food bought, etc. Then I got sick with the flu just a week before the party. 

I hadn't had the flu in years! And this time it was bad. I was getting worse every day for nearly a week, even after being prescribed Tamaflu. A day or two before the party I was starting to feel a tiny bit better but there was no guarantee I would feel good enough to celebrate or wouldn't spread my flu germs. With much disappointment, I postponed the party plans until two weeks later. 

Shelly cancelled her flight but Ashley, who was in the Bay Area for work, came that weekend anyway. What I hadn't known and Walt shared with me after postponing the party was that an online friend, Tiffany, who I'd known for years but had never met in person, was already in town to surprise me at my birthday party! 

Since I was on the upswing, I made it out to dinner and drinks on Saturday night to meet  up with Tiffany! Tiffany's friend, Paris, Ashley and Walt joined us. We spent hours in the restaurant catching up like we'd done it for years.  

On the morning of my birthday, the family and Ashley went out to a Mexican brunch buffet. Delicious. Other than that, we had a pretty mellow weekend. 

Tiffany, Paris, me

El Torito brunch

Ashley and me

Because of the flu and postponing, it was as if I got to celebrate my birthday twice! 

Two weeks later, on the first of February, I did get to take the limo wine tasting trip and have a small party at home. Shelly was able to fly down and spend the day with us too. Everything worked out fine, after all. 

Gearing up for our limo ride!

Heidi, Shelly, April, me, Walt, Christy, Wendy, Susan

This was my first time in a limo. Fan-freakin-tastic!

I loved having Walt on the wine trip with us.

Shelly and me

 

Carley loved the photobooth that we set up in the living room.

Thanks ladies, and a few gentlemen, for celebrating with me.

And I mostly like 40. 

Josh Has a New Toy

As you know, Josh had a birthday recently. With birthday money and a little money he earned himself, he bought a new Sector 9 longboard.

 

I was worried about him spending so much money on something he didn't even know if he would enjoy. None of his friends have skateboards or longboards, so I assumed he would ride it for a couple days and go back to riding a bike with his friends.

That has not been the case. Josh absolutely loves riding his longboard. He is getting pretty good at it too!

He is not allowed to ride it to school so it takes it out for a quick ride after he gets home. He rides it to friends' houses. He rides it around the neighborhood while his friends are on their bikes.

 

And he never rides without his helmet! I was surprised it hasn't been an argument but he's adamant about wearing it, thankfully.

I am happy he has another physical activity he enjoys.

April Fool's Tradition

Every year on April Fool's Day I make the kids something to eat that looks like something other than what it is. You can see many of the past fool food in my blog post from 2011.

This year Walt had the kids at Taekwondo class why I whipped up some "meat loaf and mashed potatoes." Neither Josh or Carley like mashed potatoes and sort of dismissed dinner when they walked in the door.


Carley was the first to sit down. She touched the mashed potatoes and said "the potatoes are really cold.... like ICE CREAM!" She discovered the prank before taking a bite.


The meatloaf is a cocoa rice crispy treat loaf and the potatoes are ice cream with caramel sauce. The ice cream melted so fast so it was a giveaway.





This is one dorky tradition I plan to continue even if the kids figure out the trick before their first bite.

Our First Cruise: A Day in Miami

Our boat returned to Miami early in the morning but our flight wasn't until the next day. We disembarked the ship about 10:30 am, caught a cab to the airport, rented a car and spent the day seeing some sights.

We decided to go to the Florida Everglades first.


We took a tour of part of the Everglades with Everglades Safari Park. I didn't know much about the Everglades or how close to Miami it was before that day.


Alligators live right there!




Our first airboat ride was awesome! The boat is so loud we had to wear earplugs.


It was so fast. We would even drift the turns. It was so much fun!




The tour guide knew right where to find an alligator. Apparently alligators claim their own individual territory and stay there.


The guide parked the boat and talked to us about the alligators and the Everglades. This alligator wasn't shy; he came right up to the boat after we parked in his territory.


The Everglades were gorgeous.

We saw several alligators and turtles in the water heading to and from the Safari Park.


Back at the Safari Park, Josh and Carley got to hold a baby alligator.


After the Everglades tour, we headed to Miami Beach.

Originally I wanted to visit South Beach but traffic and parking were so ridiculous. It probably took us an hour to get to nearly Mid-Beach before we finally found parking!


I actually don't know what beach we ended up on. All I know is we were in Miami Beach, Florida at the Atlantic Ocean and that was good enough for us.


The sand wasn't a soft as in the Caribbean and the water wasn't as clear but the ocean was still surprisingly warm. The kids dove right in!



This picture just makes me smile. Josh is swimming in the background and all we can see is his feet sticking out like a whale's flukes. In the far distance is the Carnival Glory, our cruise ship, heading back out to sea. We wished we were still on it!


One of the reasons to head to the beach after spending many days on beaches during our cruise was to check Life List #59: Swim in the Atlantic Ocean off my list! Check.

For that matter, Life List #58 is "go on a cruise" so I guess I can check that one off too!



Looking back through the vacation pictures to post on the blog has been a real treat. I do remember the little things that were irritating such as Josh and Carley bickering a lot, Carley saying "this isn't as fun as I thought it would be", or the several other things. But those irritants don't matter much. All I see and feel from these photos are joy, adventure and fun. I had such a wonderful time. I'm so thankful for my hard working husband who was able to provide us with such a great experience. I am so appreciative that he and I were able to give this experience to our kids. 

Cheers!