Cali: Here We Come… Again

Hey There!

I hope you all are having a great start to your weekend! We are just settling back in from a quick stay-vacay (more on that later). I meant to share with you all this trip to Cali we took last weekend before we headed out again, but the week got away from me and before I knew it, I was scrambling to repack our suitcases. I really do love traveling and going on new adventures, but for some reason, I really hate packing. So when Carrie texted me mid-week and asked if we were free the upcoming weekend, I responded YES! But... then I remembered I would have to pack. 😏 I decided it was a better idea to lay on the floor and watch the Dodgers get killed by the Giants for the second night in a row, then to pack.

I'm thinking that my packing procrastination may have something to do with the fact that every trip to Cali this year has resulted in bumper to bumper traffic. We are currently 0-3. I did however manage to get a pic of the full moon that evening. 




Funny Story:

So after finally arriving at my parents's house that night, we were all watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics while my mom and I were discussing the kids going to Clyde's swim meet in the morning. At one point, Rian looks over at me and says, "We're going there tomorrow?", as she points to the TV. Between us talking about the details of the swim meet and the TV announcers discussing the Olympic swimmers, poor Rian was so confused as to what was going to happening in the morning.  "No Rian, your cousin in not competing in the Olympics!" 😂 Well at least not yet. 

Once the swim meet was over everyone decided to jump in the water. Clyde wasn't having it, but he couldn't resist getting in on the fun! Poor Papa, he's always the kid wrangler... hahaha!

The plan for dinner was supposed to be all the kiddos were gonna have a pizza party with Papa while my mom and I met Carrie for dinner for a little girl's night out. However, Rory and Rian never made it to the party. They pooped out even before we left to meet up with Carrie! And I have no idea how Rian fell asleep looking like she slid down the wall to get into bed.

And if you know us, you already know how we ended the night... playing cards. I don't think a trip to Cali is complete without a good round of Rummy with my mom! But first we played a couple of rounds of Brain Teasers with Clyde, since he was the only one not in bed when we got back from dinner.




Well, we thought we were ending the night until we found Rory and Clyde having a great time playing video games at midnight. These two will stay up all night if you let them. By the way, my mom went all "grandma mode" on them. She walked in and calmly asked what they were doing and nicely asked them to keep it down. Back in the day, I didn't get off that easy if I was laughing it up with my cousins or friends at midnight!


This was a great, unexpected trip. Thanks Carrie for coordinating dinner! It was nice to have a little quality time with my mom and Carrie. We really need to make it a regular thing!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

-aMie 

Fun Facts: Amie

Hey There!

I always love reading fun fact segments on people, whether I know them personally or I'm familiar with them from social media, I always learn something new or something relatable. After recently seeing a sort of get-to-know-me activity from The Chismosas Club on Instagram, I thought I would create a Fun Fact Series. And so, I'm kicking it off with 10 "fun" facts about myself. But before I begin, I have a little random story to share. One evening I was out with a group of friends and went into the restroom of the restaurant and I happen to come across this on the inside of the stall door. Of all the stalls to choose from I chose the one meant for me. I guess the universe was trying to show me some love ❤

Fact 1:

I'm a problem-solver and doing puzzles, playing cards and board games and solving riddles are my jam! My family is very competitive and this is just in my DNA. One of my favorite pastimes with my Nana was playing Gin Rummy with her late into the night. Now I play with my mom and she's quite the competitor! I've wrangled Rory into playing with me, even while boating on the lake... hahaha 😂 








Waterproof playing cards: Amazon


Fact 2:

I love to dress up in costume for Halloween and even more so, I love a collaborative or group themed costume. Years ago, I convinced my friend at work to be a golf ball so that we could enter the office costume contest since I was dressing up as a golfer. I still remember hot gluing fake grass to the ankles of her white sweatpants the morning of the party. Poor Latika was game for anything. I miss those days... hahah 😂 But this photo shoots me straight back to the 80's, 1988 to be exact (or is that 1989???). Anyway, trick-or-treating with my cousins was the best! And the strangest thing is I hate clowns, like really hate clowns, so how I ended up in this costume is anyone's guess. Technically I think I was Raggedy Ann, but that's a short hop, skip and a jump away from clown-ville. Nowadays, I have Lena to scheme with when it comes to our office theme. Ever wonder what Peter Parker, Diana Princess, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent did during the day???  

Fact 3:

I love history: my own family history, history of the states, American history, I love it all. I discovered a few years ago that my 2x great-grandfather, Orin England, opened up England's Hardware Store in Wessington Springs, SD after moving there when the Civil War ended. It's on my bucket list to create my own Who Do You Think You Are? genealogy journey. And speaking of bucket list, another item I'd love to eventually check off is to visit every state. 



Courteous of Pinterest

Fact 4:

I love to travel. At any given moment, I have a handful of trips planned out in my head: Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, Greece, France, Spain. And let's not forget a cruise to Alaska, a girls trip to Nashville and Texas, spending a weekend eating beignets in New Orleans, spending a week on a beach in Hawaii, taking the kids to DC, and holiday window shopping in NYC. 

Fact 5:

I'm the happiest on the water. It doesn't matter if it's the beach, the river or the lake, put me on the water and I'm all set!







Fact 6: 

I have a weird anxiety about not be prepared. I have even created my own version of a Mary Poppins bag. I have to admit that this probably stemmed from when Rory and Rian were babies and it has lessen over the last few years, but yes, I was prepared to sew Rian's water sock when she busted a hole in it at the river. Yup, I found myself sewing away while sitting on the shore. I even found myself having to sew myself into my pants when my zipper broke mid-day at work. Maybe I need to dwindle down my bag of tricks to just a sewing kit... hahaha 😂 

Fact 7:

My go-to "meal" is coffee and chips. Go ahead and judge, I'll wait. I know it's really bad, but if I could drink coffee and eat chips all day, everyday, I would. And if you're looking to bride me, Lay's Flamin' Hot Dill Pickles are my absolute favorite, just saying. But let's be honest, this popcorn will also do the trick and so will Mexican food. Yup, Mexican food will definitely work!

Fact 8: 

I have broken 2 bones in my life. And as much as I would love to tell you that I had some amazing stories behind them, I really don't. I'm just clumsy 😏 When I was seven I was racing my friend in a bowling alley and I tripped as I was getting to the imaginary finish line and landed on my arm. I spend that entire summer with this heavy plaster cast. Looking back, as a mom myself, I feel bad for my own mom having had to wrap my arm in a plastic grocery bag every time I took a bath or got near water. Sorry Mama. Then when I was 15 or 16 I crashed my ATC out in the desert and I broke my hip. This time around, I didn't have a cast, but my mom had to deal with me on crutches for 6 weeks. Fun times! 😂



Fact 9:

I can't keep plants alive to save my life. The green thumb gene was definitely not passed down to me, not at all. Both my nana and papa were awesome at tending to their yard and garden. My papa would spend so much time taken care of the lawn. "Aye, stay off my lawn!", he would yell if someone was walking across the front lawn instead of using the walkway. And my Nana loved her roses. She had them planted in the front of the house and in the back. And I wish I had the ability to have a beautiful yard like theirs, but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Actually most of the plants in my front yard are artificial. And I know my nephew Logan is cringing at the thought of that. But I live in the desert and I look at it as having a water-smart yard... hahaha😂



Fact 10:

And lastly, I fully admit that I cannot make rice. Speaking of my nana, my absolute favorite dish she made was her Mexican rice and God knows how much I miss her making it. Over the years I helped her in the kitchen while she made it and took as detailed notes as I could, but no matter what I do, I just cannot make rice. Whether it's her rice or any other kind of rice, I just cannot get it right. It either turns out soggy and mushy or under cooked and crunchy. I'm a decent cook and I can make a lot of dishes, but rice is just not one of them 🤦


Well if you got this far, thanks for hanging in there until the end. Did any of these surprise you? Or did you know all 10 random facts? Do we have any facts in common? I hope you enjoyed this, coming soon is Rory and Rian's fun facts, so stay tuned!

xoxo

-aMie

4th of July Weekend

Hey There!

I hope you're still enjoying the holiday weekend! We've definitely been enjoying ours. We kicked off the weekend with meeting up with some friends at Town Square for a little shopping, funnel cake and GameWorks on Friday. 

We love funnel cake and Braud's Funnel Cake Cafe did not disappoint! They have so many yummy options, but we landed on Chocolate, Bacon (yes, bacon!), and Cookie & Cream.






The kids wanted to escape the heat and there's no better place than GamesWorks as far as they're concerned. These two were do enjoy each other's company, whether it's competing with each other or joining forces.

Both sides of my heart ❤










We decided to do family movie night after dinner. The kids had never seen Night at the Museum and I thought it was kind of fitting for the holiday weekend. 


And as excepted, the neighbors got a jump start on celebrating America's birthday! 


Saturday we packed up for the day... 


and took a little drive...


to Lake Las Vegas! I had heard great things about the Aqua Park on the lake and thought this was the perfect weekend to give it a try. It was really fun and we loved it! 
















We loved Lake Las Vegas so much, that we decided that we wanted to spend a little more time there. So we'll be back in a few weeks!

The 4th was spent laying low and relaxing. We later headed to the park to watch the fireworks. And man oh man we the kids charged up. I couldn't even get a photo of them that wasn't blurry. It was like trying to photograph two toddlers... 🤣

And just in case you've never seen fireworks, here's a photo dump. Can you tell which ones are my favorites?!?














But I'll end with Rory's favorite, the ones that explode into a bunch of tiny fireworks.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time...

xoxo

-aMie