Back-to-School Just Around the Corner

What the heck happened? The kids start up classes again in a few days and I feel like "last day of school" was just yesterday. The husband made a comment the other day, "Didn't we just start summer vacation? What the heck?" But reality is reality and we have to face facts. Back-to-school is just around the corner.

So, we've done enough wallying in denial and it was time to head out & do some back-to-school shopping. So we moseyed on over to our local discount department store to tackle their school supply list, 5th Grade & 7th Grade respectively.

Okay, let's get to shopping. 

The boys worked on their own lists.

They did really well--only asking for help every once in a while. I even went to the Women's section to peruse some clearance fashions. When I connected back with them, they had pretty much checked off a majority of their lists. This is getting easier and easier every year. Hooray!

Their lists have been conquered.

School supply shopping has worn me out.  And I pretty much just supervised! ☺

And we're done! Over and out!

Well, that's one major task crossed off the list. Now, I just have to get myself emotionally ready.

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And in keeping with the theme of back-to-school preparation,  here are some articles I've encountered that may be useful to some parents.

• Have This Conversation Before You Send Your Baby Back To School A great anti-bullying letter
• What to Do--and Not to Do--When Your Child Doesn't Like Her Teacher
• Why August Gives Us All the Feels Emotional calendar
• Watch a Clever Teacher Annoy The Back Row of Class To Teach All Students an Important Lesson.
• 25 Ways to Make a Difference This School Year

Meet Ron Finley

Take a moment and get acquainted with Ron Finley. He's just one of the extraordinary people that inhabit this planet. He plants sh...uh...stuff. ☺

Breaking It Down 

• Lives in South Central Los Angeles or South Los Angeles...no...South Central will do.
• South Central: Home of the drive-thru and the drive-by, with the former killing more people than the latter.
• Food is the problem and food is the solution
• Ron planted a food forest in front of his house where the land is owned by the city but the residents must maintain it.
• His group called L.A. Green Grounds started planting food. The group consists of volunteers and everything is free.
• He got a citation from The City and a warrant. 
• A petition through Change.org was circulated and garnered lots of support.
• L.A.  has plenty of space/land for food gardens.
• Grow your own food.
• Manufacture your own reality
• Gardens can become tools for education.
• Community is the soil.
• Become an ecolutionary renegade...gangsta gardeners.

Inspiration is everywhere. Use your talents to impact your community, your world, our planet.

Credit and reference article: In L.A., Now You Can Use City Land For A Free Vegetable Garden

I was not gifted with the green thumb myself, but I'm lucky enough to partake in home grown vegetables (camote leaves, tomatoes, bitter melon, eggplant and more!)  thanks to my fabulous  ecolutionary renegade Step-Dad. And he's a great cook too!

Beautiful bitter melon.

Eggplant power.

So, do what you do best. And gift the world. Thanks Ron Finley for sharing your talents with your community!

 

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Touring the Jelly Belly Factory

August 16, 2015
I have to admit, when we planned to stop by The Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA, I expected to look around, take a few pictures and then head on out. To my glad surprise, we ended up spending a few hours there and had quite a good time. There are lots of things to see and taste. And I felt very patriotic visiting and getting to know this All-American business success story.

Great photo opportunities at the entrance of the building. First the boys.

♥ And then their parents!

It's a non-edible car.

We had to take a selfie.

And then we decided to finally go inside. ☺

The Sample Bar lets you pick out 3 different flavors to try at a time. The Kiwi flavor was delicious!

The walls are filled with Jelly Belly art and history.

The 12-year-old found a Hello Kitty JB jar. It's a special inside joke with his Music Teacher.

The boys wanted a JB commemorative penny.

And then there's a Jelly Belly Factory Tour. They take in groups all day long, just stand in line. On the weekends, the factory workers have the day off, but the tour goes on.  During the tour, there are no recording devices or cameras allowed which is unfortunate because there are many photo-ops. Be prepared for a nice walking tour with a few informative and interesting videos about the company's history and the making of this famous candy. And most importantly, ready your taste buds to try out some samples!

Getting ready to stand in line for the tour.

Photobombed by the Jelly Belly guy.

This is just one of the Jelly Belly artworks featured throughout the facility. It's a Jelly Belly museum.

Everyone is required to wear these stylish hats on the tour. At least it's better than a hairnet.

And finally, it's time to say goodbye!

They boys had a good time!

Thanks for the memories Jelly Belly Factory!

And thank you Fairfield, CA for having a nice little gem in your city.

Check out some of the places we patronized with reviews on Yelp.

• Town House Inn 
• Chicken Express 
• Paul's Striper Cafe 
• Tutti Frutti 
• Adalberto's Mexican Food

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A Weekend of Celebrating a Special Birthday

August 15, 2015

Happy Happy Birthday Month to my beloved Husband! I can't praise him enough for being the best husband for me, an exceptional father to our two boys and an all-around fun and wonderful human being. We celebrated his day (and weekend) in Solano County and the Bay Area. He deserves all good things and I pray and wish him a long, happy & healthy life!

Oh yes, we did sneak in a Lego Store visit in the City of Pleasanton.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
This was our main stop on our NorCal vacation. Here are just some of the silliness, adventures, and unique experiences at this fabulous amusement park.

Yes, the Husby is sharing his drink. He's generous too. ☺

Fist-bumping The Dark Knight. The best legends always have a mentor. ☺

Of course the boys had to get in on it. 

Apparently, the birthday boy was in a generous mood, sharing his drink with a shark. ☺

We found a train--not exactly Hogwarts Express, but it's fun. ☺

Being one with the Walrus.

Additional Discovery Kingdom pictures...

Monsoon Falls. The guys got a good soaking!

Skyscreamer. Obviously, the guys are NOT afraid of heights.

The all wooden roller coaster Roar closed this weekend. Farewell to Roar!

Some good things must come to an end.

Goodbye Roar! Thanks for the memories! (Awww, sad-faced birthday boy.)

 Thank you Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for a memorable experience.

Towards the evening we headed to San Francisco.

A little traffic on The Golden Gate Bridge which is actually a good thing. Take a moment and enjoy this beautiful landmark!

My film-loving boys love this Bridge seeing it many many movies. 

San Francisco is famous for those hills. I feel my thighs burning just looking at it (while sitting in a car). ☺

Ghirardelli Square 
I'm about to make a bold statement so here it goes. The Ghirardelli chocolate brownie from Ghirardelli Square is the BEST brownie ever--don't just devour it, savor it. Okay, now that I got that out of the way, we couldn't be in the NorCal area and NOT stop here for our dessert fix--and what better excuse than as part of the birthday celebration. (Truthfully, we would've gone anyway, but it sounds so noble, doesn't it?)

Chocolate Brownie Sundae almost as big as my 9-year-old's head.

Gotta give the man credit for having restraint while we take this picture.

Hope The Husby feels special every day. Again, wishing him a happy happy birthday!! We love you!!

If you're inclined to do so, check out my Yelp review on Evelyn's Big Italian Pizzeria & Ristorante. Supporting local small business. ☺



 
 
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Two Six Flags, Two Cities, One Day

August 14, 2015

The challenge: Enter Six Flags Magic Mountain (Opening time 10:30am) in the city of Valencia and ride one ride. Travel approximately 354 miles (about 5 hours without traffic) and enter Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (closing time 7pm) in the city of Vallejo and ride at least one ride. (Oh, and get a refill for the Green Sports bottle). Here's video footage!

The Journey
 Rental car loaded, packed & ready to go! 

We arrive at our destination for the first part of the challenge: Six Flags Magic Mountain in the city of Valencia.

Felfie (Family selfie) at the entrance of Magic Mountain waiting for the gates to open.

Getting ready to board The Ninja to fulfill the "ride a coaster" portion of the challenge.

And off we go again. 

Highway 99 

Stopped at Atwater to re-fuel the car, stretch our legs and take a restroom break.

Although a relatively smooth road trip, we were stopped by some light traffic and a train crossing. Needless to say, the guys were slightly stressed out having to wait for that train. We only waited about 5 minutes, but when you're trying to complete a challenge, it feels like 50 minutes. ☺

When they were little (and not pressed for time), they would've loved to see a train go by. 

Corn fields for miles and miles. 

And cool wind mills. Power up!

And then finally we arrived at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom!

That first spotting of the sign is always exciting!

And then a Felfie in front of Discovery Kingdom.

I snagged a worker to snap a proper family pic of us.

Parent-razzi shot in front of an official back drop.

Hangin' with the penguins.

The coaster Roar closed this weekend so we felt lucky to be able to ride it.

These guys love their roller coasters!

So, that ends Day 1 of our Solano County weekend vacation. We accomplished what we set out to. Yay for us!

 

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