Friday, May 27, 2011

First Beach Day Of The Year!


Sadie and Finn having a blast in the water!

We took advantage of the semi-nice weather (ridiculously foggy here lately) yesterday and the fact that it was the last day of free beach parking and took the kids to the beach! It was fabulous and blissful and made me look very forward to the carefree summer days ahead. Friends, laughing kids and a beach picnic (which honestly didn't get eaten because the beach was way too exciting) was a great Memorial Day Weekend kick-off. Who's comin' to visit us for more beach adventures???

Definition of happy!

I love the way 3 year olds play!

The "secret fort" :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

I Heart Carnies


Riding the kiddie cars. The boy in front was so sweet to her, telling her everything she needed to know! And unbuckled her at the end and helped her out- chivalry is not dead, people!

Ahhh... who doesn't love a good carnival? (Well, John still calls them death traps, but I still love 'em!) Every year Newport has one down at First Beach and well, ya, it's a pretty sketchy one..... but what carnival isn't?! (I think the words "just got out of prison" were said a few times.) It's part of it's charm. Sadie had never been to one so we took her down, not sure if she would like it or not. When we found out that they wouldn't allow adults on the kiddie rides, I thought that was the end of it. She would never just go on a ride without me. Not my timid girl. Or would she? Apparently she would! I was shocked and very proud of her bravery for going on rides she had never been on and all by herself! We happened to find one tame ride that I could go on with her and that had her hooked. After that, she couldn't be stopped! She had a blast.

Riding the train all by herself like a big girl.

Amusement parks always make me think of my Dad. And this one was no exception. They had two rides that made me think of him. The first was the "Polar Express", the one where the cars whip around and around at lightening speed with ridiculously loud music- I used to LOVE that one when I was a kid! You would yell "FASTER! FASTER!" at the guy running it and he would, so much fun! My Mom gets motion sickness by simply looking at a ride, but my Dad loved them and would take me on everything. One time on that particular ride, he sat down on the inside and I sat down on the outside, and we realized our mistake as the ride went faster and faster and centrifugal force kept pulling my Dad to the outside (to me)...... so the 230 lb man used all his strength not to crush an 80 lb kid the whole ride. :)

The Polar Express hasn't changed much......

The other ride was the Zipper. Although this ride doesn't look like much, it packs a punch! It goes around and around at the same time your cart is spinning crazy around and around. I remember my Dad's pockets emptying out during that ride, spilling his wallet, keys, chapstick (he was never without one), it's a crazy ride! Thankfully the cage caught everything but the chapstick :) I just have such fun memories of my Dad taking me to Riverside Park as a kid every year, he was such a kid himself when he went there and he would go on everything. That's all..... just a little stroll down memory lane!

Neither has The Zipper..... which, when you think about it, is pretty scary!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Cousins


Luke, Sadie and Gio- April 2011. I just love this photo!

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Nifty Nilla


Kinda lemon-y, kinda cheesecake-y, with a tasty Nilla-y crust....... you just need a pan of these and your favorite guilty pleasure tv show and you are all set, my friend.

What is it about a Nilla Wafer? So old school, so simple and I eat them unabashedly by the handful. They are especially good dipped into tea and coffee (for breakfast). Mmmm.... say it with me..... Nilla..... Which brings me to the point of this post. Creamy Dreamy Lemon Squares. Ok, I added the dreamy part. It's a regular ol' Kraft recipe and it's damn good. I made them for Easter and it seems to be something I crave every spring. Lemon is just so.... springy. The crust is made out of crushed Nilla wafers (only 20 of them, so what's a girl to do with the rest??) butter, brown sugar and flour. Nothing bad can come of that. It's delicious and complements the creamy lemony goodness to a T. Just make them, for goodness sake! They are good for the soul and a perfect way to celebrate spring!