New Year

January 18, 2025January 19, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Dammit you guys, it’s been a hot minute. I have excuses if you want to hear them. But do they really matter?

Since we’ve last chatted almost everyone (in our home) started a new school year.

I took a trip down to Cabo!

We watched the LA Galaxy win it ALL!

Averi had her acting debut in a Finding Nemo musical’

… and last but most important, we celebrated the best man in our lives turn 80. But That will have it’s own post!

So, with that, here is the proof.

Some back to school shopping, first day of school pictures.

I am not ready to talk about how old they are getting.

Oh Cabo, the last time wasn’t fantastic, so why do we repeat history? ( wow there is so much in that question)

As we were booking this trip I whispered to myself, “this time it will be amazing”.

Because this time we were going to do things different. We were going to stay at a smaller hotel. We were going to forgo San Diego International and leave out of Tijuana. That’s what everyone said we should do, it’s cheaper, easier..

Side note: we live 10 miles away from San Diego International Airport. We live 26 miles from the CBX crossing.

So, I book a flight from Tijuana to Cabo. The Uber showed up on time and 25 minutes later we are at the CBX border. We got out of the car with our luggage and all the of the paperwork filled out. (you have to have your shit together otherwise you’ll be filling out papers leaning against vending machines before they let you through, oh and they don’t have pens so bring your own.)

We proudly show our paperwork and make our way across the tunnel (border) and into the TJ airport. The walk took about 10 minutes. And then we hit the line for the custom passport check and guess what, we weren’t alone. We were in line for about 30 minutes. After that, there was another check point and then there was a luggage check. We left a lot of time, I’m talking hours to get through everything. But luckily we reached our gate with minutes to spare. We jumped in line and then realized that we weren’t even boarding our plane, we were just getting on a bus to take us to our plane. WTF?

We eventually made it to our plane.

We landed in Cabo without any problems. Once we collected our luggage and walked outside I realized that we werent at the same terminal we were used to. I don’t actually know how manyYou know, the terminal that has the bars?

Little things like that aren’t a big deal, shouldn’t be a big deal. but at that moment I wanted to be where everyone else was. I wanted to the terminal with the bars, I wanted to be where everyone else was.

Our transfer arrived not long after and we were headed to our hotel.

This was a smaller hotel that was a short beach walk to Medano beach.

We sat on the beach all day every day . Had the best churros ever.

We ate fresh fish, molé enchiladas. Fireworks every night and stormy weather.

https://videopress.com/v/Dtd91AOB?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

I need to mention that those fireworks went off every night. It sounded like we were being gunned down (Hi, I am that old. ) Also, the flamingos underneath us sounded like they were screaming for their lives. I’m not a fan of either of those.

With that being said, it was a nice trip. But I think Cabo can be put on the back burner for awhile.

The trip home was SO much easier even with a delayed flight, go figure.

LA Galaxy, if you know me then you know that I am a soccer person. We are the OG LA Galaxy fans. When we lived in San Ramon (1990’s) we watched the San Franscisco Bay Blackhawks. This is before there was MLS. Eric Wynalda was on the team and I remember running up to him after a win with my friends. Can’t do that anymore.

Nevertheless we are still a footy family. OG Galaxy fans!

LA Galaxy MLS Champions!

Now onto my Averi.

I want to be her when I grow up. She’s just so confident, she has that chutzpah, you know.. so sure of herself.

https://videopress.com/v/nENcljex?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

When I wonder what she got from me, she runs into walls and spills shit.

That concludes that last 8 months…maybe?

Next we talk about my dad!

New Year

January 18, 2025January 19, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Dammit you guys, it’s been a hot minute. I have excuses if you want to hear them. But do they really matter?

Since we’ve last chatted almost everyone (in our home) started a new school year.

I took a trip down to Cabo!

We watched the LA Galaxy win it ALL!

Averi had her acting debut in a Finding Nemo musical’

… and last but most important, we celebrated the best man in our lives turn 80. But That will have it’s own post!

So, with that, here is the proof.

Some back to school shopping, first day of school pictures.

I am not ready to talk about how old they are getting.

Oh Cabo, the last time wasn’t fantastic, so why do we repeat history? ( wow there is so much in that question)

As we were booking this trip I whispered to myself, “this time it will be amazing”.

Side note: we live 10 miles away from San Diego International Airport. We live 26 miles from the CBX crossing.

We eventually made it to our plane.

Our transfer arrived not long after and we were headed to our hotel.

This was a smaller hotel that was a short beach walk to Medano beach.

We sat on the beach all day every day . Had the best churros ever.

We ate fresh fish, molé enchiladas. Fireworks every night and stormy weather.

With that being said, it was a nice trip. But I think Cabo can be put on the back burner for awhile.

The trip home was SO much easier even with a delayed flight, go figure.

Nevertheless we are still a footy family. OG Galaxy fans!

LA Galaxy MLS Champions!

Now onto my Averi.

I want to be her when I grow up. She’s just so confident, she has that chutzpah, you know.. so sure of herself.

When I wonder what she got from me, she runs into walls and spills shit.

That concludes that last 8 months…maybe?

Next we talk about my dad!

A Little Dirt on our Boots

June 2, 2024January 18, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

A day of non stop country music with a backdrop of palm trees swaying in harmony. That is a glimpse of what Boots in the Park at waterfront looks like. As soon as we heard Thomas Rhett was going to headline Boots in the Park this Spring we had tickets that afternoon. The festival lineup also featured his daddy, Rhett Atkins, Scotty McCreery, LOCASH and Lee Brice. VIP tickets are the ~~only~~ way to go for this festival because it’s a separate area with it’s own amenities, bathrooms and most importantly benches to sit on because age.

We arrived early planning out where we wanted to park ourselves for the day while we were in line.

We were one of the firsts in the VIP section.

If we had to complain about VIP it would be the lack of food and drink options, but we survived.

While we were sitting and chatting a lady came up to us and asked us if we wanted to meet Rhett Atkins.

We replied with an obvious “yes”.

Our phones weren’t allowed backstage… He seemed like a nice guy and we shared a few laughs.

Rhett was a good story teller and shared personal anecdotes between songs. He told us about the time Luke Bryan went to his hotel room in nothing but his boxers to tell him that he came up with sure fire hit song.

This is that song….

He’s written a lot of songs for other artists such as Blake Shelton and Jon Pardi. He told us backstage that his four year old son might join him on stage for a song. Sure enough at the end of his set, his son came out and sang the old classic “the Itsy Bitsy Spider” and the crowd went wild.

On our way to get a refill we ran into our radio morning show hosts. I listen to Jon and Tammy every morning so we had to get a picture.

As the sun started to go down, Lee Brice took the stage.

And he sang all of our favorites including Rumor.

Next up was not so little Scotty McCreery whom we saw at Boots in the Park in 2019 with Old Dominion. I was eager to hear his latest song, Cab in a Solo.

A drone show lit up the sky.

Finally, the man of the match. Thomas Rhett came out and started the show with one of my personal favorites, Vacation.

His entire performance was stellar. He played all of his hits and talked about how he re-did “Heads Carolina” with Cole Swindel, which I did not know.

It was such a good day with my love and we can’t wait to see Thomas Rhett again.

Hot Minute

May 5, 2024January 18, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a minute since I have been here, free time is a rarity around here. The last time I logged on I couldn’t find my blog and it’s been a thing, but here I am, hi! I think the last time we chatted was a handful of months ago, lots to catch up on.

This cookbook is full of mouth watering recipes. Her cooking speaks to my heart.

I made the broken noodle bolognese and it was amazing. Ate like a deconstructed lasagna but with less effort.

I also made a fettuccine Alfredo

We went roller skating.

For my birthday we ran off to the desert. We started at a winery in Julian which was better than I remembered. Then we met my brother at our hotel in Borrego Springs. We spend the night at the town bar Carlee’s listening to our local country band. Always a fun time. The next day my brother got us a driver to take us into Palm Springs.

We started with brunch at Bongo Johnny’s. Bottomless mimosa’s are always a good idea.

Shawna found us a speak easy hidden behind a wine shop.

PS Air bar was a unique experience.

If I am going to sit in an airplane seat for any period of time I want be in a different location when I leave it. This was a one and done place for us.

We ended the day at the casino playing Roulette.

Jenn met us at our hotel that evening and then we all went back to Carlee’s for another go round. We played pool and danced the night away.

We had a yummy breaky the next morning before heading home.

We went for margaritas for the March birthday girls.

No, the kids did not have margaritas.

The next week, we got our passports out.

Months of Photos.

October 16, 2023January 18, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Photos have been piling up and I always have the best intentions of posting them, I don’t know where the time goes.

Heading back to the summer…

Belmont Park and SD Fair fun.

Summer night meals.

Roasted snapper.

And…

Esquites, which was so good I made it multiple times in a week.

I used a couple of recipes but mainly this one. I made it with fresh corn and the frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes and they both worked, but….the fresh corn was obviously superior.

Caramelized onion and blue cheese tart.

Fun day on the Island with ~~Uncle C and Aunt A~~ Frankie and Tony.

Galaxy matches.

A super fun Huntington beach day!

The two youngest girls.

The Nine Year Old

August 22, 2023January 18, 2025 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Averi, fabulous and nine years old. She had a mermaid theme birthday and chose McDonalds for her dinner choice..She hasn’t changed much in that department. She is, much like me, an emotional mess, I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets her Big Girl before her older sister. But she is smart, sassy, funny and outgoing, the world is hers!

Sweet baby Aves is all grown up!

SeaWorld

May 28, 2023 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

To say that we have been taking advantage of our SeaWorld passes is an understatement. I think we have been about four times in the past two months and we have done it ALL. Food, shows, rides, drinks….you name it, we’ve done it. Averi has gone from afraid of rollercoasters to riding them on repeat. I knew that she had my thrill DNA somewhere inside of her. Now she is bummed because she isn’t tall enough for the scarier rides.

Averi’s favorite ride was the water ride.

Sound on.

However, once she braved Manta, the other roller coaster that she is tall enough for and it doesn’t have loopty loops, is now her favorite ride.

Between rides we take food breaks to watch a show.

The skyride is perfect for a cool down break.

Sometimes I say “yes” to games and face paint but in return they have to sit with me and listen to some music.

BUT….my most favorite thing to do at SeaWorld is riding Emperor. The front row is the best, shoes off is even better but it you want to feel like you are really flying through the air, eyes closed and hands up.

Here you go….

I have such a good time hanging out with my girls on those sunny, (okay so it hasn’t been sunny in weeks, sigh) Saturdays.

Appreciative and Relaxed

May 23, 2023 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

The week before mother’s day was teacher appreciation week, and boy did I feel the love. Between catered lunches, candy, flowers, wine and gift cards, I was spoiled.

For the holiday weekend; Shawna and I ran off to the desert for some sunning, soaking and reading, three of my favorite things well four!

We spent the entire day in the sun and then had a mediocre dinner. We woke up on Mother’s day, went back out to the pool for a couple of hours and then headed to Temecula for some food and wine.

We went to a new winery in town, it only opened a couple of months ago, however this was our second go around.

I am not mad at the wine. I really enjoy their Chardonnay, I think it’s one of my favorites from that area.

Also, we must acknowledge that pizza in the picture. The pizza maker is Carmine (an Italian > New Yorker > Californian) and he has a traveling wood-fired pizza truck. Handmade sourdough crust, homemade fresh mozzarella… you guys, this pizza was so delicious. The ~~one~~ few that we ordered had a name, but I am terrible at recalling names…They had a base of San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, slightly caramelized onions with fennel sausage, fresh basil and were finished with a drizzle of olive oil. (and maybe some hot honey at home)

A perfect weekend to recharge our mommy panels.

I’m the Problem, it’s Me.

April 29, 2023 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

The irony of my blogs name….Finding time to blog has become an art to say the least. It’s been 55 days since I last posted here, not that I’m counting. I will feel my guilt tug at me and consider sitting down to tell y’all about what we ate or how we are all getting older…. but then I start to feel more guilty and just don’t…I am sure there is a therapist reading this with BIG thoughts.

In reality, I am back in the classroom and just wrapped up DRDP (Desired Results Developmental Profile) to prepare for conferences.

And now that is done, and I am ready to catch you up. Even though it’s been some days since we last chatted, I do remember saying that I was going to make a few of Jet Tila’s recipes out of his cookbook….and I did.

Obviously it was delicious as we knew it would be.

Shawna turned the big 49 and we took ourselves to Vegas to celebrate. Casey and Aileen gifted us a stay at the Golden Nugget so that is just what we did. We LOVE Downtown Vegas. Sure the big hotels with the fancy shit and $25 buy-ins might look nice, but dammit it’s not worth it. (insert Ted Lasso’s voice) They are great for certain shows and concerts but I promise you, the fun and the food is just as good downtown. The end.

Fun story happened minutes after this picture was taken. We were sitting at a great table outside ready to watch a country (cover) band that we quite enjoy. A man approached our table and said “I’ll give you $300 for your table.” Shawna replied with a “fuck you.” I mean it’s Vegas you guys….Then he pulled out $300 and she said, “babe, grab your shit, we are moving!” And that is how I saw my first ever bubbly vending machine.

We took that money and ran….to a pool table and sipped some bubbly with someone who could have been Lil’ John, and didn’t do half bad on the Roulette table.

Oh, I almost forgot Dancing Chucky, you’re welcome.

We also saw the Padre’s play, they lost but the food and weather were winners.

The girls like to make TikTok videos…. but just for us (no they don’t have SM or post this shit..over my dead body.) Anyhow, they liked this one.

We spent Easter Sunday at SeaWorld, we have SoCal passes and can go back and back and back until Averi conquers a roller coaster, little scaredy cat…Definitely not my DNA.

The only plus is that she holds all our stuff while we ride the fun ones.

It’s a phase right?

I think that brings us up to April. I hope to see you guys sooner than 55 days…Cheers!

Snow Day

March 5, 2023 ~ Girlmom ~ Leave a comment

Winter is not my jam. Snow, cold, rain, wet, all of the above, I don’t love….you know? However, the girls are fond of the rain and especially the snow. So to get it out of their systems, we had a snow day.

We drove far enough East until we hit snow and we let them run free.