Play dough memories

Growing up our play dough was always home made.  I don't remember when my first exposure to store bought play dough was, but I remember being a little disappointed by it.  I don't really know why, maybe it was just what I was familiar with, but I never found the store bought version to be all that great, except for maybe the brighter colors...and the smell, I love that smell (weird right?).  

The boys and I made a fresh batch of playdough today and I think I pinpointed why I didn't enjoy the store bought version growing up.  There was no process.  Play dough was probably one of the first things I helped "cook"  (besides gingersnaps with my dad or blueberry muffins with Aunt Charlotte).  We got to mix it, choose a color, sometimes we used an extract to add a scent to the batch, sometimes glitter, stir it up and watch it congeal into play dough.  It was science.  It was magic.

Then we got to play with while it was still warm.  Warm play dough is just as delicious as warm laundry.

Playing with the warm play dough today brought all those memories back.  I wanted to make Scott and Owen stop and enjoy how awesome warm play dough is (they were smashing it with toys!), but someday I hope they'll have the same memories as I do.

This was the first Scott helped make it which was especially fun.

Scott asked for orange for himself (which we scented lemon) and blue for Owen (which I planned to scent peppermint but we were out of extract)

And this face, I laugh every time.  What a riot!

Disclaimer:  I'm not judging store bought play dough, trust me, we use our fair share (and the smell....I just love that smell, yeah, I know its of chemicals, I can't help it).  So if all you use is store bought, rock on sister friend, but if you ever wanna try making it I have a good recipe and there is really nothing like playing with warm play dough.  Its almost worth making a new batch every time. 

Leo Carrillo

The Campbells have officially been bitten by the 'camping bug'.  We just got back from a quick 2 night trip to the beach with our friends.  We have camped this frequently since long before the kiddos, maybe even since before we got married.  Yikes.  Now that we have been out a few times we are hooked again!!

The Campbell's Camping Adventure Part II began Friday.  After I went to the gym and work for a few hours and Brian took the boys to Scott's first T-ball class (no pictures, his phone died, fear not I will go next week and will take loads of pictures (at least on my phone) I'm sure), we came home, got cleaned up, grocery shopped and packed.  We were on the road by 2 and drove the quick 15-20 minutes to the coast.  I can't forget to mention that on the way we stopped to get Scott a boogie board.  He has been asking to learn to surf for like a year.  My response to that is "you have to learn how to swim first".  Well he's officially done that so the next appropriate step is boogie boarding.  

Scott rode the whole way to the beach with the boogie board in his lap because he was so excited (and good thing because it wasn't going to fit anywhere else, we were packed to the gills yet again)

We were the first to arrive so we got to setting up camp ASAP.

And really you can't camp without multiple swords right...

 The Blacks and the Daniels joined us shortly after and we were ready to rock and roll for the weekend.

First up dinner.  This was the scene for each meal throughout the weekend:

5 boys and 6 parents...it was wild!

Oh and did I mention it is rattlesnake country?!?!  There were two right out in the open (with a crowd of people around, including a life guard who was radioing for a ranger to come with his "rattlesnake grabber") mating.  They were big.  And aggressive.  We had a few serious talks with the boys about not touching snakes ever and telling parents right away if they saw a snake and we kept them out of the bushes.

I tried for a picture with all 5 kids using the glow stick bribe again.  Not so much.  But here they are.

Saturday morning was chilly and overcast but Scott did not care, he was in it to win it.  Brian was stoked since he would be the one going in the water with him.

Practicing their moves...

Scott, with an expression on his face that proves the water was FUH-REE-ZAAANG!

"Mom, those fools are crazy." - Owen

The three littlest littles sand castling....

Beau got a paddle board for his birthday and brought it out and Adam had borrowed one so the guys all took turns.  Brian (below) rocked it (in my opinion) but said it was quite the work out!

Naps were taken, lunch was consumed, the marine layer burned off and we stayed there until it was time to walk back and get dinner started.

After dinner we had s'mores before all the exhausted kids hit the hay early.

 STICKY

We are surely blessed to get to live so close to the beach, to get to enjoy quick weekend vacations, and to do it all in the company of great friends!

TBT: Bachelorette party

Brian and I are coming up on our 5th wedding anniversary this October, which makes 10 years together in October also. Crazytown. But its got me reminiscing about all things wedding related.  Since I wasn't blogging way back when I was thinking it would be fun to do a wedding related post.  But not today.

Right around 5 years ago at this time we were gearing up to go on our bachelor and bachelorette parties (I think it was the first weekend of August).  So I've been going through those pictures and instagrammin', so why not do a post?!?!  The girls and I headed to palm springs for the weekend while the boys went to vegas (no pictures of the boy trip, sorry to disappoint, not sorry because who wants to see boys in vegas....bleh!).  It was the perfect weekend with my best girls (minus Leilani who we missed a ton!).

A few pictures just for fun.  I've left out the questionable ones because lets face it I'm not 26 anymore and if the boys read this when they get older I think they would be grossed out to see their mom and all their aunties with say a giant inflatable penis.  Haha!

We ate, we drank, we danced, we laid out, we went to the spa...the makings of the perfect girls weekend if you ask me.

I got back on Sunday, after a morning at the spa and some outlet shopping on our way home, feeling refreshed and looking tan.  Brian and Brent (our roomate at the time) also got home on Sunday and proceeded to sleep it off for the remainder of the weekend, I think more alcohol was consumed and less sleep was gotten.  Girls weekend for the win.

Stay tuned for more wedding nostalgia.

Weekend update...

Monday again? That was fast.  We had a great weekend so I'm sad to see that come to an end, but we are definitely blasting into this week with some energy.  And by energy I'm referring to the fact that Owen did not take a nap today.  But back to the weekend, we BBQ'd with family, swam, went to the beach, and the gym, and the farmers market, bike rides to the park, you know typical summer   weekend-y stuff.

Scott picked out these lovelies for me at the farmer's market.  Seriously melt my heart kid.  And earlier in the week (I think friday morning) I had brought home some powder from my office for his milk (basically a protein drink for toddlers) and he said "Mom, you are awesome." HA!

It was foggy at the beach but don't let it fool ya, its been H-O-T here.

We weren't there but 5 minutes when Scott asked to play in the waves, no naturally we did.  Within moments we were soaked head to toe.  Its usually my policy to not play in the waves until its the last thing we are going to do and then we dry off and go home, but daddy was with us this time so anything goes : )

Stripped down and sandy...

You might have seen this one on instagram already.  I'm repetitive like that.

Scott had his first "umbrella drink" at a family BBQ.  The adults had them so why not adorn the juice boxes too.  Fancy pants.

Pool bros (Owen's first time with goggles, success)

And today we were back at swim (after a long day of errands, a park play date, a pretty gnarly fall and face scrape for Owen, and NO NAP)

 He's loving the diving boards folks.

Cheers to the last week of July.  Is this summer flying by or what?

This guy....

Oh Owen, what are we gonna do with you?  This kid can CLIMB OUT OF HIS CRIB.  No bueno.  

We have been having a hard time getting back into a bedtime routine with Owen since returning from our trip.  Ok, let's be honest, we never really had a great bedtime routine with him, but we were working on it, and since we've been back, not so much.  So the last few nights it was getting out of hand, Owen would not settle down and just wanted to play and play, and keep his brother awake.  We tried rocking, nursing, the toddler bed in Scott's room, his crib...NADA!  So finally decided he could hang in his crib and amuse himself and maybe tire himself out a bit.  He cried and fussed for about five minutes, nothing too crazy, I peaked at the monitor and didn't see him and then suddenly I saw an arm swing over the side.  PANIC.

By the time I got to his room he was walking toward the door so I assume that he landed on his feet, or feet-ish, and not his head, but I still almost had a heart attack.

So now what do we do?

The crib is officially retired.  He won't stay in the toddler bed.  He still comes in our bed most night once he has woken up (I'm just too lazy and like sleeping too much to work with him on sleeping through the night in his own room).

Open to suggestions.

But holy moly.

Meanwhile his cuteness is just out of this world.  So we'll focus on that.

And just for fun, these three buds:

We just love early morning meet ups at the park with sweet friends!!!

Swim II

Scott started his second session of swim this week and he is rockin' it.  After "graduating" from polliwogs to seals he has a new teacher (the young muscle-y chap pictured below, good heavens these swim teacher kids make me feel old) which was a bit of a challenge for Scott since he thought his last teacher was "super cool", but after Zach (the last teacher) told Scott that Alex (new teacher) was his buddy Scott was stoked.

Scott is mastering back and front floats, learning to use the kick boards and practicing his "big scoops".  

He can make it about a quarter to a third away across the pool unassisted and I think that he's doing super.

Our sweet friend Robin came to watch swim lessons yesterday and I was commenting to her about how watching my kids doing this things makes me burst with pride.  What I realized too is that its not about Scott being "good" at swimming or any other activity, but its watching him love these things, love learning them, love trying new things and watching him get excited and be proud of himself.

Yesterday was also a big day for Scott because finally, after three full weeks of asking, they go to go off the diving board!!! He was so jazzed!

After he went off the low dive he asked to go off the high dive (of course!).  We are saving that one for another time.  And the teachers told us ahead of time so Daddy was able to come watch (which he always does on thursdays while I work) and I moved around patients so I could stay too, big day for the Campbells!!!