The Ingle Family: February 2018

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Meal Planning: February 25th - March 2nd

Review from last week:

One of our favorites every time:

Blue Apron this week. This orzo pasta was particularly incredible. I'll make it again for sure.

Another Blue Apron dish - Greg and I thought the chicken was delicious, but would have been better over rice vs. in a taco.

Chicken Pot Pie - my weakness.

Plan for next week:

For breakfast for the week: Taco Scramble

I got an Insta Pot and I'm excited to test it out this week!

Sunday: This will be dinner on Sunday and lunch for the week: Instant Pot Chicken and Lentil Soup

Monday: Instant Pot Korean Beef

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: My mom is making chicken curry for dinner!

Thursday: Instant Pot Smoky Bacon Chili

Friday: Leftovers

Monday, February 19, 2018

San Diego

On Saturday morning, we packed our things up and drive down to San Diego. We were all pretty exhausted after our days at Disney and sitting in traffic, so we kept it pretty mellow on Saturday afternoon!

After relaxing and showering, we headed out to a nearby park to play for a bit and then grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Liberty Public Market. It's essentially a big fancy food court that has a bar and a fun outdoor space for kids to hang out and play. Ben had pizza, Violet had a cheeseburger and Hilary and I had kale chicken Caesar salads.

Feeling sunshine on your face when it's been cold and rainy at home is like nothing else.

That night the kids had a slumber party in the living room.

Our trip ended on Sunday after Violet's Coco themed birthday party! How amazing is this cake??

John and his family made the most amazing tacos, rice and beans for everyone. Absolutely delicious.

We are super bummed the trip is over, but of course it's always nice to come home and sleep in your own bed. The only bummer is the frigid temps we returned to!

Disneyland Day 2

Our second day at Disney was Violet's birthday! Ben felt very special getting to spend the day with her. Everywhere they went, Violet was telling people it was her birthday, OR Ben was telling people that "this is Violet, it's her birthday, she is 6, I'm also 6"!. Adorable.

We had another fabulous day. The lines were relatively short, we maximized the use of our max passes, we ate great food and snacks, and enjoyed the cocktails in California :)

The kids also got along PERFECTLY. Not a single argument and everyone's behavior was on point. True Disney success!

Greg had snuck a gift card into our suitcase with a note to use half of it for a toy for Ben and half for a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. The only true FAIL on my part was not getting a Thanksgiving Panini from my favorite sandwich shop in the world, but Ben did pick out a cute Beta Max as his gift from Greg and that's pretty cute :)

Rides Rode:

Astro Orbitor

Autopia

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Flik's Flyers

Goofy's Sky School

Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: Breakout!

Haunted Mansion

Jungle Cruise

The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure ** Ben's favorite

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Mad Tea Party

Monster's Inc Mike & Sully to the Rescue!

Pirates of the Caribbean

Radiator Springs Racers

Toy Story Midway Mania!

Food Ate:

S'mores Churro near the Haunted Mansion

Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl at Pacific Wharf

Ice Cream at Ghirardelli

Frozen Vodka Lemonades at Cozy Cone Motel

Cheeseburger and Pizza at Red Rose Taverne

Miles walked: 8.4

Disneyland Day 1

At the beginning of the school year when we got the calendar for all of the upcoming school breaks, Greg and I had talked about what trips we might want to take during Ben's time off. We originally had talked about doing a road trip through California during Ben's mid-winter break, including a stop in Disneyland for me and Ben and a few days of golf for Greg. However, as we started to plan our other trips this year, we decided that I would take the week off to spend with Ben and Greg would work instead.

Our friends Hilary and Violet were already planning to spend a few days at Disneyland for Violet's 6th birthday, so Ben and I decided to tag along and make a long weekend out of it!

On Valentine's Day evening, after his Valentine's Day party at school, Ben and I headed to the airport to kick off our first trip alone together! (I have to admit, I was PUMPED for the quality time with my little guy).

We arrived in Orange County at 8:45. Hilary and Violet had driven up from San Diego that afternoon and checked into the hotel already. They always stay at the Candy Cane Inn when they go to Disney, and I have to admit, it is completely adorable. So close to the parks (literally on the back side of Cars Land), so affordable and comfortable, and they offer an amazing continental breakfast each day included with your stay. Highly recommend.

We got up the next morning and after grabbing breakfast, headed straight to the parks!

It sounds so odd renting a stroller for my 6 and a half year old, but it's truly a MUST. You get everywhere so much faster, it's great for storage, and it's a life saver when they start to fade at the end of the night.

Pausing for a late lunch and Hil grabbed us wine :)

Cars Land at night - magical every time.

We added the Max Passes to our tickets which was absolutely 100% worth it. It's $10 per ticket, but you get to get a few fast past for any ride you want every 2 hours from your phone (vs racing all over the parks to scan your tickets). You also get to download your pictures for free from every ride! It was a big time (and energy) saver.

Hilary and I got fast passes for Guardians of the Galaxy (formerly the Tower of Terror). John (Violet's dad) arrived at the parks to meet us Thursday evening and took the kids to Bugs Land while Hilary and I went on the ride. It's by far a favorite - SO fun and entertaining!