Eastlake Scavenger Hunt

The afternoon before we left on our trip, our friends Lisa and Evan hosted a super fun scavenger hunt adventure!  My mom watched Ben for us so that we could meet the group down on Eastlake.  We had NO idea what to expect, aside from the instructions that we would be meeting at a parking lot and should expect to be outside for the better part of 2 hours.  The weather was a little unpredictable, but that didn't stop the group of 20+ people from showing up! 

We started with an impromptu tour of their friends boat that they live on.  (It's the one in the picture below to the left).  It was HUGE, and awesome, and apparently some fun parties are held there during the summer!  (We will definitely try to get an invite to one of them this summer) :)  Next, we had introductions, followed by a quick ice-breaker game where we had to find our partner based on the cards taped to our backs.  (Coincidentally, Greg and I were fish + chips - partnered up on accident).  :)  Some of the other funny pairings:

Kim + Kanye
Macklemore + Thrift Shop
Ketchup + Mustard

Next, we formed 2 large teams and played a few rounds of Cowboy/Ninja/Bear (similar to Rock/Paper/Scissors).  As we were playing, it started to thunder and lightening....

The losing team (us) had to drink a beer (or cider for the light weights) while the winning team received their clue and progressed to the next round.  Once we finished, we got our clue.  We had to find the next location and play the game - which "Stick the cheesy poofs on the shaving cream".  Greg was a trooper! :)

 

It was during this round that it started to rain.  It actually poured.  It was some of the heaviest rain I think I have ever seen...

 

As we received our clue to the next round, we all ran through the storm trying to find the next location.

 



Then it started to HAIL.  And not just for a few minutes as it usually does with hail, but for at least 15-20 minutes straight. 

 

So we temporarily quit and grabbed beers at the Eastlake Bar & Grill.... :)

 

Once it stopped and we had dried off a little, we found Evan at the next location (who apparently had been waiting for us the entire time - storm and all) and played a round of "shake the dice out of the tissue box tied around your waist".  It provided Greg with an opportunity to show off his rad 90's dance moves.

 

We were then instructed to proceed to the ending location, the Zoo Bar & Tavern, as we were all cold and wet and ready to be indoors.  I'm sad to say that Greg and I decided to head home at this point.  My shoes/socks were soaked, Greg had only this 1 long sleeve shirt on (no jacket - what were we thinking!?!) and we knew we needed to get up at 4 am to head to the airport. 

 

So, I don't know who won the game, but I do know that we all had SO much fun.  Seriously, I don't think I have participated in any activities like this since High School ASB :)  It was fun, and the weather provided an exciting twist!

 

Thanks again, Lisa and Evan - job well done!

As ready as we will ever be: Palm Springs Vacation

Here we go again!  Vacationing round two with a kid.  I must say, it really changes the whole fun anticipation part of going away.  It used to be that I would count down the days minutes until we would get on a plane and head off somewhere sunny to relax.  Now, that fun anticipation has been replaced with a bit of anxiety.

No longer are we packing for just ourselves, but now we are bringing a pack and play, a stroller, and a toddler that doesn't enjoy sitting still.  (Not to mention Greg's golf clubs and our luggage)!  Whew!

Thanks to everyone who has given suggestions as to how to entertain Ben on the plane, as I am feeling a lot better about that aspect.  I have purchased a new toy (a leapfrog laptop) that has tons of buttons and screens.  He has not seen the toy before, so it should be new/exciting.  I have a box of organic chocolate milk (he has never had chocolate milk), a new snack dispenser that he can easily use himself, I have downloaded "Wreck it Ralph" onto the iPad, downloaded a bunch of apps that he loves, and I am hoping all of this will get us through the 2.5 hour flight with a relatively happy child :)  I know I shouldn't care about the other passengers and what they think, but it is impossible for me not to.  I still think back to the flight I had back from Orlando while I was pregnant and sat next to a kid that was probably around Ben's age.  Yikes.

Also noteworthy, I have discovered a new iPhone app that made packing for myself a LOT easier!  The Stylebook App allows you to organize your closet into "looks", and it helped me to avoid my usual over packing - amazing.  I'm proud to say that all three of us are using ONE suitcase for the majority our things and jamming whatever doesn't fit into that into Greg's golf bag. 

 

Yay, warm weather clothes!

We plan to spend the week, sunning, shopping, drinking margaritas poolside, swimming, golfing (Greg) and exploring an area we have never been before. 

And the weather looks like it will be like this:

Words Lately

Some of these words are much clearer than others, but each of these has been an obvious attempt to either repeat the word after me or describe an item himself.

4/7 Cookie
4/8 Shoes, bath
4/9 Diaper
4/10 Outside (pointing out the window and saying "outsee") and "up" while climbing up on the chair everything.

This is especially fun in restaurants

18 Month Check Up

Ben's latest stats:

 

Weight: 26 lbs 1 oz - (52nd percentile)

Height: 34.25 inches - (93rd percentile)

Head Circumference: 19 inches (63rd percentile) - Pretty sure they incorrectly measured his head circumference this time, because 3 months ago it was 19.5 inches.  (We had to redo his height measurement later in his appointment because they had him an inch and a half shorter than he ended up being).

 

We had another great appointment, and only ONE shot this time - loved it.  Nothing special to report this time.  I did ask her a lot about his vocabulary and after reviewing all of the words he has said, she reassured me that he seems to be right on track.  She said kids his age typically have 15-20 words that they have used, and I think we counted around 13.  She was reassured by the fact that he understands so much, that he points for things he wants, and that he babbles "with purpose".  Also, him putting two words together at times "No more" and "that's dangerous" is a good sign!  Her advice to us was to talk incessantly, narrate the day, and to point and name everything around us.

 

That night, when we were talking about taking a bath, I mentioned "bubbles", to which Ben responded "Bubble"?  And then continued to say "bubble" "bubble" "BUBBLE".  Awesome!  The next day, he said "Sit Down" and pointed while he was standing on his chair.  And in the last couple days, he has really been saying "mama" and "dada" a TON!  He even took a picture of the three of us and when I asked him where mama and dada were, he pointed us out correctly. 

 

So, I am no longer worried at ALL about his development :)  It's all coming together!

Weekly Meal Plan: Week of April 8th

No official review from last week, but here are a few pictures from Wednesday night when we had Kristin and Craig over for dinner!  We had cheeseburgers and homemade sweet potato fries.  Since the weather was beautiful, we decided to grill and dine outside under at our new patio set up!  I had the day off, and after a trip to Target, I busted out the ladder to hang my lights!  I'm pretty excited about how it turned out!

Here is a better pictures of the lights:

 

We played our first round of ladder golf on the new set I bought Greg for Christmas:

We had to use measuring tape to measure the distance between the ladders for the game, and while we were playing, Ben got a hold of the tape....and no further comment is needed here:

 

On Friday, Brenna and Noah came over for carnitas!  It was so fun to have them over and catch up after what has felt like a LONG time!  Ben was especially social with both of them, which was adorable and made for an easy night of entertaining with a toddler :)

There will be NO PLAN THIS WEEK!

I'm taking the week off from grocery shopping (aside from necessary produce, milk and necessities for Ben) and our focus this week will be to make meals out of what is currently in the fridge, freezer and pantry!

We have 2 frozen steaks to thaw and grill, frozen cod, Costco ravioli, risotto, leftover carnitas, a boboli crust, and then we will start to eat cereal, PB&J's, and Annie's organic macaroni and cheese!

We are leaving for Palm Springs next Sunday morning and we don't want to come home to a fridge full of food that is about to go bad - so it will be a couple weeks before I have another "plan".

Don't go hungry without me ;)

 

So much energy