Picture SOS

I took this picture of Morgan in a tire swing.... The resolution was not good in the end product - but, with a little "artistic" photoshopping I still wanted to share - I just love it!

A Belly Full of Jelly Beans...

Tuesday morning we started our trek home, but before departing the area we took a quick, couple hour detour to the Jelly Belly factory.  I had originally tried to stop by on our way to Great Grandma's, however I did not know where the factory actually was. I had always seen the Jelly Belly signs, but had not been there (I know, such a deprived child - my parents took me nowhere - ha ha) so I thought it was right off the freeway (it is not). 


I promised Morgan I would look up directions on the way home and we would visit when we drove back. Because a mama-promise is iron-clad we arrived Tuesday morning around 11. I had read online that weekdays are best for two reasons, (1) the factory is actually running so you get to see everything in production vs. just videos telling you about it and (2) it is less busy. Well..... (1) was right on, (2) was maybe not as much so when summer is factored in. 


At first I thought about retreating - looking around / visiting the store and saving the tour for another time. But, we had already arrived and when realistically would we be back on a week day? So, we waited in line. (I am actually so impressed with Morgan's patience - whether it is traffic or lines to get into things she is very patient.*) We waited 30 - 45 minutes for our turn to tour - and then were handed our "stylish" paper hats (required for the tour) and were off through the secret doors.  


The tour took about 45 minutes and was pretty neat. It was cool to feel and taste the jelly beans before they get their coating and Morgan liked seeing them in the machines. We got to see Jelly bean mosaic artwork and at the end request a few sample beans of new flavors that we wanted to try. Morgan picked - chocolate devotion / 7-up / and one other that I can not remember.... 


A few Jelly Belly facts that I did not know: 


 - President Reagan made the Jelly Belly beans famous - I guess he was an uber-fan! 


 - The blueberry bean was made specifically for his inauguration to make a red, white, and blue bean jar design. 


 - The Jelly Belly beans are flavored inside and out - I guess normal beans only have flavor in the coating, these have flavor at every layer. 


- Jelly Beans are basically cousins or morphed versions of turkish delight. 


All in all it was worth the wait and I'm glad we braved the line. Now we can cross off - see Jelly Belly factory tour. :-) 




* On a side note - Mama could learn patience from her, I seriously thought I might cry when we reached the front of the line (ok not that bad, but I was ready to be done in line) - I just wanted it to be our turn so badly and was worried we would have to wait one more round.  I even was thinking in my head "please be our turn, please be our turn". I do promise I am not normally so terrible over lines, it just seemed to be a trip of lines - lines in traffic - lines in exhibits - lines, lines, lines... I don't know how you (i.e. California / Georgia friends and family) all handle traffic day after day - it is nuts!!!!  

Adventure Playground

(A post - about what we did and some ramblings of my own....) 


What we did:


This past weekend we went to the Bay area for an extended weekend to visit Great Grandma / Auntie Nedra and to spend some much needed fun time in the City. (I call it the City - because even after travels to many many cities, it is still THE CITY to me - the best, most favorite, wonderful San Francisco). :-)  


While we did visit one of our "old" favorite places,the Discovery Museum,we also spent some time at some new locales, one of which was the Adventure Playground. I had read about it in past, but we had not had the chance to go nor was Morgan old enough yet - but this time.... we had some time available and the age of six in our favor. 


Monday afternoon we traveled over to Berkeley Marina from "The City" to the Adventure Playground. I was hoping it would live up to the hype and description I had read online from reviewers (minus the need for a tetanus shot) and it did! The minute we walked in Morgan was instantly thrilled. It looked just like a real-life Tom Sawyer's Island, or a fun junk yard for kids - Forts / climbing structures / a building area for hammering and sawing / kids with buckets of paint adding to the aesthetic of the existing structures / a giant spider web climber / and a kid-powered zip line. 


A fantastic shanty town all for their use. Morgan was first drawn to the saws - she just REALLY wanted to saw because while she had used a hammer, she had never been allowed to saw! It turns out that sawing is kind of hard, so we sawed for a bit and then moved on. :-) 

She ran around touring all of the forts that kids had built, climbing up and down the giant spider web, hanging in the pseudo hammock swings, sliding down the "extended" slide, etc. The zip line caught her eye toward the end of the day, however there was a big line and I think she was hesitant to try it (next time though I see her flying through the air on it).  


We were only there for about an hour and a half (they closed at 5) but not a moment was wasted. And, with close proximity to the water - she was able to take a quick trip to the water to wash off paint on her pants and shoes. ha ha 


We will definitely be back!  

And now, the ramblings: 


When I first read the reviews for this place I saw many positive ones, however there was also the looming comment of this place is dangerous - have your tetanus shots in the car! 


The reality is this, yes kids are using real hammers, nails, wood, saws, etc... These things do have a hazard level associated with them, however this is what I think. A) If you watch your kids then the possibility of harm should be greatly decreased B) the things we let kids play with on a daily basis could be considered / are dangerous to them in one way or another, and C) I have never been so impressed with a place and loved to see kids free - free to explore / create / use their motor-skills and imaginations. Not one kid was bored - all were outside running around - it was fantastic. AND, every parent there kept commenting on what a great place it was. I heard them  talking to each other / talking on their phones - all with the same shared comment, this place is fantastic! 


I think it's too bad we've (I use we as a collective society) have created these hand-sanitizer bubbles where our kids play on plastic and in virtual worlds versus having simple real-world fun. Don't get me wrong, some safety improvements are well-warranted and I am a fan, I just think some old school infusion is much needed. 


ps - Morgan did not need a tetanus shot as a result of our visit, however she did get a splinter.  She looked it over quickly to assess, and then went on playing. :-) 

Clownin' Around...

Last Saturday (which seems so very long ago) Morgan had her "kid birthday party".  The theme this year- Clowns... Yes, clowns!


I did not realize how many people really dislike clowns - it was made all too apparent when asking opinions of clowns to hire. Most people just said, um don't hire one - they are creepy. Well, this was not an option - Morgan wanted a clown, so a clown we got.


Because we were going the clown route we needed a venue - after looking at various parks it was determined that grandma and grandpa's house made the best sense (many, many amenities, pre-set up an option, and a cost of $0 - yeah it does equal the perfect party space).


So a few weeks later a clown party was had..  They arrived and played in our "sprinkler play space" complete with little pools, slip n' slide, and sprinkler toy. They dried off and watched the clown show, ate some pizza, and chose their balloon animal designs. Headed back outside for some more water play (and seemed to actually favor the little kid blow up pools) - finishing the party off with some cake, ice cream, and face creations!  ( I found some paper templates that you add stickers too to make funny faces).


All in all I think everyone had a great time and Morgan said it was "the best birthday ever"! Was it a lot of work (and time spent in my own mind, planning, re-planning, alternate planning, etc...)?  yes.  Was it the effort of the family pulling together (even through mild snappy fits - yes, I am to blame for some, ha ha)? yes.  Was it worth every second of effort for Morgan to have "the best birthday ever"? YES x 1000.






* On a side note last Friday it had a thunderstorm"esque" afternoon which made me SO nervous that would happen during her birthday party (again) - but it ended up being a beautiful / perfect day. Currently it is hailing and having a flash flood moment here, had this happened last Friday I believe I may have had a legit. panic attack.  Thank you for waiting severe weather! :-) 

Underwater Hurdles

As I have written of a couple of times / thought of many.... Morgan has had a hate hate relationship with putting her face in the water whilst swimming - and I mean HATE! She loves to swim - any water source is fine - but face in, no thank you mama - I'm good just the way I am (and as with anything she does not want to do - I'll do it when I'm bigger ok?). 


This has been the state of affairs for the entirety of her six years, until last Tuesday. Last Tuesday we started swimming lessons again. We had been on an extended hiatus because of adenoid / sinus issues - which were actually long past (I just kind of delayed getting her going again). And, then of course there is my ever-existent "problem" of overanalyzing and having to shop around all the different swimming options in town. (It's just who I am - I own it now).


At the end of the day it was decided that she should return to her original swim school. A little pricey - yes. But, familiar, convenient, and I know they are good with kids - also yes.  She had her first lesson this last Tuesday and all I can say is that I was shocked, amazed, thrilled, happy, etc... etc.. etc.... I don't know if it's age, or her adenoids out, or what - but it was like night and day from before. 


When it started I saw "the face" when she was first with her teacher. The "I SO DO NOT WANT MY FACE IN THAT WATER" face - my mouth reading skills interpreted a Morgan negotiation going on with her instructor.  I thought here we go.... but I was expecting it so it's okay - it will just take time. HOWEVER, this expectation was surprisingly shown to be null and void. 


The teacher had her sit on the wall (the dreaded wall) and proceeded to drop her in and all the way under. When she came back up she was.... smiling! Big huge I did it smile. From there, she was doing her "kickers" and letting the teacher dunk her under while she swam - many many times!!!! She was still smiling huge by the end of class (so was I) and told me all about how she went under so many times, and it was fun. 


Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you age six! Thank you adenoid surgery! Thank you fabulous swim school and most amazing teacher.  Thank you Morgan for being such a brave girl.


Now on to the actual mechanics of swimming, but I do not worry about those. This was our hurdle - and it has been conquered. :-)

...and then she turned six.

I feel like it was just recently that she turned five, but as children tend to do she kept growing and has now reached the big age of SIX! 


The birthday started off with a "big breakfast" - Morgan is a fan of the complete breakfast - eggs / bacon / muffin of choice / and some OJ.




Then moved on to some Toy Story 3, in 3D.


A quick trip to the party store for some puppy power.


And, dining ala Chuck E. Cheese!


Happy Birthday My Amazing Little One.... 

Artown, Amazement, and Archie

Artown is an annual event that is a month long celebration of all things to do with the arts. Today, July 1st, was the kick off of the month and they held a FREE event for kids. Outside of the Aces Ballpark (which is still seriously one of the nicest structures in our City) they had areas set up, one of which was face painting. We arrived just in time for our 5:30 appointment slot and were lucky to run right into her best of friends near the stairs to the face paint area. While she had initial plans of what she may get painted, as soon as she saw Frances she decided she too must go for the butterfly look. Not only did her friend wait in line with her for her face paint time (Frances had already gone) she also served as model to the face painter to complete Morgan's fantastical look. 

I was not sure what to expect as we have never gone to the opening night before, but I have to say it was GREAT. They did a fantastic job and everything was legitimately free. The face painters they had were really good and took their time with everyone. They gave out t-shirts and let the kids colors them, baseball pins that they could decorate with beads, and had games and other things available for play. 

yes, matching shirts too.. :-)

If that was not enough we headed down the stairs to find the parade area and happened to meet the perfect time to watch the band (Marching Fourth) - we had front standing spots! The band was so fun - they had people on stilts, girls with hula hoops, a full horns section - it was a legit. performance and Morgan LOVED it. They played two songs, after which everyone formed a parade and walked from the baseball area over to a park downtown. The girls were excited to be part of a parade (the first for both) and it was fun to walk down the street with all these people following the band all the way.

Now - if that were ALL it would still have been a great night. BUT, once at the park they got to have ice cream (like really big waffle cones of ice cream) AND they spent some time with Archie - mascot to the Reno Aces. This last photo is Morgan with her "I just got to talk to and high five Archie face". :-) 

It ended with a walk by the River back to the car. The weather was perfect, the river was calming and beautiful as always... I would say it was a pretty terrific Thursday afternoon! Opening night of Artown - we will most definitely be back!!!!