Another Scarborough Ren Fest in the books! Very thankful for the clouds keeping temps down today. I mean, it was still pretty toasty. Especially for the boys. Harlan was in a full body fleece rat onesie, spreading the plague via hand stamps (consensually, of course). And Baron was the most amazing jester out there. Yes, I made his costume. And yes, I need everyone to admire it. 😂 Though maybe next year we avoid velvet. 🥵
Stopped by La Jolla to see some seals and sea lions! 😍 Then to Downtown Disney for dinner with Scott and his boys. And I actually remembered to take pictures this time!
A little photo dump from the last couple of days. Yesterday we went to the Little Italy Mercato - a farmers market that happens every Saturday. Then to the Air & Space Museum so Baron could tell me about all the air and space things. Then we went on a side quest to visit with my cousin, Scott, and his crew for the rest of the day. We loved getting to catch up with them for a bit. Somehow I only managed to get photos and videos of their dog, Lincoln, who is just the sweetest boy and now I’m needing another dog. 🤷♀️ Today B and I went to check out the USS Midway Museum, which he was SO excited about. Afterwards, we took the ferry over to Coronado Island to explore and relax on the beach. It was quite chilly, so no water time for us, but we did just play and relax in the sand for a long time. Anyone who’s been around us for a while knows that Baron’s happy place is at the beach (or maybe more specifically, in the sand). He’s immediately oozing happiness and peace and contentment. For the rest of the day he kept saying that he felt whimsical. 😂 And was just being silly and playful and so very happy. It was definitely a core memory day. I wish I could bottle this up. This is one of those days I’ll remember forever. 🥰
Having the best time with my boy on a little mama/son trip to San Diego. Not long ago, Harlan and I realized that neither of us had ever taken a one-on-one trip with Baron. So we decided to rectify that. They took their trip to Santa Fe a few months ago. Baron planned the whole thing and Harlan was just along for the ride. They had the best time. But now it’s my turn! I was definitely more involved in the planning of this one. We got in yesterday and immediately hit up the San Diego Zoo. Amazing! Today we had to check out the #1 bakery in SD: Relic. It was incredible! 🤤 Then over to explore Balboa Park and the Natural History Museum. We’re loving every second of this. 🥰
This year’s advent calendar of Christmas activities! If we’re not intentional about it, the whole season seems to blow by and it feels like we missed it. So, several years ago we started this little tradition and it sort of ensures that we make the most of these days. Sometimes just baking cookies or watching a Christmas movie. But definitely a tradition that we all look forward to. I don’t have pictures from everything, but some of what we’ve gotten to do so far:
Pick out new festive PJs and watch a Christmas movie
ICE! at the Gaylord Texan
Drop off Angel Tree Gifts
Go see Corban (Baron’s BFF and our bonus child) as the LEAD in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He was AMAZING! SO SO proud of him!
Lindsey Sterling Concert
Dickens Festival in Plano (Baron had a booth in the market)
Vitruvian lights + hot cocoa
Build a gingerbread house and watch a Christmas movie
Make our own Christmas ornaments at Vetro Glassblowing Studio in Grapevine (then come home to find Watson trying to sneak off with Harlan’s gingerbread creation. Not to worry, there was no chocolate and we got it away from him before he actually ate it.)
A little photo dump from this year’s Halloween party. 👻🏴☠️ Mingle With the Mortals 2025 was a success! Love these people and love having a reason to dress up and make way too much food! 😂 Time to start planning for next year!!!
Sister weekend in NOLA for my birthday! 🎉🎊🎁🥳 Started it off with a jazz steamboat dinner cruise, then proceeded to do ALL the things we could possibly fit into our time here. So much fun! New Orleans is always a fun time, but especially so near Halloween. 👻 I loved getting to spend time with my favorite sister!!!
Sea turtles!!!! My life is complete. 😍🐢 Seriously so amazing to see them just swim right up onto the beach. This is the last of the Hawaii photo dump. We had the best time and are already talking about the next trip. Huge mahalo to our sweet friends Mark and Tammy for hosting us, feeding us and making sure we knew all the best things to do/see/eat around the island! 🥰
We only did one “big” excursion on Kauai - a sunset dinner cruise to the Nā Pali Coast. It was spectacular! There was a little rain right at the beginning, but it cleared up beautifully and we were greeted with the most amazing views. 🤩 10/10 highly recommend doing this if you’re ever visiting Kauai.
