Community Days This Weekend!
$35 Admission to LEGOLAND
Support our local science, arts and after school programs this Saturday and Sunday!
Specially-priced $35 LEGOLAND tickets include admission with Park hours extended to 8 p.m. for even more family fun!
Buy your tickets online here. You can also get tickets to the SEALife Aquarium at Legoland for just $9!!
This event is very crowded, so please remember to be patient!
Henry loves to garden. He loves planting seeds, watering, talking to the plants , and harvesting the fruits and veggies (even if he isn’t too hip on eating them all-yet!)
I think that it’s because of our heritage. My Maternal Great-Grandfather was a farmer in Minnesota.
Since we live upstairs in a condo, we don’t have 40 acres to plow and sow. So, like many urban farmers, we turn to container gardening. I have a growing Pinterest Board dedicated to container gardening, and I encourage you to join it!
Here are a few ways that we were able to start our garden on a budget:
We are saving money on water too! Whenever it rains, we get out our rain buckets and collect as much as we can. It usually is only a few gallons, but we are able to use that water and not turn on the tap.
If you are new to gardening and aren’t sure what to plant or where to plant, check out Sunset Magazine’s Climate Guide. It will give you the ins and outs of when and what to plant. Luckily here in San Diego, it’s pretty temperate all year, so we can plant a lot of different plants.
Some of you may be wondering why we are growing wild flowers and lavender, since neither will produce any food. Well, no food for us, but food for bees! Without bees to pollinate the flowers on our fruit and veggies plants, there would be no food for us to harvest and enjoy! I try to plant flowers each year to entice the bees to visit our garden!
Last year we hand garden stakes with the names of our crops written on them. The sun faded them in no time. This year, we opted to do garden stones. I found a great project on pinterest and changed it up based on our needs.
We were recently gifted with two HUGE boxes of craft supplies and they contained these really cool wooden Whirligig/spinners (kinda like these). All we had to do was paint them! We quickly painted them up and added them to our planters!
I think gardening is a wonderful project for any family. It can be as small as a tomato plant on your patio, or as big as renovating your backyard to have a mini-farm! Gardening teaches kids about the life cycle of plants, and how to care for something else. I think it’s important that everyone know where food comes from, and how hard it can be at times (especially when you are waiting for it to ripen), so that we don’t take for granted our food.
Talk Back: I’d love to see your gardens too! Please comment with a photo, or let me know what you are growing!
Henry informed me the other day that he wants to be a farmer scientist. We’ve started our garden of tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, lavender (to encourage bees to visit our garden), wild flowers, and a succulent. Henry really wanted to have a cactus garden, but I worried about Birdie being around pokey plants once she’s a little bigger and able to play outside on the patio.
I am super excited to take him and Bitty Bird to the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016 down at Petco Park on Saturday, March 5th.
The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., we’ll be there at 10 on the dot. Henry is excited to get hands on with all kinds of experiments and fun! There are scheduled to be more than 130 local businesses, corporations and organizations providing interactive, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math exhibits and activities to budding K-12 science lovers.
If you are looking for a fun, free event to take your kids to this weekend, check out the Festival! I hope to see you there!
Spring break is just a few weeks away for most of us. We get two weeks, and I know some schools get three (you have my condolences). If you are looking for some fun, frugal stuff to do to pass the time, here are a few adventures we’ll be having:
Santee Lakes Splash Pad should be open. They are re-surfacing the ground there right now!
Shell Hunting at the beach: Low tide is the best time to go. Check the tide charts here.
Balboa Park offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park.
Hiking and a picnic at Old Mission Dam
Gillespie Field Duck Pond: Located on Billie Mitchell Drive in El Cajon, it’s a great place to stop, check out ducks and turtles and explore a little nature in the big city. Plus afterwards, you can stop by the Aerospace Museum Hangar on Kenney Road. It where the Aerospace museum keeps their place that are off exhibit or are being restored. It’s donation suggested, but you can pop by for free. The guys who work there are excited to have kids stop by. If you are feeling peckish, stop by the Gillespie Cafe and have a bite on the patio and watch the planes take off and land.
Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve: Lots of fun trails and paths, and if you’ve got it in you, there is a trail that leads down to some cool, hidden waterfalls! Don’t forget water and a snack!
The playground and Waterfront Park downtown are always fun. However, the water park area will be closed for maintenance for most of March. However the playground is RAD!!
Looking to enjoy a little bit of history? The Missions in San Diego are fun and educational. There are three in San Diego County: San Diego de Alcala (in Mission Valley), San Luis Rey (in Oceanside), and the Santa Ysabel Asistencia (in Santa Ysabel). If you go up to Santa Ysabel, stop for pie and bread at Dudley’s!
It’s wild Flower season out in Borrego Springs! Head down and check out the flowers, the fun
(and free) museum, and don’t forget to check out Galleta Meadows! The awesome metal sculptures in the Borrego Springs area by artist Ricardo Breceda. Check out a printable map here, and here is a video about the awesome sculptures. This is one of Henry’s favorite things to do!
If you are looking for other fun stuff, here is an article I wrote last summer about summer fun!
Some of you may know that we moved into a condo last January. We house hunted for over 6 months, looking at listings online and driving all over the place. It was nuts. The awesome folks at KirE builders are proud to present the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona on February 27th. Just in time for those of you starting your house hunt in Eastern San Diego County.
There are so many things I love about living in East County:
Even though we’re not in the market for a new home, I’ll be checking out the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona. We’ve got some friends that are looking to buy in East County and I’ll be doing leg work for them!
I’m pretty excited! Besides the tours of the new townhomes, there will be lunch, a gourmet dessert truck, face painting, and music will be complimentary for all in attendance starting at 11am!
Bring your kids and they can flex their creative muscle and enter to win! Check out the coloring sheet below that kids can color and turn in that day at Nickel Creek, to win 2 tickets to Disneyland, a Kindle Fire, or a $50 gift card!
If you can’t make it, but would like more info, check out the Nickel Creek Interest List.
What I like about Nickel Creek is that even though it’s in Ramona, which is know for being pretty east in East County, it’s near the center of town: Tons of opportunities to shop and dine. Oh, and Ramona has a Dunkin’ Donuts. SHHHH- don’t tell my husband!
I’ll be live tweeting and Instagramming from the event, make sure to check it out! And I’ll report back with photos and details!
When I was a kid, my dad took my brother and I hiking a lot. We had all kinds of fun adventures, but I always loved Mission Trails Regional Park, specifically Old Mission Dam.
As Lil’ Man gets bigger, we are looking for more fun outdoor adventures. This last rain storm would be the catalyst for two days of big outdoor fun.
Friday, we loaded up and headed over to to dam. The past week of rain has really changed our usual path, so we got to explore some areas we’d never seen together.
It was a great chance for him to check out new trails, see erosion in action, splash in the cold stream water (there were a couple times we had to jump over streams to continue on, and well, we didn’t quite make it!), and see shells. There are a lot of little fresh water clams that make the river their home, as a result, we saw lots of shells!
We climbed, discovered, and navigated our way through the park for about 2 hours. 
By far the most exciting thing we found was an old, rusted car that had been shot at many, many times in the past. When you area four year old boy, nothing is more exciting than a rusty old car.
After stopping for snacks and water, we continued on to explore nature and hopefully find some cool rocks (another favorite pastime).
On Saturday, we headed over after lunch to the Visitor & Interpretive Center. It was closed, but we checked out the nature flora and the amphitheater. Then we did the loop around the center. It was a fun, easy walk (no pictures, we were too busy exploring).
It’s a quick 1 mile loop with a couple foot bridges and it overlooks the river, which is “raging” (as much as it can here) right now.
If you are in the San Diego area and haven’t been to Mission Trails Regional Park, you are missing out. There is tons of fun to be had and nature to explore. There are paths and trails for every skill level, and there is even a paved path along Father Junipero Serra Trail if you aren’t feeling adventurous, but still want to get outside. Parking is free, admission to the park and Visitor & Interpretive Center is free (but they do accept donations!). Most paths, except the paved road are not stroller friendly. Most paths are bike and/or Equine friendly, and leashed dogs are welcome.
And of course what better 
way to end a fun day of hiking, than with a little park yoga:
Last night, Lil’ Man and I got to attend the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker . It was his first time at the ballet, and my first time in a few (mumble mumble) years.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story of the Nutcracker, here is a good synopsis.
The music and costumes were great, and Henry loved that there were kids dancing on stage too. The Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker is touring all over the US and Canada right now. To find your closest show and save on the Moscow Ballet’s celebrated Great Russian Nutcracker 2015 North American Tour click here. USE PROMO CODE: JOY
This is a great show for kids (and adults). The story is easy to follow, and the music is very lively. It is a great first ballet experience for anyone!
There are lots of online survey companies, but their payouts can be small and take a lot of time to accrue the amount of points needed to cash out.
In most large cities, there are research companies that run focus groups weekly.
How to find them? Google “Your city name focus group”.
In San Diego there are the following research companies:
Another way is to look on Craigslist. Go to Jobs and in the search field type “Focus Group”. Some smaller companies may post ads for focus groups. Recently I participated in a mock jury style focus group and was paid $90 for 5 hours of work. Yesterday I participated in a focus group relating to housewares and received $40 for just an hour! I found both on Craigslist.
Right now on Craigslist there are a couple great opportunities in the San Diego area.
I love bread. And cheese.Imagine my excitement when Lil’ Man and I went up to Boudin‘s on Monday night and enjoyed their new seasonal offerings!
If you don’t know about Boudin, you are missing out. Crusty, tender, chewy sourdough bread, and so much more! For over 160 years, Boudin has been baking up crazy good bread, and they also have an amzing
There are tons of locations all over California, serving up amazing sandwiches, salads, soups, and heavenly bakery treats! Find your closest location here.
We sampled three of the new Seasonal Selections:Ham ‘N Brie on Rosemary Focaccia, Sourdough Philly, and Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Salad
Did you know that Boudin also has a Loyalty Club? Each time you make a purchase and for every dollar spent you will be awarded one (1) reward point. For every 50 points accumulated you will receive $3 off reward. The $3 reward will be automatically loaded to your account and you will receive an email notification to let you it’s there. Oh, yeah, but it gets better- You’ll get a free 1 lb. loaf of Sourdough bread each month upon any purchase that month!
Boudin also caters! Check out the awesome sourdough bread shapes you can order 24 hours in 
advance of your event: 
Yup it’s a Crab and a Turtle. They also make smaller turtles. One of the moms mentioned that she gets them for their kids. They hollow them out and turn them into bread bowls for soup. Such a great idea! You could hollow out the big ones and fill them with any kind of dip or soup to serve at a party! They even make a Jack O’ Lantern shaped Sourdough loaf for Halloween! 
They have all kinds of healthy, delicious foods- perfect for a busy family on the go. Eat in, or take it to go! If you opt to eat in, they serve a selection of Kendall-Jackson Wines, and have perfect pairings for everything on the menu!
Lil’ Man enjoyed a pizza and a ghost cookie. He told me the pizza was crispy and cheesy. This is coming for a four year old pizza fanatic, so you know it was good!
We’ll be going back to Boudin’s soon for lunch as a family! Big thanks to Boudin Bakery and Chef Alan Skversky for hosting a group of local bloggers on Monday night at their location on Balboa Drive. We had a great time! I received no monetary compensation for this post- I’m just sharing my experience!
I love coffee. I’m drinking some right now. I also love free stuff. So, when I can get free coffee I’m stoked. I’m even more stoked when I can get FREE COFFEE ALL WEEK LONG!
7RewardsSM FREE Coffee Week is coming. Celebrate from October 12‑18 and get (1) ANY SIZE hot coffee for FREE each day!
Check the Scan & Save section of your 7Rewards app for the offer and come in and scan every day for your free cup.
Don’t have 7Rewards? Check out the Google Play or Apple App Store and download it to your enabled device (I have it on my iPhone and iPad!).
WOO HOO!! I love 7/11 coffee. It’s fresh (made every 30 minutes or less), and they have tons of flavored creamers, fresh 1/2 and 1/2, flavored syrups, even toppings like vanilla powder and cinnamon. I can make my own coffee shop coffee without the hefty price tag! And next week, it’s freeeeee!!!!!
Hewes Family Fun 