International Bacon Day - August 31st

It's not just National Bacon Day, today, the first Saturday before Labor Day, is International Bacon Day.
Bacon is delicious and we make it at home quite often. Today though we're on vacation and our hotel offers breakfast. That means that instead of just a couple of pieces of bacon we'd have at home, we can eat as much bacon as we want!

And this isn't the paper-thin strips of bacon you might expect from a hotel. These are the thick pieces of bacon that you're always hoping for.

The kids like it crispy, while I like it chewy. Mmm. Bacon is tasty.

Labor Day weekend - Trip to Phoenix - Day 2

We're visiting Arizona and the great Westin Kierland Resort. Today is day 2!

National Toasted Marshmallow Day - August 30th

It's National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

Labor Day weekend - Trip to Phoenix - Day 1

Happy Labor Day weekend! We're heading out for the weekend and going to nearby Phoenix Arizona.

National Banana Split Day - August 25th

First invented by an apprentice pharmacist back in 1904, August 25th is the day we celebrate National Banana Split Day. I'm used to ordering these from an ice cream shop, but this just might be the first time I've ever made one myself.

Haunted Mansion celebration at Disneyland

Two weeks ago we tried to get over to Disneyland to celebrate the Haunted Mansion's 50th, but ended up turning around because it was too crazy busy. Now we're back and it's time to try again. 

Chicken and Waffle Cereal

My brother always keeps an eye out for interesting cereals for me to try. I was very happy with one of his latests finds. Post's Chicken and Waffles cereal, part of the new Honey Bunches Brunches of Oats line of cereals.

Let's see how well they turned this...

Into this.

Happy National Waffle Day - August 24th

Today is National Waffle Day. I love waffles to be sure. Today we're having them three different ways.

Even more than a sweet waffle, I love a savory waffle. So Chicken and Waffles is a perfect food. The best chicken comes from Chick-Fil-A, which has the added benefit of having waffle fries. There's our second waffle for the day. The third comes in the form of this Chicken and Waffle cereal which I'll have more about in a separate post.

A Whipped Cream taste test

What better day to do a whipped cream taste test than on National Sponge Cake Day.

We've got 5 different kinds to try today. Earlier, the kids made their own homemade whipped cream. We'll also be tasting a Cool Whip brand, something from the 99 cent store that has <1% milk in it, plus a couple specialty flavors. Hershey's and Reese's dairy toppings.

National Sponge Cake Day and making our own whipped cream - August 23rd

Checking the national day calendar website, looks like today is National Sponge Cake Day!
Angel Food Cake qualifies as a sponge cake, so we picked some up from the grocery store.

And you know what goes great with sponge cake? Whipped Cream!
Kids, have we ever made homemade whipped cream? No? Well I think it's about time we made our own.

Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor 2019

It's time again for our favorite thing to do in Long Beach at the Belmont Shore. It's the Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor! A time when many of the restaurants around 2nd Street bring out their tasty treats and offer them for a few bucks each.
This is the last one this summer, and Jacob and I were shocked that we hadn't gone to any yet. I think we were both remembering the Belmont Shore Chocolate Festival.

Taco Bell Chips

Wow wow wow. Taco Bell is making tortilla chips and they're based on their delicious sauces. And I love that the chip bags look just like sauce packets. I've been waiting for a special visitor to join us before we had this taste test. Aubrey is visiting from Michigan and she a big fan of Taco Bell, just like us. 

Today we've got 4 chip flavors to try, Classic, Mild, Fire, and Diablo. Years ago my favorite sauce was the Taco Bell Hot Sauce. And while I love spicy, for some reason the Fire Sauce didn't have the flavor I was looking for. And then came Diablo. Diablo is as spicy and they come, and it's my new favorite. 

Finding those 4 flavors was quite the adventure. And in the process I ended up with a lot of chips. 

National Fajita Day - August 18th

Today we celebrate National Fajita Day! Started all the way back in 2016 by the world's largest casual Mexican dining brand On The Border Mexican Grill and Cantina, today is the day we celebrate those delicious tortillas filled with sizzling meat, peppers and onions, and whatever else you want to add to it.

And there's even vegetables on it.

Celebrating World Honey Bee Day - Third Saturday in August

It's World Honey Bee Day! What started out as National Honey Bee Day back in 2009, by the US Secretary of Agriculture, has now become World Honey Bee Day! We certainly love our honey. For a while, my parents kept us stocked with honey from their very own beehives!

And one thing this family definitely loves is that bees are pollinators! We wouldn't have nearly as many tasty fruits and vegetables without all the hard work of the bees. Do you think maybe Theresa goes a little overboard on the weekly fruits and veggies? Because we have family visiting it's a little more than usual, but not by much.

National Creamsicle Day - August 14th

Orange shirt. White pants. That's because it's National Creamsicle Day! We recently had these treats back in May when we did our Orange Cream soda taste test, but this is a good excuse to eat them again. Yum!

National Filet Mignon Day - August 13th

Now here's a national day that I can get behind. It's National Filet Mignon Day!
Normally I'd have the kids pose with the food, but nope, this one is mine.
We've been fortunate that our nearby Costco and Sams have started carrying Prime beef. Season them with Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper and you're all set.

If only I had a charcoal grill these would be perfect. I make due with a wood chip smoker box to give it a nice wood flavor.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Oreos

Oreo has a lot of fun flavors they've been releasing this summer. So far we've tried Latte Oreos, S'mores Oreos, and Marshmallow Moon Oreos. Just 2 more flavors to go. 

Today we're tasting the Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Oreos. 

And whenever I can, I like to taste it with what it's trying to represent. In this case, we're eating it with real Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream too. 

It's Sunday! Let's go to Disneyla... Ugh, no let's go to the beach instead

It's a beautiful Sunday morning. Like usual we're headed to Disneyland! T and I got things ready the night before. I figured out our hat theme, T got food and drinks packed up. The next morning we slept in and got to the park about 15 minutes before they opened at 10am. Yikes! Normally Disneyland opens at 8am, but because of the CHOC walk this morning, they're opening 2 hours late. And boy what a mess traffic is.

Instead of all that, we turned around and headed to the beach!

Happy National S'mores Day! - August 10th

Time to celebration another day! August 10th is officially S'mores Day!

Celebrating National Book Lovers Day - August 9th

We're really starting to get into celebrating the National Calendar Days. And we don't just celebrate the ones that deal with food (though those are certainly fun).
Today is National Book Lovers Day! And yes, we do love our books. Every night we're home, and even most every night when we're on vacation, part of our routine is reading books. It started out with us reading books to them, but just like we were hoping, they've wanted to do it more and more.

National Root Beer Float Day - August 6th

It's time for yet another National Food Celebration Day.
August 6th happens to be National Root Beer Float Day!
Also known as a Black Cow, I remember having Black Cows when I was little with my parents. And now I get to have them with my kids!

A Lion King Celebration at Disneyland

Continuing our Lion King celebration weekend, we're at Disneyland! And now everyone is wearing hats. I'm not sure if mine is intended to be Simba or Mufasa. I think it's supposed to be grownup Simba, but when you've got all these hats together it's easy to say it's Mufasa. Ian is wearing a young Simba cub hat. It wasn't easy, but I found Alli a Nala hat. And brand new from Disneyland Paris is Theresa's Timon and Pumba headband!

A closer look at the headband.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - August 4th

Today is August 4th and it's National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!
My favorite dessert is not cake, pie, ice cream or candy. No, it's the simple chocolate chip cookie. Delicious!
So on today of all days, we're certainly going to be celebrating that happy accident that Ruth Wakefield had back in the 1930s. You might already know the story, but Ruth owned the Toll House Inn and decided to make a batch of chocolate cookies for her guests. She used broken up pieces of semi-sweet chocolate, thinking it would all melt together and make chocolate cookies. But the chocolate stayed together in "chips" and now we're all better off for it!
Thank you Ruth!

Today we're at Disneyland and I think we should sample the best chocolate chip cookies each park has to offer. 

The Lion King - the movie 2019

As you'll soon see, it's going to be a Lion King weekend.
Theresa was busy with work, so I grabbed the kids and we headed to the theater. Our hats were getting lots of attention.