A Colorado Trip to visit friends and family

Let's go to Colorado! There's lots of fun stuff to do there.
It starts with a visit with the pilot of our plane. They're so great with the kids. Ian got to push the gas pedal (throttle), on one side until the plane started beeping at him.

National Chewing Gum Day - September 30th

Whether you're an avid chewer going through packs a day, the occasional chewer, or never chew it, today is the day to celebrate gum on National Chewing Gum Day.

National Coffee Day - September 29th

Happy National Coffee Day! Or for us maybe it's cream and sugar day with a little bit of coffee to flavor it. Either way, we celebrate the beverage that helps us wake up in the morning.

Ian loses his second tooth!

Someone is getting big! He's had a wiggly tooth for the past couple weeks now. His first tooth came out in Michigan, so he was happy to wait until our trip to Colorado to finally get the second one out.

Colorado Fall Foliage Trip 2019

It's officially Fall! That means that all across the country, leaves are changing colors. Well, not in Los Angeles, meaning that if we want to see trees changing colors we've got to go somewhere else. Let's make it a long weekend in Colorado! We'll be able to see family and also get to see some changing trees.

National Chocolate Milk Day - September 27th

Mmm. Chocolate Milk. It's so good. Today is National Chocolate Milk Day!
And it just so happens that we're in Colorado with Gram and Pop Pop to celebrate!
I don't know if your household is a pre-made chocolate milk family, or maybe a chocolate syrup family, but as for this family we are a Nestle Quik powder family.

National Pancake Day - September 26th

Pancakes are certainly a tasty treat. And today is National Pancake Day!

FOUND - All 13 Hidden Mickeys in the 2019 Oogie Boogie Grand Californian Hotel Treat Display

At the Grand Californian Hotel #grandcalifornianhotel, a giant Oogie Boogie display has appeared in the lobby for Halloween! Similar to last year, there's 13 Hidden Mickeys! Let's try to find them!
Spoilers ahead... obviously. 

Maple Creme Oreos taste test

Who loves maple? We do! And I think I got my love of maple from my mom, who happens to be visiting! What better time to do a taste test of these new Maple Creme Oreos!

And we always like to try these along with something. I couldn't find maple ice cream, though that does sound delicious. And maple bars are tasty too, but I'm going to be using one of those in another taste test here shortly. I've been hearing a lot of good things about these Trader Joe's Maple Leaf cookies, both as a suggestion here and from people at work.
It's a Maple Leaf Cookie versus the Maple Creme Oreos. Who will come out on top?!?

National Pot Pie and and National Family Day - September 23rd

I love Pot Pie! Savory flavors and buttery pastry is delicious. So when I saw that National Pot Pie day was coming up, I was prepared to grab a frozen pot pie from the grocery store. But Theresa said we should do it one better and actually go get a fresh pot pie. Now she knows how much I like it ever since I was disappointed on a vacation when I heard her say that we were having Pot Pies for dinner, and then she routed us to a Popeye's.
When I think of pot pie my go-to thought it Marie Callendar's. There's one close enough to where we live, so that's where everyone met up after work.

Looking at the origin of this National Day, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it was actually Marie Callender's themselves back in 2002 who declared September 23rd to be the Great American Pot Pie day.

A California Adventure Disney Halloween Celebration with friends

Happy Sunday! It's been a busy weekend already. On Friday and Saturday, we were in Oak Glen picking apples from the orchards there. Sunday could be a down day... or we could go to Disneyland! Disneyland it is! Let's go!

National Ice Cream Cone Day - September 22nd

Today is National Ice Cream Cone Day! Come to the table guys! Let's celebrate!
Am I doing this right?

It's National Cone Day, not Ice Cream Day.

A Visit to the Oak Glen Apple Orchards - Day 2 Part 2

Continuing our 2nd day at the apple orchards in Oak Glen.

A Visit to the Oak Glen Apple Orchards - Day 2 Part 1

Our first day in the Oak Glen Apple Orchards was a blast. Day 2 was so busy I decided to break it up into two posts. Let's jump right into it.

A Visit to the Oak Glen Apple Orchards - Day 1

Up, Up, Up. It's Apple Orchard time!
We had a lot of fun last year at the apple orchards of Oak Glen. We're going back again this year!

National Pepperoni Pizza Day - September 20th

Today is National Pepperoni Pizza Day!
This little boy's favorite food is pizza and his favorite type is pepperoni.

National Cheeseburger Day - September 18th

Today we celebrate National Cheeseburger Day!
We love cheeseburgers. The kids even know how to make them themselves, choosing cheeseburgers back on National Kids Take Over the Kitchen day.
Ian might be going through a growth spurt too because he's ate an entire Ultimate Double Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box all by himself!

And I wasn't letting them celebrate alone. For lunch I stopped by Shake Shack and got a SmokeShack cheeseburger. Yum!

Drumstick Ice Cream Cereal

It's been a hot one today and the kids played for 3 hours at the park! After dinner we had a special taste test treat. Drumstick Ice Cream and Drumstick Cereal!

I knew this cereal existed, but could never find it locally. Luckily my brother in Colorado helps me find the things I can't.
You know how I like to try the original along with what something is trying to represent. I was looking all over for these Drumstick Ice Cream cones. You can see that the cereal does not have peanuts, either on the picture on the front, or as a flavor in the final product. So I was on the hunt not just for a Drumstick without peanuts, but also with Mint as a flavor. Thankfully on a random trip to Walmart I happened to see these in the freezer section. Success! Let the taste test begin!

National Play-doh Day - September 16th

Recognized by Hasbro since 2006, September 16th is National Play-Doh day!
Started as a wallpaper cleaner, for some reason, once sales diminished, it found new life in the classrooms as a replacement for modeling clay.
With the grandparents here, they were more than happy to help celebrate the day!

And wow, that's a lot of colors of Play-Doh.

A Haunted Club 33 Celebration Pt 2

As you may have surmised, the second half of this trip report has us at Club 33!

A Haunted Club 33 Celebration Pt 1

Happy Sunday! We're going to the park!

National Linguine Day - September 15th

Today is National Linguine Day so we all headed to Olive Garden for dinner! And look who is here! Gram and Pop Pop!

We all love creamy pastas. Time for some Linguine Alfredo! No, not that Alfredo Linguini.

Chuseok - Korean Thanksgiving

Chuseok is one of the major Korean holidays. It celebrates the autumn harvest, honors your ancestors, and feasts with special Korean food.

National Cream Filled Donut Day - September 14th

It's a beautiful day here in sunny So Cal and the kids and I are outside enjoying the nice weather. It also happens to be National Cream Filled Donut Day.

1000th Post!

Wow. When I started blogging and writing up our trips 7 years ago, I was never imagining that it would evolve into this. But here we are, years later and still going strong.

I thought it would be fun to do a retrospective of the past 1000 posts. 

National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day - September 13th

I really like the National Days where I can get the kids involved and today is perfect!
It's National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day!

Happy National Chocolate Milkshake Day - September 12th

It's National Chocolate Milkshake Day today and for my money, Chick-Fil-A makes one of the tastiest fast-food shakes around. I think it's because their ice cream (Icedream) has that old fashioned ice cream flavor and it makes a really good milkshake. And they top it with whipped cream and a cherry.

Disneyland and Blue Bayou with Ruston

It's a long one today, but it's certainly going to be a fun one!
Today we're at Disneyland with Ruston!

Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Is it Fall already? Krispy Kreme seems to think so because they've brought out the Fall treats early. 

For one week only, they're selling their new Cream Cheese filled Pumpkin Spice Glazed Donuts.

National Salami Day - September 7th (And World Beard Day)

For a quick savory treat, the kids like salami (and cheese). Perfect because today is National Salami Day!

And I threw in a few more meats that they might not necessarily like, but I certainly do.

National Read A Book Day - September 6th

Similar to National Book Lovers Day, today is National Read A Book Day!
That's not a problem for us! Our Gram works at the library and makes sure we have plenty of new books on our bookshelf! Before bed, everyone took a turn reading a book to the family.

National Cheese Pizza Day - September 5th

We're a family full of pizza lovers, and usually we're fans of meat pizzas, but today for National Cheese Pizza Day we can go without.

Labor Day weekend - Breakfast and Flight Home - Day 4

It's been a fun 4 days here in Arizona. Relaxing at the hotel. Having some tasty food. Hanging out with friends. Time to wrap this one up though.

Labor Day weekend - Aquarium and Lego Discover Center - Day 3

Day 3 in Arizona and it's a full one, but a fun one.