Thought this was too cute not to share. We call it the “Jace roar”. He roared liked this all day long at the San Diego Zoo. Even at the giraffes. Hahaha. I sure love my little lion bear cub!
Heeeello! Did you think I disappeared? Nope, still here. Just busy running after my little boy and my career, ha. Life lately feels like it’s spinning around and around, non-stop. Our first summer back in Arizona has officially come to an end. I can finally say goodbye to the 100-degree weather, and hello to the 90-degree weather (hey, I’ll take it.). I can’t believe we’re already into September .. which means I’m turning a year older, too. Boo to that. This summer was full of busy weekends — some with visitors or family, staycations and others were spent back in California! As you know we went back to Santa Cruz over the 4th to see friends, and mid August we went to another favorite place of ours, San Diego! Sister bought me tickets to Shania Twain’s farewell tour, so we decided to make a whole weekend getaway out of it and dragged Rob and Jace along for the ride. We stayed in Little Italy at the Porto Vista Hotel (AAA Approved!) .. a fabulous hotel with a great view of the bay. We were literally a block away from Little Italy (heaven!!). During the day we played at the San Diego Zoo and dug in the sand at the beach, even swam in the ocean. At night we ate Italian and seafood and jumped on our beds. Shania was incredible .. as could be expected! My sister got us great seats, she was so close at one point I thought she was going to look at me. But then she didn’t lol. It was so fun to be around a bunch of women from my generation and older. No tweens or drama queens. Just a bunch of good ‘ol country pop fans! My kind of scene! Below are some of the pictures I took on my phone, plus a little video (above). Coronado Island is definitely one of my happy places; it’s my favorite beach in California. So glad we got to take Jace to one of our favorite places. Other highlights from the trip include Jace, hitting everyone (see video); dinner at Ironside; Zoo Brew; Jace’s running stride (it’s hilarious how he moves his arms); and last but not least, dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant on Coronado – Miguel’s – before we made the drive back to AZ!
Have you noticed how I pair children activities with good food?? ;) Needless to say, I needed it after this outing. On to the story .. I saw a deal come through for the Children’s Museum of Phoenix on Groupon and decided to buy it, wanting something indoor to do with Jace, and something that didn’t involve 112 degree weather and a swimming pool. We set out on a Sunday morning, knowing this was going to be a crazy fun day for Jace face. And boy was it. It literally felt like we were in the mind of a child. And every room was like a different child-like dream. One room you’re in a miniature grocery store where children are stocking shelves and running the cashier. Another you are painting a castle, chasing yoga balls or running through pool noodles. In another area you’re scooping foam ice cream, driving a pickle for a vehicle, building a city out of blocks and shooting scarves out of tubes. And I’m pretty sure they recreated the tree house from Hook (see below). Pretty rad. However, it was utter chaos, every where you looked. Jace is still that age where we need to hover over him most of the time, so it was crazy trying to keep him in check without him face planting into the floor every minute. He was non-stop. My favorite room was the calmest one of all, the reading nook. Perhaps that’s what my mind looked like as a child ;) All in all, it was a great place to take the little one. Lots of things to interact and engage with. But after 2 hours I was ready to get the h*ll out of there (and also swear off any more children!).
We spent most of our time playing in these noodles. Hahahaha
The best part of this day you ask? I would have to say FEDERAL PIZZA!!! It’s been on my list to try for quite some time now and since we were close by in Phoenix, I decided to take us there for lunch after the museum. Best decision ever. It was delicious. We ordered two of their pizzas and some pasta for little boy. Great service, very family friendly and fabulous happy hour. We’ll definitely be going back. Stuffing our faces with good pizza really made all the anxiety of the children’s museum go away. Crazy how food does that;)
My friend Sarah invited Jace and I to the Arizona Science Center a couple weekends back. Yes, I’m 2 weeks backlogged in blogging! As soon as we got to the Science Center we spent a good amount of time at the first exhibit, pictured here with the balls and water slides and shoots. So much fun!! Jace was in ball heaven. From there, we went on to explore and build things… and throw balls in a nose that sneezed. We watched a cow’s eye be dissected .. until it was too gross to watch any more. Jace climbed into a heart, slid down a stomach, heard his heart beat through his hand .. walked on a bridge of nobs, watched more balls float, ran in the hallways, played in the ocean sand and created a cloud.
I think the best exhibit BY FAR was the Immersion Theater in the Forces of Nature exhibit — you stand in the middle of the stage while mother nature takes over. You really feel like you’re in the middle of the storm, feeling the rain from the hurricane, the wind from the tornado, the ground shaking from the volcano erupting and more. It was awesome. Jace hugged up to his bestie James for protection, it was so cute. No tears just excitement! Who needs Mom when you’ve got a new bro to follow around?! Next time I want to go to the Grossology exhibit — look disgusting but so intriguing!
The smile on this boy’s face – melts my heart. Love you James. 
Afterwards we washed hands and went to Pizzeria Bianco, right down the way, for some wood-fired pizza. I couldn’t have asked for a better pair to hang with this Saturday. Sarah and James know how to have fun. I can’t wait for our next outing together, where ever it might be. Love you Sarah! xoxoxoxo
And then Jace crashed hard on the couch when we got home. Best. day. ever. with my son.
On our last day in the Cruz over the 4th, we took the trolly down to the Boardwalk to give Jace one more visit to the beach. I didn’t get my fried oreo or corn dog like normal, but I got to watch Jace be a wild man on the beach. He stole a volleyball, lost some toys in the ocean and got stuck in the sand. It was awesome. It was also interesting changing him on the sidewalk in front of the whole world. Good thing we ended this last trek to the beach with some 1020 ice-cream from Marianne’s. I sure do miss our life in California and that exciting boardwalk. And the smell of the ocean and the cool breeze. Everything. For now, I’ll hold on to pictures and memories!
p.s. Jace’s pineapple shirt and trunks are both from Old Navy ;)