Down the Shore and to the Big Apple

It wasn't that there wasn't anything going on during the last 2 months that caused there to be nothing to blog about. Actually there was too much going on that left no time for blogging. That leaves me with the daunting task of putting way to much into one post, or...it may end up in 2 posts

Back in May, Chris and I left the kids with the grandparents and took a trip to the East Coast. Chris was a groom's man in Brad and Erin's wedding on the New Jersey shore. We had a great time enjoying the beach, the boardwalk, good food, and old high-school friends. It wasn't quite what we expected after hearing all about the kids on Jersey Shore. It ended up that all the festivities took place in a dry county. It kept the beach very mellow and family friendly. Luckily they allow temporary liquor permits for events such as weddings, etc.


From NJ we heading to the big apple for the weekend with our friends Mark and Emily. We had a lot planned, and I think we accomplished what we set out to see and do. Ready? Go...we went to the Top of the Rock, had drinks on the roof top bar of the Peninsula Hotel, we drank coffee at Dean & Deluca's, shopped 5th Avenue (while trying to avoid the Israel Pride Parade - there are a lot of Jews in NY!), took a horse-drawn carriage ride around Central Park, walked through Central Park, ate HUGE sandwiches at Carnegie Deli, picked out fun candy at Dylan's Candy Bar, loved Billy Eliott on Broadway, ate a bagel with lox in Grand Central Station, took the Metro downtown, strolled along High Line Park, ate meatballs and homemade ice cream sandwiches at the Meatball Shop, took a walking tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, viewed ground-zero, ate fries at Pomme Frite, pizza at Vezzo's, dessert at Serendipity, cupcakes at Magnolia...we did (ate) a lot!


The first weekend of June, I did the wedding flowers for Chris' hair stylist Vicki. She had a really fun small-yet-not-so-small wedding in her backyard (with 130 people!). She went with an island feel with green orchids and white peonies, sand and shells, and a pop of pink peonies for her sister as bride's maid. It was a fun small job!


Okay, that's all I can get in for now...stay tuned for the Arrowhead/Desert vacation on the next post...coming soon!

Fire Service Day and more...

We watched a fire exhibit put on by the Torrance Fire Department today. It was pretty cool to get to see the firemen in action up close. Nicholas' ticket was picked during the kids raffle and won a really cool firetruck toy! He was thrilled (no, the picture below is not the toy he won...ha, ha!)

During the show they put out a car fire and rescued a "man" from the car with the jaws-of-life and the ambulance drove him away.

They also put out a house fire with the hoses.

Both Nicholas and Samantha refused to meet the firemen after the show. Nicholas said he didn't want to meet them before we even got there. Samantha got close to one, but after further inspection she decided he was too scary with all that gear on. I keep reminding myself that fear of strangers is good, but they sure miss out on lots of cute photo ops.

Going back a few days...

Here are Nicholas and Samantha in the bath. Nicholas is trying out his new snorkel and goggles that he got for his birthday.

We also got a few more family pictures after the pirate party.

Making the most of the jumpy house before it got taken away...

Argh matey!

This is the best of about 10 attempts to get us all laying in the jumpy house!

With the craziness of April birthdays behind us we are winding down the school year and getting ready for summer! Bye for now!

Argh Mateys!

Happy Birthday Nicholas! Our big boy turned 4 on Friday and we celebrated with a pirate party today. The little pirates had a great time playing in the jumpy house, eating cupcakes, and sword fighting.

Noah's Ark Exhibit

This morning we went to visit the Noah's Ark Exhibit at the Skirball Center. It was a great exhibit, beautifully and artistically created, and fun for both Nicholas and Samantha. I highly recommend it! The animals were made from a combination of found objects and carved wood. There were interactive features that made sounds and movements.

Here is the front of the ark.


There was a cute conveyor belt that you could put pairs of animals into and wind the wheel to send them into the ark. They dropped back down into a basket to start over again.


Here's Nicholas and Chris checking out a smaller scale version of the ark. It was like a doll house with miniature animals. It even had lights that worked on a hand crank.


One of the rooms had a whole suspended netted climbing system.




















They had fake rubber animal poop (I guess there must have been a lot of poop on the ark with all those animals)! Samantha got right to work cleaning it up. Let's hope she doesn't get any ideas with Milka's poop at home now!


Here is one of my favorite animals. It was a push toy that was being pushed around by one of the people that worked there. Its head bobbed up and down as it went. I got a kick out of the red cowboy boot (no pun intended!)


Here was the end of the exhibit, the other side of the ark.



Thanks Auntie Lisa for the fabulous idea and including us on such a fun outing!

Newport Yacht Wedding

Chris' step-sister Brenna was kind enough to refer my flower business to a friend of hers that was getting married. Holly and Anthony were married this evening aboard The Destiny on a harbor cruise in Newport Beach.


I created 2 large arrangements for the ceremony. The large glass cylinder pedestals mimicked the beautiful glass windows around the spiral staircases. Sand and shells tied in the ocean theme.


Below deck, the tables were set for the reception. Casablanca lilies and ti leaves were a simple yet elegant center piece, surrounded by scattered shells.

Samantha is 2!

Our baby is 2! She's definitely not a baby any more and has official entered the "terrible twos" which she displayed by having the most whiny day yet (and it continued today as well). There were a few brief smiles - like in the morning when she opened her presents which included her new big-girl scooter and helmet.


Another happy moment was when she got to eat her giraffe cupcake that she picked out from the Torrance Bakery.

April is the month of Chapman family birthdays. Mine is on the 2nd, Samantha's is the 7th, and Nicholas' is on the 30th. Being a teacher it tends to be the best time of year to have babies (maternity leave until the end of the school year and 3 months of summer off!)

We spend our second annual Easter weekend with Chris' mom and step-dad, sister and brother-in-law and their son Jamie in Palm Desert. We got to hang out in a house together, enjoy the pool, the boys played a little golf, and we celebrated all the birthdays - including Bill's that was at the end of March.


Another reason to stay in Palm Desert is so that we can visit with Bill's mom Anna or "GiGi" to the grandkids, who lives in a retirement community in town. We went to her place for an Easter egg hunt they had set up for the kids.


Then we took her to dinner and Nicholas and Samantha were all about helping her in her wheelchair.

It was a great weekend!

Visit to Tennessee

We spent this past weekend visiting our friends the Doleshels in Franklin, Tennessee which is right outside of Nashville. We had a great time seeing the sights, but we mostly just enjoyed spending time with Bryan and Heather.

Their daughter Luisa was born 2 weeks after Nicholas and they've been betrothed since birth. Nicholas and Luisa were so happy to see each other (the initial greeting at the airport brought tears to my eyes!) They slept in the same room and kept each other up late chatting away. They are also expecting a boy in August (maybe he'll like older women . . . Samantha?)

Our first morning there we had breakfast at Pancake Pantry, a "Nashville tradition". No matter what day of the week it is, there is a line out the door. We tried the sweet potato pancakes and the sweet cream syrup. It was worth the wait, and it started of our southern eating experience for the weekend.

Heather's parents also moved to Franklin and bought a house 2 streets away. On Friday night Heather's mom offered to babysit the kids so we could go out. Thanks Aleta!!! We went to downtown Nashville to "honky-tonk". After a few stops and a few drinks, we stopped in a boot shop and after a little convincing, Chris got back to his roots and tried on some cowboy boots and and belt buckle. All he was missing was the horse. We also stopped for some homemade ice cream at Mike's Ice Cream Shop. They had all sorts of unusual flavors like Nutter Butter and caramel cone. Mmmm!

On Saturday the weather was beautiful. We packed a picnic lunch and went to Tinkerbell Park which is the most amazing kids park I've seen. Nicholas and Samantha loved it. Heather struck up a conversation with a couple who were visiting from Dallas to see if they should take up a job offer and move to Franklin. By the end of the conversation they were pretty convinced that Franklin was the place for them.

That afternoon, Chris and I walked through downtown Franklin which has a wonderful small town feel. Heather says that Nicole Kidman frequents the Starbucks there (no star sightings that day unfortunately). There was an adorable cupcake shop which of course we had to try - Naticakes. The best one, by far, was a chocolate with salted caramel. It was to die for!



We packed another picnic for dinner and headed to Arrington Vineyard. They had live music, wine tasting, and everyone was just spread out on a hill side with good food and wine watching the kids run around.

It was a great weekend! It was so good to hang out and laugh with old friends. It was great to see where Bryan and Heather are, see their new house, visit their church, meet some of their new friends, and play a game of Settlers (which I won despite some very competitive playing). We are sad that they don't live in California anymore, but are so happy that they have found such a great spot for their family. We'll definitely be back to visit!