We really just hung out all the pool all day. We stayed two nights at the the hotel and to help minimize some costs, we brought peanut butter, sunflower butter, jelly, and a loaf of bread so we could make sandwiches for lunch. We brought a cooler full of chopped watermelons, cantaloupes, and a giant bag full of tomatoes.  We also put our sandwich goods and yogurt inside the cooler too. For breakfasts we gave the girls O’s and yogurt (and Ben and I had our Cliff bars). We ended up only eating out twice (for lunch before we checked into the hotel on Saturday and pizza for Brave’s pajama party Sunday night). We did venture out one afternoon to go and try Sprinkles Ice Cream, which was really good, but I wouldn’t crave it as much as their cupcakes.

Having food ready made it easier to just relax. We’d go swimming and then go back to the room when we were hungry, and then go back out to go swimming again. We had no agenda and it was the most relaxing (quick) vacation ever because our plans were simple… swim, eat, sleep, and celebrate Brave. Repeat.

To keep with our traditional birthday breakfast in bed, we still gave Brave breakfast in bed, but it was just her O’s and yogurt on a plate. HA! We also sang the birthday song of course. She was still just as excited about it! And when they weren’t in bathing suits, Brave was wearing her mama-made birthday dress. I’m so happy she loved it so much! She also loved the big crochet balls for her hair by Persimmon Jewelry, which was totally part of her birthday outfit. My little Spider-Man loving girl is just darling!

Sunuva sent over these cute bathing suits for the girls and they wore it all weekend long. It was a nice little surprise for the girls to have new suits for the celebrating. Brave got the red and blue strawberry one because it has Spider-Man colors, but it has this little pocket in the back that is just so cute! This one is True’s (and Glow’s) and this one is Soul’s.

On the way home, we stopped by a nursery to pick up some trees for our garden (that Ben always has gardening on his mind!) and I realized we never took a family picture, so I plopped my camera on one side of the road (with our gorillapod) and tada… we have a picture of all of us together for Brave’s birthday weekend. It was a very good weekend indeed! I love birthday celebrating!!! In just a couple weeks we have another birthday in our house… Glow turns 2! Can you believe she’s going to be 2?!! I can’t!

These pictures are from our days at the hotel pool for Brave’s birthday. It was another part of fulfilling her birthday request. I think by the end of our 3 day birthday get away, we were all 3 shades darker. We were so happy that they were able to practice the skills they have been learning in swim class. Though most of the pictures here show them with floaties, they were doing plenty of swimming without them too. Soul and Glow were a bit apprehensive about the water (this surprised us about Soul because she takes swim lessons too!), but they did get in the pool eventually. Naturally, by the time we had to leave, they didn’t want to because that’s just about the time they really started loving the water. It always happens that way, doesn’t it?!

Hooray, hooray!
Today is our day.
We’re off to the park!
We must be back home before dark!

We have denim to wear.
We have sneakers on our feet.
Ready to play, we can’t be beat!
We’re out together, we know what to do.
“Hurry, hurry, there goes True!”

On the swings,
And down the slide,
“No way mommy! I don’t want to go back inside!”

We’re on our way up!
We’re seeing great sights!
The swings make us high fliers
Who soar to high heights.

The day turns to night,
We head back home.
We dream of new places,
Maybe next will be Rome.

Hooray, hooray!
Here’s another day.
Let’s go to the art show!
To see the work of Andrew Ho!

We have denim to wear.
Only one has sneakers on her feet.
A little more dressed up,
We must look neat!

On and on, the art we can see,
And all of it makes us giggle with glee.
Imagination really takes you far,
To wonderful places where you don’t need a car.

The day turns to night,
We head back home.
We dream of new places,
Maybe next will be Rome.

Oh!
The places we’ll go!

No matter where we are,
And no matter the weather,
Our family of six, will go places together!

I used to make random poems for random things, especially gifts, and my best friend would call me Toula Seuss. Toula because I had hair like the girl in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (and glasses), and Seuss because of the obvious. I thought a little poem of our visit to the park and art show would be a little fun and different, so I went with it and this one was inspired by Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!. Don’t be surprise if I decide to pop out with another poem again soon.

At the park… on me: top, aa. rockstar printed skinny jeans (in petite!), c/o old navy. necklace, shop miguez. shoes, new balance. on true: sleeveless chambray top, c/o old navy. capris, molo kids. shoes, new balance. on brave: shirt, vintage. pop color skinny jeans, c/o old navy. shoes, gap kids. on soul: top, misha lulu. skinny jeans, c/o old navy. shoes, converse. on glow: top, vintage. skinny jeans, c/o old navy.

At the art show… on me:  rockstar printed skinny jeans, c/o old navy. booties, report. bag, thrifted. on true: shirt, gifted. denim skirt, c/o old navy. clogs, thrifted. on brave: sleeveless chambray top, c/o old navy. pop color skinny jeans, c/o old navy. shoes, nike. on soul: jersey peplum tee, c/o old navy. skinny jeans, c/o old navy. shoes, salt-water sandals. on glow: dress, misha lulu. skinny jeans, c/o old navy.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy.

 Check out Old Navy’s latest fashion lineup in store or online at oldnavy.com.Thank you for your continuous support of this space and my sponsors! These opportunities really wouldn’t be possible without you and I’m very thankful!

Marimekko invited me over to tour their new store in Los Angeles and I was ooh-gling and aah-gling over all the pretty patterns and colors. I’ve been a fan of their fabrics for years, so I was super excited to know they had a store here in SoCal! The had bolts and bolts of gorgeous fabric. It was like fabric heaven for the sewing nerd in me. If you aren’t a sewer, they also have a seamstress on hand, so that they could make you whatever it is you wanted! They told me that someone wanted their headboard covered in the fabric, so they took it to them, and Marimekko got it done. I think that’s a nice option to have for those who want something personalized, but might not have the time or know how to do it.

I was also loving their little children section, their striped dresses, and that collaboration they did with Converse. I was practicing a lot of restraint to not walk out the store with at least something! Oh, I was so tempted. Thankfully, they sent me home with their beautiful book and a Marimekko tote, so I’m a pretty happy camper. If you’re in the L.A. area, you should definitely stop by Marimekko!

Like I mentioned here, the photo booth is the main reason we go to the fair. Ben says that whenever I’m ready to skip out on the fair, he would be okay with it, but I just can’t do it yet. I like to keep our tradition going, even if it’s only for the photo booth. We’ve tried a little bit of fair food every year and it just isn’t that good to us. It probably is due to the fact that everything there is pretty much deep fried this and deep fried that, so I’ve given up my grand ideas of eating fair food. It looks better than it tastes, at least to us. The girls have fun riding rides, but with the three of them, it can get costly, so this year they only rode 2 rides, and Brave got one extra one because it was her birthday weekend (and we had tickets to finish up).

I love the view in that first picture so much that I captured it with my SLR and my iphone (see here). I’m so nerdy! And Glow was so upset that she couldn’t ride rides like her big sisters, but that picture of her looking through the bars is just adorable! That baby of mine is a heart melter for sure. She was all about the fair! It was definitely stimulation overload for her.

My favorite time to go to the fair is at night, but we will gladly go in the morning if it means we pay $3 versus $11 (on the weekends between 10-11am). So we went, we took photo booth pictures, watched one show, rode a couple rides and called it a day! Those few hours there were enough for my girls as evidenced by the frustrated face Glow had in the last picture (she was tired!). Nevertheless, I love how my girls always seem to have the grandest time even if we aren’t there very long and don’t do very much! I’m thankful that they’re easy going kiddos. OC Fair, Lord willing we see you again next year! 

We pretty much only go to the fair for the photo booth, and after we take our photo booth pictures, we ask the person manning it if they would take our family picture too. It’s tradition! The first time we ever went was the day before Brave was born, and this year, we went the day before her birthday. I love seeing how our family has grown (and the girls all used to be so itty bitty)!

And comparing to the year comparison I did last year, a few things stand out to me between these past two visits…

Soul is wearing the same dress True did last year.

This year we broke the cycle of being pregnant every other year!

True still never smiles when a stranger is behind the camera.

Ben has carried Soul in the same spot for the past three years!

I happen to be wearing a Shop Miguez necklace this year and last year.

Full post about our time at the OC Fair tomorrow. Anything else stand out to you in these comparison photos?