White Tree

My goodness, how is it February already? It seems like we were just getting ready for Christmas. So...that's how I segue into another old-but-unpublished post about the holidays. Smooth, right? 

Tony really wanted a new Christmas tree this year and he wanted a white one. Our former tree had been with us since we got married but it looked so puny in our current home with its high ceilings. So, off to Home Depot he went, and came home with the white tree of his dreams.

It was so tall, he underestimated the amount of ornaments he needed and had to go back and buy more the next day!  As you can see, one whole side was not covered.

All hail the tree!

It matches her Frozen jammies.

Dinner was tacos with roasted tofu, lettuce, tomato, and salsa.

Dessert was pumpkin chia pudding from Plant-Powered Families, recipe available online here.

Hiding from doing homework, ha!

Swim Lessons

It is summer which means swim lessons. Maybe this will be our last year. Olivia did well in her lessons, now we have the rest of the summer to work on retaining what she has learned.

After a few years of practice, I am finally confident about my pool gear packing abilities. I used to always forget something at home, but now I'm pretty good at just tossing everything in a bag each morning.

Little mermaid.

The pool does not open to the public until 15 minutes after Olivia's lesson begins. For Jackson it can be a long 15 minutes.

When the whistle blows, he is ready to jump in.

Homemade pizza for dinner with cashew-red bell pepper cheeze, basil pesto, and olives.

Plant-Powered Families Chocolate Chia Pudding for dessert. My first time successfully making chia pudding, yay! I like that it's sweetened with dates.

Summer So Far

Summer vacation is chugging right along. It is going great. Here are some random moments so far. Olivia was able to change out her earrings for the first time since getting her ears pierced. She was adamant about wanting "taco earrings." Thank you, Etsy.

Olivia is into making paper outfits for her dolls. Jackson is into drawing ingenious robot monsters, like Mechanical Werewolf here.

Juiceland lunch! We tried their raw coconut chia pudding for the first time. Chocolaty, rich and creamy.

Juiceland has my favorite floral, star jasmine, growing on their patio. Of course they do. Like I need one more reason to hang out there.

The very first garden harvest. Some serranos and banana peppers and one wee cherry tomato.

Lots of basil!

Taking a walk around our neighborhood pond, Mills Pond.

Duck friends.

Practicing sugar cookie decorating with mixed results.

Cherry season is here!

Building trucks at Home Depot.

Showing off the finished project.

Whole Foods goodies. Daily Greens juice for a quick infusion of veggie vitamins. Kickin Kombucha...my first time trying this brand, I was hooked by The Greens flavor with all its beneficial ingredients (matcha, wheatgrass, spirulina, chlorella, and kelp!) Also, a four-pack of Skull and Cakebones cupcakes: two chocolate with vanilla-beet frosting, two carrot cake. Gone in a flash.

And now I mustache you a question. How is your summer going?