The first weekend of the summer...

Fresh Lemon Chiffon Cake

The beginning of summer in our family means the summer birthdays are upon us! Patricia, Laura and I all celebrate our birthday's during these summer months.

We are starting the first weekend of the summer with our mom Patricia's birthday. It will be small, intimate and lovely gathering with food and family.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend too!

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Cirque Dreams Splashtastic Show and More!

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is our favorite place in Northern CA to visit. It has all the things that make an amusement park fun, rides, animal shows, good food and a friendly staff. The main thing we are looking forward to for our trip is the new Dolphin Show  Cirque Dreams Splashtastic. 

I was very excited to see the new show in the dolphin arena. I read about the show less than a month ago and have been waiting to see it. It is created by a Broadway Director and the creator of Cirque Dreams. The cast of the show are from 9 countries to create a well rounded and entertaining show. 

The show was great! The costume and set design were very colorful and entertaining. The aerial acrobatics were amazing, there was a woman on a high rope swing and woman doing super cool hula hoop tricks. The was a set of men that were doing feats of strength! It was neat to see how strong they were. There was a balancing act that was neat to see but when on a bit too long. My son was losing interest and asked where the dolphins were. It was a great show, a nice addition to the park. I only wish there was more dolphin action. We sat too close to the speakers and did get a bit blasted by the music, next time we will sit higher up. It was fun to see, I am glad we took the time to see it.

My son LOVES animals so each time we saw one, he would ask for another one. We saw sting rays, seals, walruses, penguins and sharks!

One show we have not been able to see is the Elephant show. There are so many cool shows if you plan your day right you can see many of them. My son always asks about it and this time we set our phone alarm to make sure we saw it. Before the show we were able to see the trainers give the elephant a bath, we were so close to the elephant it was amazing!

Of course one of the cool parts of an amusement park is the RIDES! We stick to the kid rides as my husband and I are not thrill ride kinda people lol.

We had a WONDERFUL time at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. I love going several times a year since they are constantly having theme days and new events. We feel lucky to live close enough for a day trip to a Six Flags park. Its family friendly and we always have a great time having fun. This time I took my mother in law with us. She has never been to the park and was amazed at how much there was to do there. She rode many of the kid rides and even got on a horse on the merry go round. She said she had not been on a merry go round since my husband was a little kid. I love that at Six Flags even Grandma can become a kid again!

Anytime my son spots one of the Looney Toon characters we must stop to talk to them, give them a hug and take a picture. So cute!

*This is not a paid post. We were guest of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the day.

Weekend In Pictures - Annual Father's Day Hike

View of our 2nd Annual Father's Day walk!

My husband talking to Liam about something while carrying Ashley in the pack, what a man!!

 I was there too, and I even carried Ashley around for a bit to lighten his load :)

This kid!! So thankful for his wonderful Dad.

Father's Day was a great day around here. We started a family hike on a trail by our house last year and it has officially become an annual Father's Day event. I love it when traditions come about in such a natural way. My husband is an amazing father and my children and I are so very lucky to have him. He is works so hard for our family and always has time for a little fun, he is simply the best!

Cascade Platinum Cleaning Packs #myplatinum #sponsored

*I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating


The more I work the more I realize how I need easy one step items for my life. I do not want extra time spent on silly things that have easier solutions. One of those things is dishes!

Last week we had a couple friends over for dinner and I made sauteed veggies and sauteed potatoes to serve with chicken. I always use a stainless steel pan and a little bit of oil. I do not buy non stick pans so I need a good dishwasher detergent to get my dishes clean. I do a little pre-soaking in the sink and then into the dishwasher.

I use a natural dishwasher soap and it can be a little tough to get dirty pans clean with it. I want to avoid extra chemicals and streaks on my dishes but it does not always get my dishes clean the first time. For my latest food creation I am planning to use Cascade Platinum Cleaning Packs

My pan after cooking!

After cleaning the pots and pans from my dinner party I was surprised how clean the pan was. I do not always like to use a normal chemical detergent for everyday dishes but I can see Cascade Platinum being helpful for those days I need to use many pots and pans.

Cascade Platinum:

•       Delivers Cascade’s ultimate clean for dishes
• Scrubs away tough 24 hour stuck-on food
• Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes
• Provides exceptional dishware shine
• Contains the Grease Fighting Power of Dawn

Clean Shiny Pots and Pans

As a blogger I love to make my dishes look beautiful. I want the food to stand out against the plate. I want the dishes to be perfect! Plus no extra scrubbing after the cooking!

Do you like to take pictures of your food? Show off your food photography skills for a chance to win prizes from Cascade and KitchenAid in the My Platinum Instagram Contest. Enter here : http://tinyurl.com/PlatBlog 

Gail Simmons the Top Chef Judge and Food + Wine magazine editor uses Cascade Platinum!



I know I will be entering the contest! I love to cook great meals, snap a photo and share on Instagram. I get so many great food ideas from there.

Please be sure to include both the #MyPlatinum hashtag and tag @MyCascade in your entries to the contest.

You can learn more about Cascade Platinum on their Facebook Page.

The Power of Dads! Oral-B Flash Giveaway #powerofdad

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Oral-B. Oral-B may have provided us with content, product, access or other forms of payment. All opinions are my own.

Father's Day means so much more now that my husband is a Dad. Before of course it was special to celebrate our own Dads for the great men they are but now my husband and I get to celebrate him. Now I know how my Mom must have felt to see us kids get excited to give our Dad homemade gifts and cards. My son has made a drawing for my husband that I cannot wait to give to him on Sunday. It warms my heart and makes me smile knowing my son has a great Dad.

Over the last year I have watched my husband become the most together Dad ever! Last Fall I started working full time and my husband is Mr. Mom. He cooks, cleans, takes care of our son, takes him on adventures and teaches him many things. I am amazed at how mellow our son has become and how happy he is. I though for sure he would need his Mama 24/7 but I was wrong. I feel like I admire and love my husband even more seeing the kind of Dad he has become. It amazes me at the way he knows what my son means among the whining and toddler babble, the way he knows just how far to let a temper tantrum go before intervening and how he lets our son wear one cowboy boot with one slipper out if the house because it makes our son happy, hes a great Dad. If my husband was not the Dad he is I would not be able to work on my career like I have. We really are a great team and I appreciate him more than I can tell him. 

At the park having a pizza and popsicle party

One of the things my husband has been teaching our son while I am at work is brushing his teeth properly. My husband bought him a cute Snoopy toothbrush and they brush their teeth. I have yet to get my husband to sing the toothbrush song but I am working on that lol.

GIVEAWAY
To celebrate the Dads in your life and keep their smile bright I am hosting a giveaway for an Oral-B Deep Sweep TRIACTION™ 1000 power toothbrush! My husband will be getting one for Father's Day that I know he will love. We have been looking at these brushes but yet to buy one. I know he is going to be surprised! 






a Rafflecopter giveaway

 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 14, 2013 and ends on June 16,  2013 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 24 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.