Girls Day Out

So I have this fabulous friend named Tiffany... and for my birthday last month she gave me a cute card and tucked inside was a coupon for "One Girls Day Out". And with everything going on right now I sure needed one... especially since the holidays are coming and all. Plus with 3 kids... let's be real... I hardly EVER get alone time.

So Sunday I redeemed my coupon. We started the morning off with some Starbucks. Then we proceeded to have some breakfast at Paradise Bakery. It was really good. I had only been there once before... and it was with her as well... but for lunch. After a good breakfast and some good conversation we decided to browse at Old Navy until the nail place opened so we could get pedicures. (Man... Old Navy had some CUTE stuff...) Then we went and got our toes done.

We went to a place very very close to my house. My mom has taken me there before and my Daddy has even blogged about his experiences there.

They do the most awesome pedicures... each one lasting an hour long sometimes longer. You sit in a massage chair and they don't just give you a pedicure your legs also get massaged. It's so relaxing and definitely worth the money. I enjoy it every time. This time was no exception. We talked we laughed and I totally enjoyed her company. And we got matching Zebra toes! I hardly ever get a design because my sister totally rocks at them. (Sidenote: I saw her yesterday and she had black and white zebra toes and she did them herself... I'll totally get her to send me a picture to show you. So everyone has Zebra right now I guess.)

So I just wanted to say Thank you Tiff. You truly are a great friend. I have the best times with you even when we do nothing at all. Being around you makes me happy and sometimes I need a good girlfriend to rescue me from my husband and kids. Thanks for taking me out of reality for a few hours. You're the best! I am looking forward to getting our nails done next time!

Oh and without further ado... here's our toes:

Hiking @ Estrella Mountain

My friend Tiffany and I decided that it would be fun to go hiking yesterday. So we got up super early and went to Estrella Mountain Regional Park. We got there a little before 7am and since neither of us had ever been there before... we drove around like crazy trying to find a trail. After finally finding one we stop and get ready for our hike.


With cameras in hand we began...



It was an almost 2.5 mile hike and walk back to the car and I can't believe we did it!!! Seriously! I never work out. I never walk. I never get out of the house for goodness sakes. And here I am attempting a hike up a mountain. It took us a little over an hour to complete and we only stopped once! I can say that even though I got tired... I was surprised that I didn't almost collapse or finish extremely exhausted. We were hot and sweaty afterward... and a little out of breath... but all in all we both made it!



Here's some pictures to prove it:

This is the trail we decided to take. It's the first one we found. I am not sure if it's the hardest or longest or anything like that.

Our shadows as we begin or walk

This is where the rocky trail actually began. Sure it looks level and easy from here... but as we started walking and winding uphill... we thought to ourselves... Should we turn around? We decided to just keep going...

We saw a lot of cactus along the way... and only stopped briefly to take a pictures for fear that if we stopped too long our bodies would start to give out.

Here's Tiff stopping to take a picture of the beautiful view we had. Seriously it was pretty awesome!

Nearing the end of our hike I took this picture... you can't tell but we were pretty high up!

When we were all done, we stopped to rest on a table under a million trees. It was really pretty. We sat there and cooled off for a while before going home.

Here's one of the trees... there were sooooo many of them. I would love to go back and do a photoshoot there it was so pretty.

Tiffany all tuckered out...
And this is me sad that we had such an idea because I was so hot!

But we decided we're gonna hike at least twice a month. Anyone else know of any nice parks with some trails? Would be fun to try different places.

BBQ at Tiffany's House

So Sunday I was invited to my friend Tiffany's house for a little BBQ and some swimming. The kids of course were all over that idea. After using my new phone that has a GPS on it... I call her Beverly... so we don't get confused... I got there a little late.

See what had happened was... I can input the address of where I want to go and it picks up the location I am at and will tell me how to get there... direction for direction, turn for turn, and street by street. If you know me... you know I have to have EXACT directions on how to get somewhere. I ask Jr for directions to everywhere I go and he has to give me directions without getting on the freeways. I am afraid to drive on the freeway. The 101 N is a piece of cake... but the 10 is a little crazy... although if needed I would get on it. But the I-17 I WILL NOT drive on alone. I have traumatic memories from when I was pregnant with Diego and my mom used to take me to work with her in my 9th month. And EVERY morning we'd get almost killed... or so I say. But really it was bad.

Anywho I am off-track again.

So I input the address and off I go. Beverly telling me where I needed to go. So I am almost getting to her community and Beverly says... "Turn Left on West Crowne King Rd and then turn right"... so I turn left and proceed to make a quick right. Then Beverly says... "Go .4 miles and then turn right on INSERT NAME OF STREET HERE (cuz I don't really remember)" So I do as I am told... and all the while I am noticing that there are hardly any houses up yet. Very few... and some being built still. So I keep driving. And again I hear Beverly... "You are now off track" ... WHAT?! NO! So I start to pull over to the side. And she says, "Location not found" Nooooooo! You can't do this to me Beverly I yell!(Meanwhile Diego is worried in the backseat at his Mother yelling at her cell phone... you know he's only 5... he doesn't quite understand." Well luckily my new phone also gets my emails and Tiff had emailed me the directions to her house anyway but it was too much to read while trying to drive... so as I was about to close out Beverly and open up my email... she says, "Location Found. You are back on track. GPS signal was low. Turn left on Riverside Ave. and the location is on your Left." PHEW!!! So I got there! All in one piece.

It was quite the adventure though.

Here are some pics:

The Hostess with the Mostess!

Arielle and I getting ready to swim

Tired after a long swim in the HOT sun!

Diego and Alayna

Diego is such a GREAT big brother and is ALWAYS taking care of his little sisters. Here he is with Miss Arielle... the little Mermaid.

Tiffany had the cutest little decorations and signs in her backyard... and the brand new pool was so pretty!

Ahhh so refreshing!

My Crazy Alayna

These adorable pinwheels were lining the lawn area of her yard.

Before we left... Alayna took this picture of Tiff and her doggie Bruiser!

Thanks Tiff! The food was awesome. Those Kabobs were so freaking good. And the cookies were definately heaven! We had a great time.

Jenni's Baby Shower

On Sunday I went to my friend Jenni's Baby Shower. It was thrown by her sister and she did an amazing job! From the decor, to the food, to the fun... it was a beautiful party. And Jenni got a butt load of gifts! Little Tristan has everything he needs and wants already!

Of course I took my camera... and I took a few pictures (because I was busy with Arielle), but unfortunately never noticed that I had it in the wrong setting. Boo! My pictures don't look so nice so I had to edit them a little and I am still not at all satisfied with them. It makes me sad. But here they are:

They had a jungle theme since little Tristan's room will have the same theme. I personally love it because it was the same theme I was planning on having if Arielle had been a boy.

Such and awesome diaper cake! I love it.

We got to leave advice for Jenni and it was put into this cute leopard box!


We mingled for a while and then it was time to start opening presents. She had sooo many that they were opened in intervals, in between games and such.

What a cute idea to set her up a nice place to open gifts. I do this at my kids parties but it never turns out right.

What did I get her? Among some clothes... I decided to make her a scrapbook. It took me over a week to put it altogether. All she has to do now is fill it with pictures of Tristan! I loved making it for her and I hope she enjoys it. Plus all of the knotties sent me advice and well wishes for her which I included in the book.



Then it was on to some games...

Lisa and Chelz smelling dirty diapers! Don't worry it was just chocolate...


Lindsay's turn
It's hard to tell what chocolate they are... so they had to discuss their opinions.

Jenni taking a hard look at the diaper. Get used to it... some weird things come out of babies... I know this.

Lisa

And Tiffany won! Yeah!

I was almost kid free. My mom took Diego and Alayna to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda and I just had to worry about Arielle. She did so good! And even napped for a while.

Mommy and Arielle

Then it was time for cupcakes!

They even matched the theme complete with zebra striped liners.

Here's Jenni and her sister who hosted the shower.

And here are the knotties!

I can't believe how much we've gone through girls... engagements, wedding, and now babies! This is our 2nd baby shower together. (The first was mine for Arielle) And we'll probably have many more soon!

Rockstar Diva Birthday Party!

Cassidy the birthday girl!

On Monday afternoon, Alayna was invited to a birthday party for one of my friend's from theknot daughters. She turned 5 and had the cutest rockstar party ever! It was girls only, so Alayna and I attended while Jr and Diego spent some quality time together.

So what was on the itinerary? They got to do a craft, paint their nails and toes, get their hair done, and just be little divas for a few hours. They girls were truly adorable!

Of course I had to take a lot of pictures!

Here's Alayna making her flip flops that she got to take home with her. Such an easy project! We just tied the material around them and instant "cool shoes"!

Ta-da Mommy! All done and proud of her work!

The diva process begins... with the flip flops and a pink boa!

Little Kaylee (the daughter of another knottie)

Isn't she just the cutest little thing... flirting with my camera!

Oh look at the attitude... she kept saying "Don't touch my nails Mommy"

Next it was her turn to get her hair done.

It was so cute because all the girls got to pick what color they wanted to paint their hair... and they also got sprayed with glitter!

All done!

She wasn't mad... she was just getting tired so she looks like she was crying or something.

Now here she is getting her pedicure done. She was attracted to that bright blue color. She got it on her fingers and her toes. Kinda funny because usually she's a pink girl.

And fixing the nails she messed up!

Look at those adorable little piggies!

Blowing the nails to make sure they dried this time.

They took all the girls outside for a group photo! Don't they look so cute?

After everyone was all done... they ate cake and opened presents.

We had so much fun and Alayna enjoyed it so much! She's such a girly girl!