June 2015

We hit summer hard in June. So hard in fact that we had to take a break from excitement in July. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we'll save July for next month. I think I'll title it "July". As I was saying, "June" was a month crammed full of summer fun. We spent an epic day at Disney before our passes are blocked for the summer, I took a girls trip to LA, we went camping with the Thompsons and of course we went to the Del Mar Fair. See, I told you June was too hot to handle.

Disney

Now that we've been going to Disney on a regular basis, we totally have our routine down. We know which rides to hit up first, we know the best treats and where to get them and we know where to get the best seats for the parade. Does it sound like I'm bragging? Because I am. After hours of research, I call us experts. Here are our top picks for Disney, just so I never forget.

•Star Tours- this is a MUST for James. Fast pass required. 

•Little Mermaid- shortest lines and longest ride. We like this combo.

•The Disney Express-yep, you heard right. The train is the perfect break from walking around the park and the boys love it. We take it all around the park. It's kind of our new favorite.

•Wilderness Explorer Challenge Trail- a nice break from waiting in lines and gives the boys a chance to run around. 

•Favorite treats- Pooh's Corner. Cake pops are a must and so are the marshmallow pops.

•Mini Micky lollipops. Where Foster goes lollipops must follow. These are small and actually tasty so mom can have a lick!

•Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor- waffle cone with sprinkles, enough said. 

And it just so happens that snagging an outdoor table near the Gibson Girl is the best place to watch the afternoon parade. 

See, I told you we're experts! 

Girls Trip to LA

I went with Ani, Haley, Tess and Joe. Okay, so technically Joe is not a girl but he was invited because he's nice to have around and he was an excellent chauffeur. The occasion was Sonia's launch party for Losing the Plot in LA. A great book and a great gal. We spent most of the day at El Cayote which was the venue for the party. Lots of chips and salsa and diet coke! 

After a couple of hours, we needed to stretch our legs. So we took a walk and by divine intervention, we ran into heaven. For reals. I didn't know heaven was called MILK but it is and it is delicious. Macaroon ice cream sandwiches, homemade ice cream pops, cakes, custards...you get the idea. I can't wait to take Scott and the boys sometime. Because lucky for me, they are as obsessed with treats and I am. 

We finished the night at The Grove, meeting some friends for dinner after some much needed candy shopping. I swear I do more than eat sugar. I eat fat too.

On Sunday, we attended the Self Realization Center in Pacific Palisades before heading home. 

And in true Nielsen fashion, we talked about ice cream the entire way home while listening to the sound track of Harry  Potter. It was perfect.

Camping with the Thompsons

This was a BLAST. We seriously can't wait to do this again. It might have to be an annual thing. It felt so good to spend some quality time with friends around the campfire. And the kids loved it too. 

We camped at Dos Picos and although we only stayed one night we made the most of every minute. We grilled carne asada, ate s'mores by the fire, the kids watched a movie in the tent with stove popped popcorn and then we finished the night with some major raccoon watching. Meredith discovered, to her surprise, a raccoon was stealing their food. We got some flashlights and watched this guy down an entire sleeve of Ritz Crackers. The true wilderness experience. 

The next morning we made pancakes and went on a walk. The kids played at the park and then we packed up and went home. The only thing wrong with this camping trip was it was much too short! 

Del Mar Fair

So Us Olsons are huge Del Mar Fair fans. We go multiple times every year and look forward to it all summer. This year the fair did not deliver on our expectations. For some reason the food we ALWAYS get was gross. The animals we ALWAYS see weren't there and the crowds that are ALWAYS there ...were there. But the one thing that did not disappoint were our children's reactions to the kiddie rides. They had so much fun, especially James. By the end of the night, he was going on all the rides himself without a second thought! So despite some fair disappointments, we still left with big smiles and no money! 

Honorable mentions:

• We took the boys to see Inside Out and discovered that we can actually take our boys to see movies now! They both loved the movie and Foster is now obsessed with Bing Bong. 

 •This next piece of news is a dishonorable mention. Scott after taking all of the antibiotics to get rid of the parasites is feeling much worse. We're hoping he will start feeling some relief soon but so far 👎.

•Another dishonorable mention, my dad got shingles. He hasn't quite recovered yet and is in quite a lot of pain. Another 👎.

• But to end on a positive note, despite all the ailments we are all happy which is the most important thing of all. Except Foster, who is 2 and taking it out on all of us. 👎😜. I like emojis.