Perfect Summer Ending

The Casillas Family spent a fabulous weekend in San Diego, California for our final farewell to summer vacation! The trip started out at Sea World on Thursday. The kids got to pet and feed the dolphins. I was so proud of both of them. Not only did they touch the dolphin but they both put slimy fish in the dolphin's mouth. Gianni fed the dolphin three times. Carmen did it once and then that was enough for her. Carmen loved touching the starfish but was a little scared of the bat rays. Carmen's saying the entire time was "I want to see something else!" Carmen would look at a tank and would be ready to move on to the next thing. Gianni is my kid that analyzes everything so he would want to spend all kinds of time reading about the creature and observing it while his sister would look for two seconds. They are very different children.

One thing that the two Casillas kiddos do have in common is their love for the beach. They both could run in and out of the water, be hit by the waves, and dig in the sand for hours....and they did! The next day we went out to Coronado Beach. The kids had so much fun and we built our family sand castle that was pictured above. Hopefully you can see that it is shaped like a "C". Gianni found shells with animals still inside while Carmen ran in and out of the water believing that the water was chasing her and only her. We were there for four hours and by the end of the day they were wiped out.

Earlier that Friday morning the sun was actually hiding so before we headed out to the beach we hit Balboa Park and walked around the Old Cactus Garden, attended a puppet show at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, and also visited the Model Railroad Museum. The puppet show was a little scary at first but they warmed up to it quickly. They both thought that the Railroad Museum was super cool and I know my dad would have enjoyed it. The really did love Balboa Park and if we had more time (and money) we would have also entered the Automobile Museum, Natural History Museum, and Science Center. Oh well! We will save those for another trip when the kids are a bit older.

OK, so it is time for a funny story! After a jam packed day on Friday that started with Balboa Park, the Railroad Museum, the Puppet Theater, a 4 hour trip to the beach, and I forgot to mention a swim in the hotel pool at our hotel on Coronado, it was about 6:30pm and we were exhausted and HUNGRY! Both of my kids had red eyes from the beach and hotel pool and everyone was just ready to eat and pass out. So, I decided that I wanted a thin crust pizza and salad for dinner. I turned to the phone book and found a Greek restaurant that had both. Being that Coronado is pretty small it was just down the street. When we arrived I was a little surprised to see that it was a liquor store with food being served at a few tables in the front. Liquor store, no way are my kids eating in a liquor store. So, back in the car we are driving around and are seeing restaurants with crowds of people outside. Don't forget it is Friday night around 7pm! So, we go back to the "liquor store pizza joint" where I order food to take back to the hotel. Don't call me in to CPS mom....we didn't eat there! HA HA. Anyway, I was not paying attention because I was so hungry and tired and when I ordered I said "please give me your largest cheese pizza and a Greek salad to go!" I guess I should have looked at the menu because the place serves a 28 inch thin crust pizza. This thing was so big that it didn't really even fit in the car. Here is a picture of the kids laying next to it on the hotel bed. This thing was huge!

The hotel at Coronado was perfect. We all got a great night sleep. The kids were in a separate living room on a pull out and Abel and I had a master bedroom. We put on a DVD for them in the living room area while we watched TV and in a matter of minutes they both were asleep.

The next morning was Saturday and the hotel had an amazing and FREE breakfast with eggs, bacon, all kinds of amazing fresh fruit, coffee, juice, and any kind of pastry you could want. We decided to take advantage of the weather one more time and we hit a local Coronado community park. Gianni said, "mommy..can we move to San Diego? I just love it here."

After the park we headed for El Centro for a visit with Abel's family. Our little niece Destiny was turning two so we were there with them on Saturday night for her birthday party. Tonight is Sunday and we are home, unpacked, and exhausted. Everyone is asleep and I am about to join them. We have one more week of fun before mommy goes back to work. I am going in August 2nd and I start with students August 9th and Gianni starts Kindergarten that day as well.

This trip was perfect! It is so nice now that they are getting older. I didn't have to bring a pack and play for Carmen, no diapers (ps..she goes #1 and #2 all by herself now and has had no accidents in weeks), and she could skip a nap and be totally fine. This summer has been the first time we have traveled with such little stress and preparation. Although we had a busy and eventful summer, I know that it is one that the kids will truly remember.

Art Studio by Carmen

Carmen is drawing bodies with faces all by herself with no assistance or prompting! I am so proud of her. Gianni didn't draw anything like this until he was four years old. Save these pictures because she may be famous one day. Abel is not too happy with his being wider than all the rest! HAHA!

Look who stopped by

The PE girls and Holly had a "ladies breakfast" today at the Casillas house. It was so nice to get together with the best PE teachers at Wigwam Creek. We are so sad to see Burgard go and she will be forever missed. These wonderful teachers make the 8th grade team smile and

laugh and not having them together on campus will be hard for us but even

harder for them! They are sisters.

Mrs. Revord's crew is moving up to kindergarten in a few weeks. Ahh the good old days of crafts, snacks, and friends will soon be back in full force. School starts August 9th.

Smiling girls!


Sydney getting some sun!

Churros!!

Every afternoon around 2pm, Gianni will look at me with those beautiful brown eyes and will say, "Mommy, Carmen is asleep so can we have our special time together and watch cooking?" Gianni and I watch the food network together almost daily! He knows Giada (his favorite) and can tell me the names of Paula Deen, the Barefoot Contessa, the Neely's, and of course my favorite....Mr. Bobbly Flay! He asked me today..."mommy why does Giada use olive oil in like everything?"

The other day we were watching Paula Deen who was making Sweet Potato Donuts. He quickly turned to me and said, "mommy you need to write this one down!" At the very end of the recipe Paula dropped her donuts into a deep fryer and my son began to cry. I said, "Gianni what's wrong?" Gianni was crying because mommy doesn't have a deep fryer and he really wanted to make the donuts. That is the second recipe that I have said "no" to due to the deep frying. Although we could fry in a pot on the stove...I do not even have an appropriate thermometer.

So, tonight we borrowed a fryer from our friend Adam and did a Giada recipe for Mexican Churros! Funny that the Italian Giada did churros but Gianni was so excited. The recipe for the Cinnamon-Espresso Churros is under my recipe section on the right side of the page if you want to try it. Mommy improvised! As much as I love to cook...I do not have much equipment. I do not have a hands free mixer, my pans are horrible, and my cookie sheets are yucky.

Despite the lack of equipment and sometimes ingredients, Gianni does not care. He just loves to cook with me. If I hold up herbs he can spot cilantro, parsley, chives, basil, and he always says, "mommy....not more garlic!" Maybe one day he will be on the food network! I would love to cook professionally but deep down I know that I really know nothing. There is so much that I need to learn and experience. It would take lots of reading and training, school, and most of all time. Gianni is way ahead of me when I was his age. If it becomes a passion then great but if not....no big deal!


I also want to share some pictures of the 4th of July in Niagara Falls. My Uncle Mike put on the best (illegal) show ever with a cameo appearance from the local sheriff. The kids loved it! It was better than a professional show! It was so nice to not have to wait around, claim a spot, or be in a crowd. Just the other day Gianni said, "when are we going back to uncle mike's house?" He had so much fun.




Our 4th of July began that day with a trip to Fort Niagara which is .5 miles from my parents place. Carmen did miss out on this one, but Gianni loved to see the old soldiers dressed up and acting out the French and Indian Battle. He kept asking me which team we wanted and who I thought would win. I tried to explain that the French were going to lose because that is really what happened. He just wasn't getting it! Then he said some of the most intelligent things followed up with one final question, "mommy, if this is how people used to look, and live, and dress, and we were not here, then who was like the first baby here on Earth?" Ummmm, well..... who asks that at 5?

He really enjoyed walking through the castle and observing where they cooked, ate, and slept. The cannon was the best of course!

Ok, where is Carmen in all of this???Exhausted! She ran and played so hard in NY that she fell asleep on flight number two! Dora headphones on listening to music and all!

Thanks Nonna & Papa

This blog tonight is for my mom and dad. This week has been filled with amazing opportunities and experiences for my children and these things would not be possible had my parents not opened up their home to us (ok, and their pocket books!). We are so grateful! My parents were worried about us all fitting in the little 950 square foot condo but we all adjusted just fine. We did have one problem arise. Carmen went to the hospital this week (umm hello....can we get an urgent care in western NY?) Her antibiotics for Strep throat, which she tested positive for on the day we left were not working. She was put on some really strong stuff that seems to be doing the trick. Unfortunately, my parents opened up their home to us but also took the chance of exposing themselves to my germ filled kids...so guess what...the Nonna is sick. Really sick! Despite all of the illnesses with Carmen and Nonna (and Daddy and Mommy a little bit) and Gianni being a little homesick missing his friends, we are having a blast. Take a look at all the amazing things we have experienced this week!

One of our days consisted of a trip to an indoor water park in Canada. This place was cool. Mommy and Gianni rode the water slides in a double tube. One of the slides was a big toilet bowl! You go round and round until it sucks you down the drain. We were there for six hours when this day came to an end because Gianni slipped and got a bloody nose that wouldn't stop. I will be waiting for the first aid department to send me a bill for

the towels they used to stop the mega-bleed.

A trip home would not be a trip home if we didn't do the typical tourist thing and visit Niagara Falls. We took a walk down by the falls and rode on the Maid of the Mist. Gianni thought it was so cool that we could get so close to the falls while on the boat. Carmen just wore the rain jacket and hung on to Daddy. She did ok though!

One evening we went to the country club for dinner. The food there is absolutely delicious and the kids got to ride in Papa's golf cart which they thought was super FUN!

African Lion Safari was worth the hour and a half drive to Hamilton Ontario in Canada. The kids got to see all kinds of wild animals, they played in the water park, and they rode an elephant whose name just happened to be Jenny. Abel told me I had to put it on the blog so that we could say we rode Jenni!!!

One of the highlights for me is the Brown's Berry Patch. This place is small but loaded with things to do. First the kids picked fresh blueberries, raspberries and cherries. I think they ate more fruit right off the vine than they actually picked! They also have a barnyard with animals, climbers, water play, bikes, big tires, and this cool bounce thing. It is kind of like a balloon attached to the ground. We stayed for at least 4 hours and the kids could have stayed longer.

They like the farm life!

Our longest little day trip was down to Corning, NY about 3 hours away to see my dear old friend Jamie (Gianni's Godmother) and her son Brandon. I had been looking forward to this trip because Jamie had never met Carmen and I had never met Brandon. Plus, it was just good to connect with my friend again. It was so worth the drive and I am so glad we got a chance to hang out. Brandon is beautiful, intelligent, and man does he love the camera! He and Gianni got along great. Gianni has been missing his friends at home lately so this was perfect.

Jamie, it was so great to see you and Brandon. I love you!

Thank you to Nonna and Papa for helping make this trip so wonderful.

We are so lucky to have you in our lives.

To our AZ friends: Gianni is having a blast all day, but at night he misses his bed, his room, and most of all his friends. Hope to see you all (Sydney, Kyan, Lola, Steven, and Daniel)

later next week.