RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENTS BUILT TO AMAZE!

The Ringling Bros. are coming to town! We went to the show last year and had an absolute blast! They keep the show fresh and new every year with a different theme. This year is Built to Amaze. I am intrigued. ;)

Andre McClain, Ringmaster and America’s favorite cowboy takes the Ringling Bros. reins and
accompanied by his horse Comanche, leads his Built To Amaze! funny and mischievous super circus
supervisors, to construct The Greatest Show On Earth. A fantastic design with more than 110 of the
world’s best performers representing 17 countries along with 95 exotic and domestic animals will be
assembled, creating never-before-seen heart pounding performances.


Here's the show schedule & details:

Wednesday, July 10 – Tuesday, July 16
STAPLES Center, Downtown Los Angeles (1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90015)
**All shows include All Access Pre-Show experience
Ticket prices range from $26, $30, $45-$50 (VIP), $70-$80 (Front Row) and $100-$120 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at AXS.com, charge by phone at 888-9AXS-TIX or in-person at the
venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.


Friday, July 19 – Tuesday, July 23
Citizens Business Bank Arena (4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764)
Ticket prices range from $20, $26, $42 (VIP), $70 (Front Row) and $100 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at AXS.com or CBBankArena.com, charge by phone at 888-9AXS-TIX or in-person at the venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.


Friday, July 26 – Sunday, August 4
Honda Center (2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806)
Ticket prices range from $20, $26, $42 (VIP), $70 (Front Row) and $100 (Circus Celebrity)
Opening Night tickets are only $12 each (not valid for VIP or premium seating)
Tickets available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com or HondaCenter.com, charge by phone at
800-745-3000 or in-person at the venue Box Office.
*tickets may be subject to service charges, facility and handling fees.

If you can make it to the pre-show festivities, here's what you can look forward to:
Built To Amaze! opens with the All-Access Pre-show where everyone is invited to join the fun and meet the Built To Amaze! international cast of performers as they prepare for the show. The Ringling Girls and Barnum Boys encourage kids to participate in a tug-of- war and kick off what will soon become an epic battle of girl power versus boy power in Built To Amaze! Audiences also can pick up some hip dance moves during the dance party, try on custom designed costumes, learn circus skills like juggling from the famous Ringling Bros. Clown Alley and even have the opportunity to witness and win a one of a kind masterpiece created by Asia, Ringling Bros. very own painting pachyderm!

We'll be at the Honda Center on July 26th for the show. Hope to see you there!

Camping

Camping is not my thing, or at least I didn’t think so. But Hubby loves it and has been talking about taking Will since he’s the ripe old age of 3 and would probably love it, too. So I scoured the internet for some of the beginner’s supplies.

I ended up at good ol’ Target getting these little camping nuggets of joy:
Coleman Ara 6-Person Tent – $69.00 (Originally $100.99 but I found a 15% off promo code + 5% discount for using my Target Debit Card. WOOT!)
Coleman Palmetto Cool Weather Sleeping Bags (2) – $28.21 each
Kids Embark Sleeping Bag (1) – $16.99

Just under $125 out the door. Not too bad for beginners! It was a good deal and doubled as Hubby’s birthday present (yes, this is a post I’ve been meaning to do since the end of July… Don’t judge. Ok. Judge away…). Our community was hosting a Campout at a local park, so we thought this would be a great introduction into camping for our little wilderness man (and his not-so-wilderness-y Mom). This event was awesome and couldn’t have been more perfect!

We arrived ready to work… Slurpees in-hand.

Our tent went up pretty easily, considering it was fresh out of the box. Hubby is an experienced camper, so my helping was less than helpful, at least for this first time around.


There were some parents that probably needed to go to marriage counseling afterwards, including one family that blew up an air mattress in a too-small-for-it tent. And yes, I walked by nonchalantly several times to see that they are actually continuing to blow that thing up in there. Hilarious.

They had tons of activities for everyone. We played catch with those Velcro paddle thingys:

Made lots of friends with all of the kids:

Will hopped along in his very first Potato Sack Race:



And a 3 Legged Race

Our small entrance fee included food for dinner

We ate lots of pizza, veggies, fruit, chips, and a soda to drink. mmmm…Cheetos.

When the sun went down, they busted out the bonfire pits and we sang campfire songs & roasted marshmallows. You know, all of the obligatory camping fare.

We brought our own s’mores supplies, so we got to have more than just the one ooey gooey marshmallow. 

A little self portrait to prove I was there, too. Will is listening intently as one of the community leaders tells a spooky campfire story.

And then it was nighty night. After a very busy day, he was out like a light. #TheBestKindofDays
We slept like logs and were up pretty early. I’m finding out that that’s the case when you’re camping.

We are definitely looking forward to doing it next summer. If you’re in the south Orange County area, you should check it out, too! This little experience sparked a camping bug in our family. We love it! And surprisingly, I love it! This city gal loves the outdoors. Who knew?!

Do you have any favorite camping recipes or activities? I’d love to hear them because we’re getting ready to go camping again, and this time it’s more than just one night! Woohoo!

Ringling Bros–MOM Discount!

We love a good deal as much as the next gal, so here’s one for you!

Here’s the meat:
Regular Ticket Prices:
$20 • $26 • $42 VIP • $70 Front Row
$100 Circus Celebrity
Additional fees may apply.
Redeem your savings online at www.Ticketmaster.com/momoffer
or by phone at 1-800-745-3000
Use code: MOM

Here are the show dates again:
Wednesday, July 11 – Tuesday, July 17
STAPLES Center, Downtown Los Angeles (1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90015)
**All shows include All Access Pre-Show experience
Wednesday, July 11 7:30 PM
Thursday, July 12 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Friday, July 13 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 14 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 15 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Monday, July 16 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 17 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM

Friday, July 20 – Tuesday, July 24
Citizens Business Bank Arena (4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764)
**All shows include Animal Open House and All Access Pre-Show experience
Friday, July 20 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 21 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 22 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Monday, July 23 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 24 7:30 PM

Friday, July 27 – Sunday, August 5
Honda Center (2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806)
**All shows include Animal Open House and All Access Pre-Show experience
Friday, July 27 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 28 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 29 1:30 PM & 5:30 PM
Wednesday, August 1 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 2 10:30 AM & 7:30 PM
Friday, August 3 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 4 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 5 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM

Take your family of 4 to the circus for $60! That’s a crazy deal! Don’t mind if I do!

Caspers Wilderness Park–Campfire Program

It was a Saturday evening in early July, and Hubby says “Let’s do something summery tonight”. Hmm… what does that mean? I throw a couple of ideas out there, but nothing sticks. I hopped online and cruised around looking for a movie in the park (some of our local parks show a movie at dusk in the park on a big projector screen. Just bring your snacks, blankets, and bodies!). Finally, I checked out just-spotted.com’s tried and true list of fun stuff to do. I saw “Caspers Campfire Program, 8pm” towards the bottom. Huh? What’s that?

First of all, I’ve been to Caspers Park before, and it’s gorgeous. We got there at around 7pm and just soaked in this view as the sun set.

After a Google search, I found this description on the ocparks.com website:
Campfire Program
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm
EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT! Come join the Park Ranger for an hour of fun and learning about Caspers Wilderness Park. Our Campfire program may include a slide presentation, wilderness safety, games and activities for children, animal adaptations, skins and skulls, a live animal demonstration and a chance to visit the Nature Center. Topics may vary weekly. Camping not necessary, day use fee applies.
Event Fee: Free
Parking Fee: $5 per vehicle
Age: All ages
Caspers Wilderness Park
33401 Ortega Hwy.( P. O. Box 395)
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949)923-2210 or (949)923-2207

Hubby and Will are on this major camping/wilderness kick. May-jah. So much so that we bought a tent and sleeping bags because we are going camping. I thought this would be a fun introduction for Will. I love it when I’m right…

It costs $5 for parking, and that’s it. We had Ranger Mike that night to light the fire (it’s gas…), and then scoop out a little lizard that was hiding in the rocks that almost got charred. Ranger Mike to the rescue!

After listening to a little “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” that Ranger Mike played as he set up, and wandering around the grounds for a bit since we were a bit early, it was show time. We learned all about the different wildlife that live in this wilderness park, and how they adapted to the environment… Enter Will as a volunteer:


Will, how do you adapt to a rainforest environment?

He even got an OCParks wristband for being such a good volunteer! HA! This kid is too stinkin’ funny.

They have a ton of animals living in this park. Lizards, rabbits, deer, mountain lions, bobcats, raccoons, snakes, tons of birds and bugs, and owls, just to name a few. We learned all about each animal and even got to see some parts, like this owl wing:
Owls are stealthy fliers because their feathers are super soft. It was pretty cool to fan this wing and hear nothing. Ranger Mike also passed around a talon and head from an owl. I’m not a toucher of dead animals unless I’m about 2 seconds away from cooking them, but apparently my son is…

We finished the night off with Ranger Mike telling us about his brush with death after being stalked in the dark, by an animal… Misery loves company, because Ranger Mike tried to sneak this on us:
Do you see it?

Don’t worry, it’s just the head.

It was a really fun evening. Will conked out after about 2 minutes in the car on the ride home. We will definitely be back to go camping at this park very soon. $20 per night for your camping area is a heck of a deal, especially when it’s 20 minutes from our house. And even better that you can have your own campfire at your site! mmmm… smores here I come! Oh, and did I mention that not only will this be Will’s 1st time sleeping in a tent, but it will also be mine! I’ve only ever camped in a camper or a cabin… ever.

With my outdoorsy boys, I’ve got some learnin’ to do! Any advice for this newbie?!

Definitely check out the Campfire Program if you have a Saturday night to spare. I didn’t ask Ranger Mike if we could use the fire to make smores… I’ll definitely ask next time!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town! We've got our tickets! It's been on our Summer To Do list, and we can't wait to take Will to his first circus extravaganza!

Here's the show schedule:

Wednesday, July 11 – Tuesday, July 17

STAPLES Center, Downtown Los Angeles (1111 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90015)
**All shows include All Access Pre-Show experience
Wednesday, July 11 7:30 PM
Thursday, July 12 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Friday, July 13 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 14 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 15 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Monday, July 16 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 17 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM


Friday, July 20 – Tuesday, July 24
Citizens Business Bank Arena (4000 Ontario Center Parkway, Ontario, CA 91764)
**All shows include Animal Open House and All Access Pre-Show experience
Friday, July 20 7:30 PM

Saturday, July 21 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 22 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Monday, July 23 12:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Tuesday, July 24 7:30 PM


Friday, July 27 – Sunday, August 5
Honda Center (2695 E. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806)
**All shows include Animal Open House and All Access Pre-Show experience
Friday, July 27 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 28 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 29 1:30 PM & 5:30 PM
Wednesday, August 1 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Thursday, August 2 10:30 AM & 7:30 PM
Friday, August 3 1:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 4 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 5 11:30 AM, 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM

We'll be at the Honda Center on Friday, July 27th at 7:30pm! Come on down and see it with us! We're definitely doing the meet & greet 90 minutes before the show where we can get up close and personal with the animals. I think we'll all be talking about this family outing weeks after we go!

If you don't live in the Orange County/Inland Empire/Los Angeles are, you can go HERE to check our tour dates for your area.

Recipe: Tyler Florence Rub

I’ve mentioned this rub recipe a few times, so it’s time that I just flat out post it, and maybe I’ve tweaked it a little since then… Hey! It’s what I do! I first used this rub as Tyler Florence suggests, to make pulled pork. We are pork lovin’ people over here, so it was a no brainer. Then I used it on a roasted chicken. It’s just so dang good!

Here you go!

Recipe: Tyler Florence’s Rub with a Heather Twist

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 2 to 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• Scant 1 tablespoon cayenne
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey (or 1 tablespoon agave)

Place the salt, pepper, brown sugar, paprika, thyme leaves, garlic, vinegar, and cayenne in a food processor (or blender, like me!) and pulse until well combined. Add extra-virgin olive oil and honey until you have a nice paste. Rub all over your meat of choice, being sure to get into the nooks so the salt can penetrate the meat and pull out the moisture - this will help form a crust on the outside when cooked. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

The recipe for the cole slaw dressing on this same recipe link is also a favorite in our house.
We are definitely meat and potatoes (and salads) kind of folk!

I have found that this is enough for two meats. I make the whole batch and split it. I use half now for what ever chicken or meat, and then freeze the other half in a Ziploc bag for later. It’s a great throw-everything-in-at-once recipe to make while your meat is brining or coming to room temperature. Definitely perfect for summer grillin’ and chillin’! A little heat with a little sweet. Really? You can’t go wrong! Yum!

Do you have a favorite go-to that spices up your meals?

Recipe: Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I always get these crazy ideas at 3:30pm when I think I have more than enough time to do said task, but then I don’t read through the recipe to see how long it actually takes, so I don’t have enough time… because it needs to cool overnight, or something. So it was Father’s Day, our milk was about to go bad, so I thought, I’ll make some ice cream! And then I found this Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe, that I had to tweak… and it manages to be lower in calories because I used 2% milk instead of whole milk + heavy cream. Major bonus points for that happy accident!

Low-Cal Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Servings: about 14 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:
4 2/3 cups 2% milk
1 whole vanilla bean (about 6” long)
3 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used a tad under 1 tsp. I feel like in ice cream, the flavor and chemically taste gets amplified…take it easy on the extract)

Pour milk in medium saucepan. Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean in half length-wise. Use the blunt edge of the knife to scrape out the seeds. Stir the seeds and bean pod into the milk. Bring mixture to a slow boil over medium heat, reduce the head to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl. Use hand mixer on medium speed to beat until the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow – about 2 minutes.

Remove vanilla bean pod from the milk and discard. Measure 1 cup of the hot milk liquid. With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot milk to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vanilla extract, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on to the mixture, and chill completely. Mine was a little lumpy looking at this point, and I was getting worried. I left mine in the fridge overnight and once I put it in the ice cream machine, it was smooth.

Pour the chilled mixture into the freezer bowl, turn the ice cream machine on, and let it mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. If you want it firmer, transfer to an airtight container, and freeze for 2+ hours.

For extra fun, I picked up some cookie dough and decided to make ice cream sandwiches using my fancy vanilla bean ice cream.

I bought extra large cookies, but didn’t want extra large ice cream sandwiches, so… I cut them:

Half an hour later, my cookies are ready and my ice cream is thoroughly frozen.
YUM!

Cookies! Assemble!

A lovely little ice cream sandwich for around 300 calories!
Two cookies = 170 calories
The ice cream using heavy cream and whole milk was 257 calories per serving. Pretty sure we knocked that at least in half by using 2% milk. And it’s just as tasty and creamy!

I don’t think this dude cares about the caloric intake… but I think he approves:

Nothing says SUMMER like shirtless ice cream sandwich eatin’!

I made Blueberry Ice Cream last summer, and I think I’m going to make it again for some ice cream sammies with sugar cookies. How good does that sound?!

Are you a homemade ice cream maker? What are some of your favorite flavor combos? I think we’re going to get crazy this summer with the ice cream maker. I’m feelin’ some chocolate banana…

List o’ Summer Fun

The Summer bucket list.  I saw these posted everywhere last year, but last year it didn’t really make a difference to us.  Neither of the boys were in school so “Summer Vacation” didn’t exist, a mom’s job is a full time job, and Sonny hadn’t acquired vacation days yet, so a summer bucket list was kind of like an everyday bucket list.  But THIS year, we actually have a summer vacation, and both the boys will be in school at least 2 days a week next year, so I found this list to be essential!

The best part was Hunter actually understood the concept and contributed a few of his own “to-do’s” to the list.  You can see 2 that I marked here:

Yup.  He wants colored balloons and to be quiet.  I highly endorse the latter.  I’m still not positive if he wants to play with colored balloons, or to color on balloons…..it was a long discussion and I thought that coloring balloons might be more fun.  I also added a few of my own wants…like going to sushi, switching out the couches, making bedroom curtains, and painting the family room.  What…? That’s my idea of a good time.

This little list is sitting right in our entry/dining room so whenever we want to do something or plan something we can easily find it.  I’m going to fit it a little better to this frame (and if my original plan panned out I would have done this on a spare canvas…but could not find said canvas), and I took the glass off so we can easily cross out what we have accomplished.  I was so excited to get started on our list…that we actually spontaneously accomplished one today!  After we went on a joyous walk around the hood….I thought…hey our grass is looking dry…why not have the boys run through the sprinklers?  check.

And I sort of wish “Flash the Neighbors” was put on the list…because that one would have been crossed off too.

One for me is learn to up my photography skills….like…getting the kids in focus.  HAHA!  Does anyone else have some fun things on their summer fun list they want to share?  A lot of mine can be crossed off in one fell swoop (have a campout, roast marshmallows, make s’mores, stargaze) so I’m sure that we will be looking for more ideas!