Highlights of the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson, MO

This post is sponsored by US Family Guide. As always all opinions are my own.

We had such a great time in Branson last week! The last time Brian and I went was in 2008 before we were even married and we only went into Silver Dollar City. This visit was extra special since we went as a complete family of six!

Special passes to Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson

You can't miss the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center in Branson. Yes, it's the building on Highway 76 being climbed by a giant Great Ape! 

Summer Salsa // flavors of the season {family recipe}

This fresh, garden salsa is a family favorite. I've already made it twice in June. My Gramma was inspired by my Papa's overactive tomato garden and an obliging pantry. Bonus points for this being a low waste recipe, for those of you who are into that kind of thing🙂

Park People // Our Favorite Local Playgrounds {California Moms blog hop}

I don't want to brag but we've got some awesome parks at our disposal. Living in Central California affords us plenty of outside play time since we usually have mild weather most of the year. Basically our house is centrally located to all these park locations so if it was a map it would look like a circle with radiating lines (a sun or a bike spoke are my favorite analogies.) This was my most anticipated prompt for California Moms so without further ado, our favorite playgrounds!

Our Park//

I grew up playing at this park so it holds a very special place in my heart. It has gone through a few changes since I was a kid (like having no swings, wahhh!) but it's still my favorite park. It has two separate play areas; the bottom and bigger kid play area has sand and the top smaller kid play area has fibar. This is also the site of like 40% of my Instagram feed ;)

Two Red Parks//

This playground is about 15 minutes away from our house and nestled in a military housing tract. Its almost always empty so we get the run to ourselves.

This has two play structures the smaller one for younger patrons, a climbing wall, swings,  a variety of slides and a fireman pole.

Little Blue Park//

This is the cousin to Two Red Parks and just down the street in the same military housing neighborhood. Its tucked between two houses and enclosed so it feels safer and more intimate. 

Pickle Park//

This is right by Kinsey's school and another old haunt of mine and Brian (who grew up just down the street!) It's also where we all got puppy fever (Floyd is the park mascot and the sweetest Corgi ever) circa 2014. These are old school pictures from Kinsey's little days and a little Brielana.

Deer Flats Park//

This is up the street from Pickle Park. It has a huge green space for t-ball, a small basketball court, monkey bars and swings. Apparently I don't have any recent pictures of this park (and of course, we have plans to meet friends here on Friday, haha- isn't that always the way?!)

And that's a tour of our favorite local parks! Happy playing!

And check out these other California Mom Bloggers to see their favorite local parks! 

Jenny at Princess Turned Mom

Justine at Little Dove Blog

Sarah at Foxy's Domestic Side

Linking up here.

   

   

The Grass // Our favorite spot {California Moms blog hop}

When Justine first brought up the idea for a California Moms blog hop I instantly fell in love with the idea; I am a born and raised native Californian and even though there are some issues in this beautiful state, I still lovingly call it home. Plus any chance to connect with other bloggers is always a good thing (especially when that already includes some of your favorite blog buddies!) For this blog hop we are each sharing a secret spot in our hometown and mine is The Grass.

A lil Kinsey, be still my heart

Now, that isn't it's official name. Actually, I don't know if it even has an official name. The patch of grass I'm referring to is located in Pacific Grove about a mile or two down the Coast from Lover's Point Beach and overlooks the Recreation Trail right into the Pacific Ocean. It can't be but a 1/4 the size of a football field but the grass is always green and there is a tall, ancient Cypress giving shade on hot days.

That view

Family of 3

I have been going to The Grass since I was a little girl with my mom and extended family. And when Brian and I first started dating we would come here to picnic (with a turkey and salami, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and mayo and mustard on a french roll, two bags of chips and two tall cans of Arizona tea from either Troia's or Bi-rite Market in tow.) And now our girls have both played and picnicked here too!

And an even lil'er Brielana! She was less than a month old when we went for a picnic (not that you can see where we are!) And I get giddy just thinking about bringing our third little nugget here!

It is a spot very near and dear to my heart and I'm not the only one who adores it. It has been the site of many local weddings too! I wish I had more recent pictures but the rain has been ridiculous rendering a fun picnic impossible. 

And check out these other California Mom Bloggers to see their favorite CA spot! 

Bethany at House of Mitchells

Elizabeth at Chasin' Mason

Jenny at Princess Turned Mom

Justine at Little Dove

Sarah at Foxy's Domestic Side

Tiffany at  Tiffany Ching Bean

Linking up here.

   

   

The Big Patch 2016

It isn't fall if we don't visit the big pumpkin patch with my In Laws! This marks our fourth year going and I always look forward to the trip.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was out but it was cool and I was thankful for my scarf. Brielana's orange polka dot top from last year's visit still had some life left in it and Kinsey had these orange leggings, so coordinating outfits happened again; made my mama heart proud ;)

There were so many varieties of pumpkins and gourds! I love seeing all the color variations, textures and shapes! Forgive my many close ups.

Brielana again bonded with the little patty pans and I picked up a few white ones. Kinsey went for a big one and as we were leaving, Brian realized he didn't get any! Haha. Maybe I'll share.

This Farm also has pheasants and turkeys so its fun to walk through the "aviary" but getting pictures was a no-go as the cages were double lined with chicken wire. But those tail feathers are gorgeous!

We also partaked (partook?) in a little corn maze fun. And by little, I mean short :( Due to lack of rain corn just didn't grow well this year. But it was still fun! And I guess when you're under 3 feet everything seems tall anyway. 

When we had had our fill of wandering the stalks we went over to my In Laws house to carve. Kinsey requested a "happy face with teeth" and helped clean out her pumpkin by touching one seed, haha. I'm a seed roasting fanatic so I made sure everyone put their seeds (all gut-free) in a bowl and then I knocked over the bowl into the dirt. Just shoot me. So I ended up sifting seeds and dirt for what felt like forever before they were deemed clean enough to eat. And then after all that I ended up burning them. Not my year for seeds, I suppose.

It was such a great day! And now we have one more patch to go to- a field trip with Kinsey's class that I get to chaperone(!!!) and we're all set for Halloween!

Checked off another item from the Fall Fun list:

mug exchange//anniversary//hayride//photo challenge

Linking up with Jamie, Courtney, Elizabeth and Joni.