Category Archives: Arts

Spring Break Staycation in a New Home

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Carrie

In 2024, we spent Spring Break in Colorado at our brand new house! For the past two years, we flew to tropical destinations (Maui and Cabo), but this year we decided to get to know our soon-to-be new home sweet home, even though the weather in Colorado was still cold. I flew out to Colorado a week before Dan and the kids did to work on getting the new house set up a little bit. When they arrived, I took a week off from work and we spent it exploring Castle Rock and the surrounding area. Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Hiking, Holidays, Home, Sightseeing, Skiing, Travel | Tagged Border Burger Bar, Castle Rock, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Convergence Station, DEN, Denver, DIA, Douglas County Libraries, East Plum Creek, Easter, Epic Mountain Gear, Epic SchoolKids, Festival Park, Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, LGB, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Meow Wolf, Paco Sánchez Park, Patsy's Candy & Gift Shop, Philip S. Miller Park, Rock Park, skiing, Spring Break, The Philip & Jerry Miller Library | Leave a comment

Last Cali Christmas

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Carrie

We spent our last California Christmas (more on that later) decorating, attending holiday parties and events, seeing holiday-themed musicals, celebrating mass, and eagerly anticipating Santa and presents. In past years, I felt pressure to attend all the events and do all the things, but this year, I didn’t. Maybe we’ve done it all already in SoCal. Or maybe I’m just tired of all the crowds, traffic, and high expenses associated with doing it all. Either way, this holiday season seemed slightly slower, yet still just as fun. Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Holidays | Tagged A Charlie Brown Christmas, angel, Baker Ranch, Candlelight Walk, caroling, Chrismtas, Christmas Eve, Christmas lights, Girl Scouts, Heritage Hill Historical Park, Hilton, LA Artboretum, Lightscape, Manassero Farms, Noel Night, Santa, Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church, Segerstrom Center, St. George's Episcopal Mission, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Phantom Projects Theater, The Waterfront Beach Resort | Leave a comment

2023 Spring Birthday Blog

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Carrie

We recently concluded our 5-week birthday run for four out of six of the people in our family. Vivian’s birthday is first, followed exactly one week later by William’s, followed exactly four weeks later by Lillian’s (all on Thursdays this year). Dan’s birthday is squeezed in between William’s and Lillian’s. This year, William and Dan had *big* birthdays – William turned 5 (one whole hand!) and Dan turned 40. We had low key festivities and simply celebrated with balloons, a few presents, and cake and candles. Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Holidays | Tagged 40, 5, A.R. Valentien, balloons, Baskin Robbins, birthday, Broadway, Cabo San Lucas, cake, California Adventure, candles, Carlos Salgado, Disney, Disney The Lion King, Disneyland, Girl Scouts, Hollywood Pantages Theater, ice cream cake, La Jolla, marble cake, Mexico, midnight cake, Red Velvet Cake Roll, Sally's Baking Addiction, San Diego, Sunny Side Solana, Taco Maria, The Drake in Laguna, The Grill at Torrey Pines, The Lodge at Torrey Pines, The Spa at Torrey Pines, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve | 1 Comment

A Look Back at Christmas

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Carrie

Even though we are nearing the end of January 2023, I would be remiss not to document our Christmas holiday fun at the end of 2022. As usual, our celebrations extended over six weeks. They included eight Santas (but only the last one was real), two preschool holiday singing programs, two holiday productions, multiple letters and calls to Santa, dozens of homemade cookies, lights, decorations, fake snow, one tree lighting, two Christmas church services and one “Noel Night,” presents, an amusement park, and some barnyard animals. Oh, and a tired Mama. Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Holidays, Sightseeing | Tagged A Christmas Carol, American Ballet Theatre, angel, Baker Ranch, ballet, boat parade, children's choir, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas tree, cookies, Dana Point, Dana Point Harbor, Dana Point Harbor Boat Parade of Lights, gingerbread house, Heritage Hill Historical Park, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, Lake Forest Beach & Tennis Club, Mariners Church, Nana, Noel Night, preschool, reindeer, Rose Center Theater, Santa, Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church, Sawdust Festival, SeaWorld, Segerstrom Center, Sherman Library & Gardens, The Grove, The Nutcracker, Winter Fantasy | Leave a comment

The Great Western American Road Trip

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Carrie

The Chambers family embarked on their first big road trip in October 2020 – through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and California. Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Arts, Baby & Kids, Drinking, Eating, Hiking, Sightseeing, Travel | Tagged antelope, Antelope Island State Park, Arizona, Autumn, Bass Lake, bats, Bellagio, Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Bend, Big Cottonwood Canyon, biking, Blondie's Pizza, Boise, Boise River Greenbelt, Bonsai Sushi Fusion, Boo at the Zoo, BOOtanical Garden, buffalo, California, Canyon Overlook Trail, Canyon Trail Rides, carousel, Cascades Lake Byway, Castle Dome Cafe, coffee, coronavirus, COVID-19, Crater Lake National Park, Curry Up Now, Deschutes National Forest, Deschutes River, Drake Park, Ducey’s on the Lake, E Street Deli, Egg Island, Esther Simplot Park, Fall, Fielding Garr Historic Ranch, Flying M Coffee, fountains, Freak Alley Gallery, Gobble, Halloween, Harmon Park, Hidden Falls, Holiday Inn, horse riding, hot tub, Idaho, Idaho Fish and Game MK Nature Center, Jack’s Sports Grill, Julia Davis Park, Kernville, Kolob Canyons, Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park, Lady Finger Point Trail, Lake Shasta Caverns, Lakehead, Las Vegas, Lower Emerald Pools, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Middle Emerald Pools, Mirror Pond, Nevada, Oakhurst, Oregon, Oregon Observatory, Pa'rus Trail, pandemic, picnic, playground, pool, pregnancy, Pumpkin King Pumpkin Patch, Ray Atkeson Memorial Loop Trail, Red Butte Garden, Rim Village, Rim Village Cafe, Rim Village Walking Tour, Rivernook Campground, road trip, Rupert, Rupert City Square, Salt Lake City, Sandy, Santiago Calatrava, Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, Sierra Sky Ranch, Sin City, Sparks Lake, Springdale, Sundial Bridge, Sunriver, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade, swimming, teaching, Temple of Sinawava, Temple Square, The Mirage, The Neon Museum, The Still, The Strip, Timber Creek Overlook Trail, trick-or-treat, Tsasdi Resort, Utah, Virgin River, volcano, VRBO, white tigers, Zion Canyon, Zion Lodge, Zion National Park, Zion Pizza & Noodle, Zoo Boise, Zoom | 1 Comment

A Midwest Summer

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Carrie

Early last Spring, when I planned our summer, Vivian was supposed to go to all-day TLC (school district before/after school care) and a month of Spanish immersion camp. Lillian was supposed to go to the full-time preschool summer session, weekly … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Hiking, Sightseeing, Travel | Tagged Amish, ATV, baking, Ballville Township, bikes, biking, Birchard Public Library, Brinkhaven, cabin, Clymer, Conner Park, coronavirus, Countryside Park, COVID-19, Creek Bend Farm, cupcakes, custard, DTW, Elmore, fireflies, Fremont, Gann, Gibsonburg, Haslinger Orchards, Helena, Hirzel Farms, Honey Run Waterfall, ice cream, Indian Creek Zoo, Kelleys Island, Kelleys Island Ferry, kite, kitten, Lagoon Deer Park, Lake Erie, lavender, lightening bugs, Lindsey, Michigan, Mohican River, Mohican Valley Trail, Mull Covered Bridge, Museum Cafe, New York, North Coast Inland Trail, Ohio, Perrysburg, Pinkalicous, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Sandusky County Park District, scavenger hunt, Schedel Arboretum and Gardens, Schooner Farms, SNA, Spiegel Grove, summer, sunflowers, swings, The Toledo Museum of Art, TOL, Toledo Botanical Garden, Toledo Express Airport, Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, W. W. Knight Nature Preserve, Whit's Frozen Custard, White Star Park, Williams Park, Wilson Nature Center, Yayoi Kusama: Fireflies on the Water | Leave a comment

Unexpected in Ohio

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Carrie

As I mentioned in my last post, William and I went to Ohio, unexpectedly, in April. The main purpose of our trip was to visit my Dad in the hospital as he worked to recover from a heart attack and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Sightseeing, Travel | Tagged bypass surgery, chickens, cousins, DTW, Gerry, heart attack, Helena, ICU, Imagination Station, LTCH, Mercy St. Charles Hospital, Ohio, sister, SNA, St. Vincent Medical Center, The Garrison, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Zoo, ventilator | 2 Comments

LOVE MORE

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Carrie

The girls (and us) really got into Valentine’s Day this year, which was a lot of fun. We love love! Of course, there were outfits, as shown below, and modeled the weekend before Valentine’s Day. Then, there were crafts. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Holidays | Tagged cookies, cutout cookies, gifts, heart, love, Michaels, pajamas, Sally's Baking Addiction, sangria, sugar cookies, tapas, The Pretty Petal, The Wine Artist, Valentine's Day | 4 Comments

Christmas Traditions – Old and New

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Carrie

On the heels of Thanksgiving came Christmas and we celebrated all month long, as we did with the previous two holidays. We incorporated some beloved traditions into our celebrations this year and tried a few new activities, too. As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Baby & Kids, Eating, Holidays, Sightseeing | Tagged 33North, A Charlie Brown Christmas, AVEO Table + Bar, Baker Ranch, Chance Theater, Christmas, Christmas tree, Dana Point, December, Heritage Hill Historical Park, jammies, knit, Lake Forest City Hall, lemon tassies, lemons, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, manicure, Monarch Beach Resort, Nana, pajamas, pedicure, Red Persimmon Nail & Spa, Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Santa, Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church, Sherman Library & Gardens, stocking, The Nutcracker, tradition | 2 Comments

Take Me to Ohio

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Carrie

During the end of August and early September, we spent nearly two weeks in Ohio visiting with family, seeing new-to-us sites, and, most special of all, celebrating at my younger brother’s wedding. On this trip, William got to meet my … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Arts, Baby & Kids, Drinking, Eating, Sightseeing, Travel, Wedding, Wine Tasting | Tagged American Airlines, ATV, Birchard Public Library, birthday, Butterfly House, Catch Me, chickens, donuts, eggs, Elmore, Fremont, Gibsonburg, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Helena, Ideal Bakery, library storytime, Miami and Erie Canal, Mount Vernon, Oak Openings Metropark, Ohio, ORD, Providence Metropark, Rusty River Barn, S.C.R.A.P., Sheraton Suites Chicago O'Hare, SNA, thunderstorm, TOL, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Utica, Velvet Ice Cream, wedding, White Star Park, Whitehouse, Wine Flight | 1 Comment

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Category Archives: Arts

Spring Break Staycation in a New Home

Last Cali Christmas

2023 Spring Birthday Blog

A Look Back at Christmas

The Great Western American Road Trip

A Midwest Summer

Unexpected in Ohio

LOVE MORE

Christmas Traditions – Old and New

Take Me to Ohio

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