Since we were in the Southwest part of town and it was bright and early, we figured we would try a new donut place at Carl's Donuts. They were simple but delish.
We finished off the morning by heading to Bass Pro and spending some time at the aquarium and exploring the store. The kids always love coming here, while Acelyn loves the fishes and Nolan's really into "driving" the boats!
The first weekend of the month, I took a Mom's Trip to California with some girls I've recently reconnected with from high school. June and January is one of our favorite clothing brands for the kiddos, and they were doing a sample sale in Orange, California, with all their pieces for $10. Since we all are fans of the brand, we decided to take a trip down together! Initially, we planned on making it a quick trip to drive down and back, but once we realized the Golden Knights game was on at 5pm that evening, we decided to book a room, enjoy our time away and get a Mom's night out for once!
We left super early in the morning so we could get to the sale for our 10AM time slot. The warehouse sale was chaos, but we managed to snag some goodies for the kids among the crowds of people shopping the small space. Luckily we were the first ones in for time slot, so we got in and out before it was too hectic!
After some shopping, we went straight to the Kimpton Shorebreak to check in, and saw that it was the cutest hotel ever! The lobby and restaurant were decorated so perfectly and the whole place had the best vibe and fun features, like yard games, smores pits, and was dog friendly which made for lots of cute pups wandering around.
We met up with Kasie, another friend who lives nearby in California, and had some lunch at Fred's Mexican Cantina. Some of us ordered what we thought were regular bottles of beers, and were surprised when these giant suckers came out for us!
After a yummy lunch, we walked across the street to the beach, where we strolled around, walked along the waves and then sat in the sand, chatted, and watched a surf competition for a bit. Kasie headed back home, and it was so great to see her and catch up.
We made our way back to the hotel to change for the evening, and went to the bar/lounge to grab a drink before making our way to Legends Sports Bar to watch the VGK game. The bar was super cute and had the best wall art and floor decor, and the view wasn't bad, either!
Watching the game didn't go exactly how we wanted, since we lost to the Capitals 3-1. We were surprised to see how many Golden Knights fans were in the sports bar, so it was fun cheering for the team with them in a different city, and even walking around Huntington, it was so exciting to get "Go Knights Go!" from other fans since we were all wearing our VGK gear.
After the game, we booked it to the pier to watch the sunset, because nothing is better than a sunset on the beach.
We had planned on going out and really taking advantage of our free night sans kids... until we found ourselves back at the hotel, sitting around the fire eating s'mores and heading to bed at 9PM! And even though we didn't go balls to the wall, it was still an awesome night, relaxing and soaking up time with friends.
I'm so thankful to have these girls as friends, and so glad I've gotten to reconnect with them and that our families have gotten close, as well. Can't wait for more adventures with them in the future!
Back at home during the beginning of the week, the Golden Knights were playing Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals out of town in Washington, so here in Vegas, T-Mobile opened up the arena, free to locals to watch the game. As soon as I heard, we made plans to be down there early so we could take it all in, and the kids could really enjoy it, too. We were thankful that it was indoors and cool this time around, since the last game during the Conference Finals was outside and burning hot!
Inside, the arena was decked out in Stanley Cup Finals decor, so we definitely had to get lots of pictures to document... even though we weren't really attending a "game", it still felt like it and the vibe was still as hopping as a normal game day!
We grabbed some seats close to the ice, because I figured the kids would be more into that than watching on the big screen. It ended up being the perfect spot, because it was right above the entrance/exit onto the ice, where the mascots and the Knights Crew would be, so they had lots of opportunities for high fives and meeting Chance and The Knight, as well as seeing the on-ice entertainment between breaks.
They treated the watch party just as any other live game at the arena, so we had Mark Shunock and Big D announcing, Chance, the Golden Knight, lots of competitions and swag, the Knight Line Drumbots... it was SO fun and the kids were having a blast. While we were waiting for Daddy to arrive and the game to start, the blimp ball made it's way around, and Nolan was seriously living his best life, dancing away and celebrating all things VGK.
We watched another gut wrenching game against the Caps, and we just couldn't get it done again... losing 6-2. The crowd went from being super pumped up to not too happy in the arena, and some even started leaving during the 2nd period and the beginning of the 3rd. Jerks! Even if you lose.... you should still support the team. I used this as a learning experience for Nolan (whether or not he got any of it, who knows), but explained to him that even big guys like the Knights lose, you can't always win games and even if someone is losing, you should still always be a friend and root them on to make them feel like they are doing their best.
We spent a morning at a local baby boutique, Lovebug Baby, where one of our friends hosted a pop-up Play Doh make and take event. Lindsay led the kids through choosing their own color and scent of Play Doh, mixing all the ingredients up and kneading it together to make their own dough! It was super simple and Nolan was proud of his end result. Thanks, Lindsay for hosting!
I caught the kids being cute early in the morning, reading and singing their ABCs together.
I took the kids to their first $1 movie of the summer, and we met Jess and the kids to all watch Boss Baby together.
The Golden Knights had their final game of the season, and that morning, we decided to head down to City National Arena to catch the practice before the big game. We knew it was an optional practice, so we weren't sure how many players we would see. Jess also met us down there with her kids for the first time, as well as her niece and nephews, and our crew sat in the bleachers and cheered the guys on. Even though the whole team wasn't there, plenty of fans showed up to offer their support during a hard time of losing games. A fan support group put together lots of signs, each with one word to describe what the Golden Knights mean to their fans. We all were asked to hold the signs up during practice, so the team can see how important they are to us, despite the current losses during the Finals. We just wanted them to be proud of what they've done for the sport, the fans, and most of all, the city of Las Vegas, and hoped it could bring some pride and fire to the game that night.
That evening, the Knights ended their season with the final loss to the Capitals, but put up a fight with a 4-3 ending score. These boys had an amazing season, with record after record and really unified this city, more than anything. We couldn't be happier to be VGK fans, and are so proud to finally have a home team to root for, bring our kids up with home team pride, and will be counting down until next season to take it far, again!
Since hockey has ended, Nolan has been filling his time playing his own version... with a broom and a tin foil puck. Whatever works!
I didn't have the heart to take this down, even a week after the Cup was over.
We spent a morning at the splash pad, keeping cool and running around like crazy.
Then she looked pretty cute, playing around in her room before her nap.
She continued the week napping in awkward positions and chowing down on more snacks.
I set up the blow up pool in the backyard so we could enjoy the warm weather while staying cool.
The kids got pumped for the first games of the World Cup by playing some soccer, and Nolan had to be the "blocker because I want to block like Fleury". Just a little bit of hockey hangover left!
Acelyn requested a hand to hold to fall asleep one night.
Another warm day, another day spent at the splash pad!
I helped the kids make fun Father's Day crafts.... but Acelyn wasn't thrilled. I had to laugh at how upset she got over a little paint, only because she wanted to put her hands on the table and not the paper. The sass, I tell you!
Grandma was house sitting for a friend, who welcomed us over to use their pool, so we spent a few occasions taking up the offer. The kids loved swimming and loved their desert tortoise even more!
Nolan started his summer session at his Preschool, and was so excited to go back two days a week again to gets some fun in!
We met the Luks at Mission Hills Park for a splash pad day, and all was going good until Nolan came running over screaming bloody murder. He ended up getting stung by a bee for the first time! It was scary and he was a wreck, but eventually calmed down in time to head home for lunch. After his nap, he woke up to a surprise delivery (couldn't have been at a better time!) and opened up his new VGK hockey set! He has literally played with this thing multiple times a day, everyday since we've gotten it!
The second picture is his "tough game face". Ha.
Acelyn wore these silly glasses around the house for hours again. We say she looks like Harry Potter.
Girlfriend and I hit up Target while Nolan was at Preschool, and she asked for her "cheeeeese" next to Bullseye.
We spent another day at the pool with Grandma, and Nolan practiced his jumps.
We also continued to be obsessed with the tortoise in the backyard.
Our Southern California trip was a blast and we had the best time making our way from San Diego, visiting the Zoo, traveling North to Anaheim with time at the beach, and having an amazing day at Disneyland!
We laid low the rest of the month, recovering from our trip and Disney hangover, and Acelyn made up this game with "she-swells" that kept her busy for a while.
...Until next month!
No comments