A couple of days ago we were in Temecula getting things out of storage and we decided to stop by the mall and check it out. The Promenade in Temecula is an indoor 2 story mall with several stores and department stores. Their are also several stores and restaurants in the surrounding parking lot. I was pretty excited to see they had a Sanrio store in the mall but I was even more excited when we saw Tokyo Japan Lifestyle. It is a store filled with Japanese imports, from housewares, to beauty products, to fashion accessories, and even some snacks. Check out the goodies I picked up.


Two new bento boxes, some new egg shape molds, some Seaweed & Salt chips ( I couldn't resist), and Penelope picked out a sushi candy making kit (more on this later).

I made Penelope  a lunch today in one of our new bentos.




Top tier: Turkey and cheddar sandwich, Guacamole chips
Bottom tier: Olives, blueberries, raspberries

Chris took Penelope and I to the San Diego Zoo yesterday. The last time Penelope was there she was only 2 and does not remember any of it. It was like new to her and she loved it. I took a few pictures of our day but my cameras battery died before we were through. No worries though as we purchased a year membership so I am sure we will be visiting often. The membership also includes free entrance to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for the year, which only I have been to, and that was at least 20 years ago (It used to be called the Wild Animal Park). Looking forward to checking it out again soon.

Penelope volunteered to go on stage and pet a snake!

What does it feel like?

It's scaly

Petting Zoo

Penelope made a new friend

Pretty Flamingo

Funny Monkey

Poor Gorilla

Where's the hare?

Are you familiar with Insect Lore? They are the original Butterflies by mail company selling butterfly habitats where you can watch your butterflies metamorphosis from a little caterpillar to a beautiful winged insect. I had no idea but the company actually started in the San Joaquin Valley just a short drive from Bakersfield in a town called Shafter. It was founded by an entomologist named Carlos White whose love of insects inspired him to develop kits that would allow children and other bug lovers to witness the life of a butterfly. Since 1965 Insect Lore has expanded their bug lineup, you can now purchase ant, ladybug, silkworm and even frog kits. In addition they sell bug catchers, viewers and several other fun science related kits and toys. Earlier this week Penelope and I made the short trip to visit the Insect Lore store and their Bugseum. Penelope loves all creepy crawlies, well most of them, spiders are the exception, so I knew she was going to love this place. Here are a few pictures of her visiting with her buggy friends.

Insect Lore Shafter, CA

Butterflies!

Ants!

Checking the bugs out up close...

Spiders!

The only spider she will touch, a dead one...

Try and find me!

Bugs bugs everywhere

Eeewww!

Petting the cute Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, awww.

I see you...

Look twins!

Scorpion!

More pretty butterflies...

I can't wait till we are settled in our new home I plan to buy a few of Insect Lore's kits for Penelope to have fun with.

Penelope's last day of preschool was last Thursday. I can't believe she will be starting kindergarten in the fall! Her preschool had an end of the year carnival, the theme was safari and complete with games, snow cones, and a little exploring. After some carnival fun her class performed all the songs they had learned throughout the school year. It was adorable and I wish I would have had my video camera with me. Boooo mom!

I Spy...

Waiting her turn to play some games

What do you see?

Snow Cone!

Face Painting!

More games...

Penelope is so excited she finally learned to swing on her own.

Getting ready for the performance.

Chris, Penelope and I worked on some more origami, or as Penelope calls it "omagami".


We made some penguins, boxes, and fortune tellers! Penelope absolutely loves this art.

On another note guess who just became a dolphin?! That's right, Penelope has mastered her side breaths and moved up another level. With only 2 more levels to go she is becoming a swim pro.

And on...my parents were here the last few days helping me pack up our house. Remember my earlier post when I mentioned we were moving again? We will be moving to Temecula, California early next month. Penelope finishes up preschool next week and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. AAAHHH!!! I don't know if I am ready for that.

So once again until we are settled in our new place posting may be a little sporadic. Coming to you soon from the wine country!

Look what I found at Target the other day!


Another bento box! They also had a blue version of this box but of course Penelope chose this one. I love that this book has a little compartment on top with utensils. So cute! Go visit your local Target before these are all gone!

Penelope's favorite fast food is Subway, and her favorite sandwich at Subway is the Spicy Italian. That's right she has graduated from the Cold Cut to the much more impressive Spicy Italian. On wheat bread with American cheese, olives, and mayo and mustard. She will eat a whole 6 inch sandwich to herself! For today's bento I made her a homemade spicy Italian sandwich.


A hoagie roll filled with salami, pepperoni, spicy ham, black olives, and her preferred condiments mayo & mustard. She also had a Appleberry GOGO Squeez, maple leaf cookies with maple cream filling, diced avocado, and Voodoo chips.


You know me anytime I see a bag of chippy's I haven't tried well I get weak in the knees and have to buy them. These Zapp's New Orleans Kettle Style Voodoo chips were at our local Whole Foods. I have tried Zapp's Jalapeno chips before and they are sooo good. Salty, super crisp, and super spicy, everything a good Jalapeno chip should be. I had high hopes for these but unfortunately I was not impressed. For some reason I imagined these would be hotter then hot but instead they were slightly sweet BBQ-esque. Booo, if there is one chip flavor I can stop eating before I finish the whole bag it's barbecue. It is simply not one of my faves. Penelope on the other hand is enjoying these chips. I also tried Zapp's Spicy Cajun Crawtators and Cajun Dill Gator-Taters. Both satisfied my chip addiction but I probably wouldn't buy them again. Do you have a favorite Zapp's flavor?

I made another meatloaf today for dinner and it was pretty tasty. I am calling it Hide the Sausage Spicy Barbecue Meatloaf. :)

Hide the Sausage Spicy Barbecue Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 hot breakfast sausage
3/4 cups of crumbled crackers ( I used rosemary wheat crackers)
1 egg
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 garlic cloves minced
Barbecue sauce ( I used Bulls Eye Original)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the barbecue sauce. I use my hands! Form meat mixture into a loaf and put in a baking dish. Spread some barbecue sauce over the top of the entire meatloaf and cover dish. Bake in oven covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and then bake an additional 30 minutes. We ate this along with some corn on the cob. Unfortunately I did not get a picture. Enjoy!