Family Night Out at Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, CA

Looking for a fun way to spend a Friday night with the family?  Every third Friday of the month during the summer, the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach is hosting a family concert series.  K-Earth is there broadcasting and providing the entertainment.

Pull up a deck chair, order a plate of nachos and have a great evening watching the sunset across the water!  The even itself is free (including swimming!), but you have to order nachos, drinks, etc.

We had the chance to check out last month's event and here are a couple pictures from our fun night.  We had a great a time!  If you're in the area this Friday, be sure to head on over! Be sure to grab a jacket in case the winds kick up at sunset. For more information about the events go here.

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Estate Planing for Families Made Easy

Do you have a legal plan for your kids if something were to happen to you and your spouse?  If that is one of those things you have been putting off... there isn't a better time than now to address that.  It's one of those things that if you wait until you "really" need it... it's already too late.  Make the time to attend one of these upcoming FREE workshops here in Orange County (there is also a teleconference if you have logistic issues!) by Darlynn Morgan of Morgan Law Group.  The seminars are kid friendly and believe me... she's thought of everything to make it as easy and fun as possible. 

Registration is required so go online to www.kidsprotectionworkshop.com or call 949-260-1400.

Tues., July 13th, 1045am – 1200pm
Bears, Buddies & Toys
27911 La Paz Rd, Laguna Niguel

Wed., July 14th, 1045-1200pm
Bounce U
5445 Oceanus Dr., Ste 115, Huntington Beach

She is also offering a teleseminar for parents who can’t make it to the events. The teleseminar will be held on Thursday, July 15th 8pm-9pm PST, from the comfort of your own home. Registration is still required to get the call-in details. Register online here.

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Out in Theaters in Now - Despicable Me

Last night we had the chance to see an advance screening of Despicable Me.  Gotta say... it was a pretty funny movie.  It was full of the great one liners that parents will enjoy and kids will laugh at... but not necessarily understand what makes it so funny to adults. 

At the beginning of the movie I was a bit concerned about whether it would be good or not because it isn't "normal" to have a good kids movie based on an evil character. The story ended up being pretty moving and certainly a good story.  As far as kid movies go... we certainly enjoyed this one and I'd be more than happy to see it again (which says a lot in my book because I don't normally like watching movies more than once!).

If you happen to watch it in 3-D... be sure to linger in to watch the credits.  The minions were hilarious...

Despicable Me is out in theaters now.  For more video clips you can go here.

Below is a particularly funny clip from the movie

 
 and as per the request of my boys... they were laughing endlessly at this video mix clip we found:

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Beach Clean-up This Weekend in Huntington Beach

Looking for a fun family activity this Saturday (July 10th)?  Head on over to Huntington Beach from 9 a.m. - Noon for a beach clean-up.  It's a great way to teach kids to be more responsible about their trash, especially while at the beach.  Beach clean-ups were one of my favorite activities as a kid! 

• Meet where Beach Blvd meets the sand, and help us keep trash off of our beach and out of our ocean. Pull into parking area at Magnolia and drive towards Beach Blvd until you see blue canopy in the sand. As always, we provide parking passes, garbage bags, protective gloves (AND certificates for school credit).
• Please bring a light jacket - could be 55 to 80 degrees depending upon weather. Please bring your own sunscreen, work/garden gloves, reusable water bottles and trash grabbers so we don't create more trash.

For more information go here.

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Irvine Lanes Bowling 50% Discount - Hurry Though!

So you may have noticed the nice green box over on the right hand side of the site (below the Facebook Fan Page box), recently Screamin' Coupons contacted me asking if I'd like to advertise local deals to my readers. I was pretty skeptical at first but after looking in to it I realized they are AMAZING local deals (you normally have to act fast before they disappear!) and I knew when I wanted to take advantage of the deals... you would too!  For example take a look at today's deal at the Irvine Lanes... you can't beat it!

So be sure to check back daily to see what local deals (like massages, facials, surf lessons and dinners) you can find!

(Disclaimer... Screamin' Coupons is an affiliate program, but I thought the amazing well below retail deals were worth participating and advertising to you!)

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Strawberry Shortcake- the dessert not the character.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally convinced the boys that when I said we would be having Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.... I did not mean the character.  The above was our 4th of July dessert.

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My Dilema... I Need YOUR Advice!

So... it's that time.  Time for a new car.  But my problem is I am just not able to make a decision about the best car for our family.  I drive a GMC Yukon.  I've had it for years and without a doubt it has been reliable to a T (all 125,000 miles!).  The only reason I am hesitant to buy another one is gas mileage, I just don't know if I can handle paying almost $100/tank to fill-up if gas prices spike again.  I love my husband dearly... but I'm just not sure he'll love me if our gas bill goes back to $400/month for just that one vehicle... (kidding... kinda)

So here's my dilemma and I figured I'd ask all your help to give me advice!  Tell me what you drive, do you love it?  Hate it? Or what do you WISH you drove and why?

I LOVE having the third row seat... so I'm leaning pretty heavily towards getting the Hybrid Chevy Tahoe (I love the idea of driving a Hybrid!).  I'm trying to balance out price, fuel efficiency, seating capacity and style.  Buying a hybrid will help with the gas mileage and soothe the guilt of the tree hugger in me...

Help me out guys!  What's your advice?

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Congratulations to the Dermalogica Winner...

The winning comment was:

Jill K said...
I follow you on Twitter and tweeted about the giveaway.

@jillakaufusi

June 10, 2010 2:24 AM

Congratulations again... your skin care set is on its way to you!

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Baby Shower Gift Idea

It sure seems like everyone around me is having babies!  The downside to that is I'm getting a real feel for what my "gift" style is!  Since I can't pull out gorgeous clothes out of my collection (*ahem* just a little envious here of Momfluential!), I'm not really the type to give baby clothes at baby showers unless the Mom to be specifically mentions it (which I have seen a couple times this season). I tend to be the item giving type and I like to make it something that borders on unique (to get the cool/memorable factor in) yet highly functional.  In the past I've given baby wearing slings because both my boys practically lived in them for their first year.  

Recently I met the creators of Lulyboo and instantly knew that was going to become my standard new mom gift!  Talk about versatile!  It's an easily portable (folds up in to a little backpack) infant lounge.  It is FANTASTIC for the busy mom on the go.  It gives the baby its own familiar and safe place to take naps whether you are at a hotel, at the park, at daycare, at the beach, at grandparents house or just over at a friends house (trying to maintain a social life with a new baby!). If I have a third child I could definitely see this being one of my most treasured baby items, right up there with the baby sling.  

You can buy the LulyBoo here at ToysRus or at Bergstroms if you are in SoCal. Or become a fan on Facebook for specials (including more unique & fun pattern).  You can also find out more about LulyBoo and their other products here.

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Wild Rivers Discount!

Fabulous Yet Frugal Friday...

Live in Orange County, CA?  If you do... I bet you know exactly where Wild Rivers is and frequent it often during the Summer months!  Print out the coupon below to receive $5 off admission to the park or head over here to purchase tickets online with the special code of: SUN2.

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