California trip

Chronicle of our trip to CA to visit with my dear sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their children. I'm so glad I got to see them again as SIL and I had only met for a brief period during or Christmas trip visit to see the grandparents. Like then too, our trip this time was just too short. It seems the SIL and me are twins from a former life :)

We hang out on the phone now and online and well I could never ask for a better sister.

Wed-15-Apr:
The husband came home from work and we loaded up and began our journey for the long drive to CA. After planning all the $$$ we realized that it was alot cheaper to drive. We had to do this all in six days!

On our way out of town we stopped at a TEA party for a few minutes and then left.

We drove all night, day and finally arrived around 8pm Thursday night.
We got to spend three days plus together just hanging out and stuff.
SIL took me to a Jamaican restaurant and I got to taste some of my country's cooking once again! I seriously need to go visit my mom again so that I can get fueled up!

We left early Monday for home with a detour to Tuscan to meet up with the grandparents and another BIL. The grandparents drove all the way from Happy Jack! I'm so glad we could meet! It's so hard to get to see each other because everyone lives so far away.

We went to one of my favorite restaurants - Olive Gardens! I LOVE that place and I get to love it even more because I only get to go once a year or less! The food is heavenly!

We took tons of photos from the Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal park. The park is awesome! If we lived there I'd go numerous times because there is NO WAY you can see it all in one go.

We arrived home Tuesday night at around 8pm and just in time for dh to get some rest for work on Wednesday!

A few photos of our trip. You can click the images for a better view.

A bit too close for comfort. My son walking towards uncle G and his daughter.


Can you tell baby is holding on for dear life?


The girls

Lets give some love



I got your back mommy

I see you too....
Thank God for zoos and Wild Animal parks!
And they're out!


We got tons of photos. I'll have to load them to a photo place for the family. We had a good time on our trip and can't wait to do it again and hopefully much longer time next time!

Now to throw another pin on the map....

Ciao

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Oliver's Labels Review And Promotional Discount

Oliver's Labels

I’ve never really thought anything of using a sharpie to write my kids names on their stuff…except maybe just a tad tacky, but how else to know what’s theirs in the sea of children personal items in the playroom closet, daycare room, church, play date etc?

I don’t like losing my children things and when things started going missing in their bags or sent home with another child, I started to use the sharpie. I thought that was a genius idea!

That was until I was introduced to Oliver’s Labels.

They sent me a few of their Original labels, mini labels, shoe labels and their new Stick-eez™ Clothing Labels to try out.

Their fun full-color graphics come in a wide range of designs and because my son loves anything mobile, we chose the transportation themed labels.

The Stick-eez™ Clothing Labels do just what the company said it would! No ironing or sewing required! Very strong adhesive, flexible and does not come off in the washing machine or shreds in the dryer.

The Original labels I will put on his traveling case for our trip to California. Now that would have been awesome if we had it for our trip to Hawaii where we lost our camera case and my husband feels so bad about that since it was a really good case.

The shoe labels went in his shoes! Only once did he lose a pair of his shoes but I still think this will work wonderful for the future. I’m thinking I’ll need more labels as his shoe size changes and for when he begins school!

The Stick-eez™ Clothing Labels went on his favorite coats and extra tees that go in his toddler bag.

The mini labels I used on his Nemo backpack and on his Easter Basket! We had an egg hunt and with so many children we wanted to keep our candies safe. :)

Oliver’s Labels also printed the labels they sent to me with FOUND-IT™ codes. This is their online lost and found service, which is exclusive to Oliver’s Labels and offered to all their customers free of charge.

They developed it as a way for people to get their lost items back while not having to share personal information with strangers (for example, a phone number or address printed on the labels).

I feel very uncomfortable that my children bags have a luggage tag with our address and phone number and name all written out on them. So just imagine how excited I am about Oliver’s Labels Found-it™ tracking system!

In addition to their Found-it™ service, there are a few other things that set them apart from other kids label companies.

Oliver’s Labels are the only company to offer full-color graphics. They use a special process that guarantees the image will not rub off! Your labels will look as beautiful in 5 years as it did when you first stuck it on. How cool is that!

Yes I’ve been washing my sons clothes to try to prove this and it is true. Usually just one wash and stuff begins to fade, but it’s been a few weeks and a few washes and the labels are well in tact.

Another very important thing to note is that all of the machines used in the production of Oliver’s labels are completely eco-friendly.

How it began
"It all began with a small idea to help Oliver, my nephew, from losing his stuff. After seeing the overwhelming positive reaction from his teachers and other parents, I realized there was a huge demand for good name labels.

I used my 6 years of experience in the printing industry to develop a high-quality label that was both durable and beautiful. The business was born and now our full-colour designs and exclusive Found-it™ tracking system are a few of the things that set Oliver's Labels apart from the competition." – Debbie

I am pleased with the variety of labels they sent for our family to test out and will definitely share about Oliver’s Labels to my mom friends.

I hoped to stretch this out for a few months to get more machine washes in but needed to post my review in a timely manner so feel free to give feedback if you had a different experience from using the labels for a longer period of time.

Oliver’s Labels is offering my readership a 10% promotional discount you can redeem on their website. You just enter the code as a form of payment before checking out to receive a 10% discount on your purchase.

Code is Oliverslabels (one word, no apostrophe). Please note that this promotional code expires on May 31, 2009.

Visit Oliver’s Labels for more information on all their products.

Ciao!

Colette

JamericanSpice

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WW: Oahu sunset from Ford Island

We would walk down to the water to watch this ever changing gorgeousness. No evening sunsets are the same!

WW
5 Minutes For Moms

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My Life in Pictures: Something I do each day

Everything Except The Grill is having a photo challenge that is really interesting. You should head over to her blog and take part in whatever way moves you.

I've decided to do today's title: "Something I do each day"

This is actually my backyard that looks like my front yard. We get the most amazing sunrises here and the sun sets in the front. I love seeing this gift from God for me each day. It makes you think and it never fails to remind me to thank God for all his provisions.
Everything lights up with this amazing hue of the sun coming up. Inside the house has the most wonderful gold streaks through the window slats.

Every so often, I wake my 3 year old up to watch the sunset with me...that is after we talk about if he wants to watch it from the night before.

It is a great way to begin my day.

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