Coast Oak is 10.5 Months Young

A Perfect San Diego Mother's Day

San Diego is California's second largest city, and where blue skies keep watch over 70 miles of majestic coastline.  It boast of a gentle Mediterranean climate and friendly locals create a welcoming vibe all its own. San Diego offers both wonderful mountain hiking trails and an abundance of sandy beaches.

San Diego County is the perfect spot for the family to enjoy Mother's Day.

A Morning Hike on Palomar Mountain:

 

Afternoon Enjoying a North County Beach:

The Smith Boys Cool Off at the Pala Casino Pool

As the weather in Valley Center, California reached an uncharacteristic ninety degrees, the Smith Brothers took advantage of the pool at the Pala Casino and Resort for a bit of cooling off fun. Pala’s pool is perfect for those sizzling Southern California Days. 

Day at the Beach Southern California Life

San Diego County is known for our gorgeous beaches. With seventy miles of pristine coastline, year-around sunshine and mild temperatures, you can enjoy the surf and sand almost any day of the year.

The fresh air inherent to a beach outing is wonderful for kids of all ages.

Reasons a Parent Should Care About Fresh Air: 

1. Stronger bones and lower cancer risk: Today’s “indoor kids” don’t get enough sun and are becoming Vitamin D deficient, causing health risks.
2. Trimmer and more healthy kids: An hour of play a day is what doctors say is a basic tool in the effort to ward off childhood obesity and diabetes.
3. Improved eyesight: Recent studies find that kids who get outdoor time have less nearsightedness and need for eye glasses.
4. Less depression and hyperactivity: Outdoor time in natural setting (even tree-lined streets) soothes kids and lower their need for medications.
5. Longer attention spans: Children who stare at TV and video games all day have less patience and shorter attention spans.
6. Better at making friends: Children playing together outdoors relate directly with one another, create games together, choose sides and improve their “people” skills.
7. More creative: Outdoor kids are more likely to use their own imaginations, inventions and creativity while playing.
8. Less “acting out” at home and school: Getting kids away from TV violence and video games helps them see that violent behavior does not always solve problems.
9. Measurably better grades in school: The healthy bodies and minds that come with outdoor play are better able to do well in school.
10. A longer lifespan and healthier adult life: Doctors estimate that sedentary and obese children lose three to five years from their life expectancy.

Eight-Month-Old Coast Oak

Oma and Opa were in Ireland, but grandson Coast Oak turned eight months old today.  Mom reports that he is happy that he is becoming a "big kid."

Fun Times with the Grandbabies

Posted by Missy Z. Smith on Sunday, 6 March 2016

Healthy Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice from the Smith Trees

If you buy orange juice at the store, you may lean towards the kind that advertises itself as “100 percent juice” and “not made from concentrate.” But have you ever wondered why every glass of it tastes exactly the same? 

That’s because the flavor of store-bought orange juice has more to do with chemistry than nature. For industrially-produced orange juice, after the oranges are squeezed, the juice is stored in giant holding tanks and the oxygen is removed from them, which allows the liquid to keep for up to a year without spoiling!!!

It also makes the juice completely flavorless. So the industry uses “flavor packs” to re-flavor the juice.

The photos below are of the Smith Family making Orange Juice from the organic oranges picked from our own trees.  Some of the oranges are blood oranges and gives the juice a red color.  We will get our vitamin C today!

So similar but so different!

 

 

Reef Indy  two years ago and Coast Oak today!

 

Family Day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Nothing like a family walk at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, known as the San Diego Wild Animal Park until 2010, is an 1,800 acre zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in San Diego County.

Cousins Waiting for Santa

Coast Oak, Reef Indy, and Cousin Belle visited the Mall to take their photo with Santa.

Sunday Breakfast at the Rainbow Oaks

Sunday Breakfast with the family is always so much fun.  This morning we went to a different restaurant.

The Rainbow Oaks Restaurant, originally established in 1946, reopened in April 09, newly remodeled to restore the interior of the historic building to become a gathering place for locals, travelers and bikers to engage in fine, yet affordable dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner serving traditional American cuisine.

Coast Oak - Santas Little Helper.

 

Reef Indy - Before he got in trouble.

 

  Coast Oak enjoyed his first baby peas at the Rainbow Oaks!

Coast Oak Turns Five Months Old

Coast Oak is very happy.  He knows what he wants and if vocal about expressing his wishes.  Coast has started to sit in a high chair and is eating a bit of soft food such as bananas. 


Coast and his brother Reef spent the day at the Valley Center Skate Spot.  The photos below were shared by Grandma!

Reef and Coast's Peter Pan Halloween

Oma and Opa were a tad saddened by the fact that there are less and less people passing out candies and fewer kids who are going trick-or-treating. This decline in popularity is surprising.

However, the Smith Family thoroughly enjoyed their family bond during this Halloween.  It was both fun and exciting for the kids and adults alike.

Someones ready to get some candy

Captain Hook scaring the girls

Father and Son . . . . I mean Smee and Captain Hook

Smee, Captain Hook and Tiger Lily!!!

Great Group Shot — with Zachariah Smith, Paul Smith and Jonathan Freund in Escondido, California.

Happy Halloween!!! — with Paul Smith, Zachariah Smith and Jonathan Freund in Escondido, California.

Tinker Bell and the Alligator in Escondido, California.

All of us ready for our Trick or Treat adventure.

Smee and the Gator

Once he realized they were giving him candy, Reef was not shy about it at all.

Nothing scared this kids

Reef Indy's favorite House - he stood and stared for quite a while.

Time to taste some of the loot . . . Reef learned that he does not like Smarties!!! — in Escondido, California.