5 things to do with your dad to make him feel special.

June is the month that we spoil my husband as part of a month long Father's Day celebration.  The celebration began with a day spa at home with fresh mint cucumber infused water.  Then, we play dad's favorite music, eat at his favorite restaurant, nature to nurture dad's soul and finally give him a fun car experience with a rental.
   

Pamper dad with a home spa day!

We bought a face mask, new nail clippers, new scrubbing sponge, foot creme, cucumber soap and cucumber lotion.  All the ingredients for a pedicure and manicure you can imagine, in cucumber scent, were used to make spa day special for "Dad".  My kids helped pamper their dad by giving him a soft head massage and gently rubbing his arms.  It was totally cute and adorable to see the kids get involved with pampering their father.

Play his favorite music week.

Music is a big part of our lives.  We listen to the radio in the morning. We play CD's at home and on long road trips.  For a week in the month of June, the entire family listens only to Dad's favorite music.  We purchase and rent CD's of dad's favorite bands and we listen to them together.  Along the way we find our own favorites from his sounds.  This helps us to bond together as a family because we have something in common. It's really adorable to hear small children try to understand the sounds of the past.  The kids enjoyed Bon Jovi and other bands I can't even pronounce.  Dad really loved the Rock and Roll from the 80's (AC/DC, Poison, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Kix and more.)

Eat at his favorite restaurant on a regular day. 

My husband loves sushi and steak.  His favorite place offers happy hour deals during the week when it's less crowded.  To help make happy memories, we almost never visit a restaurant during heavy times.  On a Thursday night, two weeks before Father's day, we surprised dad and took him to his favorite spot to eat Sushi.  The experience was relaxing because we did not have a crowded restaurant or long lines to wait through. We surprised him with presents after his favorite meal. It made for a very special day for dad aka husband. 

Nature to nurture the dad's soul.

We are very lucky and live 20 minutes away from Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Corona Del Mar as well as gorgeous parks and nature centers.  For the month of June, we make every effort to visit the beach or a park at least once a week.  Time is set aside for our family to eat a picnic meal at some beautiful location like Laguna Beach, OC Great Park or Northwood Park aka Castle Park. During this time of nature to nurture, we engage in family conversation as well as play time.  The main focus is to get Dad back to playing and feeling active and re-energized.  Sometimes, it can be as simple as playing football at the park or walking around the park. 

Rent him a stylish car for a day or a week.

This year, we had a unique opportunity and we rented a New Hyundai Santa Fe Sport vehicle from Budget rent a car for a week.  Dad got to have a new experience with a 2015 Santa Fe, Hyundai that offered hands-free Bluetooth connections and AM/FM/Sirius XM / CD/MP3 audio system with 6 speakers (features our current car doesn't offer).  The vehicle handled smooth and light. My husband aka Dad, drove the new car to San Diego and we all went on a small road trip in style. It was nice to experience something new together. 
Suggestion: For smaller budgets I recommend small acts of kindness. In the past we have had the car washed and the oil changed as well as making sure the gas tank was filled. 

The month is almost gone and Father's day has passed. I want to encourage you to continue doing small acts of love and kindness for your family and others. It is may hope that every home is filled with respect, love and understanding. Happy family field tripping!

Disclaimer: Not a sponsored post. All thoughts and ideas are all my own. 

Summer Sounds World Music for Kids 2015 - Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is ready for your family to come and experience great concerts. Dance to the sounds of New Orleans the first week, Second week bring your Polynesian moves, third week dance to the Middle East music and end the (4) week series with the sounds of Brazil.  The exciting bands playing are as followed:
WEEK 1: JUL 13-17 

NEW ORLEANS, FEATURING TREME BRASS BAND

WEEK 2: JUL 20-24

POLYNESIA & HAWAII, FEATURING HĀLAU KA UA TUAHINE

WEEK 3: JUL 27-31

MIDDLE EAST, FEATURING YUVAL RON ENSEMBLE

WEEK 4: AUG 3-7

BRAZIL, FEATURING KATIA MOREAS ENSEMBLE WITH VIVER BRAZIL DANCE

Keep reading to find out what we experienced last year at one of the events. 

Photo credit: Hollywood Bowl

Original written August 2014.
Summer Sounds at the Hollywood Bowl was an educational experience aka family field trip. The price of admission includes parking, a craft, storytelling and live music. Together they make for a great day out with kids. I took the family to experience Salsa Music.  The Louie Cruz Beltran Latin Jazz Ensemble was performing on the day we stopped by. We received a morning of crafting, listening to music and dancing along with great story telling. The band played Salsa, Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban music. Our feet danced and our hearts sang along with the music. What an amazing day!!! Read more....

Summer Sounds is a program at the Hollywood Bowl that is offered during the summer months.  The invitation to join them begins in the month of May through their sales ticket office. 

http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tickets/summersounds-2015

The tickets can be purchased in advance or at the box the day of the event. You will want to make sure to arrive early to ensure they don't sell out.  I highly recommend advance purchase. 

Our tickets were for the 11:00 AM show and a 10:00 AM craft time.  For our craft, we choose to make a sun out of Crayola Model Magic.  It was easy and lots of fun to do.  My kids got extremely creative with the beads and the  color markers.
  

After the craft, we went to the 11:00 AM  show, which is located next to the Hollywood Bowl Museum.  The kids sat down on an open floor where there is a lot of room to dance and move around.  The show begin with two actors telling the story of traditions and how the music plays a big part in loving music. 

The story-line was about a man not wanting to listen to Latin Music because it was not his tradition.  In the end, he decides to embrace the strange music called Salsa because it spoke to his heart and soul.  He embraced a new tradition even though it was not his traditional style of music.  The theme throughout the story was to make your own traditions.  Traditions were described as something you do over and over again bringing you joy. 

The actors engaged the audience by pretending they had never listened to Latin Music before.  Their energy was so inspiring and child-like that you couldn't help feel attracted to the stage.  One actor ran from the music while the other chased the music and embraced it.  Both characters were funny to watch and experience. 

My favorite part was when one character couldn't stop dancing.  He was dancing uncontrollably every time Latin Music played.  The band would tease him and play short songs to get him dancing.  His stone like personality had broken and now his hips were shimmying on stage. 

Best way to describe our experience is learning made fun.  The kids learned in a high spirit, loving and refreshing environment.  I highly recommend going this summer, next summer and the all the summers that follow.  It will make your heart sing.  Thank you Hollywood Bowl for hosting such educational and fun programs.  See you soon!