Pumpkin Patch

Oh, blog of mine, it has indeed been a long time. It's been so long I don't even know where to start! We missed the entire summer of Stroller Strides, swim lessons, picnics outside. And, then there was our vacation in Bend, Oregon. That was a treat! But rather than try to catch up life events over the past four months, I will just start here. Our weekend at the pumpkin patch. It was DELIGHTFUL!! The sun was out, the pumpkins were plump and just right for the pickin'! Eva loved the whole experience of riding the horses to the patch and picking out her most beloved pumpkin. We enjoyed sunny seventy degree weather afterwards and ate tamales and drank ginger mint lemonade. Life doesn't get any sweeter or savorier now, does it?

Songfest 2012 at Lakeside Montessori School was one of the highlights of my life for sure. As mothers we live for these moments. It's our paycheck, our moment of glory when our little ones are freshly scrubbed, primped and propped up for the entire world to see how lovely, charming, and delightful they can be. And she did not disappoint. My heart swelled with pride as my little girl took her place on the risers for her performance. She was right on cue with her teachers and didn't miss a beat. Eva only goes to preschool 2x a week for two and a half hours so the fact that she knew the songs so well impressed me. She didn't seem nervous at all. I think she's a natural performer. Her classmates couldn't be more adorable either with the little boys in suits, suspenders and the girls in their dresses. It was like Easter without having to sit through the mass. We celebrated Eva's big day with ice cream afterwards, which should be a tradition in my opinion. Happy Songest, y''all!

Mt. Rainier for Julie's 40th Birthday

I've been woefully behind with posts since Snowmeggedon 2012 in the Northwest. The day all of the snow/ice/storm craziness started we were in the pinnacle of it up at Paradise, the last outpost before people climb Mount Rainier, to celebrate our dear friend, Julie's 40th birthday. You couldn't have picked a more picturesque scene for a birthday celebration. Our first day the snow began to fall big white fluffy crystals, the kind perfect for snowball fights. We had a feast fit for kings prepared by Julie's husband, Joel, and celebrated her birthday on Saturday and our friend Karen's foster son, Kelvin's, birthday on Sunday. I prepared the birthday cake for Julie, my first chocolate ganache cake. We had a wonderful time celebrating this milestone birthday with friends. And, the best part was that we were able to extend this holiday another week when we returned because of the snow/ice storm here in Seattle. Hooray for holidays!

Snow Day January 18th, 2012

OK, so the top picture may be the most awesome picture ever of our daughter! I love the contrast of Eva's ear piercing scream and Wyatt's happy go lucky contenance after both of them were sprayed with a bucket of snow coming down the hill. Eva is such the drama queen! Whatever emotion she is feeling she feels it so intensely. To this day, it really takes my breath away. We were sledding the other day and had hiked to the top of our development for the best hill. It took us about 25 minutes to get there. She was properly bundled and she got a ride up the hill the entire way from her Clydesdale (insert mom here). Once we got to the top, Eva completely lost it and started screaming at the top of her lungs, "I'M FREEEEEEEZZZING!!!!! TAKE ME HOME!!! I"M FREEEEEZINNG!! Anyone walking by at that moment would have called me in to CPS for sure. She really made it seem like I was inflicting some serious harm on her. I tried as best as I could to hustle down the hill and get her home but it did take 25 minutes or so. Imagine 25 minutes of the sentence above repeated nonstop until we got home. I never knew how much temperment plays into the whole kid mix until I became a parent. The positive side of her heightened emotions is that when she is happy, you really feel it too. She did much better on day two of our sledding adventures for Snomeggedon 2012 and everyone could see her radiant smile and sparking eyes as she flew down the hill. Oh, how I love that girl!


That's my girl!