Seattle Mini-Vacation

We passed by this beautiful view of Leavenworth as we headed towards Seattle for a mini-vacation!

We stopped by the Iron Goat Trail head to see the train...

... and the big rocks.

We stayed at our Uncle and Aunt's house in Seattle.  It was a quick drive to downtown Seattle.  We chose inside activities because of the rainy forecast.

The aquarium was the main activity of our visit.  The kids got to play with their Seattle friends Kai and Niko!

The divers were fascinating to watch and listen to!  They were actually talking to everyone during the presentation.  My favorite moment?  When the women asked the kids what fish do in the water and instead of the answer she was looking for (eating) the first answer shouted out was, "MATING!" :)

This was a fun interactive area of the aquarium where the kids could touch the star fish and various sea creatures.  But it wasn't too amazing to our Alaska kids!

Strollers and kids, it's amazing we didn't lose or forget anyone/anything!

Lunch in the car because of the rain...  FUN day!

Videos

Here are a few videos of our goofy kids...

Poor Oliver, he wants to be just like his sister!

Playgroup

Brooke was so excited to ride her bike to playgroup for the first time.  She wanted to be just like the big kids that she has watched ride their bikes down the street.  She did pretty well!

I took my camera along to take a few photos of the yellow trees.  They are absolutely full of color!

Doesn't Oliver look like such a big boy in that outfit!  

We go to playgroup every Monday and Brooke loves it.  Today the craft project was painting pumpkins.  Brooke's pumpkin was the one in the middle with the very thick orange and green paint.

Right down the street is the Methodist Church where playgroup is held.  It looks so beautiful this time of year.

Brooke's Backyardigans all taking a nap.

Oliver has a new attachment to a blanket!  It's so cute!

At Aunty's house the kids got to help clean up the whipping cream for the chocolate gouache tart that she was making.

It was sooooo good!

How can you say no to this!?!

Yep, it was delicious!

Salmon Festival

Kent and Brooke going for a ride!

We had a fun morning at Leavenworth's Salmon Festival.  It's a free event that they put on every year.  Brooke is now at the age where she can enjoy some of the activities.

The highlight of the morning for Brooke (and maybe me too) was the costume parade!

Brooke was brave on the "kyack"!

Oliver snacked on grapes with his cute train hat.

Coloring

The kids have had so much fun coloring lately.  Brooke has gone from little scribbles on a paper a month ago to drawing pumpkins!  She draws a circle for the pumpkin shape, circles for the eyes and nose and a line for the mouth.  She also adds scribbles for the hair and grass below.

She has been working on a letter workbook lately.  She is getting better at controlling how her pencil moves on the paper.  I'm so excited about how much interest she has in learning letters!

Catching UP



Brooke and her Backyardigans



So, one of the main reasons behind my poor updating on the blog has been the lack of time I have spent on our main computer!  I have been keeping updated on things via ipod.  My little handheld device has photo and video, so it's easy to stick it in your pocket and capture quick (not that great quality) photos.  Then, I forget to get them on the computer so I end up with a big random blog post like today's.  Sorry!

I submitted lots of clothing and a few extras to the county fair.  I won "Best in Class" for my fun pink and green outfit!

I wasn't sure how well my sewing and knitting skills were, so it was fun to hear the nice comments on all my projects.  Every project got a "1st Place".  Yeah!

Brooke and the pretty flowers at Smallwoods.

We discovered a u-pick orchard near Cashmere and went there on a weekly basis!  Nectarines, pears, apples, peaches and grapes!

So many "firsts" for me at the orchard.  It is so much fun to pick fruit right off the tree!

As I mentioned in previous posts, Grandma Carol was here most of the summer.  Most of our morning activities usually last a few hours, but do not extend to nap time... so that's where Grandma helped out!  It was so nice to stop by Caitlin's house for a change of pace and a breather for me!  I'm pretty tired today, my second day without Grandma Carol!

We took Brooke and Oliver to Kid's Day at our local hockey rink.  They LOVED it!  The lights, the spectacle, the music, the kids, and the free over sized tshirts, it was all great!

Brooke still chants, "Let's go WILD!".

The kids dressed up for the kids parade in Leavenworth.  We handed out information about our local MOPS group.  Then we watched the bands, drill teams, and princesses on decorated floats and they marched past us in the grand parade.  The kids loved it!  They both sat on the sidewalk clapping and dancing to the music and waving to the princesses!

Brooke was a fairy princess ballerina.

Back to the orchard AGAIN!  This time with best friend Riley!

Our town is really starting to become a destination with it's businesses.  A group of us knitters met at the local drinkery for some knitting and beer.  It was a good time!

Now that Caitlin is in Seattle often and Grandma Carol is back to Alaska, I'm looking for morning extending activities.  Brooke had a great time having lunch with Daddy and then playing the marimba along with the 7th grade band!

Oliver (little stubborn boy) ended up conducting with Daddy because I kicked him out of the marimba playing.  He insisted on playing the wood marimba with the very hard bell mallets and WOULD NOT GIVE IN.  So, no more marimba playing for Oliver until he can behave!

We have been so lucky having Grandma Carol here most of the summer!  She has stayed at Caitlin's house and helped her keep her garden, house and dog happy!  She is always up for whatever adventure I choose for the day and LOVES her grandchildren!  We are going to be pretty lonely when she leaves!

Last night Caitlin drove home from Seattle and they came over for potato leek soup (YUM!).  Both kids wanted to be on Grandma Carol's lap.  Playdoh was going on noses, the floor and everywhere else.  It was a great night!

When Kent got home tonight, Brooke was so excited to be with her Daddy!  She asked to sit on his lap and she gave him hug after hug!  It was so sweet (and Kent LOVED it!).

We got this "new" old chair at a yard sale down the street!  I think it fits the look of our house.  Oliver wanted me to take a picture of him so he tried hard to climb up!





He did it!  He just LOVES to climb.  Couches, tables, chairs, laundry baskets, even if a small cup is on the floor, he will turn it over to climb on.  I believe this is the main reason I have spotted two gray hairs on my head!  Oh yes, and HE took his pants off!

Brooke wanted a picture of her "grumpy face".  This is the face she makes when she is not happy about something.  She makes this face when she is nervous about seeing someone... for instance, when a Kent arrives home from work, when I arrive home from something, or if we go over to Auntie Caitlin's house.  I think it's the attention that she "likes/dislikes" about seeing someone.  Complex girl!



There's the girl we love!  We are off to MOPS this morning.  I have orange/blueberry bread made for brunch and a 25 jar soup mixes ready for the "craft".  I am co-leading the craft job this year.  It's been fun, but I think we'll be doing more simple crafts in the future!  Wish me luck!