Spring Vacation!

Last week was Spring Break. Eben took off a couple days of work and we had a mini-vacation in our own back yard. We rode the ferry up to San Juan Island.

Edison enjoyed exploring the ferry boat. I remember doing the same thing when I was his age. The narrow passage through the islands was gorgeous.

What a great idea - they actually have a built in steering wheel on the observation deck for kiddos.
We stayed in a "historic cottage" at the Roche Harbor Resort. It is a sailing mecca in the summertime, built on property that was once a lime processing area. This was worker housing.
Edison loved playing with the front door key. I thought it made for a beautiful picture.
The cottage was actually super cute and livable on the inside.

This is just outside our front porch. In the summertime the harbor is packed.Edison is excited to spend some time on the playground.
Two kids on swings, having a great time.

Ahhhhh - sunset and the kids are in bed. Eben brought his bike along and got some great riding done while we were on the island.
The view at sunset - note the picture perfect Canadian Geese flying through.
In front of the old lime furnaces they have built boche ball courts. Edison really doesn't understand the concept of the game, but likes to roll the balls around anyway.
One happy baby girl!

A Visit to the Children's Museum

Edison and Charlotte received amazing, talking Easter cards from Mrs. Hirsch. Here they are enjoying them very intently. Thank you!
We had Spring Break this week - late, I know. On Tuesday we met up with Nana at the Children's Museum in Bellevue. It has a wonderful area for infants and toddlers. Charlotte came ready to play! Here she is on a bouncy horse.
Nana and Edison figured out how to make the water wheel work.
We met up with great-grandma Bestamor for lunch.
My Aunt Kirstie and cousin Jason also surprised us by joining us for lunch. It ended up being a fun and festive day.

The Great Outdoors

This is the first time we've had ducks come to our house for a visit. They discovered the birdseed that had fallen out of the birdfeeder.
Somewhere along the line, Mount Vernon (a few towns north of ours) decided it would be a good idea to plant ridiculous amounts of tulips. They actually produce more tulip bulbs than the Netherlands. In April it is amazing to go to the fields and drink in all the color.
Charlotte was digging it!
We met up with our friends Matt & Jill and their kids. Edison loves playing with Grace. He is a total klutz, though, and ended up falling in the mud about five times. Shame on me for not bringing a change of clothes for him!


We went to the cute, artsy town of La Connor for lunch. They have a lot of public piers overlooking the river. Edison and Grace loved playing and completely wore each other out (good thing - he slept the whole drive home!)
We also spent some time at the La Conner playground. Charlotte is gearing up for playground season.

She crawled through her first tunnel and loved it!

A "Tropical" Birthday

Eben put together a wonderful series of events for me last weekend. We went out for a nice romantic dinner on Friday (thanks for babysitting, Matt) and then had our friends over for tropical drinks and Pictionary on Saturday.
Charlotte got into the spirit!

The boys side of the table - they LOST - no surprise!
The winning side!
Edison and Charlotte with Grand-dada just before bedtime on Monday.
On Tuesday my mom returned from her winter vacation in the desert. She surprised Edison by picking him up at school and spending the day with him. She brought special presents home for us. For Charlotte and Edison, she brought back t-shirts. Thanks, Nana! And we're SO HAPPY you're home!

APRIL - Taking Care of Business

April began with us getting some much-needed yard work done. It took five trailer loads (each one a yard) to get our planting beds up to snuff and keep the weeds out. Edison liked helping Eben unload the trailer into the wheelbarrow.
Sharing is hit or miss with Edison and Charlotte. But on this morning, mommy caught Edison being a great older brother and sharing his Cheerios. (Note - he is now very interested in Thomas the Train since receiving a couple coloring/sticker books. Still doesn't have the attention span to build a railroad track and play with it, though.)
Edison and Grand-Dada enjoying some quiet time.
Being tired of the same outfits over and over, I hid the two Gap hooded sweatshirts that Edison loved to wear. He found the Halloween Rubbermaid box, though and unearthed last year's giraffe costume. He has worn it twice since Wednesday! Oh no! Also note the tongs in his left hand, he really likes to use those!
It is finally nice enough to spend some afternoons outside. (What you don't see is the completely spilled bottle of bubbles five minutes later....)