Mall Rats & Play Time

On a rainy Sunday, we ended up at the mall. They have a nice play area that is perfect for Charlotte - here are the kids peeking out from the other end of a ferry boat.

Making wishes at the fountain.

I really like our stroller, but for some reason, the kids think these rental ones at the mall are way more cool.

Two kiddos in pajamas. It is wonderful seeing Edison interact more with Charlotte. In fact, Nana was looking at pictures with Edison from when Edison was 18 months old. He kept asking where Charlotte was. His whole reality now is that she has always been here - how cute.

We finally had a sunny morning!
The kids actually took turns in the car. Our yard is starting to have its beautiful summer fullness to it.
Charlotte really likes this dancing rabbit. Here she is wiggling around to its song.
Okay, couldn't resist this picture of her little bum in this dress.

Eben & Charlotte having some bonding time. Can you tell she loves her dad?

Just reading in the playroom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Eben and I went to a western-themed going away party for our friend Kathy. She is heading out to Wyoming to work at a fancy-pants dude ranch. What an adventure! We will miss you!

Charlotte looked a little more like a babushka than a cowgirl with the bandana. But she can still pull it off.

Charlotte with Dada.
Charlotte with Nana on Mother's Day. What a beautiful picture!Charlotte and her mommy on Mother's Day. She is now saying "ma-ma" but her first word (and those of you who are parents out there know that "first word" is a bit of a gray area) has been "uh oh!" accompanied of course by lots of dropping items off of the high chair.

MAY - Finally - Spring!

We're about one month behind in our spring. Usually our lilac blooms by Mother's Day - we're probably another couple weeks away. We just got the tulips at the start of May. We set rain record amounts both days this weekend. But... we're now ready for spring and the backyard!

Here's Charlotte with her Nana. Now that Nana is back in town, she comes up once a week to spend the day with the kids and also spends the night. Here she is feeding Charlotte a banana at breakfast.

So the big yard project this year is a retaining wall, new stairs, and eventual patio in the upper yard. Eben has been working hard on yet another wall. Edison is the big helper- but it usually involves moving dirt or rocks from where they should be to another place in the yard where they do not belong.... but what can you do?!
Off to the races!
Charlotte loves the car. And check out the woodpile - we still got lots of wood for next year.
Two kids in the bath- super fun. Took me about twenty tries to get one picture where they both look at the camera!

Easter

We woke up Saturday of Easter Weekend in Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. We rode the inter-island ferry to Orcas Island to go adventuring on Saturday. As you can see from the picture below, the scenery is amazing - the ferry boat goes really close to a lot of small islands. On the inter-island ferry (for locals) just about every booth and table had a different puzzle on it. Locals spend the journey working on these puzzles - so cool.
We stopped for a bagel at the ferry landing on Orcas. Eben got off the ferry on his bicycle and rode around the island - we would meet up with him on the top of Mount Constitution.
On our way to Mount Constitution, we stopped at Moran State Park - low and behold there was an Easter Egg Hunt going on. Edison got to meet the Easter Bunny and received a purple egg with treats in it.
This is a view of Cascade Lake at Moran State Park.
This is the view from the top of Mount Constitution. It is nice that you can drive right up to the top. At 2450 feet, it is the highest point in the San Juan Islands and obviously has some amazing views. This is looking east. The two "finger" islands in the distance are Clarke and Barnes Islands. It was just off the north tip of them that we ran into the pod of Orca whales last year.
After lunch we went to a beach park on the south end of the island. It was sunny and warm and the sand felt great between our toes.
The ladies enjoyed the sunny day!
We went out for a wonderful Easter Brunch with my dad and our family friends, Tom and Jan. Unfortunately this is the best family photo we could manage.
But here's a cute one of Charlotte in her Easter dress. She got it as a Christmas present and has grown a little more than we anticipated - and ended up being an Easter shirt instead!
Edison and Charlotte were SO HAPPY that Floyd & Kathie sent them chocolate Easter bunnies! When asked how chocolate makes him feel, Edison answers "chocolate makes me happy." Isn't that true?!

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!