miss elodie's first birthday party (a few months late)

Birthday Girl:
Miss Elodie Clementine

Miss Elodie turned one two months ago and yet I haven't updated this blog.  Sad, I know.  I thought I'd be so much more on top of things and keep up more with my second; in fact I vowed not to let her pictures be so few and far between and neglect all of her milestones.  It is crazy how fast time goes and how demanding life can be and how little free time seems left at the end of the day.

The birthday trek story:

Having a birthday 9 days before Christmas makes things hard and I'm sure it won't get any easier throughout the years.  I should know having a birthday 12 days after Christmas how hard the logistics can be.  For Elodie's first birthday, we didn't want it to be overshadowed by Christmas or passed over just since it was so close to the holiday.  So, we planned (albeit a bit last minute) to celebrate again in Portland by renting a house and getting the family together to celebrate the one year mark.  My Mom and her husband, my Dad, Abe's parents and my brother and sister and law were all able to come help us celebrate.  We rented a cute little place (4 bedrooms and 2 baths) in the Alberta Arts District of Portland, Or.  It was a great little spot with walking to so many cute shops and wonderful restaurants and coffee shops.  We arrived Friday night after a full week and got the kids to bed after a bit of snoozing in the car along the way.

We started our celebration on Saturday morning with fruit, my favorite (and Elodie's too) cottage cheese pancakes, bacon and morning star sausages and coffee.  It was nice to just hang out and spend time together and not have to worry about the logistics of a large group of people eating out (see Sunday ahead….).  After breakfast we walked to nearby coffee shop (awesome) Extracto Coffeehouse.  We then attempted to drive to Beaverton for some indoor, blacklight mini golfing (agreed upon by the group).  After a drive and some wandering around, we discovered our location….well…didn't exist.  So, on to the next plan?  We drove back to Portland with plans to do the same activity.  Along the way people got a bit grumpy and a bit hungry so we delayed the activity in lieu of eating lunch.  Abe voted for Lucky Lab brewery but we chose the location closest to downtown.  After caravanning there and parking, we realized this location was cool….but no pizza (the agreed upon lunch).  Aven fell asleep in the car and then subsequently slept on the bench in the restaurant.  Plans were falling apart but we were determined to have a good time :)  After lunch the day had gotten away from us already so we opted to head back to the house and give the baby a nap and hang out for awhile.  After such a late lunch, we decided against going out to dinner and planned on viewing the Christmas lights at the Portland race tracks.  We watched Elodie open her birthday presents (with help from big sister) and then had some snacks before heading out.

Well, I guess it wouldn't make a good story if everything went as planned (in life it rarely does) so here goes.  We headed out to see the Christmas lights.  An affordable activity that we could all do regardless of weather.  By the time we waited in the insanely long line snaking around the entrance to the race tracks (1+hours later) Elodie, Aven and even my Dad fell asleep.  We were able to rouse everyone but the baby to enjoy the lights though.  Sunday morning we gathered our things and got ready to head out to breakfast.  Well, as Abe says, "a failure to plan is a plan to fail."  Which sort of happened with our breakfast.  We wandered around the restaurants searching for one where we wouldn't have to wait an hour and who could accommodate our large group only to end up back at the first place (Petite Provence) which although the food was amazing, we were all eating split up throughout the restaurant. The baby was getting exhausted and breaking down, people were a bit grumpy from wandering around waiting to find breakfast and some parents (Abe and I) were a bit exhausted from lack of sleep (we were all 4 sleeping in the same room; or sharing the same room I should say).

Overall it was a good time mostly because we were all together.  That was really the point and I am always so thankful when we get to spend time together as a family whether it is eating, wandering aimlessly around a neighborhood looking for food or going on a wild goose chase looking for indoor black light mini golf.

Extracto Coffeehouse (Portland, Or)

Extracto Coffeehouse (Portland, OR)

Lucy Lab Brewing (best place for a nap sleeping beauty?)

Boppa & Elodie snuggles

Digs curiosities (waiting for breakfast finds)

Auntie Elisa & birthday girl

Elodie opens her presents (with a little help from big sis)

Thank you to our family for helping us celebrate and to take the time to spend with us commemorating Elodie's first birthday.  We love you.

family pictures 2013

In October (yes, I know, I'm quite behind).  We had the privilege of having the wonderful Joe & Patience Photography capture our family.  It was a lovely afternoon, the kids were in great moods and the sunset was casting a wonderful glow on the day.  They did an amazing job of capturing our family, the playfulness of our daughters and their presence was overall awesome.  Aven was quite taken with both Joe & Patience and had no problem going to them when we were taking pictures ourselves.

Growing up, my Dad refused to have his picture taken (still does today) so I don't really have any family pictures of us growing up let alone when we were so young so when we had Aven, I really wanted to start a tradition of getting our pictures done every few years and especially close to our kids first birthday.  These images are a great reminder of love, joy and how time truly can go too fast.  I treasure looking back at the pictures we took with Aven when she turned a year old and I love looking at these of our growing family too.

There were about 100 edited pics but I'll post just a few of my favorites here.

Tour of the apple farm/Family Saturday

This morning was a great start to a long weekend.  We slept in (which for this week meant getting up about 7:15) after the switch from Daylight Savings.  We had some breakfast and coffee and took Aven to her last swim lesson for this session.  Afterwards we headed out to nearby Applefarm: Bellewood Acres.  Although a chilly and windy day it was beautiful as well.  We toured the farm store with new distillery (vodka & brandy), tastes of about 8 of their 20 varieties of local apples grown right on the farm, cider doughnuts, fresh jams, barbeque sauce and other fun novelties and a showing of local artists work (both a wood turner and a photographer).  Aven liked to watch the forklifts moving big things.  We rented a golf cart for $5 and then did the self-guided tour around the property.  It was fun to see all the apple trees and varieties as well s the cows and horses on the neighboring property.  We went to the packing plant too and saw how the apples are sorted by a machine into sizes and then hand wiped and stickered and boxed for shipment.  All of the employees were very nice and welcoming.  It was a relaxing trip to visit a local farm and a nice day to see the sunshine even if it was a bit cold.  Aven seemed to enjoy herself too.

Aven riding the large rocking horse outside the farm store

riding in the golf cart

Aven & Mommy (2 months to go for #2)

Happy family photo

family warms the *heart*

A short piano session with Daddy, sans pants :)

Lately I have just been trying to enjoy all the little moments that are strung together that make up life.  Often times it isn't the big picture moments because we place a lot of pressure and hype on them (like a first birthday or crawling for the first time, first steps, family photo shoot or first bath/first taste of food).  I find it is all the little sneak moments that you don't plan for that can warm your heart and make you laugh at the end of a long day.  I have to say that right now having Aven is so fun!  She is at such a great age and it is really entertaining.  She is so verbal and able to explain herself in words and actions that it just makes life fun.  The following are some pictures from the past months but I think they show the range that this child is capable of.  One moment she is silly and dancing with the dogs.  The next she is helping make food (in her underwear no less).  Then she is running around the house in nothing but her rain boots....and she's carefully playing the piano alongside Daddy with nothing at all!  Sometimes she is so contemplative when she is trying to problem solve or figure something out, she gets this cute little pouty face and concentrated brow....I love it!

Aven discovered she can crawl into the console and then close the door.  For some reason she thinks it is absolutely hilarious!

A very cute drawing Abe made of Aven's name that she kept coming back to add to.  I love to watch as her hands learn how to hold crayons and pens and how she is learning to hold her writing utensil.  She even gets the concept of writing her name (although she doesn't know any letters yet).  She'll say, "I need to write your name Mommy." Or she'll draw a line and say "look at my rainbow."

Aven is such a caretaker.  She loves to take care of her dollies, her stuffed animals, the dogs and even us.  Often times she'll snuggle with us in bed on a lazy morning and she'll wrap us up in blankets, pat us, tell us to close our eyes and go to sleep.  She will be a good big sister.  Here she is giving her red teddy bear a ride.

If a few words could describe this kiddo they are: independent & opinionated.  She is really my child.  She always has an opinion about what she wants to wear and what she wants to do.  Aven is very good at getting herself ready in the morning.  She is able to do socks, pants, underwear and shoes.  She is also doing a pretty good job of mastering potty training these last few weeks.  She has had very few accidents these last two weeks  and she seems pretty internally motivated to do it as well (no bribery).  She still needs help with shirts or sweatshirts and sometimes tricky shoes.  She is very cute because if we are outside and she is in, she'll run to the deck, see that we're outside, run inside, put her shoes on and come out and join us....all without us asking.

What can I say, the girl loves to take care of her dollies.  She wraps them up in her blankets and takes them everywhere.

Sweet uninhibited spirit of a child- dancing the afternoon away with an audience of one: Ethel.

In brief, Aven is growing up to be quite the little girl.  She is almost 2 1/2 (next month) and she is learning so much every day about how to be herself.  She goes to the Y ("school") three days a week and to a friend's house one day a week to play with their kids.  Abe is back to having Aven one day a week and they seem to be getting along well so far.  Aven loves to go to school and has her favorite friends: Evan & Riyer.  They are doing an excellent job of teaching the kids songs, letters, colors, reading books, learning about sharing and being responsible, etc.  I am glad that she has this outlet of time to play and interact with her peers.  She loves going to our friend's out (the Bandstras) because she gets to see her friends: Isla & Noah.  She looks up to them and loves to play with them (but she has no problem telling them what she does and doesn't like).  On the weekends we have gotten to spend more time together and I think it is good for her spirit.

A few weeks ago we went on a solo camping trip.  It was our first camping trip as a family just the three of us.  It was challenging sleeping in a tent together and she never did take a nap in the afternoon in the tent....just didn't work.  But Aven did a nice job of being careful around the fire, hanging out with Mom & Dad and just spending time together.  Of course there are many moments that are filled with chaos and interruptions and teaching our child about manners (please say "excuse me" and then wait if you need to say something).....(don't scream in the tent so loud, there are other people here), etc.  But the moments seem mostly filled with hugs and stories and laughter and giggles and sweet conversations and little pockets of things I will hold dear as my little one grows bigger every day.

the fading of summer

Why is it every year that I have so many ideas and plans and ambitions and they rarely come to fruition?  I don't consider myself a lazy person perhaps just too busy.  This summer, like many in the past, I wanted to camp at least once a month, work on my yard and start a vegetable garden (again), plant more plants and flowers, smooth out the rough spots of lawn, make recipes from scratch, have more friends over, go to the park more, walk and hike more, more more more.  But, alas it is towards the end of August and I have only camped once, worked on a few plant beds and yard projects, made almost nothing from scratch and spent many more days and hours working and busy then I planned.  Life has a way of getting away from us even if we are intentional.  This summer brought a promotion at my job from assistant manager to manager; this has changed my schedule from working 4 days to working 5.  I really miss that extra day to get my errands and chores done although I don't work as many late days which is better for my family.  Instead of lots of walks and productive evenings I often spend the hours after my daughter is curled up in bed doing laundry, balancing the checkbook, reading email, cleaning the kitchen, etc.  And at the beginning of summer I was in my 1st trimester of baby pregnancy #2 so I didn't feel like doing much after the baby was down and the dishes were cleared.  I was relaying all of this to a customer at work when they asked about summer.  I did realize though that I've had a lot of moments and little pockets of time to relax and spend time with my family.  It is nice because we have kept up with mowing the lawn, have a tiny little kiddie pool in the back yard and have often spend hours in the evening sitting and visiting or the pre-dinner hours reading books and watching Aven play in her pool.  While it doesn't equate to anything terribly exciting, it is nice to break up the business of the day with these moments.

So, what do I plan for next year?  I guess part of the plan is about money (do you have enough to do the projects you want or hire people to help now that you have a toddler running around to keep track of?), part of it is about having a concrete plan to begin with and part of it is sticking to the plan.  I don't know what next year will look like.  By then I'll have a 3+ year old and a 6 month old baby to keep track.  I will have returned to work but in what capacity and schedule I don't know and who knows how busy Abe will be with work and his business or what kinds of projects we'll want to do on the house.

So, I think now that the darkness is creeping in earlier in the evening hours and the temperature is a bit cooler in the mornings and evenings already I begin to think about summer fading away quickly and the beginning of fall; I begin to think of next summer and what I want to accomplish that I didn't accomplish this year.  Oh fresh berries, barbeques and trips to the lake; hikes and warm summer evenings sitting in the back yard....

simple Sunday

Here we are, latter July and I am sitting in my new (to me/Craigslist) armchair listening to the somewhat enchanting & somewhat maddening sound of gentle and steady rain falling outside.  This summer has been a bit back and forth.  Some days feel wonderful and I sit in my backyard on lunch breaks and early evening eating fruit and hanging out by the kiddie pool.  Other days we sit inside and wonder why it is grey outside again and raining.  I long for a true summer.  One where you can leave all your stuff outside on the lawn and the steps and not worry about it getting wet overnight.  A summer where you don't have to have a sweatshirt or rain coat on hand and you can truly pack it away for a few months.  One where you get the box of summer clothes out and put away pants and close toed shoes and dry grass and windows open while you sleep.

But alas, that was not today and is not tonight.  It was a lovely day today besides the weather.  Woke up a bit too early for my taste (6:45) to a somewhat hysterical 2 year old crying.  As I gathered my bearings and went to her room we discovered it was only a missing purple Binky, heavens!  Then came the request to snuggle with Daddy...which truly only means getting into bed with us but not really sleeping or even really snuggling.  After about 20 minutes of trying to sleep while she wriggled and snuggled I left Abe to sleep a bit more and make some breakfast before church.  Aven and I made "baby cake cakes" aka Dutch Baby Pancakes with fresh strawberries and coffee.  We listened to some good 80's dance music and headed off to church while Abe helped our new neighbors rebuild their living room floor (they are in way over their heads).  I helped out with the toddlers while they played listened to Bible stories and ate fishy crackers.  I met a lovely little boy who needed some extra hugs named Kavin.  It was very sweet because as I was holding him, Aven kept patting his shoulders and saying "it's okay buddy" and then going around to his other shoulder and patting it and saying the same thing.

After church we made our way to a friend's birthday party at Lake Padden.  The rain had let up long enough and a bit of sun and blue sky was overhead.  Aven looked at the ducks, claimed she saw a turtle, went down the slide, got an owie, ate a cupcake and went on the swings.  We enjoyed the grassy expanse and the laughter of friends and a break from the grey.

After this Aven went down for a nap and I finished my book club book (hooray).  It has been way too long since I actually finished a book and it had been my pick so I felt especially responsible.  I went to Fred Meyer alone to get some groceries (lovely) and spent a bit of extra time browsing through the sale items, without a toddler in tow.  Came home and made a bit pot of Tortilla Soup for book club and then went over to dine and discuss The Hangman's Daughter.  Considering it was a group of adults, my toddler did quite well but when she started to get a bit crazy Abe took her home and I stayed to enjoy a bit more adult conversation.  My friend made an amazing cheesecake with fresh blueberries and a pot-de-creme, delicious!  We selected our next book: On the Corner of Bitter & Sweet and parted ways in the damp summer evening.

It was a day of relaxation, family, community, food and cooking.  All in all it was a great Sunday.  Sometimes the simple days and moments of life go by quickly and unnoticed or unremembered but it is these moments that make our lives feel fuller and richer.  A moment sitting with your child eating a cupcake, a sweet and totally unrestrained act of care from a child, an amazing dish or pot of soup, the laughter of friends.  Relish these moments, survey them in your memory, capture them in photographs and hang on to their beauty.

I am thankful daily for all the blessings I am so undeserving of but yet have received anyway.  These moments are a blessing and I am so grateful.

Mother's Day

It is funny.  My daughter was born a little over 2 years ago but this is the first year I really feel like Mother's Day is important to me.  The first year she was only a few weeks old and the reality of motherhood wasn't really real to me yet.  Last year I felt it was important but this year I really realize it is a part of my identity.

Juggling a kiddo, a marriage, work, Bible Study, dog walks and favors for friends, social engagements, baby showers, exercise, grocery shopping, paying the bills, weeding and all the rest really seemed to hit me this year.  So I did the best thing I could yesterday, I ignored it!!

My poor husband.  He tries to do something nice like pick out new clothes or have a handmade bag made for my camera or something else unique and then it never really seems to work for me; this Mother's Day was no exception.  He had planned to go to Seattle for the day to all of our old haunts and visit our old apartments, walk around and see our old neighborhoods and then culminate the day with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Rialto.  When he announced this to me, I didn't exactly jump with joy.  It was supposed to be a beautiful day and I didn't feel like sitting in the car all day with a 2 year old and 2 hot dogs.  Also I had to take care of a friends dogs in the morning and in the late afternoon which would put a time crunch on things.

Instead, we went as the day took us.  Got up early and took care of my friend's doggies, made some breakfast, walked to church in the early morning sun.  Had lunch and got my daughter down for a nap. Then I sat in my back yard in a lawn chair in the sun and read my book while sipping a delicious sparkling ginger and lemon peel water.  Afterwards, I cam inside and continued reading which then transitioned into a mid afternoon nap.  I never let myself do that, it was awesome!  Did some putzy things around the house and then picked up Beatrice & Chip (friend's dogs) and took them on a long hike with my doggies and family.

Afterwards we went and picked up Thai food from Busara and had a picnic on our lawn before putting Aven down for bed.  Curled up and watched a few episodes of Downton Abbey (if you haven't seen this BBC publication, I highly recommend it!) and curled up for the night.

I mostly just wanted to spend the day relaxing, enjoying the sun and good weather and with my family- success!

getting away (California sun trip)

Aven loved playing on the huge King Sized Bed!

Last day with Grandma Geneva

View from our room, interesting!

Family photo @ Torrey Pines State Park

Torrey Pines State Park hike

The essentials, sun, kid and coffee!

Balboa Park

Zia's Bistro Little Italy San Diego

Ava & Aven

Balboa Theater in Gaslap District, SD

SeaPort Village Carousel

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

Aven and the Jump Jump (Mommy, help me)

Extraordinary Desserts (SD)

Aven entertaining herself on the plane with stickers, sure, put them anywhere!

Fun (or sort of) in the sun/vacation:
A few days after I got back from my quick out of town trip, we went on our first "real vacation" with Aven.  Last year we went to Winthrop but it was only for a few days.  This was a full fledged vacation with plane rides and rental cars and motels and family and tourist activities and nights out on the town!  It was busy and fun but exhausting with a toddler.

Short run down of the trip:

• Left Easter Sunday (had to wake up Aven @ 5:45 am) she did great on the plane although she was tired and a bit restless after having to stay in one place for so long.  Schlepped bags and car seat through the Seattle airport and ate breakfast before schlepping to another terminal with hot coffee spilling all over ourselves!
• Arrived at LAX and rented a car- drove to Huntington Beach to visit Grandma Geneva (Abe's grandma).  Aven had seen her when she was about 7 months old so it would be a lot different this time.  Aven took a 20 min nap the whole day in the car ride from the airport to Geneva's so she was a bit tired that night!  Went to a fun Japanese place with a literal gondola of food!  The servers were so friendly and accommodating of Aven though.  Put Aven to bed and Grandma came over to the guesthouse where we were staying to chat for awhile.
• Took a beautiful warm morning walk to Starbucks for some snacks and caffeine.  Met a nice gentleman from Hungary.  Drove to Laguna Beach for brunch at "The Beach House" a seaside cottage of Slim Summerville in the early 1900's (Hollywood actor) turned restaurant overlooking the water.  Had a wonderful lunch with amazing Lemon basil martini and looked out over the water.
• Drove back to Huntington beach and relaxed for the afternoon with grandma.  Had a dinner of leftovers and relaxed before turning in for the evening.  Put Aven to bed and then swam and relaxed in the Jacuzzi under the night stars and crisp evening air.
• Had some breakfast with Grandma and headed out to San Diego~arrived mid afternoon and checked into our motel.  Out of our room was an interesting logo "Jesus Christ is Lord not a Swear Word"- found out the owner has a trucking business with this name!  Interesting.  After getting settled in and after Aven's nap we headed out to downtown San Diego's Gaslamp district.    Had dinner at The Beer Co.  Cheap eats and good bear.  More of a sports bar and nothing to brag about but we had a great time listening to the early-mid 90's music and sharing a meal together (no baby drama).  We walked around Gaslamp a bit and found some awesome Gelato at Cremolosa restaurant with some very entertaining waiters!
• The next day after breakfast we headed out to Torrey Pines State Park.  We loaded up Aven in the backpack and wandered around most of the trails along the ridge even going down to the beach.  There were some super interesting formations from the sandstone where the water has worn away parts of the minerals.  The whole time we were in beautiful weather and overlooking the beach.  We must have been near a military base because we saw what looked to be bombers and helicopters and all sorts of air crafts.  Aven loved it.  We saw some wild bunnies, all kinds of birds and new flowers and some lizards too.
• That evening we headed down to Seaport Village a little outdoor group of shops right on the water.  It was a bit touristy and some of the shops were cheesy but it was a beautiful evening and the ambiance was great.  Aven even got to ride on her first ever Carousel.  I love the music, makes me feel nostalgic of years past.  After this we headed to San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood.  It is filled with mostly Italian Restaurants and shops.  It has a really neat feel.  We chose Fillippi's a place boasting great atmosphere and a little Italian grocer up front.  The pizza wasn't anything to write about but the place was fun.
• Our last day "on our own" before meeting up with my cousin Gina and her family, we started our day with a breakfast in Pacific Beach at a little cafe.  We sat outside and ate delicious fresh fruit and relaxed in the morning sun.  We ended up befriending another couple sitting beside us with their two kids.  They were down doing some touristy things for Spring Break.  We hopped across the street afterwards to the beach and walked around for a few minutes, taking in the sun.  After this (and I won't go into laborious details about what to do with getting a kid a nap when you have no place to go) we drove about an hour east to Mt. Laguna.  We saw a bobcat there and enjoyed the cool afternoon and then ate our lunch in the car while driving back to SD.  Wandered around driving for (too long) trying to find Balboa Park (found it at last, horrible signs if you are coming from the back side, even with GPS).  Wandered the gardens and buildings, very very beautiful and does truly remind me of Spain.  Ate dinner again in Little Italy at Zia's bistro.  There were linen napkins, live classical guitar and glass water glasses and then then Aven really started to go crazy.  It was about the straw that broke the Daddy's back.  While we had had several nice moments and times there were a lot of frustrations traveling with a toddler and they seemed to come to a head that evening!  On we went though.
• We headed to my cousin Gina's (and husband Matt's) house to stay for a few days. They have a daughter, Ava, who is 1 month older than Aven.  We had seen them when the girls were 7/8 months old but it was fun to watch them again and we had a bit more time to hang out this time.
• Gina and I took the girls to a little play place for the morning so they could do a kid-centered activity and we gave Abe a break.  It was fun to watch the girls play and the place was packed!  Had dinner all together that night and gave the girls a bath together.  The next day we had breakfast all together (with Matt) and then headed out to the La Jolla Aquarium (Birch Aquarium at Scripps).  It is right up on the cliff overlooking the water and there were plenty of new things to see there.  Afterwards we had lunch together and headed home to put the girls to bed!  After getting the girls some dinner and giving them some play time on the Jump Jump the Daddy's put the kiddos to bed and the Mommy's went out for a night on the town.
• Gina and I went to Extraordinary Desserts.  It was a super fun atmosphere and had the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen.  We sat at the bar and talked about motherhood, life, family, husbands, work and just about anything.  It was a really nice evening of just relaxing out together.  After turning in about midnight that night, we set our alarm for 4am (had to wake up Aven @ 4:45) to go to the airport.  She did excellent on the airplane again (the longer trip was first this time) and didn't even get grumpy or cry but she did fall asleep on our final descent down into Bellingham- the girl was tired!
• We arrived home a bit tired and a bit "done" but we all survived and had plenty of good memories to jot down for the record.  It was such a treat to see our family and the sun!

family sundays

In the last month we've had some relaxing family days, namely Sundays.  Two weekends ago we went on a little tool buying adventure to Port Hadlock (near Port Townsend, Wa).  We decided to make a day of it.  We packed up the doggies, the baby and ourselves in our little Forester, bought some big cups of coffee and bagels and hit the road.  We crossed the water on the Ferry (Aven loved looking out at the water, the boats, the clouds and the birds) and then drove down the island to Port Hadlock.  It was a rare February day in that it was about 55 degrees and wonderfully sunny.  The tool was housed at some property outside of town.  While Abe laboured over moving the huge and very heavy tool, Aven and the dogs and I walked around and explored the property.  It was a lovely spot of land with a huge garden, garden guest house, gigantic shop with guest loft, pond, beautiful house with a deck outside facing the sun and grassy paths that led to all of their neighbors.  Aven loved running around and exploring and running after the doggies.  She played in some leftover fall leaves and really got a taste of running around outside.

After this adventure we headed back up to Port Townsend for some snacks and shopping.  We ducked in a few little restaurants and settled on one: the Courtyard Cafe.  It was a little unassuming Victorian house off a side street and had the perfect Sunday ambiance.  I ran inside to check the menu while Daddy, Aven and doggies held down the fort in the car.  It had some sunny seats by the window, live musicians playing flutes and fiddles and calming folk guitar music and huge cinnamon pull-aparts and amazing scones grabbed my eye in the front glass case.  It was the kind of place that makes you happy that you live in the NorthWest.  Unassuming meals at reasonable prices with a lovely and not stuffy atmosphere.  Young and old mixing it up and interacting together and delicious comfort food.

After an early morning and a long day, we dozed a bit in the car on the ferry ride back while we kept our child entertained with Annie's Cheddar Bunnies.

A few weeks before the above named adventure, we went to one of our favorite splurges, Tweets cafe in Edison, WA.  It is admittedly a bit overpriced but is worth the wonderful atmosphere, amazing little treats and fun small town feeling.  In Edison, everyone is friendly.  It is really a tiny little close knit community where everyone cannot help but know everyone else because, well, it is only about 15 businesses long!  The little "downtown" strip has a wonderful store (mentioned before) called the Lucky Dumpster with fun vintage finds and plenty of creative and locally made treasures like animals made from reclaimed sweaters, felt crowns for kids and industrial metal words with new reclaimed wood tops.  You can wander from here to the woodworking gallery of Smith & Vallee and see wonderful local artists from sculptures and paintings to woodwork and metalwork.  It is housed in a lovely old wooden building with old planked wood floors, open beam ceilings and bright white paint on the walls.  Down the street is a truly unique shop that has everything from awesome handmade jewelry to a Walrus head (I am not sure why, but it is there to see).  Then there is Slough Food (a wine, cheese and food shop), Farm to Market bakery, Tweets, Breadfarm bakery and a few other local haunts like the local bar.

Tweets has the kind of ambiance the old coffee shops in Seattle once had and places like Anthropologie aspire to, only naturally.  The outside has a handful of fresh herbs and plants for sale.  The little wooden tables, chairs and stools inside are missing an appropriate amount of paint to see quaint and are pleasantly mismatched and the uneven wood planked floor seems homey and warm.  But the food is delicious and spitefully a bit too good for its own taste.  Their pastries always boast the amazing citrus infused whipped mascarpone cheese and the other delectables are beyond measure.  A decent cup of coffee will accompany anything you order while you sit among locals and enjoy the rain coming down the windows.  On a sunny day you might sit by the roll up door on rickety iron tables and chairs and see the folks walk by and smile or wave.  But you'll never be disappointed by the treats at Tweets (just maybe the dent it takes out of your wallet).

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am just trying to enjoy the small and quiet moments of life.  These lazy Sundays are no exception.  There were certainly piles of laundry at home, dishes to wash and put away, bills to pay, recycling to take out and groceries to buy- but there was also a decent time to be had enjoying the company of my family and the simplicity of a beautiful rainy or sunny afternoon.

Christmas tradition?

Well, in my family growing up we always got a "live" Christmas tree so we never went to the mountains or a Christmas tree farm or even a u-cut place.  We always had rather small trees that we put up on cinder blocks to be taller and attempt to fill our large spacious and vaulted ceiling living room.

In our family now, we have gotten our trees a number of ways.  In fact, just about every way possible.  Our first year we went to the mountains outside of Enumclaw and hiked and trudged through the snow and carried a HUGE tree back on our little Honda Civic to Federal Way, where we lived in our first apartment.  Since then we have gone to a few u-cut farms, the local grocery store (Haggen), the local growers market (Youngstocks) and we've bought a live tree too that we planted at our apartment after Christmas.  This year Aven was big enough that I thought it would be fun to take her up to the snow.

We packed up the car with bundles of clothes for Mommy, Daddy and kiddo including the doggies.  We packed snacks and Christmas music and saw and boots and we were off.  As we slowly drove up the road it seemed as if we weren't even going to see snow but eventually there were some dustings and then the dustings turned into snow and more snow and more snow.  I gripped the door handle as Abe drove us higher and higher into the mountains.  Once we went a suitable distance up, we attempted to turn the car around but got stuck.  Luckily there were some really kind people (who happened to go to our church) that were parked right by us so they helped us get out (we borrowed their chains).  Then we helped them get out too!  We wandered around looking for a perfect tree but when you are in the woods you begin to narrow down the definition of "perfect."

Perfect morphs into: not too lopsided, not too sparse, not 50 miles up this mountain!  Not down in a gully or up on a mountain side!  After wandering around for a a bit and scouting a possible tree, we wandered some more and then back again to the original selection.  After getting it home, it is really too large and really too sparse, but at least we had a good time.

Like all family outings especially with kids, I am learning not to expect the perfect moments.  I always think things will be magical like our kids first time on the beach (began in tears) or her first chance to play in the snow (began in tears as well).  But I suppose this is a good lesson to learn about anything.  It isn't the moments that always sparkle and shine but the moments spent together that make memories and tradition.

Geared up and ready to go.

Not exactly thrilled about being in the snow.

Happier when Mom is holding her.

Victory at last!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.  I'll be honest: this year has been a difficult one for many reasons and on many levels but I will say that I am so blessed to have a beautiful amazing and sweet daughter and a supporting, loving and dedicated husband and two amusing and loving doggies that help me get through all the days, weeks and months.  Many blessings to all of you during this season.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 

aquarium *3*

When my Dad was up a few weeks ago, we took Aven to the aquarium in Seattle for the day.  This was the 3rd time that I've taken Aven to the aquarium and each time she reacts differently to what she can see and do there.  Her attention span is different and her interest in the different activities has changed each time as well.  It is interesting to watch the progression each time.  We had a good time dressing her in the scuba gear and watching her hold the fins while she kept saying "shoes?"  This was by far the most exhausting trip there since Aven was not only walking everywhere but running as well. It definitely kept us on our toes!