This Girl, This Week

I am squeezing this girl with the biggest hugs everyday as I absolutely love the stage she is in and wish I could bottle it up forever.  She is spunky, fun and...full of words! She caught our cat on the table bench this week and said over and over "Get down! (Gi Dow!)", we walked by the backpacks at the store yesterday and she casually lets out "backback," she showed me her "sticker" when I picked her up from school, offers up "I sowwy" after hitting her brother, and handed me her "towel" from the drawer tonight.  I am amazed at what she repeats and also love watching how she mimics her brother's phrases too.  A favorite of mine is simply "ok, mama."  On a side note, she is also very skilled at swinging back and forth on our pedestal sink, but we are working on ways to curb that! Love this girl!

Back Home!

With laughter and silliness as usual....!!

Thank You, Seattle!

At the risk of sounding too cheesy, I can honestly say that we could not have asked for a better trip!  We are so in love with the West and all the good things it has brought to our lives.  We saw so many sights, many favorite places, indulged in delicious meals and desserts, and best of all, were grateful and blessed to see and hug family and dear friends every day.  We are one very lucky clan and will never let that gift escape our hearts and minds as we try to live with purpose and fulfill our dreams as a family every day.  We are fortunate to have such awesome, happy little travelers too!  We rounded out our trip on Sunday with a gathering of dear friends which was the perfect way to wrap up a wonderful week.   Thanks to you all for everything and for making our trip so great - we miss and love you! 

Pike Place Market

What is a trip to Seattle without visiting the Market? We love, love, love the vibrant life found here and indulged in many of our favorite foods and stopped at our usual places while visiting today. 

The best kind of morning!!

Lincoln Park

 Breakfast at our favorite spot then a walk at my favorite Lincoln Park? Yes, please!  Happy Sunday morning in Seattle!!

Zoo Day

Hitting the zoo was an awesome idea for a way to catch up and give the kiddos some fun for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon.  Brooke and Bennett had some great hand holding sessions and all the kids loved it!

Green Lake!

On The Ferry!

We took the ferry back to Seattle on Saturday morning....searching for JayDoo and waving at everything we saw!  We landed in Seattle and headed to lunch at Duke's before walking Green Lake, meeting a dear friend and his little one at the zoo, then heading to dinner with friends in our old neighborhood.  The perfect day!!

BIG Thanks To Nonno and Nonna!

We need to extend a huge thank you to Nonno and Nonna who gave us so much love on Whidbey!  Thanks for hosting our fun-filled days, taking care of the kiddos, feeding us delicious seafood, and just being so kind and generous to all of us!! We loved spending time with you and miss you so much already!! 

Thanks for the memories - We love you Nonno and Nonna!!

Fort Ebey

We were pretty lucky to get out on the beach a bunch while on the island.  Our outing to Fort Ebey was one of my favorites.  The kids were giddy with laughter seeing some seals off shore and Bennett was beaming every time he found a shell.  They were such precious best buds walking and playing together on the beach. 

Gray Whale Sighting!

The four of us were out on a very chilly afternoon beach walk and could not believe our eyes when we saw a gray whale no more than about 50 feet from where we were hanging on the beach.  I always hoped for such an amazing moment and it was nothing short of what I had imagined.  We took some photos but mostly relished in the rare moments as he swam alongside us.  Bennett fondly named him JayDoo which had us calling out his name the rest of our trip.  This will always be an amazing memory for us.

Deception Pass State Park

Out West!!

We're back out west!! We landed yesterday to start our vacation in the land that we love!  Upon landing, we immediately headed over to a rainy Alki beach then met a friend and had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (I crave the Cactus seafood enchilada when in MN!).  We then drove north to Andrew's parents later that evening so we could spend the next three nights loving life on Whidbey Island before returning to Seattle to see more sites and loved ones for our last two nights.   We woke up and headed to West Beach on Whidbey...Bryn was mostly in an ocean trance and Bennett could not sit still with all the rocks and waves around us.  Oh how we love just being on the beach!