Summer in Instagram

So thought I would post some of my Instagram pics for family & friends that aren't using it (but really should!!) I've excluded pics from our 2 week vacay beach camping & bear lake, because those are coming soon in another post!!  So here ya go!!

4th of july fun!!

 

splash park

 

farmers market goodies



blue angels at seafair & hanging around




juanita beach



long beach for labor day weekend




jetty island for labor day

5th Annual Tash & Trish Excellent Adventure

Trish arrived, and we got busy to planning our fun trip in Seattle.  This is our 3rd year doing Seattle, and having spent one year doing all the downtown touristy stuff, and one year doing a fun Twilight themed trip, we decided to find the hidden treasures of Seattle for this trip.

Our first full day we headed to Ballard, and the Chittenden Locks.  It was so fascinating and fun!! The locks move boats from the lakes to the Puget Sound.  They maintain the level of the fresh water from Lake Union and Lake Washington, and prevent mixing sea water from the Sound with fresh water from the lakes.  They also have a salmon ladder which ushers salmon from the sound up to the lakes.  We had a great time watching boats pass in and out, watching the big train bridge overhead raise to let the large sailboats through, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day. The locks are also surrounded by a beautiful botanical garden with lush greenery and flowers.  Such a fun adventure.



Afterwards we grabbed lunch at the famous Lockspot Cafe.  This is where all the fisherman from the Deadliest Catch boats grab their food, and it ranked #1 in Top 5 Fish 'n' Chip joints in Seattle..Oh yeah we don't play around, we go for the best :) The Fish 'n' Chips were delish, and with full tummies we were off on our next adventure.  We hit the nearby Nordic Heritage Museum, and walked through a journey of the their immigration, their beautiful woodworking, and handiwork, and the impact they have on us today.  From there we headed towards the waterfront in downtown Seattle.  We found an amazing parking space like a block from Pike's Market, and just walked around the market, and then down to the waterfront.  It was so fun to take in the sights, and just talk.



The next day we were ready to get our geek on!! Trish and I dressed in our shirts from last year, and tackled the new venue at the Conference Center in the heart of downtown.  We enjoyed some great panels, and some so so panels, and we're ready to call it quits by late afternoon.  Needing some more adventure to the day, we set off to find the Deadliest Catch boat..which we found the dock for, but it was out at sea...bummer!  So our next adventure was to find the elusive Fremont Troll.  Legend is he was hiding under the bridge, and the sun hit him and turned him to stone. We had fun taking pics with this big guy, and yes that is a real VW bug in his hand.  For dinner we drove into downtown Fremont, and Trish spotted this gem.  We had the most amazing dinner.  Trish got the brisket sandwich, and I opted for the plate with crispy sweet potato fries, baby green salad, and the most amazing brisket.  Our waiter was happy to oblige when we asked for more pickles, and his service totally made our night.



Leavenworth was next on our agenda, and were blessed with a sunny bright (hot) day.  We had fun strolling the cute decorated streets, and visiting the little shops.  We loved the Kris Kringl Christmas shop, the hat shop, and were super excited to see the Nutcracker Museum, which did not disappoint.  Over 5,000 Nutcrackers in the shop, most of them from Germany.  There were so many!!  The traditional ones were my favorite.



After a hot day in Leavenworth we travelled north about 10 miles to Cashmere.  Our first stop was the Aplets & Cotlets Factory Tour & Shop.  After sampling both, we both decided we weren't big fans, and moved on to our next destination, cider tasting.  The girl was so cute, and brought out little sampling cups for us to try the different flavors of bottled cider.  The Lavender (an acquired taste were told) was our least fave.  The Huckleberry, and Plain Cider were my faves. (which I brought home to the fam to share) We then enjoyed the beautiful outdoor scenery, and had fun taking pictures.



After getting our fill of the Wenatchee Valley we decided to head home, and I saw a sign with the word "Waterfall".  Trish loves waterfalls, and this one did not disappoint.  Deception Falls was beautiful, and so serene.  I can't wait to bring the whole family back for a hiking adventure, and picnic.



Our last day together needed one last fun adventure, and "Ride the Ducks" in Seattle seemed like the perfect silliness to end our fun.  I learned more about Seattle, and realized I know more than I thought I did about our beautiful new home.  I also really love this place, and had so much fun exploring it with my bestie.

 

I want to make sure I thank my amazing husband who made this all possible.  From working at home two days, entertaining the kiddos, keeping the house super clean, make us delicious breakfast each morning, and so much more..Thank You!!

And so another amazing adventure comes to an end.  We fall back into our busy lives, each with our four kiddos, and my heart is so happy to know I have such an amazing friend.  I love you Trish!! (Let's get busy planning next year..Canada this time?)

The BIG Snow!!

It snowed a couple of mornings this past week, and although it didn't stick around for long, it reminded me of the big snow we had in January..

We had heard that we might get some snow, and were delighted when we came home after some family adventures in Seattle to find snow on the ground..it wasn't much, but we rolled out some large snowballs and put together our first snowman in our new home.  We had no idea we were in store for much more snow!!

By Sunday morning we had over 6", and it was really coming down.  Church was cancelled (the first time ever in my life) and we spent the day indoors making homemade marshmallows, and filling our bellies with hot chocolate, and watching the snow fall.

Monday was a holiday, and the kiddos took full advantage of the weather with neighbor snowball fights, sledding, and playing in the fluffy white stuff.  Dave headed into work (thank goodness for that 4 wheel drive, they didn't even plow the freeways), but by afternoon most of the place was empty, and he decided to work from home for the rest of the week.  By that evening we had 3 more inches, and we received the email confirming that school was indeed cancelled.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday meant even more snow, and by the time it stopped snowing on Thursday we had over 12 inches (and yes, I measured).  School was eventually cancelled the entire week mostly because the buses couldn't get through.  Seattle isn't equipped with snow plows, and because of environmental reasons they don't even salt the roads.  So when it snows, everything just shuts down. We had known we might get some snow, so I was fully stocked, and we didn't leave the house for an entire week (except of course to walk up the street to do some sledding down the hill). 

It was such a fun adventure, and I loved looking out the windows each morning at how beautiful our big cedars, and oaks looked laden with snow.  The kiddos got great use of their snow gear, and we spent so much time outisde playing in it.  It was almost like vacation..but at home in the snow.

Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor water park resort, and we are lucky enough to have one located only an hour and half away.  The kiddos have been dying to go here ever since we moved up to Washington, and on Black Friday I nabbed a groupon for it at a huge discount. 

We stayed in their largest suite, the Grizzly Bear Suite which had separate rooms for the kiddos and us, separate bathrooms, and a fireplace, and dining area.  The stay at the lodge includes access to their 84 degree waterpark the day you check in, and all day of your check-out day. 

After getting settled in our room, we headed to the water park for the next four hours.  The have a huge wave pool, a pool with basketball hoops, two kiddie areas for little ones like Natalie, two smaller open slides, and four giant tube slides that required intertubes, one being a giant tornado shaped one.  Because it was all indoor I felt so safe letting the boys take off for the big tube rides.  They went on them over and over again.  Even though all the rides were great, I think all the kiddos loved the wave pool the best, which had both regular "beach waves" as they called them, and "crazy waves" which went all over the place. (crazy waves were their fave) 

Afterwards we went back to our room, and feasted on the pizza package (part of our groupon deal).  With full tummies we headed out in search of the arcade.  We played games, collected tickets, and everyone got a fun prize.  We picked up some yummy dessert at the Bear Paw Sweets & Eats, and watched the snow fall in the lobby, as we listened to part of story time.  We then headed back to our room to watch movies together.

The next day we arrived at the waterpark bright and early.  We played for hours and hours, and hours until we were completely waterlogged.  Even though we could stay until 9pm, we were done by late afternoon, and ready to pack up and head home. 

What a fun, fun place to go.  A place designed entirely around families and kids. It was great fun, and the kiddos are already looking forward to their next visit.

Fairhaven and Bellingham

Our family word for 2012 is explore!!

We live in this great place, and can't wait to explore every inch of it.  There is something about being out in the fresh outdoors, exploring new places, experiencing new things, and doing it all as a family.

Our first exploration for the new year was Fairhaven and Bellingham.

We drove up the 5, and got off at scenic Chuckanut Drive.  It wraps around the mountains, and has the most beautiful views of the water, and the San Juan islands.  We stopped first at Tedy Bear Cove.  The kiddos bolted from the car, and had so much fun running down paths, exploring the beautiful cove, climbing on rocks, and exploring caves and caverns.  I loved watching them enjoying this beautiful place we live in, and run and play in the outdoors.  Dave taught them how to skip rocks in the water, and the explorations were endless.





After that we had worked up quite an appetite so we drove into the nearby town of Fairhaven, for fish 'n chips in a double decker bus.  The kiddos meals also came with frozen yogurt that they serve in over 30 different flavors. 




With full tummies we loaded up and headed to Boardwalk Park in nearby Bellingham.  The kids had a blast running up and down the Boardwalk, and playing in the sand and shores beneath it.

Seattle's Underground Tour

My parents came to visit a few weeks ago, and their only request was to do the Underground Tour in Seattle.  Having only been here for a year now, I hadn't been, and was eager to check it out for myself.  I love Seattle, there is so much history, and I am kind in love with anything old or nostalgic.  This tour was a perfect blend of all three, because it included a history lesson on how Seattle came to be, tours of some amazing old buildings, and visiting the underground part of Seattle that still exists today. 

To read all about the history of Seattle, and the underground tours, you can go here, 

below is an exercept from Bill Speidel's Underground Tour website:

Girls Weekend

My best friend Trish flew in last weekend, so we could continue in our annual girls weekend getaway, so I bring you..

Tash 'n Trish's Excellent Adventure #3

After picking up Trish from the airport with little miss, we made our way back to my new neighborhood, and stopped to have a screw taken out of my tire (and no, it wasn't one of mine).  We had lunch, and visited Molbaks (think Canterbury Gardens but better) which has all it's beautiful Christmas trees out on display.

We then made our way back to my house to figure out plans for the weekend.  I had been feverishly trying to finish up a few projects (which I'll share tomorrow) and hadn't even made plans for our weekend.  But for two spontaneous girls that isn't really a problem.  Trish threw out the idea of Forks, and doing some Twilight stuff, and had never rode on a ferry.  So we booked a hotel and off we went.  We took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, and stopped in Port Gamble at Mike's 4 Star BBQ.  It was delicious!! A fun, casual spot where everyone was so friendly.  From there we made our way to Sequim to spend the night.

 

After a free breakfast (the very best kind) we packed our bags and got in the car to continue on our journey.  Our first stop was Forks, where we visited local "twilight" spots, and had so much fun taking pics, and again meeting the nicest people. 

We then journeyed to the shore, and La Push.  We visited First Beach sprinkled with driftwood, and extremely large trees that had washed ashore, and then farther down to Rialto Beach.  The views were amazing, and the sun peeked through the clouds to make it a truly beautful day.

After the coast we ventured east to Port Angeles.  They just happened to be having their Dungeness Crab Festival that weekend, we stumble on the greatest things!!  We enjoyed the "crab feast", and it was delish.  With full tummies we wandered around Port Angeles.  As the sun was setting on another fun day we boarded the ferry and made our way back to my house for a good nights sleep.

The next day we decided to be really adventurous and head into Seattle for the first annual Geek Girl Con.  We barely got in as they were completely sold out.  We attended a bunch of different panels, met some fun people, and concluded with a sing along of the movie Labyrinth in the EMP Auditiorium. It was classic!! 

Afterwards we filled our tummies at the Old Spaghetti Factory, and even got to sit in the train car.  What a fun day!!

Our last day together was short and sweet, as Trish was catching her plane out that afternoon.  We had a delicious ginormous breakfast at the Maltby Cafe, just around the corner from me.  Then it was time for the airport and to say goodbye to my Trish.  I love our friendship so much, that we can pick up at anytime, and it's exactly how we left it.  What a fun weekend with the bestest friend ever!!

Long Beach

On Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast, threw the kiddos and Bailey (the dog) and any other needed items in to the truck and started off our journey to Long Beach, WA. 

For lunch we had yummy fish 'n chips, and then we drove into town.  The downtown streets were crowded with tourists, so we drove a little north to the next "beach access" sign.  We made a left, turned on the 4 wheel drive, and drove onto the beach to find the perfect spot.  We passed a few groups and then we saw lots of empty space.  Perfect!!

It was a beautiful warm sunny day, with plenty of wind, perfect for kite flying.  Two kites immediately flew into the air, and because there was so much wind, even the little ones got in on the action.  Then came frisbies, soccer balls, and volleyballs.  Daddy and the kiddos built forts, and then we dug a hole in the sand and started a fire.  Hot dogs and s'mores were on the menu.  With full tummies, worn out kiddos, and a worn out puppy dog, we packed up and drove home.

It was a beautiful fun family day at the beach.





The drive home was great!!  Dave and I spent almost the entire time talking to our almost middle schooler about what was ahead of him this next year.  It was such an open conversation, and we discussed especially how important it was to be "in the world, but not of the world".  I know that he is ready for the challenges ahead of him, and I am so proud of the young man he is becoming.