Entryway Bench & Shelf

Slowly but surely I'm trying to fill empty walls, and spaces in our new home.  Our front entry way was lacking a place to hang visitors jackets, and a place to sit down take off those pesky muddy shoes.  I think this fit the bill quite nicely.

I found the bench plans here on Ana's site, and I had it built in under an hour.  I did make one change though to the plans.  I used (2) 2x6's instead of the 1x12 for the bench seat.  I think it gives it a sturdier feel, and I like the look with two pieces of wood.

The shelf was put together using some scraps from the garage, a 2x8 attached to a 2x10 cut 4 inches shorter.  I then used some moulding to add a decorative detail.  The hooks I found online at Amazon, and were delivered straight to my door.  I painted them all white, and then used glaze to give them an antique look. 

Now I just need some cute frames on the shelf, and a pop of color in some accents.

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?)

Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows

When the weather outside is cold..

..it's definitley the perfect time to enjoy hot chocolate.

My little family loves their hot chocolate, and we go through quite a lot of it.  We have too may flavors to count, and each person like their own little concotion of warm chocolatey sweetness.

But with hot chocolate you need marshmallows, and finding that we were all out, we decided to make our own.  The kiddos couldn't believe that you could actually make them yourself, and they were so easy to make!!

We used this great recipe, and cut some into shapes (like hearts, and snowflakes) but found that they were more fun to eat in plain old squares.  The best part of homemade marshmallows are how light and fluffy they are, and sweet, oh my!! The recipe made about 100 1" squares, so that should hold us till next week (grin)

Dave and I have recently stumbled upon a great find here in Seattle, Chocolati.  They make their hot chocolate with melted chocolate and warm steamed milk.  It is so rich, and absolutely divine. Unfortunately you can only get it at their shops.  They do sell a mix, which even they say is close, but not nearly as good as the real thing. 

In an effort to re-create it, or get somewhat close, I found this recipe for Truffle Hot Chocolate Balls.  Again, a super easy recipe, with great results.  Perfect for another snowy day like today.

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.

M.I.A.

So, if you haven't noticed I've been a bit of a slacker when it comes to my posting on my blog. (If you didn't, my mom noticed)

It's not that I've been incredibly busy, OK I have with life and all, but my schedule changed drastically in January, and finding time for this or the computer in general seems hard pressed.

The change has been a good one.  We started going to bed earlier, which means the whole brood is also up earlier (like 6:30 am everyday!!) Which means more time to snuggle my kiddos in the morning, and an earlier start to my day.  I also joined a nearby gym, and am working out 6x a week.  3 at home, 3 at the gym.  Which means that free time during the day, is now taken up with exercise.  I'm also back to my healthy eating, mostly vegetables and whole foods, and I feel fantastic.  

Daniel also started Lacrosse in January and practice 2-3x a week that is 15 minutes away, means a lot of time back and forth in the car.  So that free time seems to have disappeared, and with it my updating of the blog.

Good news is that I have some fun pics of Josh's Pinewood Derby from last night that I really want to share, (and a bunch of others!!) so I might end up staying up too late tonight, and being really tired tomorrow, but I promise soon you'll see some new posts from me..

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.