2019 Inaugural Trip to Klahaya

Yesterday was just about as perfect as you can possibly get when it comes to Seattle weather. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, there was a slight breeze (at times), and the temp was in the upper 70s (79, to be exact). Per-Fect!

To celebrate the glorious day (and the fact we had a 3-day weekend), the Olson Four decided to spend the afternoon at Klayaha. We donned our swim suits, slathered on the sunblock, and got our splash on!

We had hoped to nab an umbrella table near the pool, but got to the pool about 45 minutes after it opened and every table had been claimed. It actually worked out because we wound up getting a table on the lawn, which gave us more space and plenty of shade. As the sun (and shade) moved, so did we.

Because it was the first day for the kids in the pool, the kids needed to pass the swim test (swim the length of the pool and then tread water for 1 minute) before being allowed in the deep end. Both kids passed with flying colors and spent most of the afternoon in the water. We had a rousing game of family pool basketball and took turns hopping off of the diving board.

When not getting pruny, we played frisbee, Greed (dice game), read, and just plain relaxed. It was marvelous. The kids took full advantage of their Popsicle punch cards and happily let Popsicle drip down their chins and hands. Hey, is that summer in a nutshell or what?????

Eric playing Greed

Conor's pool test ribbon

Doesn't everyone where goggles when playing frisbee?

Eric and Conor playing frisbee

How Annika spent most of her day

Our little fishies

Annika and Eric lounging on the lawn

Conor sporting my hat while enjoying his lime Popsicle

Annika was all about the cookies and cream Popsicle

We really couldn't have asked for a more perfect first day of the year at the pool. This summer, the kids will take tennis lessons and swim to their hearts' content there. The official start of summer is still a few weeks off, but this was a great prelude to the season!

Baby Shower and Bridal Cookies

There is something really special for me when I get to make cookies for a major life event. Cookies are great, but when they are for something like a milestone birthday, bridal shower, wedding, graduation, baby shower, etc., there's just an added "oompf" to them for me.

Last week, I made cookies for my co-worker's daughter's baby shower. I'm sure you can tell from the photos below, they are expecting a little girl. The really neat thing about this for me (because it is ALL about ME! Ha!!) is I also made her bridal shower cookies before she got married 2 years ago. 

The platter included cookies shaped like bibs, onesies, bottles, and baby carriages. This was the first time I used the carriage cookie cutter and I think it added a nice variety to the overall appeal of the final platter. 

From what I hear, the shower was a hit and everyone had a good time. 

As if cookies for one life event wasn't enough, Eric has four (yes FOUR) co-workers who are all going to be brides this summer. Holy wedding season, Batman!!! To celebrate the upcoming weddings, Eric's office had an after-hours happy hour to raise a glass to the brides-to-be. Because I was already making cookies, why not throw in a few bridal gowns in with the onesies and carriages??

The beauty of bridal gown cookies is there is typically no need to mix color into my royal icing! I did add some pink embellishments on a few of the dresses, simply because I already had the pink from the baby cookies. Talk about the stars lining up!! Eric divvied up the cookies (two per bride), put them in corsage bags, and tied each bag with ribbon. Edible and pretty. Win-win! :)  

 

2019 School Spring Concert

Apparently, someone with a lead foot has hit the accelerator pedal on time and isn't letting up any time soon. May has been CRAZY busy and flying by WAAAAY too fast.

Yesterday was the kids' school spring concert. (Side note: The school's new sound system thanks to last year's auction fund-a-need items is truly amazing! What a difference from years past.)

Anywho...

After Annika's Irish dance class, we made a mad dash home to get her changed and fed, and got ourselves up to the kids' school by their 6:45 arrival time. Eric and I even got really good seats (second row, on the aisle), which made taking photos during the evening quite nice. (Photos are still on my SD card... not a clue if any turned out yet. Stay tuned!)

Both kiddos did a great job and sang their hearts out!! (Annika also fluted her heart out during the band portion of the evening.)

Another Finished Project: Anywhere Skirt

Yes, it's true. I've finished yet another project. I know, right???

I bought fabric to make Annika some spring/summer skirts awhile ago, washed it, bought the pattern, and then did nothing beyond that. For an embarrassingly long time. Silver lining? Annika has grown so much over the past few months that my procrastination means the skirts won't be too small for her to actually wear them. 

(Unlike Conor's Easter slacks that I so "intelligently" bought ahead of time and then he outgrew them, leaving me to scramble for a different pair for him to wear on Easter.... the struggle is REAL.... growing children are really hard to keep up with and predict for.)

But I digress.... back to the skirt. 

I picked a swooshy multi-colored fabric so she could wear it with a variety of shirts (she's wearing her uniform shirt in these photos...) and to make any play-related dirt smudges less obvious (no dummy am I!).

How to align button holes proved to be a bit of a challenge for me, but I think it turned out pretty darned well. (Just don't take a ruler to the buttons to check for perfect alignment ... I'm not perfect and neither are they.)

Slightly-wonky button holes aside, I'm pleased as punch with how the skirt came out and Annika loves it. The beauty of this pattern is it is based on the person's measurements, so as long as Annika doesn't grow too much (HAHAHAH!!!) too quickly (BUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!), I can use this set of measurements for awhile ... at least, until mid-summer? 

OH, and ready for the best part? I had enough fabric left over to make her a little matching headband. (Mic Drop!!!) 

We are supposed to hit the 80s later this week, so I have a feeling Miss A will be grateful for a nice cool skirt to wear. (The shorts I ordered for her haven't arrived yet, so this skirt might get A LOT of wear over a very short amount of time!) 

Annika and The Scottish Play

Yesterday, Annika's class performed a student version of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The work they put into their performances was incredibly evident, as was the pure joy they experienced while performing. (Ahhh.... the next generation of theater lovers!)

Not only did the kids perform, they also had backstage jobs, including directing, sound/lighting, props, etc. Way to multi-task, 5th grade!!

Annika portrayed the roles of Lady Macbeth's assistant, a soldier, Lennox, and the person who held the pillow during Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's crowning ceremony. The kids got their parts and scripts over a month ago, and Annika was diligent about learning her lines and building her performance skills. We also learned that she can die onstage with the best of them! As Lennox, she participated in Macbeth's last stand battle and was offed by a rival sword.

Leading up to the play, Annika would shudder every time we made a Macbeth reference. Per theater lore/superstition, you aren't supposed to say "Macbeth" inside a theater unless you are in the play and referring to the character. Annika took it one step miles further by deciding no one should EVER say it and would curse us all if we said Macbeth in her presence. Of course, that just encouraged Eric and me to say it whenever possible. (Hey, if you can't torment your kids now and then, what's the fun of having kids???)

Auntie Suzanne and I had front row seats for the performance, so were close-ish to all of the action and (gratefully), close enough to hear most of the kids' lines. (That voice projection skill needed for live theater sometimes takes awhile to master!) The production took great advantage of the school's new lighting system... the purple lights used for the witches' scenes was really neat ... and was even more impressive with the use of a fog machine. (Yup, WAAAAY higher production quality than our old St. Charles school plays .... 'nuf said! Although, there was a great lack of over-done blue eye shadow that would have been funnily nostalgic ... if only!)

After the performance (mind you, this was performed for almost the entire school.... the little kids didn't attend due to the performance's length, but there was still a sizable crowd), the 5th graders sat on the stage, introduced themselves, and explained their roles and jobs. They took a few questions from the audience (including Conor's classmate Sophia whose "question" was, "When I'm in 5th grade and in the play, I want to a part that gets to have a sword."), and conducted themselves with great maturity and thoughtfulness. 

Court soldier

Sword-wielding soldier 

Crowning Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth's assistant

Video of Annika's death scene

After the kids' performance, they had a small reception in their classroom for the performers and their guests. Annika's teacher asked if I'd make Macbeth-themed cookies for the reception... ummmm.... YES!!!! It was a lot of fun to break out of my more "usual" cookie designs. I can now add "blood splatters" to my cookie decorating resume.  

Kudos to the students and their amazing teacher, Ms. Adler, for an enjoyable, impressive, and overall well-done production of "the Scottish play". 

(Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth!!!!!)