A Lovely Dessert

On Sunday as Annika and I were heading out to the store, she asked me "What's in a gummy bear?" The question initially perplexed me because she'd never had a gummy bear (they stink to high heaven in my opinion), but knew of them because of the moving "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Ah ha! I told her that they are made of sugar and gelatin (complete guess, but I figured it was pretty likely).

Fast forward to dinner that night. Our family of four met up with my brother's family of four for dinner at a German restaurant here in Seattle. My brother is a German fanatic and when he read about this restaurant he KNEW we needed to try it out. So, we did. Hey, who are we to deny him??

After our very tasty dinner comprised of wienerschnitzel, spaetzle, and bratwurst galore, we sat around the table in a food coma chatting and having a marvelous time being raucous and ... well, ourselves. The waitress asked if the kids would like the dessert that was included in the price of their meals. Sure, why not? A few minutes later, out came plates of whipping cream sprinkled with gummy bears. Annika was in HEAVEN at the thought of getting to try out the mystical treat. We figured Conor wasn't up for eating gummy bears yet, so he very happily stuck with eating spoonfuls of whipping cream.

Conor staring down his next bite

Our boy couldn't have been happier

Our nephew, Ian, and Conor were a perfect pair: Ian ate the gummy bears off o
f the plate and Conor ate the whipping cream. It's the new generation of  Jack Sprat!

Annika discovered there's worked involved when chewing gummy bears

One happy girl. After she was done, Annika turned to me and said, "That was a LOVELY dessert!"

Whidbey Weekend

On Saturday, Eric, the kids, Buca, and I all rolled into the van and headed up to Eric's folks' house on Whidbey Island. The intent was to have a little belated celebration for Eric's mom's birthday. After packing the van for what appeared to be a cross-country, multi-month trek, we headed out to catch the ferry.

As we neared the ferry line, Eric said, "Fingers crossed that we can make the 9:30 boat." He then looked in the rear view mirror and started to chuckle. Annika had her right and left index fingers crossed like an X... her fingers were crossed! :)

After arriving at Eric's parents' house, we got down to having fun! We unpacked the kids' bikes from the car, let Buca run free with Buster and Sonja (Eric's parents' dogs), and even broke out a frisbee. The sun shone down on us ... it was perfect "get outside and burn off some energy" weather.

While Conor took a much-deserved nap, Karen, Annika, and I went on a little adventure to the local beach. Annika had a fantastic time exploring every aspect of the beach, from rocks and shells to sticks and barnacles. She even got to watch a couple haul their boat of the water, which stopped her in her tracks.

Jack spend a good chunk of the day at a golf tournament, so we didn't see him as much as we're used to. After he returned home, he and Eric pulled out his compound bow and headed outside for a little target practice on the lawn.

After Conor woke up from his nap, the kids and I went outside so we could add a bit of color  (ala sidewalk chalk) to Jack/Karen's driveway. We drew a big hopscotch, a fish, abstract art, and people. In fact, it looked a bit like a crime scene once I started outlining the kids in chalk ... fortunately, we drew on clothes, faces, and hair, so things looked much less grisly when all was said and done. :)



After a tasty family dinner, we sang a raucous rendition of "Happy Birthday" and gave Karen her birthday present (bread proofing baskets and personalized labels for her knitting projects). The evening wrapped up with much-needed baths for the kids, stories, and exhausted kids falling into bed.

The next morning, we woke up, ate a yummy breakfast, played a few games of mahjong (I won 2 of 3 .. go me!) and then headed home in time for the kids' swim lessons and then dinner at a yummy German restaurant with my brother and his family.

Talk about a fun, full weekend!!!

Annika, Eric, and Conor having fun

Conor giving it a go on Annika's bike

Annika speeding down the hill

Happy boy

Conor willing his legs to grow so he can reach the pedals

I played with Jack's macro lens a bit more before returning it to him

Karen's pretty rhody

Annika scaling a hill at the beach

In far distance, you can see the ferry we take to/from the island

Annika decided to venture into the water and get her toes wet

And she discovered lots of wonders hiding under the cold water

Karen and Annika ... can I just say how much I adore this picture????

Annika organizing her clam shells

I found a bald eagle!! (circled for your convenience)

A neat piece of driftwood at the beach

Eric and his dad practicing with Jack's compound bow

Jack taking aim

Our family's most recent college graduate

Our family has one more college graduate to its credit. Our niece, Emily, graduated from LCSC in Lewiston, ID.

(Cool side note: She is the 3rd generation of our family to graduate from this same school. My paternal grandmother graduated from LCSC—when it was a normal school—in 1925. Emily's dad graduated from LCSC in 1980—I think that's the year.)

The drive over to Lewiston was a hoot. The car contained my brother, his wife, my sister, and me. We talked and laughed non-stop the entire drive there. I swear, this was the fastest a trip across the state has felt. We arrived in time to kick back in the hotel and catch up with everyone prior to donning our fancy clothes and heading out to the graduation ceremony.

The graduation ceremony began with bagpipers and a sizable processional of faculty and students. There were a few speeches (including a rather entertaining one by the student body president) and awards and then the students received their diplomas... actually, empty folders that will one day hold their diplomas.

Following the ceremony, our group had a late, but very fun dinner together at a local Italian restaurant. Everyone ate their fill and after realizing how blurry-eyed we were, headed back to the hotel and fell into bed. The next morning, we woke up, hit Starbucks (it wouldn't be a family gathering without that!!) and drove back home. The drive home was much quieter than the previous day's drive, but still fun and filled with laughter.

We saw lots of pretty yellow flowers, which I learned were canola ... as in the oil.

This is how I saw my brother to/from Lewiston ... I felt artistic taking this pic

Yes, my brother is a dork ... but I love him!

Emily opening her birthstone earrings present

Abby helping Emily get ready for graduation

I told Emily to show me her "I'm about to graduate" face

Our graduate

The ceremony opened with bagpipers ... how cool is that??

My brother-in-law and his parents, who have yet to miss a grandchild's graduation

Emily waving to us from across the arena (thank goodness I had my father-in-law's 300mm zoom lens)

I adore this photo of Emily and Randy

Randy, Abby, Emily, and Suzanne

Randy, Emily, and Suzanne

She's all gradumacated!

Emily and her sweetie Sam

I was one proud Auntie!

Emily and her paternal grandparents

Emily and her big sister Abby

My grandmother's memorial brick at LCSC

Emily and her little sister Anna

We got stuck behind this truck ... it pelted us with hay, to which we
kept saying, "HEY!" (Yes, we are THAT clever!)

On our way home, we made a last-minute (as in gravel flying up in the air last minute)
stop at a winery that we passed. The name was the main reason we stopped.

Staci trying her three glasses of red wine

Troy sniffing one of the reds

Science Experiment

While at a local home improvement store recently, I picked up some cute animal-shaped grass growing kits for the kids. I thought it would be fun for them to plant the grass seeds and watch the progress as the seeds evolved into grass. Fortunately, the kit included rapid-growth grass seeds, so the kids saw results fairly quickly.

I used the kits as a venue for teaching the kids about what seeds need to grow, how we need to take care of plants so they can continue to grow (this coming from the woman who can kill off plastic plants ... that's what we call irony), and being careful with things that can break (the planters are rather fragile, per the woman at Lowes).

he kids have enjoyed watching the grass grow from the wee little seeds that they tucked into the dirt into long blades of green grass that I wound up cutting recently because it was becoming ridiculously long! I'm just excited that we have grass that hasn't fallen victim to a dandelion infestation (which cannot be said about our lawns outside).

Side note: The cow's expression cracks me up. It looks so bored or like the cow is just humoring me.  The duck just looks eager and attentive. They have become my kitchen buddies and are always wonderful listeners as I talk to myself while prepping dinner or baking whatever is on my "let's make this!" list.

After 5 days

After 10 days

Princess Party

Annika was invited to a birthday party for one of her classmates and today is FINALLY the day of the party. Annika was beyond excited to know she'd been invited and was over the moon when she heard it was a princess party. Really? What could be better for this age group than a princess party?

On top of Annika getting to wear one of her dress up dresses out in public, I threw together a no-sew tutu to put under the skirt and help fluff it up a bit. Thank goodness for the Internet; otherwise I would have taken a lot more time sewing a petticoat than I needed to.

With the gift wrapped, the card signed, and the girl princessed, we headed out to the party. This is Annika's first drop-off party, so I have no idea what the party will entail. I can hardly wait to hear all about the fun things they did. 

Annika signing the card

Pretty princess

All ready to go!

A Girl and Her Dog ... A Dog and His Girl

Wednesdays are my work from home day. I LOVE them.

I  feel like I regain so much time and have a chance to keep myself from succumbing to the weight of my ongoing to-do list. In the time that I would spend commuting to/from work, I can now do some laundry, load/unload the dishwasher, clean the bathrooms, and get a jump on dinner. Another perk to Wednesdays is we don't have to leave home quite as early in the morning, so if one of the kids winds up needing to sleep in a bit, it isn't a problem. Even if no one sleeps later than normal, having a more leisurely pace one morning a week is a wonderful treat ... for all of us.

This past Wednesday was gorgeous here in Seattle. The sun and blue sky were out and calling to me. After I finished up my day's work and prepped to get Annika from school, I decided to grab Buca's leash instead of my car keys. Buca and I took a nice walk up to Annika's school and got to soak up the beautiful day.

Buca taking a little breather en route to Annika's school
(I promise, he really does have ears!)

When we arrived at Annika's school, the preschoolers were outside playing and quickly became focused on Buca. Annika LOVED being able to tell her friends that Buca is HER dog and is a VERY good boy. (It was mighty cute!)

As we began our walk home. Annika asked if she could hold Buca's leash. OK, no problem. During our journey, she continually asked if she and Buca could smell the various flowers that we passed. She'd sniff the flowers while Buca sniffed Annika (who probably smelled like her lunch). Annika's continual proclamation of "I'm such a big girl. I can hold Buca's leash." was mighty cute. She was so proud of herself for being responsible for Buca's leash and keeping him safe.

All in all, a great day!

Annika and Buca heading home