August roadtrip, camping and beyond!

So in late August, knowing our time was beginning to run out on the warm summer weather, we packed up the car and headed down to Oregon for a week-long road trip. Our first stop was in Portland, where Tyler and Tristan discovered a fountain they could ride their scooters through. I told them specifically, "We are waiting for a table so we can eat dinner. Do not get wet." As you can see, Tristan needs to work on his listening skills. Luckily I had the prescience to take off his pants before he got too wet. He's also lucky I have a spare sweatshirt for him.

Somehow we made it down to Sun River, which looked so close on the map, and yet was so friggin' far away in reality. Luckily when we got there they had plenty for us to do. Tristan has now become an avid fan and player of the mini-golf and....

Ronja and Tyler squared off head to head on the bumper cars. They also had real golf, horse-back rides, bounce houses, and bicycle trails galore. Oh, and on our way there, we happened to hit a winery that was right next to the Enchanted Forest, which from the parking lot looked like a good place for the kids to stretch their legs for an hour. Four hours later, we emerged, having had the time of our life. We met Abe Lincoln there...

Visited the Gingerbread house and Hansel and Gretel....

Tried to scare the wicked old witch from snow white. There was a rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland to go down, the little old woman's shoe slide, and all these other nursery rhymed activities to do throughout the forest. Plus a ridiculous play and real carnival rides. Who knew?

Oh, and we also visited the Point Defiance Zoo. You can't tell here, but the boys are looking at a giant walrus who kept coming up and giving them the eye.

Tyler clearly liked the elephants.

On our way back I tried to get them all to pose for a nice scenery shot. Things quickly deteriorated once Tristan suggested that I take a photo of his butt. Who's kid is this?


But it was breath-taking. We'll be heading back there next summer and hopefully camping right next to this beach.

Oh, we also stopped and visited our friends the Anderton's and they were kind enough to invite us to dinner at their club along the Columbia River. Tristan got tired of soccer and preferred to take in the view.

Once back home, we had a few days of recovery and then I took the boys camping with our friends Tomas and Michelle. Michelle is a very seasoned camper and very helpful since I am not and couldn't figure out how to set up the tent. We had a great time riding scooters through the campground, tossing rocks in the river and going for a little hike.

Such cute, cute boys!!

Our last days of summer were spent visiting all the parks and beaches around Seattle (and there are a lot!). This is one of our favorites - Golden Gate Park.

We also like Discovery Park because little bears climb up into the trees!

Lastly, Nana and Papa came to visit. We took them all over, including Alki Beach which is great for beachcombing and pizza eating.

We also took them to Ride the Ducks, which they loved. It took us all over Seattle and told us history and fun little facts. Every time we passed a Starbucks we had to shout out, "Lattes!"

This time around, Tristan didn't fall asleep. How can someone sleep when riding a huge, windowless, noisy tank?

Our end of the summer big finale was going up to Lopez Island with our friends the Lewis's. They have an amazing house and taught us how to crab. The boys absolutely loved going out in the boat, setting the traps, letting them go, then going back to pull them up and check the crabs to see if they were "keepers." We got a ton of them and were even sent home by the Lewis's with a bunch of leftover crab!

Plus, while they kids weren't out on the boat, they got to horse around on the beach and soak up the amazing scenery. This northwest lifestyle is looking pretty good!

First summer in Seattle!

Okay, so I didn't think I would admit this so soon, but I am sold on Seattle! Now that the sun is out and the days are warm (but not stifling like the rest of the country), I can't imagine any other place more interesting or beautiful. I still miss Hermosa: the beach, the sun sets, the bright mornings, my friends, and did I mention the beach? But Seattle is definitely growing on me. Every day we do something new and we've been trying to get out most weekends and explore the greater Puget Sound area. Here are a few highlights: Berry picking on the Olympic Penninsula. You can pick strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Plus there are farms all over that will let you pick whatever is in season. I noticed yesterday that blackberries are growing wild in all the parks.

The park down the street has a killer view of the sound. Our new au pair, Ronja, who is from Germany, will take the boys down and set up a lemonade stand. Tour buses stop there and the kids make a killing. If we were smart, we'd really work their cuteness while it is at its peak.

We had to wait until August to get a day above 80 (we've had three so far!) but on those days, the fountain below the Space Needle is timed to music and makes for a great afternoon of getting drenched and balloon sword fighting.

Mt. Rainier, when it is visible, is spectacular! This was taken from the beach at Discovery Park where we went tidepooling and found gigantic barnacles and huge purple starfish.

Strawberry milkshakes on the back deck after running through the sprinklers rocks! If they turned around, they could see cruise ships, container ships, ferries, sail boats and the occasional battleship pass by.

We camped in the northern cascades over the 4th of July. It was beautiful and so much fun. This is Tristan going on a night walk. He's got his headlamp on and is ready for action!

Fresh air and sunshine - ahhhhh!!!!!! Isn't this great, Tristan? "Yeah, but do you have any snacks?"

Smile if you like s'mores! Seriously, the main reason the boys liked camping was because they got to eat junk food.

Lucky for us, Ed was in town and helped us to set up camp. Otherwise, we might have been sleeping in the car like we did in Yosemite. Thanks Uncle Ed!

We sold the surfboard....

Alas, on January 4th, 2011, with a heavy heart we said goodbye to our beloved Hermosa Beach home and headed up to start our great Pacific Northwest adventure. The boys were both excited and sad and I was leaning more toward the sad side. It had been a crazy fall, there's nothing like remodeling one home, then putting it on the market and trying to keep it clean for showings with small children running around, planning for and executing the holidays while hosting family, and buying a new house in another state and remodeling it from afar. On top of all that, Tyler broke his arm on the playground on New Year's Eve. Fun stuff! We completely gutted our new home on Queen Anne, just about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle, so we lived on the 38th floor of an apartment building downtown for two months. The boys absolutely loved being able to ride the elevators ten times a day, not to mention the freshly baked cookies in the lobby starting at 10am. We all enjoyed looking out the windows and checking out all the action that was going on below including, "Hey, what's that white stuff on the ground?" Sure enough, snow! Lucky for us, REI's flagship store wasn't far away. Our boardshorts and flip-flops were quickly replaced by Bogs and down jackets.
One of our first excursions was a strenuous hike through the jagged mountains - not! This was actually at the Japanese Gardens in the arboretum. I am astounded by how many fantastic parks there are in the Seattle area: Discovery, Carkeek, Lincoln just to name a few. They are all huge, like over 250 acres, and filled with gorgeous trails, beaches and old growth trees.

Another first outing was to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island where we have discovered several cool playgrounds, a children's museum and a few nice cafes. What was Tyler's favorite thing about the ferry? Getting to stay in the car and watch a movie while still being on the boat. And Tristan's? Drinking chocolate milk. Such an adventurous duo!

We quickly discovered Top Pot doughnuts was a few blocks from our apartment (and another one is just blocks from our new house!). It has become our Saturday morning ritual. The first week we were here was Elvis's birthday and they were selling maple bars with real bacon bits - they had to limit it to one a customer they were selling out so quickly! While the boys are crazy about the doughnuts, I am crazy about the "latte art," the little picture of a leaf that they make in the foam on top of the latte all over town. Now when I get one without art (Starbucks!), I'm just a little disappointed. Only a week here and I am already a coffee snob (and understanding why coffee is the accessory of choice here - it's cold, dark and damp. You NEED something to keep you warm and awake!).

Another adventure we took was to Snoqualmie for tubing. Never in my life have I been rained on while trying to sled or ski. It didn't seem to affect the boys, though. They loved every cold, wet minute of it.

We went back to Hermosa for a week over spring break and when we returned, our house still wasn't quite ready. We toughed it out at the Four Seasons.

When you are used to going to the beach or an outdoor playground for fun every day, it's tough trying to adjust to the fact that the beaches and playgrounds are wet and freezing. We therefore became members of just about every museum around. My favorite is the EMP (Experience Music Project). The boys can practice on real instruments and there is a sound stage where they will film you doing a video with your very own band. So far we've covered Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" and "Wild Thing." Tyler comes up with our band names like Black Mamba and the Birthday Boy. I think at this rate, my little guys will be giving Nirvana a run for the money when they get older.

Tristan wakes us up every morning by playing Hole's "Malibu". He knows the lyrics and rocks out to it in his pj's.

Tyler wants to learn guitar and is practicing his guitar kicks. When he's stronger, he's looking forward to being able to play it behind his head.

We've also been forced to get creative with our new, extra inside time. We are taking up cooking, have lots of new playdough and will practice shaving for a good 30 minutes.

The Discovery Park lighthouse - we aren't in L.A. anymore!

Tyler settled in quickly in his new preschool. They were putting on a circus the first week and he opted to be the ringleader and a strong man.

Meanwhile, Tristan was happy to sit in the car while Tyler was at school and "play d.j." putting songs in and out of the cd player while I argued with the contractor.

"This is the coolest place I've ever been!" Tyler said when we found this trail in the middle of the city. I may still be homesick, but the boys have quickly adjusted and that is helping me along. I have to admit, this place is seriously cool. If it just weren't for the pesky weather!

Another favorite is the Ballard Locks. You can watch the salmon climb the ladder in the summer (250,000 pass through every year!) and watch the boats go through from Puget Sound to Lake Washington. It's like a small Panama Canal and very, very cool.

The apartment was pretty close to the famous Pike Market. The boys now have all their favorite places to eat crepes, sample smoked salmon, taste fresh fruit and of course, pick out their favorite cookies - pink ginger pigs! We eat under a huge squid that hangs from the ceiling and next to a gigantic wooden statue of Sasquatch, who is, ahem, very well hung. Something the boys point out to me every time we are there (and on occasion, they have shouted out to everyone else around).

The flight museum is a gold mine of activity! There are simulators, a play area, control tower, the real Concorde and Boeing's barn where the company began. So cool.

Gray skies by the Space Needle, but we have Bluey and our fuzzy sweatshirt. Plus there is hot chocolate in the Center House by the Children's Museum, Tristan's favorite place in the whole wide world.

One Busy December

Ack!!!! Here it is MAY and I'm just now finishing posting of December? I gotta get on the ball! With that said, here are some of the things we did in December!!! Slapjack and Checkers, the boys' mischevious little elf friends, came to visit us for several days over the holidays. They only sleep one hour a night and the rest of the night they seem to make messes.

Who else visited us this December? Nana and Papa!!! They came to make cookies, wrap packages, decorate gingerbreak houses and just soak up our last wonderful Christmas in Hermosa Beach.

We took Nana and Papa to the Science Museum and Papa was brave enough to try riding a bike over 50 feet in the air across a cable - yikes!

The elves had a snowball fight in our living room with marshmallows, those crazy little guys! Tyler and Tristan were more than happy to eat the evidence.

Get used to it, kids. It actually rained in Hermosa, and hard! Afterward the boys went out and splashed around, getting their boots, pants, socks, underwear, everything, wet. Good practice for the upcoming move.

Does frosting count as a beard? What is Santa's made of?

Again, Slapjack and Checkers tried to make Tyler's room into a winter wonderland by using, you guessed it, TP.

That cute little elf at the top is Tyler in his Christmas pageant. His class sang at the Salvation Army and it was adorable!

Daddy's birthday always takes a bit of a backseat to Christmas, but we at least baked him a cake, made him make a wish and blow out his candles.

Glorious beach!!!! We've been in Hermosa how long and have never been to Abalone Cove? I started looking for places we've never been to this fall and we finally got up to this wonderful, deserted beach with tons of soft sand, beach stones and wonderful tide pools. Plus it was 80 degrees in December - who doesn't love that?????

Neither one of the kids were fooled by this particular Santa. Only in Hermosa....

We may not have snow, but we've got sand and a lot of it. Our sand snowman might not have won any prizes, but it was admired by many an onlooker - and it was quite fun to make!!!

Hunting for the perfect Christmas tree! Thank goodness the lot is fenced in because these boys had me looking all over for them!

Gingerbread architects at school. What is this? Modern? Classical? Mediterranean?

I love this photo! Tristan and Tyler both ran up and down the sand berm probably 200 times in December. Nothing feels so good and free as sand under your feet and salty air in your hair. What adorable little boys I have!!!!