Bremerton vacation - a happy ending

All the Bremerton vacation photos were taken on the new camera Matt gave me for my birthday. I wanted a super small one I could carry with me instead of his big camera/camcorder that is heavy & hard to pack in a diaper bag. So here is Matt playing with the camera & taking some self portraits. Pretty cute!

We were one of the first cars in line for the ferry on the return trip to Seattle. We did this on purpose because we had to leave time to enjoy the fountains and sculptures (and to get coffee from Starbucks of course!).

Addie was trying to run between the fountains to catch the next one before it sprayed its water.

We took the ferry back to Seattle, drove home & it was nap time. A fun time was had by all. The end.

Bremerton vacation - a bit of nostalgia

Addie liked the phone booth. We had to take a picture because it is so rare to see them these days. We also had a bit of nostalgia at the playground at this park: they had an old-school teeter totter. The kind that we all grew up using & have been banned from most parks for safety reasons. The ones that are a plank of wood with two handles & tires at the ends to "cushion" your descent. The ones where your teeter-totter partner could decide to jump off and you would slam forcefully into the ground and suffer serious pain in your crotchal regions. Remember those?

A classic kid-in-the-tree picture.

Bremerton vacation - big bacon

Etta's happy smiley face hides the fact that she slept really crummy on vacation
(and thus, for the most part, so did we). More sleep training may be in order. Ugh :(

The house had kayaks we could use. Addie went out with Matt twice & enjoyed it, but was not interested in smiling for pictures.

Addie is enjoying her big piece of bacon.

Bremerton vacation - the rental house

Here is the house. The master bedroom was on the top floor & had an incredible view, but I realized I did not take any pictures from up there. Addie got to sleep in a twin bed for the first time. The first night she was on the mattress on the floor, the second & third night she was up on the bed & did not fall once :)

There were tons of shells and rocks to play with. Plus there were blackberries to pick & eat.

This one of Matt & the girls was taken a a park.

It is impossible to get 2 kids to look at the camera & smile at the same time. 

So as long as eyes are not closed and tears are not coming down, the pictures get deemed acceptable. 

Bremerton Vacation - ferry ride

Ok, I am having issues with getting all my photos to upload at once
so I am going to break this into a couple of posts.

When we were trying to decide on a vacation spot we wanted something that was fairly local because we did not want a long drive. We also wanted a ferry boat ride. After ruling out the San Yuans, Bremerton was recommended and we decided that it fit our criteria just right!

Here are pictures of the new haircut :)

Etta decided she wanted to take a turn driving the car. I had actually gone to the car with her to try to nurse her, but these days she thinks there are much better things to do in the car than nurse (or nap). 

One candle for each decade

A few big events this past week:
-Matt & I had our 7th Anniversary
- I turned 30
- The 4 of us went to Bremerton for a little vacation

Our new renter Heather babysat for us while we went out to dinner on our anniversary. Addie is at the stage of loving attention & really enjoying having babysitters come over because it is someone new for her to show off to.  She had a lot of fun with Heather and Matt & I had a good dinner. After dinner we watched Date Night with Tina Fey & Steve Carell. Pretty funny & pretty fitting since we went to our tried & true local neighborhood spot for dinner instead of getting dressed up & doing a night on the town.

I had a really relaxing birthday! Matt's mom & grandma came over to spend the day with the girls. I went downtown & got my haircut. I really should have done a before & after picture. We donated my hair to locks of love so as you can imagine it was a pretty significant cut. I always enjoy getting a haircut. I love the feeling when you walk out of the salon afterwards with a little smile on your face as your shiny happy hair is gently ruffled by a breeze. I almost always get compliments on my hair color as well, which makes me feel nice even though it is one of those things I really should not have pride in because I have no control over the natural color of my hair. I am the product of two blond haired parents of Dutch ancestry. Anyways, they were super nice at the salon. I went from there to the cinema to watch Eat Pray Love with my friend Katie. Watching a movie in the theater in the middle of the day felt like cheating or getting away with something naughty. It had been a while since I saw a movie at the theater, but it had been a really long time since I saw one in the middle of the day. After the movie I went home & had a couple relaxed hours with the girls. Then I went out to dinner with my friend Becky. We enjoyed a slow, delicious meal at Tilth.

Turning 30 was not monumental. I only started to feel old when Matt said he put one candle for each decade on my cake. Speaking in my life in terms of decades is a little off putting. Also a comment was made about aging. I realize I am getting older & my age is changing, but saying "aging" makes me think of "elderly"!

I am getting sleepy: pictures & more details of the Bremerton vacation to follow in a night or two...

Addie singing Happy Birthday

I do not have time tonight to post everything I want to, but here is a little something:

I have not been successful thus far in having the patience to learn how to edit videos & post them. Maybe the trick is just to take extremely short videos so they do not require any cutting. Here are two videos Matt took. I tried 2 different formats for posting them, so if you prefer one over the other let me know. Usually Addie's birthday song lasts much much longer than this.   :)

Recipe: Easy Florentine Rolls

A friend requested this recipe & I figure there may be other people out there who would like to try it, so here you go!

Easy Florentine Rolls
4 green onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb olive oil
1 6-oz package baby spinach
1/4 cup sniped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 13.8-oz package refrigerated pizza dough (think Pillsbury in a tube)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (1 oz) (I use more than this)
2 T toasted pine nuts (I am lazy & do not toast them. I use more nuts than this as well)
1 Tb melted butter
1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

* Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12 standard size muffin cups.
* In large skillet, cook green onion & garlic in 1 Tb oil until tender. Add spinach & basil, cook & stir over medium heat just until wilted. Drain off excess liquid. Stir in salt & pepper. Set aside to cool.
* On a well floured surface, unroll pizza dough & shape into 12by8 rectangle (it should come out almost this size- you should not need to roll it). Brush surface of dough with remaining 1 tsp oil. Spread spinach mixture to within 1 inch of edges of dough. Sprinkle with feta cheese & pine nuts. Starting with one of the long sides, roll dough into a spiral.
* Slice roll into 12 pieces. Space cut side up in prepared muffin cups. Brush with butter & & sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes. Carefully remove from cups & serve warm. (They are good cold too)

My first sunburn of the summer

This says a few things:
1) I have been pretty good about putting sunblock on myself. When I have it out & am slathering it on both girls, I figure it only takes one extra minute to put it on myself.
2) Laziness won today. I put some on my face & ears & then slapped a little on the back of my legs. We were out longer than I expected & the girls skin seems fine but mine is ever so slightly red.
3) The most important thing this says: we have not had enough sun this summer! I am about as fair-skinned as people come: if I of all people have not had a sunburn yet it means there have not been many hot days!

Seattle Summer Streets

I thought I would have some cute pictures to post from Matt & Addie's bike adventure tonight. Greenwood was having Summer Streets in conjunction with ArtWalk. They advertised all sorts of fun things for the kids: bubbleman! face painting! obstacle course! firetruck to climb on!

No pictures were taken because:
No firetruck could be found :(
"Obstacle course" consisted of a couple of hula hoops & a tunnel :(
Face painter had a scheduling conflict & did not come :(
The coffee place Addie & Matt stopped to get a brownie for dessert was all out of baked goods :(

Addie did enjoy riding in the trailer behind Matt's bike & seeing all the people. She was nominally interested in the bubbles.

Maybe next year will be better.

Going to the Zoo

Papa Wally & Grandma Ellie came up to visit and we went to the zoo. Addie got to go on the carousal (which I never say yes to doing with her because spinning in circles is not my idea of a good time)!

The girls also got some good outdoor play time in:

 including time in our yard, 

swing time at the park 

& time in the sand at Carkeek park.

Have I mentioned before that my mom likes to take pictures? 

For each one you see here, there are another 4 or so I skipped over.

But Addie will be able to re-live their visit through pictures quite easily :)

Matt & I were even able to go out to dinner while the girls had dinner &
 bath time at home with Papa & Grandma!

Smores

Last weekend Addie had her first  backpacking trip with her daddy. Saturday morning Papa Loren & Aunt May picked up Matt & Addie. Addie was very excited that her car seat was going in Papa's car - she had never ridden in it before! They drove north and Addie slept in the car a bit. Then they did a short hike in to a lake. Addie was in the child-carrier backpack but she did walk a little bit. Then Matt hiked back to the car to get his overnight pack that had sleeping bags, etc in it. Did I mention it was a short hike? About 3/4 mile. I requested that Matt choose a short one so that if things did not go well in the middle of the night or something, they could get back to the car with relative ease and speed. Also it made logistical sense with Matt having the two packs. Despite the rain (in August!) Addie had a fun time. She had her first smores experience. But her favorite foods on the hike? Dried pear (courtesy of Grandma Ellie's fruit trees) and dried pepperoni bites (think beef jerkey style). I think this hike will be an annual event. One day Mat will take both girls and I will (theoretically) have a weekend all to myself!

Just a bang trim

I brought the girls in because I was sick of their hair getting in their eyes. Etta, like all self-respecting babies, pulls clips out the second I put them in. Addie endures them slightly longer but they do not usually last if there is a car ride involved. Anyways, it was time. I thought it was time for Etta to get her "baby's first haircut" certificate & such. I was wrong. I realized I did not want them touching anything but her bangs. I did not want any of the cute curl or amazing color taken off. So we will wait on the certificate. After all, Addie did not get her first haircut & the certificate until she was almost 2 years old!

Addie loved getting her haircut. She got to watch a bit of a kids video during the cut, she got to play with toys in a big playroom while Etta got her cut, and they gave her a sucker for her to eat as well!

Etta loved watching Addie get her cut. She did not mind her cut, she just really wanted to grab the scissors & try them out for herself.

Looking for creative ways to use all those zucchini from your garden?

Zucchini chocolate chip cookies? Tried them, yum!
Zucchini in the meatloaf? I hear it is quite moist & tasty!
Zucchini pureed for baby food? But of course!
Running out of ideas?
Try making a few zucchini cars & holding races!

At our farmers market last week they had all the supplies set out, including a box of moderatly sized zucchini (if I were doing this at home I would be tempted to use my baseball-bat size ones & give them 8 wheels or so).  Addie loved this project. They had a race track set up with three lanes (divided by short walls) and a stick you removed from the top when it was start time. I don't think her zucchini ever won a race. It skidded along the side; it needed extra pushes; after numerous trips down it needed a wheel re-attached; but she really enjoyed it. We raced it some & then I suggested we go over to the slides so she (not her zucchini) could go downhill. She went down the slide a few times then was back to the zucchini track.

(yes, I am aware of the fact that her tank top is inside-out in these pictures. 

When she dresses herself it is quite rare for things to be on the correct feet or facing the right direction. 

I care sometimes, she cares rarely. 

You are also very perceptive and noticed that her hair looks a little different? 

There is a post coming up about that...)

My zucchini is not overwhelming me yet this year. As a matter of fact, I am under-whelmed so far. Each year I almost look forward to the onslaught of zucchini because it seems to be the one thing that will come in vast quantities despite the tepidly warm Seattle summer weather. I roll my eyes when I talk about zucchini plants but I also have some misplaced pride in their ability to thrive. Speaking of thriving, my tomato plants are getting crazy big. They smell so good right after a rain or being watered. How do the tomatoes taste, you ask?   I am no where near to knowing, my plants are still in the small- flowers stage. No green orbs yet.