My 35th Birthday and a Seattle Adventure.

For my 35th birthday, Colin decided he wanted to take me to Seattle. It truly was the perfect present for me, because honestly I would love to experience cities right now more than I would like stuff (that's not to say I don't like a good Amazon gift card or Peete's coffee now and again). He couldn't hide his shock when I said I wanted to bring the kiddos. I really wanted them to experience a big city and live this trip through their eyes - they are always such a fresh perspective! We purchased Amtrak tickets (always a dream of mine to take the train up) and reserved a nice hotel (another love of mine - nice hotels) and we were off. I have to admit that bringing a three year old was a bit of a challenge with no naps and late bedtimes. But the memories were totally worth it. We swam in the hotel pool (we stayed at the Sheridan) which was really high up on its own floor and had an amazing view of the city. This swimming experience was Juliet's favorite part of the trip. We both helped the kids better their swimming skills, which was really good quality family time. We had the pool to ourselves most of the time.

This city definitely (at least where we stayed - right on Pike Street) had a very business feel, so we got some looks being a family of 6 wandering around downtown midweek. We walked to Whole Foods the first night and brought back pizza and sandwiches for dinner.  The next day we walked Pike Market and along the waterfront all day. We also walked to Safeco stadium - which was Samuel's dream come true. We were barely able to walk to the train by 4:00 that evening we were so exhausted. For food we had crumpets for breakfast (kids had Nutella crumpets, Colin and I had egg and cheese and ham crumpets). Lunch was fish and chips for them and more crumpets for me. Lots of coffee stops (I even walked by the world's first Starbucks). We grabbed Subway on the way out for the train ride home.

We visited the gum wall and all the kids contributed. Gross.

A testament to Boss' exhaustion - he literally slept on Colin's shoulders.

We snuck into a little creepy ghost town of a shopping center (if you can even call it that) and paid a fare for the kiddos to ride the carousel. Boss needed help, so I rode with him. Thankfully, he wanted off after about 20 seconds, because I was on the verge of vomit from the motion. Yuk. I don't know how kids do that.

This was everyone leaving the hotel for the last time.  We all miss that 4 star kind of life :)

We popped into a Starbucks (as you can imagine, there were many) to rest and charge my phone. We checked out of the hotel early, so we were literally backpacking around the city on the last day. Colin and the two older boys held our entire trip possessions on their backs.

Jude was pretty excited about the train ride.

Photo bomb - and yet another testament to how tired Jude was.

This was the backside of Pike Place.

We popped into a chocolate shop - Seattle does it up right with food.

Samuel contributed to the gum wall.

Sissy on the carousel.

Our train ride up was an experience in and of itself. 3 1/2 hours. Lots of iPad, snacking, coloring, talking, reading.

And watching the scenery rush by.

We made so many memories as a family. I can't wait for our next adventure!

More Gardening.

Sometimes I peruse my pictures in Photoshop and realize I've missed posting/editing some pretty cute ones. This particular batch is from March 24th when my brother came over with Ella and we all were out in the garden planting and playing with dirt. Ella and Juliet ate some dirt (good iron, right?) and the boys planted.

Jude found this worm and got very excited.
Got dirt?
Sometimes its fun to just crawl in the beds.


This is my favorite - snot + drool + dirt = mud. Ew.
Tasty treat.
I think they were inspecting a worm - cute batch of cousins, huh?
It's rare I get Samuel sitting still, so I had to post this one.

Easter

The kiddos and I headed out to our new church building in Wilsonville yesterday morning. It was insanely crowded and quite a trek from my neck of the woods but I'm glad I went. I spent the ride in the car talking to the boys about Resurrection Sunday and what we die eggs for (I like to tie everything into the birth and death of Jesus - I can find similarities in just about anything - it's one of my hidden talents).

I also had some family over for Easter dinner. Here are some pictures:

Sarah and Eden.
Samuel enjoying his new Legos.

Samuel's Easter shirt. Festive, I thought.

This is the only picture I caught of Juliet - she had a bit of a punk outfit on for Easter. Also, she loved this stuffed baby chicken.

Jude with red dye all over his face - not sure if that was the jelly beans or the red eggs.

Joel and Ella - such a sweet little Easter dress!

Eden.

Picture Dump

Here are some random pictures from this month that I just took the opportunity post.

Samuel playing outside making a really weird face. Same with Jude. Look how dirty he gets!

We had pizza night at our house a couple of weeks ago. I made the dough, rolled it out on baking sheets (I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe) and put a bunch of toppings out for the kids to choose for their pizza. They had so much fun and couldn't wait to eat their own creation!

Of course they chose lots of meat and pineapple.

This Pack N Play has been my lifesaver lately. I have never had a baby this busy, so sometimes Juliet has to play in here so she doesn't climb up my leg while I'm working with the hot oven or if I have to run out to get wood for the fire.

Jude likes to play in there as well, or just climb in and rest for a few minutes with his blanket.

Samuel took this picture of us. FLASH photography. Got to love it. I swear I didn't give Juliet that many teething tablets before this pictures was taken - I'm not sure why she looks so drugged (wink, wink).

The other morning I had some quality time with the kids which turned into chaos quickly. They wanted to color and the baby usually ruins the fun my eating/stealing/scooting over the coloring materials.

Jude looking a bit mangy while he colors.

Juliet has a new fascination with the TV and continues her obsession with the remote.

Juliet eating breakfast - usually includes a banana and some rice milk. She doesn't know any different, so rice milk doesn't taste gross to her yet.

Juliet found some candy again - this time a huge Lifesaver. The boys left their candy bag within her reach.

She actually didn't cry when I took it from her. Do you like the lipstick marks on her head? I can't stop kissing that girl!!

A few random tidbits.

Books: I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged . It's a huge book but an interesting commentary on capitalism vs. socialism. I just received "The Historian" from the library on both CD (22 discs!!) and the hardcover version. I can't wait to listen to it - fascinating story so far. Entertainment Weekly called it a "Twilight for smarty pants".

Jewelry: Since having children, it's been increasingly hard to wear jewelry, what with all the tugging and such. The only thing I wear on a consistent basis is my rings. A year ago my engagement ring banged up against the fridge and the huge sapphire (the main stone) popped out of it. I took it to Fred Meyer Jeweler last week to be fixed and they quoted $280. I then took it to Ben Bridge. They quoted $190. Colin would like to find some independent jeweler who will do it for a bit less. Anyone have a jeweler they love?

Etsy: I am toying with the idea of turning my fabric stash and passion for sewing into an Etsy shop. I don't want to take time away from my kiddos, but I would love to have a small business venture of my own. I also get overwhelmed at the idea of marketing (taking the perfect picture, getting personalized fabric tags made for my product) and building up the inventory necessary to open the shop), but Colin supports it, so we'll see if I can make that happen.