Seattle

A nice relaxing trip to Seattle. Addy stayed with my parents. Fancy hotel in the heart of the city, perfect weather . . . it was wonderful. For me! Did I mention Scott was working?

Here is the fancy tub in our fancy room, yes that is water pouring from the ceiling, that is apparently way more cool then a regular faucet.


I got to go to the market:

Enjoy coffee from the original starbucks!

Do some shopping:

And sit outside and enjoy the protests. This is one of my favorite corners in Seattle. Music, mayhem, protestors, preaching, and snobby rich people on the way to Nordstroms ignoring it all. So fun to watch it all unfold.

After the work was done I took Scott to my favorite childhood spots. Ye' Old Curiosity Shop and Ivar's - feeding fries to the seagulls.

And on the way home a quick stop by Cupcake Royale. Yum!

Addy's Most Favotite Things

Here is a list of some of Addy's most favorite things:

1. All her friends . . . she is always making lists of all her friends and telling us about them coming to a party. (Typically there is cake or cupcakes involved.)

Sometimes the list is of "all my baby friends". We got to visit with a lot of her baby friends last weekend.



And of course the Pelton's are always first on the list. We got to go to Gracie's game tongiht.





During the game Addy hammed it up on the side lines, falling and rolling around.



2. Kid Bop CD's. She really goes all out for Gavin Degraw. It is pretty fun to sing along with!

3. Reading. Reading. Reading. She likes being read to and also reading herself. Favorites include Strawberry Shortcake, Biscuit stories and the always popular Good-bye Moon.



4. Scooby Doo. Morning, noon and night. I asked her who was her favorite character on the show. Immediately and with strong confidence she replied, "Fred". What? (On a positive note I feel that this is a good indicator Addy will like Buffy in later years.)

5. Scary stories. Bedtime stories have to be spooky and involve the whole scooby gang. I get extra points in I can work in the mystery machine. (See #4 above.)

6. The puppies. After a luke-warm welcome for Biscuit in the beginning, Addy is realizing the entertainment value.


She particularly enjoys feeding the puppies from the table (naughty) and tickling Biscuit on the tummy (cute).

7. Dresses. Up to now Addy rarely wore dresses. Both Addy and I were pretty anti-dress. Now we've both really warmed up to them. She goes around telling everyone - "I pretty". Which, frankly she is - so why try to hide it?

8. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles.

9. Bedtime tantrums. Not about going to bed, at least I don't think that is what they are about . . . random things start them. And she wails, and convulges, and withers, and slaps, and cries so hard she chokes, and throws herself around, and pulls things out of drawers and throws them, and yells. It isn't a pretty sight folks. Please make them stop.

10. Potty -training! So out of the blue Addy just decided she is ready. We hadn't really even fully discussed the topic ourselves and at school she just started working it out. She does some alternating between pull-ups and panties. She is dry all day at school. Amazing!


She loves her Dora pull ups and her princess panties. Here she is modeling her Ariel panties. She's had very few accidents and seems to be enjoying this new process of learning.

Hot Tamale Train!!!!

Oh yeah! Its back . . .


Tell me you aren't excited for another season?

Looooove it!

(And Scott can't wait for a whole season of Mary screeching.)

Road Trip

We had an a-MAZ-ing weekend! So many things, so much . . .

As soon as I realized we were going to Portland I knew I had to go to Saint Cupcake.

You know me and my cupcakes. Totally worth it! Here we are entering the store:




They have an amazing menu - here are the hot fudge on chocolate ones:


Then it was on to this place to meet up with friends. (Thanks for the great day Kelly, Tiffany and Ashley.)


We had a great time. Check out the beautiful grounds. I think my favorite was relaxing in the chairs on the front porch after burgers and beer.



I think Addy liked the herb garden best - she was totally into smelling the mint!


Then on Sunday it was off to have breakfast with Alex, Sarah and Kaitlin. We were so happy that Addy and Kaitlin got to meet finally!

We took a walk (okay, it was really a hike straight up Mt. Tabor, I thought I was going to die) and went to a great park after breakfast.




I love this - here is Sophie on the merry-go-round with Alex, Sarah and Kaitlin.


What a lovely weekend!! Thanks for hanging out with us and sharing great adventures.

WANTED

A home for one lovely, sweet and family oriented puppy. Her name is Biscuit and she is an amazing dog. Did I mention she is a gardener and will take good care of your yard?

The flowers left for dead in the yard:


The flowers left for dead on the patio:


P.S. Okay, so she did take out one of my pots. The good news is, I think actually she is leaving the rest alone. PLEASE, PLEASE leave the rest alone.

P.P.S. I wouldn't really give her away! Really. Well, at least not when I've had 4 or 5 days to calm down.

P.P.P. S. The best part of the story is how I got over my anger. Last night I am driving home from the store about 8:30. Its dusk - that magical time with a little bit of darkening pink sky. And just at that moment as I am trying to let my anger go . . . Heaven comes on the radio. I love that song. And as I belted it at the top of my lungs and pictured Janie Lane and the boys wearing their spandex leather pants with the diamond cut-outs on the side . . . all was right. I let go of my anger over my pot and found some peace. Warrant really hit the spot.

This is so sweet!

We played some ball with the Pelton's on Sunday. Scott and Jeff were helping Little learn how to play. Isn't this sweet?

Y OTG # 2

All hope is not lost (at least I think its not lost). A beautiful weekend and a good napping Addy gave me a chance to get the backyard pots ready to go!


But first my Year of the Gardener (YOTG) was helped when the gardening fairy came for visit early in the week and planted all my front pots for me. Thanks Mom!!! They are perfect!

And on Saturday my parents came over to celebrate mother's day and Addy and Grandma gave the front pots some TLC.

Then I went to work in the backyard. And I want everyone to know this was not easily accomplished. I stood in line last night at Freddie Freakin' Meyers for an hour waiting to check out with my $10 coupon clutched in my sweaty hand. Miserable . . . I think I got home and started unloading pots at 10pm. The wine I had with dinner had worn off by that time and I was not loving the planting idea.

But, like the tough girl I am, I did it . . . here are some shots:

My new "big" pots. :) I heart them!




Lovin' the Gerber Daisies (please let me keep them alive, they are oh so pretty).


Isn't she gorg? This is a Mother's Day gift from my parents. I am a very lucky girl!


The patio. I can't wait for everything to fill in and grow tall. Come on sunshine. I don't have to wish for rain - I know that is coming. (Like allllllllllllll week long.)


And this is a major break through for me. Every year I buy bulbs and never plant them. I toss them out once they are old and moldy. I am sure you can just hear Scott talking about wasted money. This year I planted them. And lot they have sprouted and are growing. :) Woo Hoo!!



If Biscuit so much at looks at one of my pots, I will have a very lovely puppy for anyone interested in a nice family pet with gardening skills. :)

Did I mention my back is killing me . . .