Birthday

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday... The babysitter we were going to get fell through so we decided to head to Seattle and celebrate it as a family...

I love the drive to Seattle... looking out over the water just makes me happy...

We ate on 5th Avenue at Rock Bottom.  The food was delicious and way more than we could eat... This is Sean's meat loaf... yum...

And this is my chicken fried chicken.  I cannot believe how enormous this piece of chicken was... it was SO good!

Every time we drive past these houses on our way into Seattle I try to snap a picture of them and I finally got one... I love how they are tucked in behind the trees... I think I am in love with craftsman style houses...  The more I get out and about the more I realize that I love living here and I am happy that we decided to come back to Washington...  All in all I had a great birthday and I am glad I got to spend it with my two favorite people and that the sun was shining~

Good Times

Today was just an all around good day... the sun was shining, Cole took a long first nap... When he woke up from his nap, we went to McDonalds for lunch. It is amazing how having him with me takes something as boring and uneventful as lunch at McDonalds and turns it in to a good time.  He loves to people watch and it is fun to watch him try to interact with people as they walk by.  After lunch, we went to the park and we kicked a ball around... Cole is so much fun to play with and I am so glad he is mine forever.  

Sean is taking me out for my birthday tomorrow and we are leaving Cole with a non-family-babysitter for the first time... it is ridiculous how nervous I am... She is a really nice girl who is in our ward at church and only lives 4 houses up the street from us... it really doesn't get any better than that, so I need to just calm down and look forward to going on a date with Sean for the first time in a long time~

Seattle Times

Friday we went to the Seattle Times grounds and played with bubbles with Cole.    The grounds there are gorgeous... it is mainly just grass with a thin walking path and lots of trees... the perfect place really for Cole to run around... 

Bubbles are a new thing for him and it is so cute watching him try to catch them.

 I love taking advantage of the "good" weather and being outside as much as possible.  I am glad that even though I don't have much of a yard, there are a lot of places like this close by to take Cole~

Scribble

A couple of months ago at Cole's 15 month check-up, the nurse was reading through a list of milestones that Cole was supposed to have reached and when he came to "scribbling,"  I felt a little silly because I had never even thought to try to teach Cole to scribble... I just assumed he was too young, so since then I have been letting Cole scribble and he loves it... 

Adventures in Bark

Cole's favorite toy at the park has always been the bark... We hadn't been to the park in awhile so we took him to our neighborhood park this afternoon and not much has changed...

He still prefers gathering bark on the slide to actually sliding down the slide...

And when he climbs onto the toys it is only to find a new place to gather bark... In this picture he is taking the pile of bark that he put onto the step and dropping it piece by piece through the cracks... it was fun to watch him explore~

Country Village

We have been wanting to check out this place for a long time... it is only about 5 minutes from our house and every time we drive past it we want to stop... so we finally did...  The village is full of cute stores and restaurants and reminded me a lot of Gardner Village in Utah, it just wasn't quite as big.

This was my favorite store... it was full of adorable decorations and I love the name... I think I will be stopping there often as I finish decorating my house.

We didn't venture in to this store but I loved the name and the fact that it is in a tower... I would love to shop there for my wedding if I was a bride again.

The grounds were gorgeous to walk through... there was a little creek running through the entire village and a duck pond underneath this bridge...

They even have a mini train for kid train rides and I am going to take Cole back some day to do this when he is a little older...  It was just fun to be out and about and now I am happy to be home~

200 Have and Have Nots...

I have been seeing this list on a lot of the blogs that I read and I thought it would be fun to do.  The things I have done are in purple~

1. Touched an iceberg 2. Slept under the stars 3. Been a part of a hockey fight 4. Changed a baby's diaper... 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Swam with wild dolphins 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a tarantula 10. Said "I love you" and meant it 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise15. Seen the Northern Lights 16. Gone to a huge sports game 17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Bet on a winning horse 23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Taken an ice cold bath 28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Ridden a roller coaster 31. Hit a home run 32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking... all the time:) 33. Adopted an accent for fun 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment 36. Loved your job 90% of the time 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Watched wild whales 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach 41. Gone sky diving 42. Visited Ireland 43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited India 45. Bench-pressed your own weight... I am counting this one because I was only off by 10 lbs...close enough, right?46. Milked a cow 47. Alphabetized your personal files 48. Ever worn a superhero costume 49. Sung karaoke 50. Lounged around in bed all day 51. Gone scuba diving 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Done something you should regret, but don't 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Been in a movie 60. Gone without food for 3 days 61. Made cookies from scratch 62. Won first prize in a costume contest 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Been in a combat zone 65. Spoken more than one language fluently 66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone 67. Bounced a check 68. Read - and understood your credit report 69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy 70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did 71. Called or written your Congress person 72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 74. Helped an animal give birth 75. Been fired or laid off from a job 76. Won money 77. Broken a bone 78. Ridden a motorcycle 79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph... I wasn't the one driving, but I was in the passenger seat so it was terrifying enough to count 80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon 81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing... I wish! 82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days 83. Eaten sushi 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read The Bible cover to cover 86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about 87. Gotten someone fired for their actions 88. Gone back to school 89. Changed your name 90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands 91. Eaten fried green tomatoes 92. Read The Iliad 93. Taught yourself an art from scratch 94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt 96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language 97. Been elected to public office 98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream 99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care 100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you 101. Had a booth at a street fair 102. Dyed your hair 103. Been a DJ 104. Rocked a baby to sleep 105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four 106. Raked your carpet 107. Brought out the best in people 108. Brought out the worst in people 109. Worn a mood ring 110. Ridden a horse 111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap 112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe 113. Buried a child 114. Gone to a broadway play 115. Been inside the pyramids 116. Shot a basketball into a basket 117. Danced at a disco 118. Played in a band... the clarinet in middle school 119. Shot a bird 120. Gone to an arboretum 121. Tutored someone 122. Ridden a train 123. Brought an old fad back into style 124. Eaten caviar 125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need 126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant 127. Published a book 128. Pieced a quilt 129. Lived in an historic place130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage 131. Asked for a raise 132. Made a hole-in-one (if miniature golf counts) 133. Gone deep sea fishing 134. Gone roller skating 135. Run a marathon 136. Learned to surf 137. Invented something 138. Flown first class 139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite 140. Flown in a helicopter 141. Visited Africa 142. Sang a solo 143. Gone spelunking 144. Learned how to take a compliment 145. Written a love-story 146. Seen Michelangelo’s David 147. Had your portrait painted 148. Written a fan letter 149. Spent the night in something haunted 150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane 151. Ran away 152. Learned to juggle 153. Been a boss 154. Sat on a jury 155. Lied about your weight 156. Gone on a diet 157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget 158. Written a poem 159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box 160. Gotten food poisoning 161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission162. Hiked the grand Canyon 163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks 164. Gone to the opera 165. Gotten a letter from someone famous 166. Worn knickers 167. Ridden in a limousine 168. Attended the Olympics 169. Can hula or waltz 170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books 171. Been stuck in an elevator 172. Had a revelatory dream 173. Thought you might crash in an airplane 174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert 175. Saved someone’s life 176. Eaten raw whale 177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint 178. Laughed till your side hurt 179. Straddled the equator 180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing 181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival 182. Sent a message in a bottle 183. Spent the night in a hostel 184. Been a cashier 185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 186. Joined a union 187. donated blood or plasma 188. Built a campfire 189. Kept a blog 190. Had hives 191. Worn custom made shoes or boots 192. Made a PowerPoint presentation 193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course 194. Served at a soup kitchen 195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube 196. Know CPR 197. Ridden in or owned a convertible 198. Found a long lost friend 199. Helped solve a crime 200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

Just for Caity

My friend Caity challenged a bunch of her friends to post a picture of themselves in their wedding dress...  I didn't have any bridals done so I don't have that many pictures that are of just me on my wedding day... but this is one that I like so here it is~