Coeur d' Alene

We set off on a road trip last week to my mom's hometown Magrath, Alberta to spend a much-loved holiday with my extended family. Since the drive was 12+ hours and we would be going straight through Coeur d' Alene, we decided to split up the trip and spend a few nights there. Eric and I have always wanted to see the beautiful Coeur d' Alene and we were not disappointed! It was very beautiful and serene. We spent a full day exploring the area. We spent some time on Tubbs Hill hiking, enjoyed the views from a sandy lake beach, and strolled around a lovely park next to the water. It was a lot of fun and has tempted us to return for a longer trip so we have time to swim and lay around on the beach... and maybe even bring our bikes to explore that way!

In this first pic the boys hiked out onto a little peninsula/rock and I took a picture from where they started!

I have to comment here that Nyah is thrashing around trying to escape my arms! She was determined to run around on top of that rock...and would have probably jumped right off into the ocean below! Seriously, that little girl is fearless. She keeps us on our toes, alright!

I just love the way this last picture captured Nyah! We sure know that body language and facial expression... Nyah in one of her super silly moods! :) She was being so hyper and letting out loud squeals of happiness! It was pretty darn cute!

There was a moment this day that I want to remember... We had just finished our little hike/walk along the mountainous coast on Tubbs Hill and decided to hang out for a bit on the nice grassy lawn at the base of the trail. I remember Eric was sitting up with his legs stretched out, I was laying down with my shoes off and my head on his leg. The kids were barefoot too and climbing over and around us and having the time of their lives! The sun was out, we were all feeling so warm and happy and relaxed. It was a wonderful feeling. And you know what really made me stop and notice? Every time people walked by, they would stare and smile really big. It made me really happy because it made me realize what a beautiful family I have and what a blessing it was to be living in that moment - to be a part of it. Anyway, I don't think I'll ever forget that snapshot in time.

the haircut

Nyah cut her beautiful hair! :( It was on Eric's watch so I'm blaming him completely - heehee! Just kidding. Actually when he texted me about it, I wasn't that concerned because I thought How bad could it be? She can't even cut with scissors! Well as soon as I got home and saw the pile of thick curls that Eric swept up, I was floored! How on earth?!!! All the hair on the top of her head was mangled. It made me sick to see it. There is no way that she could have done that much damage, I thought. The culprit must be Gabe. Well, he assured us again that he didn't do it but I still gave him The Talk about never never never cutting hair, just in case!

So to go on with the story, later that day we found Nyah with Gabe's scissors again (you would think we would learn, right?) and she had cut up an entire piece of paper into confetti. I was shocked! Using both hands, she apparently can cut with scissors! With this new knowledge, we shall never know who gave Nyah her first haircut. But I did learn a few lessons that day. Never underestimate a 15 month-old's abilities and maybe I should stop thinking I know it all and listen to Gabe a little more.

Here is what's left of Nyah's once thick and gorgeous hair. See how short it is at the back? I have it between my fingers - maybe 1/2 inch!!!! That is not just a bad part... her hair sticks out crazy all over the place now since it is hacked into so many different lengths. No more pigtails for awhile! :(

my sanity

This sandbox has preserved my sanity yet again. All day has been blustery and chilly with rain on and off. The sun came out at 3pm and we opened up the sandbox.... sweet relief!! The kids have been playing out there happily with only the occasional blood-curdling scream from Nyah followed by absolutely outraged crying. You know, the kind that makes you think a digit has been chopped off. Yes, that is our little drama queen for ya. I don't usually rush off in a panic anymore, it's more like a glance out the window or casual question to Gabe about what happened. Usually it's that her brother has forbidden her to touch something that he is playing with. Oh the nerve of that boy to dare tell her what she can or cannot do!! :) Other than that, those two have been having a grand old time and there is plenty of sand lodged under fingernails and embedded in their hair to prove it!

Meanwhile I have had the opportunity to work on dinner in peace. I have had the hankering for Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad and so I decided to tackle that today. It is a lot of work making the sweet pork recipe, black beans from scratch, cilantro lime rice, tomatillo dressing, crisp tortilla strips and all the other fixings but it's worth it. Well, a few times a year anyway! Haha! So anyway, I have been loving this quiet time alone. I even decided to snap a picture of my two cuties at play and post about it so I can always remember this. I love those two munchkins to death but once in awhile it's hard being home every day, all day with them. I know all stay-at-home moms can relate! 90% of the time I just love it. Truly I do, I'm not just saying that. It is the most fulfilling and uplifting job a woman can work at. But there are those other times... and that is where the blessed sandbox comes in. The best $30 I have ever spent on Craigslist!

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Oh my gosh, Gabe just came in covered in sand, water, and bark (and missing pants!) to tell me that he was "only a little bit wet, just a tiny, little bit wet, just a little." (Yesterday he got in trouble for rolling around (er playing) in the mud a neighbor's sprinklers created in our yard and was forbidden to go near it today.) Then he tells me that Nyah is playing in dog poop!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!! I literally screamed and raced out there to find this:

Somehow she got her legs folded up inside Denali's none-too-clean water dish. Full of water of course. She was soaked and filthy. The dog poop part is questionable and something I don't want to think about. There was some evidence on the grass (curse that dog) but now Nyah is sanitized and clean and that is that. I'm not sure how I can forget that although I may clean it all up before they start playing, the dog is still out there and things happen, if you know what I mean. What was I thinking, sitting down out of sight of the window to post on the blog?!! Duh!! Well now I can laugh about it a little. Now that she has had a quick little bath and has new clothes on and playing happily where I can see her!!

4th of July 2011

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. In fact, I'll say that it is #2 after only Christmas. There are just so many reasons I love the 4th of July... first of all, it's summertime!! :) Isn't it fun to celebrate outside?! The parades and picnics and festivals and bbqs - all under the sun! Just love it. Another thing I love is the fireworks. They are so mesmerizing and beautiful. And so festive and exciting!! But most of all I love what the 4th of July is all about - the whole reason we celebrate that day. Our Independence Day, the day this beautiful place we call home became a nation. I love this country. I am so proud to be a citizen of the United States of America and I feel so blessed to be here.

I could go on but I think I better get to the fun stuff... our fun family holiday! In past years we have always gone out and seen all the patriotic goings-on that the community offers. And it is really fun! But this year we decided to host a barbecue at home and celebrate with friends. I have to say, it was a wonderful break in tradition for us! We have such great friends here. It makes being away from family a little easier. I just loved sitting around chatting and eating delicious food while the kids played... we even had two brand-new, sweet little newborns to cuddle - it was great! :)
The preparation was extra fun for me too! I was doing the meat and since I couldn't decide on just one, I ended up doing 3 chicken recipes plus some polish dogs (at Eric's insistence). He was certain we were going to get "strung up" (his words) for not serving hamburgers but no one seemed to mind! Whew! :) Everyone brought delicious sides - what a feast! Then for dessert I made a flag cake! It was so patriotic and bright - I loved it! I think it even tasted pretty good too! :)
I also decided to decorate a little - made some tissue poof balls in red, white and blue to hang from the patio ceiling. I got some festively colored table cloths and bought a bunch of tiny flags as centerpieces. Gabe was particularly excited about the flags and couldn't wait to finish eating so he could take one! (I told him after people ate, the kids could each have one. He was by far the most excited!! What a cutie!) I even did Nyah's hair in a "fancy" little updo with red ribbons! She looked so cute! :) The kids were a wild bunch and kept themselves entertained while the adults chatted. Oh wait a minute, is that Erik P at the bottom of the pile?! :) He spent most of his time playing with the kids - what a guy!
There is Nyah behind the wheel!! Uh, should Eric and I be worried?? heehee! No actually Gabe parked the Jeep there to be "out of his way" playing baseball and later I looked over to see that Nyah had climbed in. It looked so funny though I had to snap a picture. It was sloping down so much she couldn't even stay on the seat - her little bum kept sliding down onto the floor!Here we are at our own little fireworks show! We started around 9 but Gabe only last until 10pm. He climbed into Daddy's lap and said he wanted to go to bed!! (check out the picture from "Top Pop" post of him falling asleep in Eric's lap) He is NOT our night owl! We tried to get him excited to stay up and see it all but there was no turning back at this point. He wanted bed and he wanted it now! Oh well, he got to do some Pop-its and even held a sparkler briefly at one point. (Daddy had to hold it too though! See below... you can tell from that pic he was definitely winding down at that point.) What a fun and exciting day!

I LOVE THE 4th of JULY!!!!

fun in the sun... FINALLY!!!!!!!

Well the sun has finally made an appearance here in Seattle and IT'S ABOUT TIME! It's only July now, geez! Last Friday was the first nice day ever so I got Gabe all hyped up to go to the little water park in our neighborhood, got the kids all ready to go and strapped into their carseats, lunches packed... and no keys. After a long, fruitless search it was discovered that Eric accidentally took them to work! Uh oh. Gabe was devastated until I distracted him with the prospect of an exciting afternoon running through the sprinklers and having a picnic on the grass in our yard! Totally worked! Haha! He was just as excited with our new plans and had a great time. I love this age! :) There is Gabe holding up a drumstick, or in his own words "the chicken bone" - his new favorite food! This picture of Nyah and I was actually taken by Gabe! Wow, right?! Great job bud! (I got burned to a crisp that day. Yikes! :( I was taken off guard by a high of 70... but I should have known my sun-starved-skin would react badly! Luckily I had slathered the kids with sunscreen.)
The next day we all went to the water park as a family - it was a lot of fun! That last picture was the only one we took that day. Both kids were tuckered out from so much fun in the sun!

Top Pop!

We have one awesome Daddy at our house! Father's Day was a lot of fun. Gabe and I made some pop-tops for Eric. We opened them from underneath, emptied out the contents, stuffed them full of his favorite treats, and glued the bottoms back on! It was fun! Here are some other great pictures I have gotten of Eric with the kids in the past weeks. He sure loves to wrestle with them both and just act crazy silly in general. :) But that doesn't mean he doesn't adore the quiet moments with them just as much!

boy time and girl time

The Braves came to Seattle!! An extremely exciting event for the men in our family! :) Don and Jesse flew down and all the boys when to 2 days of baseball games! I hear it was a blast!Nyah and I stayed home for some good ole girl time! Nyah really enjoyed this pb and j for lunch. Since I was the only one home to see how funny she looked, I took some pictures so I could share!After that we took advantage of a quiet and empty house to do some much-needed mopping! We turned on some great music and boogied our way through our chores. Nyah loves when I mop. She is fascinated with the Shark and all that steam it puts off. Whenever I put it down for a minute, she goes over and holds the handle for a "turn". She also will get down on the ground and lay her cheek against the steam-warmed wood. Too cute! It was fun to have my little girl as a companion all day. I know we are going to have a lot of wonderful times ahead together! I have included these two movie clips too and here is why. First of all I think Nyah is just adorable and love watching her toddle around with that enormous tummy sticking straight out in front! :) I love how it shows her walking over and touching the cord with one pointy finger - so Nyah! It's also fun to see her giggling one minute, then crying dramatically the next, then hugging me the next!! :) But most of all I love how each video shows how affectionate she is with me. She is ALWAYS coming over to hug me throughout the day. It just melts my heart. I love her so much!!