Another trip to Seattle

After getting back to Spokane on Sunday night at 10 pm I got back in the car Monday evening with Ryan to head back to Seattle. I had a two day conference for work and just couldn't swing leaving Ryan for the couple of days. So mom took off to hang out in the hotel room with him. What a blessing. I was anxious a bit as I pulled out of the driveway leaving Ellie, which is odd since this is certainly not the first time I've done so, but I could only imagine how bad it would have been if I had to leave Ryan. Mom and Ry got out in the stroller and had some afternoon adventures each day. But they also had a great view from the room. Thanks MOM!!

Happy & Forry

Jared's Aunt Happy and Uncle Forry are back in Spokane again from their travels across the nation! We met up at the Flying Goat - a favorite pizza joint for dinner. It was wonderful to see them and hear their stories from their trip. Ellie was a spoiled girl who ended up with a giant sticker book and a pink tackle box for all those fishing adventures we keep having! They got to meet Ryan for the first time - which is always special. He gave Aunt Happy a run for her money with all his wiggling though! At the end of the night, we walked back to the truck, loaded up the kids and were saying our goodbyes when Ellie shouted to Jared. She told him "I want to say goodbye to Grandpa". Soo sweet.

"Matching"

Ellie loves it when she and Ryan have "matching" (coordinating) outfits. These ones are courtsey of Great Aunt Happy and Great Uncle Forry. Thanks!!

A trip to Seattle

All summer I've been excited to take Ellie to the zoo in Seattle. As I figured she'd finally old enough to enjoy it. So we made the trek - rolling into Seattle at 12:30 am after the pitstop at the fair. We are so lucky to have such good family - Jared's cousin Whitney let us stay at her apartment even though she and Kellan were in Moses Lake for the weekend. It was incredibly nice to have a place of our own with beds for all of us and the location was PERFECT! About 5 min to the zoo and 10 min from Fremont where we went to dinner Saturday night. So thanks guys! Saturday morning we got to the zoo at 10:30 and planned our attack. We were actually given tickets to the zoo from my work for our annual picnic which was a treat to not pay the price for entry, or lunch! We noticed that the giraffes were having their feeding time so we hustled over there and got Ellie up to experience a up close interaction. She was a little nervous at first - she'd hold the leaf out for the giraffe and then drop it when it got close. But as she got comfortable, she got excited as the giraffe would take it from her hand. I wish I could show you the expression on her face.

We also enjoyed the flamingos! Ellie loved that they were pink and orange.

As part of the picnic, the office gave everyone tickets to ride the carousel. Ellie loved it. Initally she didn't want to ride a horse that 'moved' (up and down) but after her first trip she decided that she'd try it and loved it even more. When we headed back from dinner to Whitney & Kellan's we asked Ellie her favorite part of the day. Her response was the horses. Of course we didn't see acutal horses at the zoo, so she must have meant the carousel. BUT - at bed time, she was so exhaused from a busy day with no nap, that she was fighting sleep. I was laying with her and she got quite and still. All of a sudden she busts out with "I, I, feed the giraffe, a, a, leaf, and and I LOVED IT!" After that she crashed hard. Made my heart melt.

The next morning we ventured out to Pikes Place Market. It wasn't too busy initially that morning which was nice for hauling both kids around. We walked up the far south end of Post Street Alley and past the gum wall. Ryan was pretty sleepy still so he looks a little out of it. And then past Rachel the Pig, which Ellie was a little concerned about since she wasn't too fond of the pigs at the fair the night before.

We went and got coffee at Seattle's Best in Post Street Alley - our favorite. Ellie got a Cocoa Trio - the best hot cocoa ever - its got white, milk and dark choclate in it, plus has dark and white chocolate shavings on the top with a milk chocolate stick. Ellie literally chugged that thing - and then ate the chocolate stick. When Jared asked her what about sharing it with Mommy and Daddy - her response - "If you get me another one, I'll share with you." Smart girl. Then Piroshkis - Ellie apparently has the same taste as Jared and I for these yummy pockets. She ate quite a bit of Jared's. We walked around a bit thereafter and enjoyed the market sights and sounds. Before we left we got my favorite gelato - can't make a trip without stopping there. Ellie loved it as apparent by the giant bite of watermelon gelato that she took in this picture.

All and all it was a great trip and I can't wait to go again next year!

Grant County Fair

We stopped by the fair on Friday a couple weeks ago on our way to Seattle. The fair is one of our favorite times of year. Ellie has really enjoyed getting to see the animals at the fair, I love the food, and Jared, well I think he just loves watching us. This year Ellie ate a whole spaceburger! Which is pretty impressive since we generally struggle to get her to eat any whole meal. This year Ellie, (via my mom) entered a series of self portraits taken with my mom's iphone. She got 2nd place and was really excited about the ribbon that "nana gave her". :) Jared's mom also walked away from the fair with recognition for her flower booth that she does annually. The theme this year way "Lasso the Future" and Cindy put together a display using recycled 2 liter bottles as planters, and other recycled materials.

Wapato Camping

Another camping trip for us! The past two have been really close to home so it was quite the difference to travel 3+ hours from home to Wapato Lake just past Lake Chelan. It felt longer than that since on the way there Ellie only took a 45 min nap and on the way home barely an hour after whining for a solid 45 min. When we arrived Friday, Pat took Ryan out of the car seat and was carying him around. He soon came back and presented Ryan to me with a 'present' he found. Ryan had pooped in his car seat in explosive style unknown to any of us. It covered his clothes, Pat's arm, the car seat, his blanket and the teether he had been playing with. Fortunately for the campers outdoor shower and heated water, everything got a quick bath.

We had a great trip though. Ellie and Case got to go canoeing with Pop Pop, we swam in the lake and lounged on Jared's cousin's big floating island raft, the ladies made a 3 min walk down the road to a winery (which was terrible), and of course the great food.

This pic cracks me up - Ellie wanted to sleep with us midway through Friday night. She started off snuggled up next to me. Pretty soon her head was next to my belly, then on my belly, then on my chest. Time after time I moved her back onto the pillow, but she kept moving. By 5 am when Ryan woke to eat she had migrated to Jared. She was laying on his head and then his back.

A week with Nana

This summer daycare closed twice for a week each time. The first time Jared's mom came to watch the kids back in the beginning of July. It was such a crazy week since Jared worked 70+ hours and I was just grateful to have some extra help. We didn't get to do much together, but Ellie had a blast.

Then again just a week ago, daycare closed for the second time and my mom came to watch the kids. Life was a little more calm this week so we got out a bit more. Sunday mom came grocery shopping with us. Ellie was perusing the candy and to distract her I sent her to the Dr. Seuss display where she posed for a picture. Monday Nana planned some activities for her and Ellie, but not 5 min after Jared and I left for work did Ellie give Ryan his first black eye. They were all sitting together playing on the floor and Ellie dropped her sippy cup on his face. He let Nana know he was not happy about it and after a few min, it was apparent exactly where it hit him. Ellie was super sad about it with a quivering lip and blood shot eyes welled up with tears. Once Ry was calmed down, Nana and Ellie created some bird feeders. Ellie was very proud. And before we sent Nana home, Jared and I got a date night! Dinner for two at Downriver Grill. Such a nice evening to spend just the two of us, a first in quite some time.