Seattle Saturday

Nick and Meg came and stayed with us this weekend so I had to post our adventures. We started our day by heading towards the Space Needle knowing there was a "Festa Italiano" (Italian Festival) just 2 blocks away. The day was so nice, as you can tell in the pictures.

At the Festival we watched a puppet show and Carissa ate raisins...
Then the girls learned how to toss pizza. Here is Carissa and Megan working on their dough.
Justin and Audrey - notice the fine noodle necklace :)

Then, of course, Uncle Nick had to try. We are Sicilian, didn't your know?The best part was next. THE FOOD! So delicious. Here is Audrey eating chocolate covered strawberries. She told us it was the best day of her life.

That was before we started walking and ended up right in front of an amusement park. Uncle Nick tried to abort but it was too late. There had to be a ride on the carousel... (and the dumbo ride, and the train...)

Hopefully the girls didn't smother Uncle Nick and Aunt Megan too much and they will visit again soon!

Ruffled Capris

I had to come back and post tonight. The pants turned out so cute and they were super easy to make. Not to mention that the whole project was totally free because I was able to use fabric scraps from other projects. Here is my little model showing off my work. The shirt even has a matching applique... Let me know what you think, Cute or Clown?

Camera!

I am so excited we now have a camera again. It is a Nikon Coolpix and probably not the top of any line but so easy to use and will get the job done for us.

Audrey and I decorated on Saturday and I swear that girl has got such an eye for anything beautiful! It was so enjoyable to go through the Fall Decorations with her. Here she is posing by the mantel.

Justin surpised me and picked up some
flowers on the way home from work. I love that man! They matched our decorations perfect ~ Now if I could just work on taking "good" pictures then this blog would be worth reading.

So we start another week. I grabbed 2 extra lbs of peaches from our farmers market so I hope to freeze those for the *brrr* winter today. Since it is getting rather chilly here (for me anyways!) I stole an idea from Crafty Daisies blog. Carissa's capris fit her pefectly but if she wears them now her little leggies will get cold. So I plan on attempting a capri makeover this morning. I hope to post the results soon.

Have a great Monday~

End of Week

We are ending the week on the damp end here. I walked Audrey to school this morning with the "mist". The sky is gray and it just feels like I am walking near a misting system. But the minute I walked out of the house it was the smell that took my by surprise. It was so pleasant. The neighbor had there fireplace going and it smelled like a distant campfire with fresh pine. It felt like my lungs were getting cleared out. I think this weekend we will decorate for fall because, well it is definetly in the air here!

Justin has started working 10 hour shifts and will be working all weekend. We could use the extra money from the move though so we are greatful. I started MOPS this week with Carissa and it was so much fun. I could tell she really liked it too.

Audrey is going to be a Daisy Scout too! I have been searching and searching for my Girl Scout sash which I know I saved. Yummy Cookies coming in March!

All our love~

No Fear

Since we have moved and met new people they have all said how brave we were for moving. I know that it was so fast and the more I think about it I wonder why I wasn't so afraid? I heard this verse at church this weekend that just confirmed what I already knew... what is there to be afraid of?

So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?"
Hebrews 13:6

Of course it is faith that gets me to smile at a new person, walk into a new church, sign-up for a new commitment, and know that the Lord is my helper. It is HIM who led us to a new church, Evergreen Community Church, where I know we will find awesome possibilities and have no fear.

All our love~

Grandparent Lenses

I was talking to my Grandma yesturday and she mentioned her and Gramps saw a bumper sticker that said "Grandkids are a present from your Children". She said that was true and that is what makes it so easy to spoil them.

So my new trick for not letting the girls drive me crazy (Ha!) is to put on my Grandparent Lenses. Here is how it works - the usually annoying scenario is to the left and the response with Grandparent Lenses follows...

• Getting splashed while giving the girls a bath - "What's a little water?"
• Chunks of food splattering everywhere because they have to stir - "Cute pudgy hands holding a spoon"
• Standing for 1 minute and 48 seconds while Carissa has to climb into car seat by herself - "Wow, look how independent she is getting"
• Waiting forever while Audrey fills her "purse" to bring to the store - "How nice it is to spend time alone with her".

See how great this technique is? Now, I have the opportunity to reap the reward before the Grandkids come! (They don't teach this stuff anywhere - good thing you have me)

Pictures

I have been promising pictures so here they are...

These first pictures are of us just exploring our new house. We picked up some Hello Kitty rainboots for the girls and they were loving the backyard. The last tenant was kind enough to leave this wonderful wooden playhouse for the girls. Complete with real canvas curtains!

Delicious pine cone soup anyone?? **Note the turtle Carissa is holding - it is rubber but was also found in the back-yard and has become a household pet. (Definitely my type of animal - HA)

Ok - I know the girls look a little scraggly here - we may have scared the neighbors - but we had to show "turtle" the rocks in the front yard. And Audrey loves any excuse to strike a Hannah Montana pose...

Oh the loves of my life - could they get any cuter??

So then the truck came (a day late) and we moved into the house. Of course, I have every box unpacked but Carissa still calls it the "O-tel" in WashingTON. And we shipped Audrey off to school. Here she is by the sign in front of the school...

The morning of the first day of school. She came home and told me that at recess they aren't allowed to go into the forrest. Hmm... that is a far cry from "make sure you touch the slide before you go down because it might burn your legs".

All our Love~

Socks

Never cared about socks in Arizona where we wore flip-flops all year-round. Now I find myself standing in front of the dryer matching white socks with ruffles, white socks with bows, small socks, big socks, what begins with SOX???

There is always at least one unmatched missing sock and it wasn't the sock behind the doorway or the one stuck to the side of the sofa. Maybe it will turn up tomorrow when I wash the next round of socks?

They should make disposable socks...

Back to Reality

It was a fun little vacation but reality is setting in. Justin starts work tomorrow (YIPEE! - a paycheck :) Audrey is going to school and my clients are starting to call again. That means bathtime, bedtime, groceries, garbage out, laundry, and the normal exhaustion that comes with everyday life.

Justin and I are so thankful that we have had this amazing opportunity to try something new. Moving in under 6 weeks has been such a huge undertaking but we are both so amazed at how great everything has worked out and we just know that this is where we should be right now.

I do admit we overdid it a little this past weekend. Our urge to explore, explore, and explore some more is catching up to us. We had a "Seattle Saturday" adventure that I will post on tomorrow when I get the pictures ready, we tortured the girls hiking down a .62 mile (moderate) trail to the water at St. Edwards Park. (They cried all the way back up). We even went to church on Sunday.

We are beginning to realize that all these new things are not going away anytime soon so we can take our time and enjoy them slowly ~ Instead of in one weekend!

All our love~