Halloween and Pumpkin Carving

Jordyn wanted to be an elephant this year. I swear, every year I've seen an elephant costume at every store. This year we looked and looked and looked. We found ONE at Costco. It didn't fit. I found two on Craigslist. SOLD immediately. We searched online. None of them would ship in time (without paying out the nose!). What gives??? After reaching out to friends and family, my Aunt Nancy did a little legwork and found one at Marshall's. Wahoo!!! It was a realllllly nice one, too. We are so grateful. Plus, Jordyn loves getting packages/mail. It worked out all around. Jordyn is obsessed with elephants right now. Not sure why, but she loves 'em. I wanted Kennedy to be a pumpkin or something kinda "babyish," because she's still so tiny (and I'm trying to keep her a baby forever), BUT we found a really cute tiger costume. It just seemed to fit her face. It turned out really cute. My plan was to dress as a zookeeper, but that's another story itself.

The girls had all sorts of Halloween fun. We had a party at preschool, one with our playgroup, and lots of trick-or-treating. We started at 3:00 p.m. and made it home close to 11:00 p.m. Of course most of that was driving to the grandparents/great-grandparents' homes. Jordyn did a little culdesac near Jeremy's parents' house. Next year we plan to do more neighborhood trick-or-treating. The driving gets to be quite the event for them and us. Family party at our house: Halloween 2010!

This was the fist year Jordyn was interested in actually touching the pumpkin during carving--other than to draw a face. She used the ice cream scoop and scooped out some guts. After a while she decided the guts were icky and I should finish for her. Kennedy wouldn't even give it a chance! She took one look at the inside of that pumpkin and decided it would be safer to observe from a distance. It cracked me up. I took out a handful and showed it to her; she shook her head no and took off. She did like to see them all lit up, though.


Daddy worked on his pumpkin at a different time. He missed the photo hour. :)

WHAT IS THAT????!!!!?!?!?!? Terrifying!

Oh, yuck. C'mon, mom!

Annual Pumpkin Pickin'

Every fall, our family tradition is to put the girls in their Halloween shirts and head to Greenbluff to pick pumpkins from the patch; we always get some caramel apples and enjoy the festivities and such. This year we took our friends Ryan and Chelsie and their son, Oliver, with us. They are new to the area, and are looking to start their own traditions/explore our area. What a great day to go! We had FABULOUS weather. Kennedy was just a little peanut last year, so it was a lot of fun to watch her explore the pumpkin patch. She came home quite dirty!!! The girls had a blast. Come carving time, I can't wait to see what Kennedy thinks about pulling out pumpkin guts and such! This is my favorite time of year, holiday-wise. Can't wait for all of the upcoming excitement we have planned. :)

Daddy has to get a big pumpkin every year. Men!

Sharing a caramel apple, with M&Ms on it, of course!

The girls are sad to leave!

Daddy's Birthday Weekend

Jeremy's birthday fell on a Friday this year. He wanted to take a last-minute trip to Seattle to celebrate, and we did! The trip over and back went relatively fast and was pretty smooth with the kids; however, the construction near Cle Elum was awful. We sat in traffic for roughly an hour both ways--a six mile stretch. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! We stayed with my brother-in-law Oliver and sister-in-law-to-be Emily. Oliver had Aeden for the weekend. Jordyn was suuuuper excited to spend the time with her cousin. I feel like we'd have to spend at least a week there to do everything we'd like, but we did cram a lot in a short time. We got to eat at Emily's restaurant. She is the head chef. We were really excited to try it, as she has made us really yummy food, while visiting here. You can imagine the excitement choosing from an extensive menu! I'm trying to work out a trip this winter when she changes part of her menu to Italian--my fave! We'll see what happens! Either way, we'll be back for their wedding this summer. Can't wait!
Our major event was the Woodland Park Zoo. Last time we were on the coast we went to the Point Defiance Zoo. I can't even remember how young I was when I last visited Woodland! I love them both. I almost think I am more of a fan of Point Defiance, though.
The girls at the lion statue, Woodland Park Zoo.

The girls LOVED the animals. There were so many cute little critters. The elephants danced for us and the monkeys performed. I think monkeys are adorable! The girls really enjoyed playing in the play area at the end. I was really impressed by all there was to do and explore. I'm excited for the outdoor center we are getting in the Spokane Valley. I guess it will be similar to the indoor play land at this zoo. Jeremy's company is working on it, and the plans look pretty exciting. Of course this is a year or so away, but it will be another fun thing to do! Can't wait!

The girls playing at the indoor center/playground. Kennedy isn't Kennedy without trying to climb something!!!

Jordyn will finally ride the carousel and loves it! The girls were pretty excited to ride one different than the one in here. Jordyn is sporting her new hat she bought at the North Bend Outlet Malls. I couldn't get either girl to wear a hat to save my life, after they were about 6 months old. Now, we can't get Jordyn to take this one off! This is a neat carousel and building. I just wish you could purchase tickets at a stand versus a coin machine. WHAT A PAIN!

We made a trip to Ikea. I didn't eat there, but one of these days it will happen. I did get to eat at Popeye's. Oh, how I love their Cajun food. Mmmmm....I found a lot of things at Ikea to aid in my obsession: ORGANIZING. I was more than thrilled to get home and put my bins, hooks, and such to use. Even with a life-long Seattle resident in the van, we managed to miss our on ramp back to Seattle. It's so easy to get lost over there. Happens every time we visit Ikea. Holy cow. I say it's worth it! Before we left for home, we drove past the troll under the bridge in many movies. Jordyn says he's scary. We also hit the Freemont market. It's a nice change from Pike; although, there are many elements to the Pike Market we missed. I will say, it was nice pushing a double stroller through a much better crowd than Pike!

One day I will convince Jeremy to move over there. Until then, I will just have lots of fun as a tourist.

Preschool Field Trip

Jordyn had a field trip to Carver Farms last week. We are big fans of Greenbluff, but Carver's is certainly fun and worth a trip. Our family especially loves the Indian corn. It's too bad it takes so long for it to dry out before we can pop it! Oh, well--it's definitely worth the wait! :)

Kennedy's gourd. She wasn't too sure about it, but found its texture funny! She thought is was more fun to toss everything in the bag!

Jordyn gave me a genuine smile. She was very proud of her sugar pumpkin.

Mostly, Jordyn was proud to have followed Farmer Carver's

directions: pick a pumpkin roughly the size of your head.

The girls were happy to have grandma "sugar" come along, and to have a snack (popcorn) at the end.

Kennedy's First Birthday!

Our little Kennedy turned the big O-N-E on June 26.







We had a ladybug-themed party at our house. We like to keep the first birthday small, so we just invited our HUGE family (there is no small amount of family here!) and a few family-like friends. The kids played in the wading pool and splash pad; we had a little picnic, lots of gifts, some cake, and a lot of fun.

She wasn't too sure about her cake or the party hat! With a little help from her daddy and big sister, she realized the cake is yummy. As for the party hat....it was toast!



Cute swimsuit to match her theme! Thanks, Tiff, for letting us borrow it!! :)

Opening gifts. She realllly loves this ball. She also loved the ladybug balloon her grandparents got for her. Unfortunately, it made a quick escape to the heavens. Sad, sad, sad!



We've really enjoyed her first year. Kennedy has such an easy-going and kind personality. She's a very fun little girl.....and at the same time, she's quite wild! :)

Jordyn's a Star!

On June 13, Jordyn ended her year of ballet and tap lessons with a huge recital at the INB Performing Arts Center. Apparently, I don't have any still shots (because I was backstage and daddy was left with Kennedy and the video camera), but it was such a cute performance. All the tiny kids stand on the stage, with the teachers on the sides behind the curtains, and the whole time the kids are looking to the sides copying the teachers. Everyone in the audience just "oohs and aahhhs" and giggles. It is the sweeeeeetest thing. She was pretty hesitant to go on stage during rehearsal--good thing they have one! After watching the other classes, her teacher, and with the encouragement of her friends, she decided she would dance, too. She did it with such enthusiasm. Her parents/family could not have been prouder. She made me so emotional. I always made fun of my mother and rolled my eyes at her for this exact reaction. Now she probably laughs at me. I guess these are the things you can never truly understand until you are a mother. Jordyn's dancing brought back a lot of great memories. Especially since she danced at the same studio that I did as a kid/young adult. She had fun, but has decided to give soccer a kick (okay, cheesy--sorry!). Kennedy was mesmerized by the performance, so maybe she'll be the dancer of the family. I will never push my love of things on my kids, so if neither does no biggie! I'm not saying I'm not a bit hopeful, though! :)

Hawaii!!!

We had a great trip! Both girls were fabulous airplane passengers! I get a little crazy on long flights. Trust me, they did much better than I did. You couldn't even tell they were on the first flight. Well, since we flew with the Shock football team and the team they played the night prior. Poor airline attendants! You wouldn't believe that flight. Good thing it was short. Jordyn LOVES flying, and asks constantly when we will fly again. I suppose that is good. Let's just hope she continues with this enthusiasm.

Jordyn is really easy going (about certain things) and loves anything new, adventure, traveling, etc. Hawaii is definitely her second home. She has fond memories and asks when we will be going back. She made a million friends at the pool and beach. She feels she owns the pool at the condo. Oh, Jordyn, how she cracks us up. Kennedy was not fond of the humidity and heat. She wasn't too sure about the car either. She, of the two, is definitely more laid back, so far, so I was surprised by her reaction. Overall, though, they both had fun and did really well.


Here are the highlights:

We spent a lot of time with our water creature, Jordyn, at the pool and ocean.

We ate a lot of yummy food and indulged in many treats!Of course I did some shopping! We went to a few little craft fairs, markets, etc

Kennedy is quite the little shopper!

**Jeremy and his dad hit the golf course a few times. Carrie and I enjoyed a spa afternoon and some yummy coffee! :) Ahhhh............
**No pictures, sorry!**

Snorkeling!!! I researched things a bit more before we went this time. We went to one cove I found. There are some others I'd like to see next time. One is filled with turtles. People pay to take catamarans to these coves; I saved us close to $100 (for me and Jeremy) by driving a short distance from the condo and "hiking" (I use hiking loosely) to the cove. Those of you who know me know that I'm super "thrifty." I was quite proud of myself for my "find." It was reallllllly cool to see all the sea life, and I saw 2 cannon bases!!! Super cool! It was pretty neat. Despite our best efforts, Jeremy, Carrie, and I were a bit lobster-like when we returned that afternoon. Apparently waterproof 50 SPF sunblock is pointless when you are on your tummy in water. YIKES! We were BATHING in aloe that evening. Jordyn was safe on the beach. Phew!

Lots of scenic drives. On that topic, funny story! We accidentally drove the road to Hana. The road to Hana is roughly 52 miles (from a city that took us 30+ minutes to drive to from our condo). A typical trip to Hāna takes about three hours, as the road is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one-lane bridges, requiring oncoming traffic to yield and occasionally causing brief traffic jams if two vehicles meet head-on. There are approximately 620 curves along Highway 360 from just east of Kahului to Hana, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rain forest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use. It is a motion-sick person's nightmare. The typical trip is about 3 hours, but I think we made better time than that. Let's just say Jeremy took care of that. We did spend almost the entire day in the car, though. It was pretty hot and we didn't have a radio. Yikes! I guess we're a bit into current luxuries and technology. Anyway, that is another scary story in itself! Once we were at the top we toured some lava tubes. Very cool. Reminds me of some of my childhood tourism. The lava tubes were how we ended up accidentally making this adventure. The "smart" person I spoke to on the phone made it sound as if the the lava tubes were only a few miles up the mountain. Uhhhh...well, they are at the verrrrrrrrry top. Thanks, sir! I guess I will ask more questions next time. Oh, well...The drive was a potentially awful event that went rather smoothly.
Jordyn, our tour guide, through the lava tube.


We made leis at the condo. Jordyn thought it was really cool. Being that it's something crafty, of course she loved it!



We visited the aquarium. Jordyn loooooved it. Kennedy was mesmerized by the tanks and creatures. Who isn't excited about an aquarium?? Of course, Jordyn wanted to go back every day after. With our $68.00 admission for the 3 (4) of us, why not go back a few times. Uhhh....just kidding. Once is enough for that price.

We saw a hula show. Jordyn LOOOVED the dancers. She asked and asked to be a hula girl. Ask and you shall receive! :)
Our rental car was a Dodge Charger. Ideally, I would have liked it to be from the 70s; however, it was a pretty sweet ride. Had to post this for my Plymouth fans.

Grandma Carrie and Grandpa "Dentist" Dennis. :) Thanks for letting us travel with you. We had the time of our lives!

I think that's a good summary. We love it there!