4th of July – Lopez Island Washington July 6, 2009

For 4th of July we jumped in the car and headed to Lopez Island for the weekend. We decided to wait until Friday morning to head over and the ferry terminal in Anacortes was a total zoo. We were trying to catch the ten o’clock ferry and by the time we got to Anacortes we had twenty minutes to spare before the ferry left. We did not anticipate the two and a half mile backup though down to the ferry terminal. The ferry was thankfully late leaving the dock so Jeff dropped Ethan and I off at the landing and was expecting to put us on the ferry and take the later one four hours later. They were delayed in getting the cars on however so Jeff ran from the way far away parking lot and literally jumped on the boat as it was pulling away. It was definitely out of a scene from a movie from what he described.  When we got to Lopez we were able to relax a bit and hang out on the beach, enjoying the beautiful weather.

 

  

 

 

On the 4th we went to the parade and we sat up by the start of the parade which was a wise decision. Two of the floats were handing out ice cream cones and rootbeer floats and I guess they ran out halfway through. All of the floats also hand out candy and Ethan made out like a bandit. He got more candy than Halloween.  We also went out with Jon in the boat to check out Fisherman’s bay and Ethan got to drive the boat. We were all a little scared when he figured out the throttle. My mom and Jon had a really yummy 4th cookout with pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad, and beer. We even roasted smores over the bonfire. Jeff and I stayed awake for the spectacularfireworks and from where we were sitting on the deck we were able to see both Friday Harbor and Lopez shows. We had a great weekend but we are glad to be back home and not traveling for a least another weekend.

 

 

Seaview Kalles Family Trip 2009 June 30, 2009

This past weekend Jeff, Ethan, and I went to Seaview Washington with Jeff’s sister Mandy’s family and Jeff’s brother Shane. We had a great time and enjoyed the fantastic weather all weekend. I could not believe that we lucked out with sun and blue sky the whole time we were there.

We left for the 4 hour drive on Friday morning and arrived at Seaview around 3 to check in to our hotel. Once the bags were out of the car we were headed to the beach. As soon as Ethan saw the ocean water and waves he made a b-line for the water. We figured that since the water is not as warm as Mexico he would soon realize this and not want to go near it again. We were totally wrong. He is just a water baby at heart and we could not get him out of the waves even though he was shivering he was just loving it. After our beach venture we headed back and met up with the rest of the fam for dinner and then we had a fire and cooked some smores.

   

On Saturday we woke up and headed in to town for breakfast and then headed back down to the beach. This time Ethan played a little in the sand and ended up trying to swim in some tide pools. Luckily the water was warm in the tide pools so he was able to stay in a little longer without us having to drag him out kicking and screaming. After the beach we headed into town for some lunch followed by a trip to the amusement rides and arcade since these are necessities for beach towns. Ethan loved the rides and especially liked bowling in the arcade. I think that we will have to take him to a real bowling alley in the near future since he seemed to be pretty good at it.

On Sunday we woke up and went to the beach and the arcade one more time before the long trek home but it was fun had by all. I think this will definitley be a Kalles summer tradition but next time we are thinking possibly renting a house instead and maybe changing locations up a little. I guess you’ll have to wait until next summer to find out where we go next.

Happy Father’s Day! June 22, 2009

Today was all about celebrating Father’s Day. We woke up bright and early and headed out to breakfast. Then we all got in the car and headed for a morning of fun at the Seattle Center.

When we first arrived we decided to visit the Sci-Fi Museum which is connected to the EMP. They had a Jim Henson exhibit that they were running that we really wanted to visit. I had gone to a similar exhibit when I was younger and this one seemed to be pretty small compared to when it was previously at the Science Center. It was still neat to see the Burt and Ernie puppets and some of the older puppets. They even had these walls that were made out of the Muppet fur that you could touch.  Jeff and Ethan even got to get their picture taken on the Sesame Street Step.

 

After the Sci-fi museum Ethan was ready to run around and burn off some energy so we went to the Children’s Museum. While there he got to paint a picture, play in the water, and of course his favorite thing of all which is driving the vehicles.

   

 

 

Then to sum up our adventure we decided on the way out to do a few rides at the Fun Forest. Ethan had never been on an amusement ride before and since he loves cars so much we new which one had to be his first. He enjoyed himself so much that it was hard to get him to leave when the ride was over.

 

 

 

Hope that everyone had a fantastic Father’s Day! XOXO

Farmhouse B&B on Whidbey Island, WA. June 14, 2009

My mother-in-law Alison had purchased for Jeff and I over Christmas a gift certificate to the Farmhouse B&B. I was really excited when we opened up this gift because on top of getting away for the weekend she also provided us with babysitting while we were gone. So we decided that we would use it as an anniversary getaway since our 8 year wedding anniversary is on Wednesday. We had a fantastic time and lovely weather to boot.

When we arrived at our lodging for the weekend we were greeted by the very friendly Inn keepers and taken on a tour around the property which was located between Langley and Freeland on Whidbey Island. We were shown all of the local resident bunnies and the resident donkeys Leo and Cleo. The bunnies followed us around hoping for us to provide them with carrots which they rushed over as soon as they were aware that is what you had with you. I think we spent a good part of our stay feeding the bunnies and the donkeys and I am pretty sure that those rabbits and donkeys never go hungry.

On Friday night we decided to head into town and go and visit the local wine shop. There we of course participated in a wine tasting which was fantastic and ended up bringing home a couple of bottles to enjoy. Then we headed to dinner at Prima Bistro in Langley for some tasty mussels and fantastic dessert up on their deck.

On Saturday we had a big dinner planned at the Inn at Langley so we decided to take it easy and just relax. We were actually able to get through a bunch of our books which was nice. We visited a few farmer’s markets in the morning followed by shopping in town. For lunch we went to the Chef’s Pantry in town and they made us a picnic basket of a bunch of cheeses, meats, and bread which was really tasty. In the evening we headed to dinner and boy was that a fantastic meal. Two of our favorite dishes they prepared was the Taku Salmon with peas and bacon, and for dessert they served a honey mousse with chocolate sorbet. To die for.

I’ve included a bunch of pictures below of our stay and I highly recommend visiting the Farmhouse when you are on Whidbey and tell the bunnies and the donkeys hi from us!

   

   

   

Furry 5K 2009 June 8, 2009

This past weekend Jeff, Ethan, Bindi, and I participated in the Furry 5K race to support the Seattle Animal Shelter. This has been I believe the 7th or 8th year that we have participated in the race. We were able to wrangle up some of our friends to join us as well so it was a day of doggies, babies, and walking. Luckily the weather cooperated and it was a little on the cooler side. I also think that this was probably the biggest turnout that they have had since we had to park about 2 miles away from the start of the race so technically we did a 8K.

 

Getting stuff done… May 31, 2009

For the past two days I have been working on cleaning up the side of our yard that is below our kitchen window. This used to be the overgrown Amazon forest over on this part of the house, mostly because we never really paid attention to it. Since my home fix it list was growing I decided to tackle that project this weekend. It took a lot of effort to pull all of that stuff out of there plus a lot of scary encounters with spiders and a few trips to Home Depot but its done. I was also so excited to because I really wanted a wine barrel planter to place there and after searching on the internet and becoming discouraged I found one at Home Depot. Go figure.

 

 

Here are a few pictures I took from our adventure to the Woodland Park Zoo last weekend to see the Penguin exhibit.

Before leaving for the zoo.

Grandma and Ethan

Close up of the giraffe.

Penguin Exhibit

Willis Tucker Park May 31, 2009

After a bunch of yard work that included mowing the lawn and completely ripping out the side yard we decided to hop in the car and venture to Willis Tucker Park in Snohomish. Since the weather was pretty warm out we outfitted Ethan up in his swim apparel and ventured to the Splash Pad for some water fun. I had never been to this park before and heard about it from a bunch of parenting sites so I thought we would give it a try. Ethan had a great time trying to chase the water and watch all of the kids running around. He was a little obsessed with a birthday party that was going on and of course some of the gifts included ride on toys that he desperately wanted to hop on. Unfortunately most of our time was spent trying to block his advances towards the above mentioned toys but he seemed to enjoy himself and it was a good close by outing to enjoy the tremendously nice weather.

Tomorrow we are probably heading back to Home Depot to pick up more rocks for our side yard landscape job and maybe the dog park. Then on Monday Jeff heads off to the E3 tradeshow for the week for lots of smoozing.

    

Happy Mother’s Day! May 11, 2009

This morning Jeff and Ethan took me out to breakfast as one of our favorite places in Kirkland for some pancakes. After our morning adventure we headed home and hung out at the house. Jeff’s mom came over for a visit and brought a lovely flowering plant. After her visit and Ethan’s nap we headed to the lovely town of Edmonds for the afternoon. We played at the beach by the water, did a little shopping, and then had lunch in town at the Red Twig. For Mother’s Day Jeff and Ethan also got me a gift for the spa which I will definitely use in the very near future. It was a fantastic  Mother’s Day had by all. Below are some pictures from our time in Edmonds and I also included one of Ethan playing in his new car. Enjoy!  (*If you want larger pictures of the ones below just email me and I will send them along to you. Thanks!)

 

   

   

Colorado Trip May 1, 2009

Ethan and I have returned from our trip to Colorado with Grandma Mary to visit my sister and her family who live in Winter Park. We were only there for what seemed like a short visit but did a lot. We had a great time and had some good weather, consisting of mostly sunny skies. We did get some snow on the day we left though but thankfully it melted by the time we flew out. As most of you know our trip was cancelled previously due to blizzard conditions there so I was hoping that it wasn’t round two.

Winter Park Bear

At the Winter Park ski area.

While there we visited the Denver Zoo which was jam packed that day with people. We saw lots of different types of animals and had a really fun time. This was probably the hottest day while we were there so we enjoyed the nice weather immensely.

Eating lunch at the Denver zoo. Posing in front of the Elephants.

 

One of the days we ventured to Echo Mountain to watch my nephew Birk compete in a jumps and rails competition. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating that day and the fog decided to make an appearance. Ethan and I tried to watch Birk’s competition but unfortunately we were unable to see anything. Instead I pulled Ethan around in the sled.

Sledding with Grandma, aunt Stephanie, and the pups.

 

Sledding at Birk's competition.

I think that the main highlight of the trip for Ethan was riding in his cousin Svea’s Jeep. Ethan was obsessed with this vehicle and loved riding around and enjoying the scenery. It was really hard to get him out of it when the ride was over. I see one of these possibly in his future when he gets a little older.

Riding in Svea’s jeep.

 

 

Jeff definitely missed having us at home but had a nice bachelor weekend playing video games and hanging with friends. Its good to be home but we loved hanging out with family. Luckily though they are coming to visit this summer so not too far away.

Happy Easter! April 12, 2009

Today to kick off our Easter weekend celebrations we headed down to Puyallup to attend Jeff’s dad’s neighborhood egg hunt and brunch at their house. Ethan was prepared with his felt basket/sack for the occasion and was ready to look for some eggs. There were quite a few kids there but luckily they gave the little kids a head start so Ethan did pretty well. He did pick up the eggs off of the lawn and place them in his bag but then wanted to take them out again and put them back on the ground. He had a good time though and even got to have a Hershey’s kiss from his findings.

   

 

After the brunch we headed to another Easter Egg hunt in Issaquah but unfortunately we arrived right after it started. It was at the Fox Hollow Equestrian Center. They did however have many animals to see including several horses, a pony, baby ducks, and chickens so it was not a total wash.

 

Once we got home we decided to dye Easter eggs, well actually I dyed them and Ethan painted them but we had a great time.

  

From our family to yours, Happy Easter!