Thomas the Train - Snoqualmie Washington

This past weekend we went on a drive up to the town of Snoqualmie to go on their annual Thomas Train ride. We try to make an annual trip up to the Northwest Railway Museum for their Day Out with Thomas, and the Santa Train. It's a perfect activity to do on a nice summer day. An old fashion train ride to the falls and back. And Ethan even got to have a rainbow Popsicle to celebrate the day.

Sewing Project #3 - Birthday Banners. Oh Boy!

Ethan's fourth birthday is quickly approaching and we plan on having a backyard shindig to celebrate the occasion. I LOVE hosting kids birthday parties and I am always on the look out for decoration ideas that are not going to break the bank. I found a birthday banner kit through Amazon and since I have been looking for projects to use my sewing machine this seemed like the perfect fit.

I will be sure to post the finish product in the next few weeks. Stay tuned...

Homemade Cherry Pie...

It has been a pretty rainy few days in Seattle and it felt like a great day to bake.
The tree in our backyard has been bursting with cherries and I needed to pick them before the birds ate them all. Jeff had gotten me the Breville Pie Maker as a gift awhile back and so I made some mini homemade cherry pies. I had never attempted to make the filling of cherry pies before and it turned out great. I combined cherries with sugar, a little flour, and vanilla. I even made homemade whipping cream to put on top. Don't they look tasty?

A dapper young lad...

Check out Ethan in his fancy attire. I think he would be a shoo in if they ever needed a young lad to play a roll in Mad Men.

*I have also been doing some changes to our blog. Hopefully you enjoy the new layout.*

Sun Valley Vacation...

Jeff, Ethan, and I headed over to Sun Valley Idaho to celebrate the 4th of July and hang out for a week in the sun. We got to hang out with my sister and her family visiting from Colorado, my step brother from Utah, and my parents. It was a perfect 80 degrees every day we were there and we had a ton of pool time and lots and lots of home made ice cream. I definitely need a sugar detox now that we are back home. We also drove into Hailey Idaho for their 4th of July parade and took a gondola ride up to the top of Baldy Mountain to eat at the Roundhouse Grill.

We had a long, long drive there consisting of ten plus hours but it was worth it and thanks to the iPad, Ethan did tremendously well. We plan on hopefully making this a annual Summer tradition.

Happy Anniversary Round 2...

This last weekend it was Jeff's turn to surprise me for our ten year wedding anniversary. He didn't give me any details, just to be ready by 3 and that we were staying somewhere overnight. When we got in the car we started driving down towards the wineries and I figured out that we were staying at the Willow's Lodge. I always wanted to stay here so I was pretty happy. Then he told me that we were going to be eating at the HerbFarm restaurant for dinner which I was extremely excited about since it is a nine course wine paired meal. He also threw in a spa appointment in the morning and everyone knows I love the spa.

When we arrived at the restaurant they give a garden walk before dinner so we decided to go and check out the wine cellar before it started. On the way back to the cellar we ran into our friend Kristin and then the rest of our friends. I was so shocked that we were all going to be eating dinner together in one of their private rooms and it was fantastic. Lot's of fun and good laughs were had by all and Jeff then went and surprised me with a anniversary band. The night could not have been any more perfect and we had such a fabulous time. Here's to the first ten years and many more years of happiness to come. I love you Jeff!!

(Thanks to my wonderful friend Courtney for taking the pictures.)

A new gate...

We have lived in our house for almost ten years and the day we moved into our house I always wanted to replace our front gate to our backyard. Our old one had been rotting for the past several years and each year it became harder and harder to open it. After my dad had done a bunch of work on his house, including many fences I asked for his help since Jeff and I had no clue where to begin. We also had one of our first nice days of the summer so we lucked out with the weather. Thankfully my dad agreed to help us out and did most of the work since we were busy trying to wrangle Ethan so we owe him a HUGE THANKS.

I tried to capture the process while it was happening. Check it out below...