it's snowing...

The snow has finally arrived in the Seattle area. We had a great deal of snowfall for about an hour and then it seemed to melt away. While it lasted it was nice to look at outside the windows in the comfort of our own home. Unfortunately Ethan had a little bit of a cold so was not able to go out and take advantage of it. They say it is supposed to snow tomorrow so we will see if he will get his chance to conquer the snow again. Bindi sure enjoyed it though.

up, up, and away...

Our neighbors invited us to head over to the Museum of Flight in Seattle during our winter break. Even though I have lived in Washington my entire life I had never visited the museum. It was actually a very cool display and kids are actually able to sit in some of the planes. We were also able to tour a concord jet and they also had one of the United States of America presidential planes on display that you could tour as well. We also sat in on a planetarium presentation where you go into a big inflated room and watch a star show. Ethan had a great time hanging with his friend Isaac and Jeff and I had a great time hanging out with our neighbors and looking at all the planes.

science rocks at the pacific science center...

Since we had the week off and the weather was not that great we headed to the Pacific Science Center on one of our days off to hang out in Seattle. Jeff was heading to a game day at a friends house so he was able to join us in the morning and then after he left Ethan and I had a great time exploring the rest of the science center. Ethan absolutely loved the space shuttle that you could sit in and he also thoroughly enjoyed the shadow wall. I remember I loved the shadow wall when I was a kid as well so it was great to see him having so much fun in there and I had a great time too.


Before Jeff left we also took a ride up the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. Even though it was a little foggy and rainy up there Ethan liked being up way high and it was great to see the city.

new year's resolutions...

At the start of each new year I like to make a list of things that I would love to accomplish in the coming year. Here are mine below...

• Have more home cooked meals at our dinner table. Our lives tend to get busy with work and preschool but I am going to try to take time to make delicious healthy dinners for my family to be eaten at the dinner table while we discuss what went on in our days.
• Get better acquainted with my sewing machine. I've only barely scratched the surface of using my sewing machine so I am going to try and get more creative with it. Maybe possibly some skirts??
• Go on more outside adventures. This is mostly for the Spring/Summer months but I would love for us to get out and explore more.
• See more of my friends and family. As stated above work and preschool make us long for the weekends with nothing to do but I am going to make an effort to see friends that I haven't seen in a long time and also see my family more.
• Eat healthy. Yes, I know this is always on people's New Year's resolution lists but I really want to eat less bread and pasta and sweets since they tend to give me headaches and no energy. I have been eating this way for only five days now but I am feeling great so it must be working. ;)
• And of course update my blog more since I know everyone loves seeing pictures of my adorable son.

Happy New Year everyone and I hope that you are all able to accomplish your goals and have a wonderful year in 2012!

let there be lights...

Jeff puts on a pretty great light display on our house every year but we decided to go and see the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden - Garden d' lights. We ended up going the day after Christmas since I thought that the crowds would be a little smaller and boy was I wrong. The place was hopping and it was a little crowded to see the displays but luckily there are so many lights that you have views all around you. Plus, if you have kids under 4 they get in free!

ho ho ho...

We had a fabulous holiday this year. Both Jeff and I had the week off from work and Ethan was out of daycare so we had a bunch of fun family time. We got to visit with a lot of family and friends and Ethan was so excited for Santa to visit. We had to make sure that our fireplace was not blocked so that Santa could come down the chimney and eat our cookies and milk that we left out for him. We had a great Christmas morning opening up presents as a family and playing with our toys after the craziness was over. Then we headed up to Bellingham for dinner to visit with Grandpa and family. Thanks again for the wonderful dinner and hosting us all dad and Jackie!!! And thanks Alison and Sid for hosting us on Christmas Eve!!!

 (Hanging out with his cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Herron's)

 (Ethan's present to me. He picked it out himself because he wanted his mom to have a girl dump truck and magic wand to play with.)

(Castle from Grandma and Grandpa Allsop.)

(Our Christmas Tree)

the san francisco treat...

This past week I took a trip down to San Francisco to visit some friends and attend a conference for work. I arrived on a Saturday and stayed with my friends Jill and Greg at their very swanky apartment in the city. Thanks guys for letting me crash at your pad. We took in the Cirque du Soleil show Totem and ate at some very yummy restaurants in different parts of the city which was a delight.

They also took me on a drive into the Santa Cruz mountains to go wine tasting. We drove up and up and went to a winery at the very top and then made our way back down stopping at a few other wineries along the way. The weather was a little cool but we were able to have a picnic outside at a winery that had their very own peacocks. I ended up getting a few bottles since there was no way I could go home empty handed and I knew that Jeff would love the wine as well. 

The rest of the time I spent in the financial district attending training for work and it was in the perfect location, right across the street from my new favorite place the Ferry Building. If you are in San Francisco I highly recommend that you check this place out and make sure you visit hungry. 

*Special thanks to Jeff as well for being a single dad for a week.