Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday Jeff got me a new ride...

I can't wait to take it out for a spin!

October Monthly Happenings for Kids in Washington State

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Happy October!


Since we are quickly approaching my favorite holiday Halloween I wanted to post some fun things that are happening during the month of October that you can do if you have children, and even if you don't.


Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes


Here are a few that I highly recommend if you live in the Seattle area.


Stocker Farms (Snohomish, Washington) - Each Halloween since Ethan was born we have visited this farm with our good friends Courtney and Jeff. They have a great selection of "you pick" pumpkins and a corn maze. I recommend if you go later in the month to make sure to pack your rain boots since the fields to tend to get a little muddy. Plus, when you are done picking out your pumpkin you can hop on over to the town of Snohomish for some festive Halloween shopping and yummy food.


Remlinger Farms (Carnation, Washington) - This is a great place to go if you have little kids. On the farm they have an amusement ride area for little kids, hay rides, and u-pick pumpkins. They even have a flash light corn maze and bonfire event. Check their website for hours and days that they are open.


Trick-or-treating


University Village (Seattle, Washington) - Trick-or-treating from 4 to 6 PM for kids 11 and under.


Pumpkin Prowl Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle Washington) - This event is happening October 23rd, 24th, and 25th at the Woodland Park Zoo. I recommend if you attend this event to pre-purchase tickets at Bartel's before the event. This is a great time to explore the zoo dressed up in your favorite Halloween costume and get treats to boot.


Crossroads Mall (Bellevue, Washington) - Trick-or-treating at the mall from 5 to 8 PM.

Hawaii Photo's 2009 - Surfing and Pool

(All photo's above © Kalles 2009)

Hawaii 2009

(All photo's above © Kalles 2009)

Ethan's New Tricycle

This morning Ethan and I headed out to run some errands before swimming lessons and while we were at Target Ethan saw the bicycle aisle. As soon as he saw the "cycles" that's all he could talk about and so of course since I am a sucker I got him one. He's not quite sure how to work the pedals yet but he's really good at trying to go over jumps and obstacles. I see a little dare devil in our future.



Swimming was great this morning as well. Ethan really enjoyed being in the water and loved jumping into the pool from the pool's edge. I think he would have been happy if he could of just done that the whole time.

Make a wish.

Now that I am able to take video and post it through my iPhone I wanted to put out there some of the funny video's that I have taken of Ethan. We had found a dandilion out in the grass and I taught him how to blow on it to make a wish.




Today is also our first day of swim lessons so I will post how it goes once we get back. I am sure I will have a hard time getting him out of the water when it is over.

Back from Vacation...

(Picture taken by Kiko - 2009)

Jeff and I returned from our vacation to Maui, HI yesterday evening and boy did we have a fantastic time. It was definitely the best retreat his company has had so far.

We arrived on Tuesday the 15th at around noon after a not so fun plane ride from two hours of turbulance out of Seattle. Once that was over with it was a smooth flight and we landed in the beautiful weather of Maui. Once we landed we had lunch and headed over to our houses that Jeff's company had rented for the week. The houses sat on the beach at Kihei and each had their own swimming pool. We were in the house with the nicer of the pools and we took advantage of this completely. We were in the pool for mulitple hours every day relaxing. We ended up going to dinner that night at the Aloha Mixed Plate which I highly recommend if you are in Maui. Really good local food with a ton of options and the prices are great as well.

On Wednesday most of the group we were with went golfing so Jeff and I hung out at the house all day. We did venture out to breakfast at the Kihei Cafe that also boasts a great menu with local flare. The rest of the time was hanging out in the pool until the personal chef that they had hired showed up, Mauro. This guy was a fantastic cook and made such great meals. I wish that I could of brought him back with us since the food was so yummy.

On Thursday it was surfing day with our instructor Kiva Rivers and unfortunately I woke up with a shoulder that was greatly in pain. I did force myself to go out a few times and was able to catch some waves which was fantastic. I will be sure to post pictures later when I have some time to actually download the pictures.
In the afternoon we got hot stone massages in Lahaina and it was exactly what I needed. After the spa we went to dinner at our favorite chain restaurant Bubba Gump.

On Friday it was another golf day so Jeff and I decided to head to the beach to go snorkeling. We saw quite a few fish and went to a great swimming beach. The rest of the time we spent at the pool until it was time to go to the Luau. I highly recommend The Feast at Le Le if you are in the mood for a luau in Maui.

On Saturday it was more snorkeling at the same beach we went to on Friday and more relaxing by the pool. Then on Sunday we flew back home and got home late last night.

It was a fantastic trip but of course we missed Ethan greatly and we very happy to see him when we got home. I think maybe a trip back to Hawaii with Jeff, Ethan, and me will be in our future possibly early next year.