Bainbridge Island

Saturday June 16th, 2012

We decided to go visit Bainbridge Island with the kids.  We mostly wanted them to be able to ride on a ferry and thought it would be a fun place to explore.  There wasn't a lot to do but it was beautiful and we had a good time.  We first went to a small farmers market and then we decided to go on a walk to a beach.  We finished our afternoon on the island at Madison Diner which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  It was a great day!

 Boarding the ferry.

Daddy and Sienna enjoying the scenery.

Mommy and the kids getting blown away at the front of the ferry.

The girls got their faces painted at the farmers market.

Daddy and the girls collecting seashells at the beach.

This is the walking path we came down.  We walked through some ginormous trees, it felt like a rain forest and was so beautiful.

Daddy walking the girls closer to the water.

Tanner stayed up with me and ate some of his snacks.

Waving hello.  While they were at the water Sienna said, "Look guys, a little critter!"  She saw a crab crawling around but I love that she called it a critter.

Pretty little ladies with a bunch of wild geese in the background.

This picture doesn't accurately portray how steep this incline was.  I called it induction hill with slight hopes that it would get something started.  Going into labor on Bainbridge would have been frightening to say the least though so it's a good thing nothing did.  I don't know that there was a hospital on the island and to get back to the mainland requires sitting in a long line waiting on a specific schedule to get on the ferry.  Okay, I'm sure they have some sort of hospital but it would have been a hassle and quite scary.

Sienna's flower.

The girls

Silly faces.  What we do for our kids.  I didn't think I could look much worse but we found a way.

The captain blew the horn before we took off and it scared the girls so bad.  They both jumped so high.  I'll admit, it caught me off guard too.

Looking out the window.

Seattle in the background.  Such a beautiful area. 

The kids were hilarious on the ferry and everyone was laughing at them.  The ride home was the most eventful.  The wind was blowing so strong and the kids were wired.  We will be taking another ferry ride at some point before heading back to Utah.  It was too fun not to.

Cute kiddos watching the water splash under the boat.

Tooth Fairy Time

Sienna lost her first tooth tonight.  It has been loose for a couple of weeks but tonight we decided it must come out because we saw its replacement coming in behind.  The tooth right next to it is also loose and probably won't take long to come out.  Sienna is so excited to put her tooth under her pillow and see what the tooth fairy brings.  I cannot believe she is big enough to be losing her teeth.

Favorite quotes of the night:

"I love you mommy and daddy. Oh, and daddy, thanks for pulling out my tooth."

"Mommy, I don't like the blood part." -Sadie

"I am going to buy Disneyland and I'll pay for you too, Nana."

"I'll see you when you're coming here and I'll see you at Disneyland!" -Sienna to Nana

"I'm so glad I can still eat and talk without this tooth."

"I'm so happy I lost my tooth! This is the best day ever!"

"I have to call Grandma Anne. I have to call Grandma Anne."

Sienna has been running around all night exclaiming how excited she is about losing her first tooth,  She also loves when I tell her she's getting too big and needs to stop growing.  She gives me a sassy looks and says, "NEVER!"

A Week Needs More Saturdays!

Matt and I are trying to squeeze in different local attractions and fun things to do each weekend so that we can get as much in as possible this summer.  We didn't have a ton of time yesterday so we decided to go to Snoqualmie Falls which is only about a half hour away and we loved it.  It was beautiful and fun and to make it even better, it didn't cost us a penny.

Family pictures.

Standing in front of the falls.

It is so hard taking a serious picture of the girls with them both looking at the camera and smiling.  They're just little goofballs.

Tanner and Daddy in front of the waterfall.  Tanner doesn't know what to think of the water that is splashing his face.  The water falls so hard off the rocks that it splashes up and mists everyone and thing around.  By the time we left, the girls hair was all wet and we had to wipe off the camera several times.

Trying to show how high the water splashed after hitting the bottom rocks.

Again with trying to take a normal picture.  Anytime we pull out the camera this is what happens.  Sadie makes a weird or fat face, Sienna is always striking a pose, touching or covering her face and Tanner is just goofy. 

I think he's trying to eat the water that is splashing.

This is when I said, "Where is mommy's nose?"  Tanner points to his own and says, "NOSE!"

Another great face from Sadie.

Finally, mommy gives up and just lets them be weirdos.

Daddy walking the kids across the bridge.

On our way to the railroad museum (which was totally lame), Sienna spotted a couple deer off the side of the road so we stopped to visit with them.  They could not have cared less that we were within a few feet and just kept eating.

Kids at the train museum. We were so excited to take the kids to this museum and even on a train ride around the waterfall.  It was a complete bust and super lame.  The girls did get a squashed penny that they cherish but other than that it was mostly a waste of time.  Oh well, it was close and free.

Best friends.  I really hope they can grow up and stay as close as they are now.  They have so much fun together and can get each other to laugh way more than anyone else can.  I love my weekends with the family.

Claim Jumper

Matt's favorite restaurant on his mission was Claim Jumper and we have one just down the street from us.  I used the same excuse that Baby Abby is coming soon and we need to have fun and get out while we can.  I don't really need it as an excuse because we all have the same thing on our minds, live it up this summer while we have a little bit of money and can.  Plus, we don't want to leave Washington without taking advantage of all of the fun things it has to offer just in case this isn't where we return next year.  (I know, there are restaurants everywhere but we love eating out as a family so it counts.)

I love this picture and wish Sienna was with them.  They all look so great.

Me and my Sweet Sienna.  Dinner was fantastic and the kids were great.  They were all super happy and ate a ton.

Apartment Life

We are having a lot of fun here in Washington and have done a lot of neat things.  We also spend a lot of time at our apartment and here are some of the things we do to keep busy.

We love going to the library and getting new books.  Sienna recently finished her very first book that she read all by herself.  She loves to sound out words all around her and is doing a great job.  She loves to play word games on the computer too.

Just a cute picture of Sadie Pie.

I was curling Sienna's hair and Tanner stood in front of us and slowly backed up and then sat on Sienna's lap.  The kids spend hours a day just playing and chasing one another around the house.

Tanner LOVES his sisters and is always following them around, copying what they do, giving them hugs and kisses and attacking them.  I am impressed with how well he plays with them too.  His favorite is building towers with his sisters and driving his cars or puppies around the house.  He has grown up so much and he impresses me with how well he can play along with the girls.

They also play dress up and pretend a lot.

We make a lot of bread and it is delicious!  Tanner is upset with me in this picture because he doesn't have any dough to hold.

Coloring! The girls beg to color and usually end up drawing or coloring for about two hours each day.  Their room wall is covered in beautiful pictures that they have finished.

More reading.  Tanner loves to get out books himself and we often find him like this going through different stories.  My favorite is when he is flat on his tummy with his feet kicking as he looks at different pictures.

Date to Seattle

Brigitte was sweet enough to take our kids for an afternoon so we could go on a date.  Matt's birthday is the week of Abby's due date and I wanted the chance to go out just in case she comes early. (I use this excuse every weekend so we can go out and do fun things, mostly eat yummy food as a family but this time it was just Matt and me.) We had a nice time walking around Seattle and checking out new things.  Our favorite stop of the day was The Gold Rush Museum because it gave us some good history and Seattle that we didn't know before.  We also walked around Pioneer Square, stopped at a fun toy store, saw the waterfall in the middle of the city and then grabbed some yummy seafood right off of the pier that had an amazing view. 

Proud Parent Moment

I love when church goes smoothly and luckily it happens more often than not with our kids.  I'm not saying they are perfect but they are pretty easy and they enjoy church.  Sacrament starts with the girls reading books or coloring (which they love so it is an easy distraction!) and after the sacrament, they are allowed to have their snacks and treats.  Tanner is in the stage that is harder to distract him and keep him entertained but he usually does great with some fruit snacks and books.  In fact, lately the hardest person to keep still is myself.  I don't know what it is about the seats at church but I get so uncomfortable sitting there for more than twenty minutes at a time.  I try to be big and sit through the duration of the meetings without moving or complaining too much but I am very anxious to drop the extra pounds and sit comfortably again.

After Sacrament meeting, the girls walk hand in hand to primary and Tanner joins us for Sunday school and then Matt typically takes him to Priesthood.  Today, we decided to see what the nursery leader would think of taking little Tanman a few weeks early.  They were more than willing to have him so we walked him to class.  It was the cutest thing to watch.  We opened the door and he ran right to the table where the rest of the kids were sitting, pulled out his own chair and sat down to play with play-doh.  He was smiling and laughing and we were relieved that it went so well.  (We are three for three with kids going to nursery without a problem and actually enjoying it with the exception of when we moved back to Utah, Sadie's teachers scared her -rightfully so- and she refused to go until they were released.) 

Today when we picked Tanner up from nursery he was still all smiles and giggles.  I was tickling him and giving him kisses on the way out to the van and I asked him if he had fun in nursery.  He immediately started saying, "Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!"  Matt said that they were blowing bubbles at the end of class when he picked them up.  I love how smart kids are and that Tanner made the connection to what I was asking him.

Matt often beats me to picking up the kids from class.  Surprise, right?!  So, after he picked up Tanner, he went to grab the girls.  Matt said that when he got to Sienna's class her teacher just kept saying, "ANGEL. ANGEL. ANGEL" and the other teacher said, "and she knows the answers to everything we ask."   It reminded me of primary in Texas where both of the girls' teachers told us every week how much they loved our girls.  It didn't hurt that Sienna's class was quite rambunctious and crazy but there were many Sundays in Texas where Sienna and only one or two other kids were allowed to go get a drink while the others were in "time-out."  When we moved, her teacher teared up and told Sienna how much she's miss her in class.  Sienna is definitely a little sweetheart and says the most tender things.

I am not trying to boast about my kids.  I am mostly just grateful that they are sweet to their teachers and like to learn. (They get that from their dad!) I really hope that we can keep our kids interested and excited to go to church throughout their lives. I love the testimonies that our kids have that aren't so little anymore.  It amazes me at the things they do and say and the way they pray at such a young age.  I have great kids and my goal is that I don't mess them up too bad along the way.