Smith Cove

I was trying to find a place that we could walk to tonight, that wasn't too far and wasn't up to many crazy hills and I found this little park and waterfront that is right down the bike path from our house, about a 20 min. walk. I didn't walk it tonight as I'm too sure what the path is like or how safe it is, so I thought we could all try it out tomorrow. Aubrey and I packed up a picnic and drove there. It was a beautiful night and Mt. Rainier was clear as well as the skyline from the park.

 I can't believe I actually got Aubrey to run on the grass! I told her to run fast the wall you see in the background, and back - and she did it!

 The best cookie in the whole world - it was her treat for eating all her dinner. It's kind of like a rocca but not too hard to eat or stick-in-the-mouth and it has macadamia nuts in it.

 someone just relaxing.

 Aubrey's ballerina shadow. I found a ballet class at the community center just up the road from us to put her in when she turns 3. I hope she likes it and will go without me there!

Aubrey-isms

 

Aubrey's favourite things to say:

"What yo doing?"

"sound idea?" (sound like a good idea?)

"What's wrong?"

"mamma mia" - when referring to her friend Mia's mom

"What's that noise?" (constantly)

Songs she likes to sing (and almost knows all the words):

"ABC's"

"You are my Sunshine"

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Start" (she says pickle instead of twinkle)

"Give, Said the Little Stream"

"Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam"

"I am a Child of God"

"Open, Shut Them" (weirdest song I've heard - must be from Nursery"

Today's walk

After dinner tonight Aubrey and I went on a 3.9 m or 6.3 km walk. We walked to the boat Locks where they also had a fish ladder that you could view through windows. As it's their peak month there were lots of huge salmon! Aubrey thought it was pretty cool. Then we took a detour home and stopped at a park and played for a while. I haven't been able to wear anything but flip flops for the past month and a half or so as my toe has been hurting me and every other shoe just makes it hurt. But I put on my running shoes and it didn't hurt today, so I was grateful! We bought a jogging stroller at a garage sale last weekend and this was the 2nd time I have used it and it's so much better and more smooth. And Aubrey seems to like it and stays in it, so that's even better.  

neat sculpture on the locks.

 

 

 

DIY crackle finish

 

Supplies: base paint (darker), top coat paint and Elmer's school glue.

 

I painted my base paint orange because it's what I had. Let it dry.

 

Brush on glue. The thicker the layer - the larger the cracks, the thinner the layer the smaller the cracks.

 

Once dried it looks like this. Super easy and you don't need to buy crackle medium

Summer treat

 

I may have posted this last summer, but it's just such a great idea. (from my sis-in-law, Ali).

This favorite frozen treat is simply yogurt and graham cracker crumbs. In this case I used lemon yogurt, but an flavor will do. They didn't have a large container of lemon at the store, so we bought 2 small cups and it filled these four popsicles just fine. Sometimes the best flavors only come in the individual serving sizes. I know that at Safeway here in the states, has Lucerne yogurt cups with flavor such as banana cream pie.

BBQ Pulled Pork

Jared made the best pulled pork I've ever had. It was of course from our Weber BBQ grilling book that has never let us down. But you don't need to BBQ the pork for it to turn out so well. We crock potted ours for convenience. If anyone wants the recipe, email me and I'll send it to you. I don't want to post it on here out of respect of copyright.

Garage sale finds

We went garage saw shopping today and I found a few photo props. We also found a great, hardly used jogging stroller for $30 - not that I plan on jogging with it a lot. They are just so much smoother then the cheap one we have and is great for rough trails.

New camera . . . New to me.

 

I found this little Kodak in an antique shop today. It was between this and a little brownie but this one was more cute. 

Old crate DIY

I really wanted an old crate to use for newborn photography and I saw one photo where the crate was an old apricot box and it had the word SWEET on the end and it was so perfect for a little newborn. Old crates are expensive and the chance of finding one that had a suitable subject matter was slim, so I bought this new crate at Michael's and roughly painted it white and sanded a little. Then I found this DIY on how to transfer an image that was printed on an inkject printer onto wood and it worked like a charm! I loved that all I needed were items I already had: washable white school glue and modge podge. That's it! Now that I could print whatever I wanted I could customize my crate perfectly. I left space below the text so that I could digitally put in a name and/or date of the baby to customize it further. My transfer looks rough because I wanted it to. I didn't leave it drying for as long as the tutorial asked for and I think it gave a more worn look. Now I need to transfer more things like photo images onto round wooden pendants for a necklace.

Ribbon storage

 

I found these straw dispensers at Bed, Bath & Beyond for 50% off for $5 each. I had to trim some of my larger ribbon reels so that they would fit, but now they have a place!

Back pack

The last couple of times Aubrey was at her friend's house, she would always put on her little backpack and pretend to go to school. I thought a backpack might be a good idea, especially to take to church full of her toys and activities (then I don't have to carry a diaper bag!). So during her nap today I made this drawstring backpack from scraps of a blanket and sheets and some ribbon. It was super simple and fast to make. She has worn it for the last 30 mins straight.

Welcome to Seattle

Saying Goodbye to Canada

Family 2010 Photos

Reunion - Spider Lake

Summer Reunion 2010 - the resort

aubrey's room

more 4th of July + Canada Day!

4th of July

We had some friends over for a BBQ and then we walked down to Lake Union from another friend's place to watch the fireworks. I didn't take my camera, so I only have terrible photos from my phone:

 Aubrey and Mia -they are exactly one month apart.

 Mia and her parents.

I made some festive cookies and tried to dress in patriotic apparel, but the crowd was pretty disappointing. I didn't see a single American flag, clothes or a painted face. It was not like any 4th of July Jared or I haven't ever experienced before.

Woodland Park Zoo

Happy Canada Day!