Another amazing sunset at Boulevard

Big Mauss, Middle Mauss & Little Mauss gallivanted around Boulevard Park this fine Monday evening. What a way to spend an evening. We got some exercise, witnessed a gorgeous sunset, played with Belle on the playground and enjoyed each other's company. Again I say... what a way to spend an evening. :)

Chatting with daddy.

Seriously. We are blessed to see this beauty in the town that we live in. Amazing. Look at the orange hues!

The Sewing Itch

About a month and a half ago I bought some fabric to make an Amy Butler Frenchy Bag. Right after that I started working full time. I definitely had the sewing itch and wanted to start sewing it right after buying the fabric but I didn't seem to find much spare time in my schedule. I finally cut out all the fabric about a week or so ago and on Sunday I started sewing! Woohoo! I tried to make the most of Belle's nap time, but assumed I would only get a few steps into the project. By the end of her nap I was already three-quarters of the way through!! Now I just couldn't get that far into it and just put it away for another day. After some dinner and some family time outside I hunkered back down at my sewing table (aka my dining room table with sewing stuff strewn all across it) and finished my Frenchy Bag!! It was my first sewing project that I've ever done 100% by myself by just following a pattern (besides pillows and coasters, which require no patterns and minimal thinking). :) It is so gratifying to be able to make something and then use it. Ahhh.

Behold the finished product...

Leisurely Sunday Morning

On Sunday morning we decided to go to the late service at our church, which gave us time to enjoy a delicious french toast breakfast and a walk in Zuanich Park. This is one of our favorite parks to visit because it has a beautiful view of the bay and the marina, as well as a playground and lots of room to run around!

So cool in her cool shades

One of Belle's favorite things to do is pick flowers... especially dandelions. She'll make a little bouquet in her hand and carry it around for a while.

Babe in a box

Annabelle loves sitting in things. Boxes, laundry baskets and anything else she can find to climb into. Notice Dora and Boots in her hand? They hardly ever leave her hands. When she tries to carry even more things, at least one of them she will stuff next to her neck and hold with her chin and chest. We usually let her only bring one of them when we leave the house. For weeks now we have been missing the Swiper figurine. A couple nights ago I was searching for Boots in the car, when, lo and behold, I found Swiper!!! I brought it inside and set it down for Belle to find. When she did, she held him up and yelled, "Biper!". That's what it sounds like when she says it. :) She was so excited and kept saying Biper all the next day. Now when we tell her she can only take one of her toys, she always brings Swiper.

Nature!

Saturday Outing

We usually like to go on an adventure each Saturday morning. Today we headed out to Hovander Park and Tenant Lake in Ferndale. Tenant lake is more like a marshy swampland, with an elevated boardwalk that meanders throughout. You can hear some animals that are living in the foliage, but you hardly see any of them. Our only glimpse was of a tiny mouse that came out of the grass for a moment and then scurried back into safety. We also went to Hovander Park where there is an old barn and some small animals to look at. It was great to be able to walk around, breathe in the fresh air and spend time together as a family.

We think that a turkey's face looks like it blew up. Gross.

Quality Time

Since I started working three weeks ago, I am obviously not able to spend as much time with Belle as I used to. I decided that we would have a mother-daughter date on Labor day because I had the day off work. We went to Woods down on the waterfront and enjoyed some hot chocolate and a big chocolate chip cookie. Belle has a sweet tooth like me, so we obviously both enjoyed our sweet treats. :) We also walked around the park for a bit, threw rocks in the water and played on the toy boat. It was a pleasure to have some quality time with Annabelle. She is such a sweetheart and I love her so dearly. I think being away from her during the day really makes me even more grateful for all the time I spend with her now. I love you AB!

** I think I said something really funny to her before I took the picture. Okay, probably not. She just likes to smile a lot. :)

Freeway sunset

This was the sunset we saw driving down I-5 to Tacoma last weekend. Gorgeous!

Last weekend I was able to spend time with my good friend Tobi. We've been friends since 6th grade! Woohoo! We met for dinner on my parent's boat. By "we", I mean Tobi, her fiance Christian, her sister Tamara, her brother-in-law Chris, her niece Sierra, my mom and bonus dad, Trev, Annabelle and... me of course! We feasted on salmon and enjoyed one another's company. Tobi ended up taking a TON of pictures of Annabelle. AB was such a ham that night! I think for at least 90% of the pictures she was giving her crocodile smile. Even when we had her make a different face, the second the bright light hit her face, she would immediately give us the cheesy smile. It was pretty funny.

** Sorry these pics are a bit small. If they are any bigger, they are fuzzy. **

Sierra and Tobi

The men-folk... Chris, John, Christian & Trev

And the crocodile smile.

Crocodile smile

Congratulations! You have now been exposed to Belle's cheesy crocodile smile! It all started with a book we read to her that says, "If you see a crocodile, SMILE!" Apparently, this is what she thinks a croc's smile looks like. She has decided not to reserve this smile for the book, but has extended it into everyday use. If you ask her to smile, this is the face she makes. If you are about to take a picture and the reddish-orange light (that shines from most new cameras) hits her, she immediately smiles like this. It cracks me up!!

(Aunt Trudy, thanks again for the cute PJs. They fit her now and they are oh so cute!)

Hangin' with the Smiths!

Our friends Tyson, Tracy and Kai visited us a few weekends ago. We had such a great time with them. We really hope they end up living up here one day soon. That way we could see them all the time! Trev and I enjoyed all our time with Tyson and Tracy - hanging out at Boulevard, taking the kids to a park on a rainy day and more. By the way, even though it was already sprinkling out we let the kids play in the water park for a bit. By the end Kai was completely soaked!!! I mean drenched. He is such a boy. He would just put his full face into the stream of water.

For dinner one night Trev decided to make a meat salad, which sounds kind of weird, but it was essentially a meat platter. He BBQ'd it up real nice! Delicious! It was such a joy to get caught up on what is happening in their lives. Kai and Belle had so much fun together!! AB kept saying Kai's name all weekend and liked to copy things that he did. Kai really loves to run in place really fast... Belle is still doing that.

Pound it!

Picking out the perfect rocks to throw in the water.

We pulled out the not so trusty air mattress for Tyson and Tracy. Not so trusty because it deflated both nights. Looks like its time for a new one. :) Anyhoo, we put it down for the kiddos to play on before they went to bed. Here is some video of it:

Us

Visit to the Fire Station

We visited Art at work a few weeks ago. He showed us all the engines and aid cars and even gave Belle this nifty hat! At first she was kind of nervous and didn't want to look at anything. Once we put her on the old fire truck they use for parades (below) she came around and was interested in everything! She was content sitting on the truck and steering the wheel for quite some time.