Saturday Morning Walk

We are having another beautiful sunny day here in Bellingham. After a delicious pancake feast (thanks Trev!), we spent the morning walking around Lake Padden.

Annabelle pondering the things of life

Daddy sharing truths with his daughter

Here is Trev singing to the trees about their Maker and thanking them for their strong roots and upward growth. And if you know Trev at all, you are not surprised at him doing this. :)

Along the same lines, as we were walking back through the woods we saw a mouse run across the path. Trev is positive he saw a shiny pointed object (sword) strapped to the wee mouse as it ran and went about its business defending the forest. Haha!

Hanging on for dear life as daddy pushed her on the swing

Annabelle loved going down the slide! She went down a couple times with an older girl (actually the girl in the background of this pic) who was kind enough to slide with her and hold onto her so she wouldn't fall back. Like a normal toddler, she kept trying to climb back up the slide as we tried to teach her to walk back around the toy to slide again.

Date Night!

Trev and I had a date night last night! Woohoo! Our dear friend Diana watched Belle for us while we went out on the town. We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at Guiseppe's, which included a Blueberry Lemon Drop Martini for me, which was so yummy. Trev really likes to treat me to a good drink when we go out on dates. After dinner we went and saw The Bucket List, which was quite funny! We had a great time reminiscing and being thankful for each other. Yeah for date nights!
And yeah for Diana, who stayed with our babe!

Sunny Day Outings

We have had an amazing and welcome stretch of sunny weather here in western Washington for the past week. It has been day after day of sun, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees. This is totally not normal for February. Even during the summers here, we don't always have so many consecutive days of sun. Ha! Needless to say, we have been making the most of it. We have been on numerous walks and park outings this week...

Tally:
Boulevard Park: 3+
Marine Park: 1
Zuanich Park: 1
Lake Padden: 1

AB playing in the boat at Boulevard

There was a 3 year old boy (actually, almost 4... he made a very strong point that his birthday is really really soon) playing in the boat while Belle was there. While we were playing, a seagull swooped down and snatched this little boy's sandwich (still in a ziplock bag) from his family's picnic table. When this little boy realized it, he ran after that seagull as fast as he could until it took off in flight. Now, if a seagull stole our sandwich, we would probably think it was annoying but kind of funny. However, to a three year old, it is quite traumatic! He realized he no longer had his lunch. He turned around and just started crying, with those big crocodile tears. Of course, all of us grown-ups couldn't hold in our laughter, thinking it was even funnier because he was so saddened by the event. Haha! Poor boy. Luckily his mom shared her sandwich with him and nothing else was stolen.

Seriously, we live in one of the most beautiful places. This is Bellingham Bay from a Zuanich Park vantage point.

Down by the bay...

... where the watermelons don't grow (as far as I know). :)

Ahh, the glorious sun over the water on a crisp afternoon.

What sweet feet.

Picking up rocks to toss into the water.

Checking out the scenes around her.

Z is for Zinc

Fini! I have finished the ABC's. Thanks Shannon for starting the trend. It was fun to try and take different pictures.

Y is for Yellow Light

X is for X

As in the letter X, found outside, made of wood.

W is for Web

V is for Vows

Trev's wedding vows that he wrote and framed for me as a gift a few years ago.

U is for Up-side down

The trees and the mountain looking up-side down in the reflections in the water...

Belle & Solomon

This is Belle and her buddy, Solomon. We spent all of Sunday afternoon with Solomon, his parents Bekah and Josh, and Art and Diana. The kiddos had a great time playing together. AB had a fabulous time taking Solomon's pacifier and then putting it back in his mouth over and over again. He was such a great sport about it too - it never really seemed to bother him. Belle got to spend the day in her sweet long-underwear from REI (she has a matching purple vest). What a cutie!

T is for Tea

Do you notice all three brands of Earl Grey? Trev is a big fan of Earl Grey. My new delicious find is the pomegranate raspberry green tea. Simply delightful.

S is for Smooth

R is for Red

Shannon, thanks for the fun new decorations!

Q is for Quiet

Still waters, no wind, no talking... just quiet.

P is for Poker

After the Filipino feast, we played some poker. That right there was the second hand of the game. I won that hand. My man brought home the bacon for us that night. Way to go Trev!

O is for Ox Tail

Yep, that big chuck of meat is ox tail... and I ate it... and it was good!
We celebrated our friend Josh's 25th birthday on Tuesday night. His wonderful wife Bekah treated us to a scrumptious Filipino feast! Mmmmmm, good. Thanks Durias family!

N is for Noah's Ark

This is one of AB's favorite things to play with these days. She will take all the animals out and then put them back in. Last night, while Trev was napping on the couch, she put them all on his chest and then left them there. Haha! She often carries this ark and a striped green bag that has books in it. She usually doesn't carry them separately - if she has one, then she has the other. She'll carry them all around the house, then empty them out, fill them up and then walk to a new place with them. She's so funny. I just wonder when it is possible to have a lion, a chicken, a pig and an elephant all about the same size. Hmmm.

M is for Morning Hair

Sometimes you can't choose just one picture. Her expressions make me laugh. I think she was thinking, "Mom, are you really taking pictures of me looking like this? And are you planning on putting it on the blog for all to see? Hmmm... I will get you back, you can count on it."
We usually tame the mane by clipping it back. I've tried to put it in pigtails but have succeeded only 4 times or so. It's quite the wrestling match and not usually worth the effort. :)

L is for Looming

K is for Keys

Little Storytime

Annabelle and I have been spending a lot of time at the library lately. Usually when we are there she just loves exploring in the kids section, rather than looking at any of the books. There is a raised platform that she loves to walk around on and then she'll step off of it, then back on, then off again, then back on... you get the picture. The last two days we have gone to Little Storytime. It is 30 minutes of listening to stories, singing rhymes, dancing around and hanging out with other kids. Belle loves it! She likes looking around at all the other kiddos and of course she loves the dancing. Today she was holding hands with another little girl while they danced. So cute. I have such a great time watching her have fun and interact with other kids. The picture up above is of her just outside the library exploring the bike rack. There are just so many things to explore!

J is for Justice