First Day of Summer

…and probably the best day I have ever had with my kids. I mean, we have good days, but this one takes the cake.  At first, when I looked at our plans for the day, I thought to myself (and Shane confirmed), “I am crazy”. 2 play dates in one day – and both play dates being out in the sun. This could go horribly wrong. But I had faith in myself and the kids that we would make the best of the day no matter what – and we did more than that.

We started off the day at Edmonds Beach where we met up with Shawna (and her 2 boys, Owen & Wyatt) and Jenny (and her little miss, Taya).  Both Jenny and Shawna parked at the huge play structure side of the beach – but I ended up at the beachy side. We all agreed that the beachy side was the best place for the kids to explore. Between the sand, seaweed, rocks, ferry boats, and trains passing by every 10 minutes – our kids were in HEAVEN. 

   

I love this photo. All the kids were so excited to see/hear the train. Taya – not so much :)

The kids started throwing sand – so instead of on each other – why not in the ocean? Kept them occupied for about 20 minutes!


Poor Malia – she wants to be a big kid so bad. You’ll walk one day soon sweet girl :)

Jackson just adores Owen. This was a cute photo of them counting how many train cars were left. Jackson thought it was the coolest thing to do…..because Owen was doing it.

We had a picnic lunch on the beach and left to go home and take naps. Both of my kids slept for about 2 hours and then we got in the car for play date #2. 

Carolyn and I have “known” each other for about 3 years – sort of. We met on thebump.com when we were both pregnant with Jackson and her daughter Adelaide.  At the time, she lived in Southern California – but after having Addie, she moved to Tacoma.  We have kept in touch through Facebook and have tried to plan a few play dates – but all had fallen through.  We finally found a great time, great place and weather permitting and planned our date at Green Lake Park.  Another friend of Carolyn’s, Ashley (and her cutie pie, Arlo) joined us for what turned out to be one of the best play dates we have ever had.  I truly hope that distance will not keep us from Carolyn and her beautiful girls, Portia, Addie & Scarlett.

We started out at Green Lake Park where the kids played their hearts out.  I remember from last summer, that the wading pool was a short distance from the play area and mentioned that it would be fun to check it out. We got all the kids in their swim gear and headed down to the pool…..only to find that their was no water (Mommy- FAIL!). I felt so horrible, but in hopes to not disappoint everyone – I brought up that my favorite cupcake shop was just a stones throw. I think I redeemed myself :)

We had a small picnic, a little duck, duck, goose and followed it up with cupcakes at Cake Envy.  Successful play date indeed.

 

This pic cracks me up. Arlo was trying to stand up and using my arm to help him. Malia saw him getting close to me and crawled as fast as she could to try and push him away. Arlo was a good sport :)


This photo (and the one above) make me so happy. You can just see in Jackson’s face how much fun he is having. Moments like these just warm my heart.  

Portia is such a good big sister. Although the kids are younger, she is so great and plays with them. When it comes time to hold hands and guide them – she does it in a way the kids listen. Carolyn did good.
 

She liked the frosting.

Pinterest Find : Dinner

Pinterest - one of my favorite go-to places to find recipes.  In our house we do about 20% staples (spaghetti, taco salad, homemade pizza) and 80% new recipes. I am always looking for kid-friendly food that my kid (ahem - Jackson) will actually eat (read: hidden fruits and veggies). Malia will eat just about anything except fruit - yes she is weird. If Jackson doesn't see a breadstick on his plate - he runs. It is a constant struggle in our house at dinner time - so I think that's the main reason I am always trying new recipes - it's a challenge that I gladly accept to get my kid to eat dinner.

I stumbled upon this last week:

RECIPE HERE

This was a huge hit in our house. Peas - check. Spinach - check. Basil - check. Jackson ate almost every single bite. And the recipe made so much - we have leftovers the next day and some to freezer for later eating.  All around a winning dish!

Date Night

When I was pregnant with Jackson, Shane and I made a promise to one another that with all the craziness that was heading our way, that we would never forget to reconnect when necessary – this was important to us and crucial to our marriage.  When Jackson arrived, we were so lucky to have a date night almost EVERY Friday night (thanks Mom!).  Those date nights started fading away once Malia was born. I was too tired, Shane was too busy and my mom got a new job which made it harder for her to get away to watch both kids.

We have begun to realize that we really need to have a date night once a month –and we HAVE to make it a priority.  I was even inspired by Carolyn at The Kipper House, where this mom of 3 plans a date night once a month. I figure if she’s got 3 kids and ZERO family nearby to babysit them – I can make our date nights happen!

Our date night for the month of May fell on Cinco De Mayo –which also happened to be our 5-year engagement anniversary. My mom took both kids for a sleepover at her house and Shane and I spent the evening like we were dating again. It was so nice to hold hands, laugh, kiss, have in-depth talks without interruption and honestly, just reconnect and remember WHY we fell in love.

We started out using a Groupon I purchased at COA Mexican Eatery. We got a flight of 3 tequilas and 2 appetizers. The tequila was disgusting – but the food was pretty good. We then had plans to go see the Avengers at the Cinerama– but since it was opening weekend (poor planning on my part), the line was around the block – no thanks. So on a whim we went to Wasabi Bistro and had drinks (best Margarita of my life by the way – who knew a Sake Margarita would be it!?). We sat and talked and didn’t even eat sushi (what’s wrong with us!) for over 2 hours. At this point it was my bedtime, but we were trying so hard to make the most of our evening together – so we walked across the street to Ohana's. We felt right at home with our late night snack of Spam Musubi and a Primo Beer.

The night was perfect and I am so excited for date night in June!

Tequila Tasting with yummy appetizers….

Seriously BEST Margarita ever…at a Japanese Restaurant


Then things got silly at Ohana’s. But that’s okay, because we are serious so much during the week! Time to let loose!