Friday Harbor Round House

This year we had a little time between Christmas and New Years so we decided to hightail it out of town.  Matt and I sat on the couch for a few nights trying to figure out where we should go.  After checking the "kid filter" on VBRO our choices were narrowed down quite a bit.  Then out of those choice finding a place without stairs or a lot of chotchkies really really narrowed it down.  I kept coming back to this one 'round' house on Friday Harbor.  It was a bit pricey but I thought, what the heck!  Well it turned out to be the most perfect heavenly house ever!!!!  I fell in love not only with the house but with the property as well.  A girl could retire there - and when I say 'a girl' I mean THIS GIRL!

Yes the house was perfectly round!  It had be remodeled a few years ago so the inside was very modern but simple.  AND best part there was nothing for the girls to get into trouble with.  Oh they ran around and around, built forts, played in the hot tub - did I mention there was a hot tub with this view and outdoor speakers so we could rock out the bay while swimming and soaking!

The property had stairs right down to a rocky beach.  When the tide was out we could explore the sea life in the rocks.  Dylan loved collecting drift wood and building beach shelters and Asa loved sticking her fingers in the water.

I kept waiting for a rainy day for us to hunker down in the house and watch a movie or do art but nope it was beautiful our whole trip!  A little 'burr' to quote Asa at times but the sun was out the entire time.

 The girls LOVED the hot tub - morning, noon, and night!  Asa and Dylan were able to practice their swimming skills!

 There were beautiful Madrona trees through out the property which just lit up when the sun hit them!  Oh and the sunrises and sets were amazing!  Luckily we got to watch them everyday as the weather was spectacular!

 Here's Asa all bundled up as we're heading out to explore the island.

 Here's a hot tubing adventure right after breakfast!  There was an island airport just down the road from the property so we were able to watch the planes come in and head out.  Asa loved it!

 Exploring the sea life on the rocks below the property.  Here's a sneak peak of a photo session with the girls.

 The only bummer about going out to the islands is the ferry lines!  You have to get there a long time before the boat is scheduled to leave but here we are making the best of it.  The only part you don't see is me crying as we had to leave the beautiful round house!  It was a great relaxing trip for sure!

Diyin Clark

Guess who can say her first and last name! We've been practicing and now every week at Little Gym when we go around the circle and introduce ourselves miss d says "Diyin Clark". Sooooo cute (and makes me proudly smile to myself, that's my girl).

Easter Fun

I remember Easter with fondness. Me and my brother with our baskets full of stuff. My mom and dad loved to, well at least I think they loved to, hide eggs for us to hunt out. The first Easter I recall, I was 5 and my brother about 10. We each had matching jeans with applique on the bell bottoms with matching hats for some reason and big grins on our silly faces. We lived in Maryland at the time and I'm sure we were a sight. Goofy red head boys soon to be strung out on sugar.

One year we had an Easter Egg hunt that had us hunting all over the yard. Well, we didn't find them all. And, these were real eggs, mind you. One of the lost eggs was hidden by the back door on the backdoor light. It went unnoticed for some time until it started smelling. Then it didn't take long to find. That was a hoot.

So, this year, our little girl gets her first real taste, a small taste, of Easter. No egg hunts, palm fronds or sugar, but she did get the little basket and some harassing from the dog. Christine filled Dylan's basket up with dried fruits and fresh strawberry's and cutie oranges. It was a pretty little basket, even after it spilled out on to the sidewalk. Question is: Did Maggie or Dylan get more of the fruit?

One thing that Dylan has that we didn't is the nifty little vintage coat, perfect for Easter. Christine and I found this shopping at a vintage store in Spokane on one of our many trips across the state to visit friends or on our way to Montana. We found all kinds of cool old stuff for the girl before she was born including this adorable coat.

Morning Jammy Time

Do you really need to get out of your jammies if you're going back to bed in a couple of hours? Nah, no need...especially if you are gonna just have breakfast and play.

More Birthday Party - Look at all the kids!

I'm telling you, there were at least 19 kids or more at the party. I stopped trying to count 'em all.
Faye with her pizza having a good time.
Jackson and Charlie - cousins.
Dylan with her party hat on and lots of ice cream in her face.
There it is, the birthday cupcake!
Josh and Mila diggin' into the last pie.
The whole cone in her mouth. Now I'm convinced she learned that from her Uncle Ben.
Oilve and Kelly.
The remains of the mini cupcake.
One of the big attractions of the night, next to the food, was the airplane.
Kevin, Olive and Liz.
Peter and one of the twins.

The photo booth was a big hit!
Sam rockin' the jukebox.
And Charlie getting some more camera time.
Kelly and Olive and David on the right.
Proud dad and Dylan.
This is before the party really got going!
Mila really getting into the party.
And Bridget scaring some of the kids.