Balance Bike!

We got Madeleine a balance bike...but she had to work for it :) We started a chore chart that included cleaning up her room, helping to clear the table and putting toys away. She already helps put toys away but she isn't very helpful when it comes to cleaning up her messy room or clearing the table after she eats. She was very excited to do her chores and get her stickers...and was even more excited to get her balance bike. She has been riding it non-stop ever since! After just a few days of riding it, she can already balance for quite awhile! Crazy!

She's been continuing to do her chores to keep her balance bike and we've been enjoying the help!

Staycation!

We had a little staycation this past week. Jeff had originally planned to see some family but it didn't end up working out but he kept his days off and we did some fun things around the area...a staycation! On Friday we headed up to the Mountlake Terrace pool that had an indoor activity pool and lazy river...so fun and even more fun for the price - $15! The kids swam and played all around. Just in the past couple of weeks, Madeleine has started to swim on her own! We are very proud of her! She can kick underwater for quite a ways and come up for a breath of air and swim some more. She is now working on floating on her back. Swim lessons have definitely paid off!

Braden also enjoyed playing in the water and really liked the lazy river...despite his face in the picture below. He became quite 'lazy' in the lazy river...he laid back and relaxed while he floated around. The latte stand and cookie/popcorn treats on the way out topped off the fun trip!

Friday night we headed to the YMCA for a pirate treasure hunt. We are enjoying the YMCA very much because of their family friendly environment. Madeleine did a pirate craft, some pirate games and then headed out on the treasure hunt!

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with my family in Fremont. We ate Mexican food at a yummy restaurant and the girls danced to the band...good times!

Jeff surprised us with a little outing to Golden Gardens afterwards. Madeleine squealed with delight, she was sooooo excited to play in the FREEZING water and sand. The kids had fun at the playground too and then we stopped for gelato on the way home...yum! Braden got totally soaked in the water so he rode home naked :)

This was Braden's first time in salt water and being in the puget sound. He loved watching the water come up over his feet. He didn't seem to mind the cold water...I'm not sure he knew what to think of it but smiled a lot!

Craigslist Find!

Found this basketball hoop on craigslist for the kids! Lots of fun for the summer ahead!

Jumping, Jumping, and...books!

Braden had recently figured out to get up on the trampoline and jump! Uh oh! He also just figured out how to climb to the top of our indoor slide and stand up...not safe! I can never take my eyes off of him! But he has his quiet moments too when he likes to look through ALL of his books! He makes quite a mess but he looks so cute flipping through the books. We tend to tiptoe out of the room and let him be when he does this since these quiet moments are few and far between!!!

Barrel Tasting!

Jeff & I had a weekend to ourselves and we took full advantage of our time together. Friday night we headed into Bellevue to try a new (or new to us?) restaurant called Black Bottle. Wine on tap? Why not! The food was yummy too but best of all, Jeff & I actually caught up on a month's worth of conversation! It seems we are so busy with the kids when he gets home from work that questions and thoughts are put off until after they go to bed...but after that, we are so wiped out that we usually zone out watching some tv shows. It was great to re-connect! 


The next morning we were off for Eastern Washington for some wine tasting! We had a lot of fun in the sunshine! We visited wineries in Zilla and Red Mountain. We are so thankful to my brother & sister-in-law for watching the kids for us. Madeleine had a blast playing with Kathryn and little Braden stayed busy playing with all the new toys. We missed them and were so happy to see them on Sunday! We've come back well rested and ready for early morning wake-up calls and lots of energy from both :)

Here is the view as we head back to Seattle...blue sky turns to clouds.
 

Encompass Gala

Jeff & I were invited by our neighbor to the Encompass Gala event at the Newcastle Golf Course. It was a really fun event that helped raise money for Encompass - a local non-profit, children's and family-services organization. Our neighbor was the featured family speaker at the event and she did a fantastic job! It was a lot of fun to be out supporting such a great organization!

Tulip Town

We enjoyed the beautiful tulips at the tulip festival in Mt Vernon over the weekend. It is quite a long drive...Madeleine made it clear that is was "taking forever" to get there. We almost didn't go since we had a late night on Saturday but we got it together on Sunday and headed out. We are so glad we did! The weather was warm and sunny, a great day to visit the tulips. We saw my friend Melissa and her family there too! 

Madeleine uses the camera to take a picture of Jeff & I.

The colors were so vibrant!

We stopped at the Snow Goose Produce stand on the way home and got some DELICIOUS ice-cream. Yum! This stuff was so decadent that you could barely eat it fast enough before it melted. We'll definitely be back!

Braden zonked out on the way home

Water table fun when we got home!