dine and dash

martha and i recently participated in our very first dine and dash experience. why would two honest girls do such a thing? well, when your brain is fried after mothering young children and you are sipping coffee and eating the most delish desserts on earth, your mind is not on the bill! last week martha and henry came for a visit and amongst other things, we had a late afternoon snack at the most scrumptious bellingham eatery, the mount bakery. the children's cries indicated an abrupt end to our little rest and in a scramble to pick up everything off the floor that riley could think of to put on the floor, we hurried out the door and made our way home. it dawned on me about a block from home that we completely forgot to pay the bill! i stopped by the next day, a tad embarrassed...but they didn't even realize we forgot to pay! i guess that's how it works in small town bellingham.

anyway, we had a great visit with martha and henry, even though bellinghams rainy day options are few and far between. oh, how we miss the big city on days like those! we stopped by the children's museum for a brief visit, did a little window shopping then on to the mount bakery. come back soon!

and yes, that is chocolate all over riley's face. a mother will do anything to keep her very busy toddler happy and entertained in order to have a few moments of chit chat with her sister!

Pictures from the week so far...

Riley's first lick of whip cream - can you tell from her face that she was not a fan?

A Sunday afternoon visit from Auntie Claire from Seattle

Riley's new word of late is "baby". She loves to kiss and carry her around - what a good mommy!

Reading with Asa - Riley's friend that we watch 2x/week

And then finally, Riley's first trip to the dentist. She did great, although still screamed when the dentist looked in her mouth. But in her defense, she is cutting several molars right now (and the dentist confirmed this!), so otherwise it was a good visit. Especially when she got to choose a sticker, toy and was given a new toothbrush.

That is all for now. More pictures later, I'm sure, after our visit from Martha & Henry today...we can't wait to see them and have them spend the night.

I wish you all a happy week welcoming spring - here's to more sun and beautiful flowers!

the cactus house

last weekend we flew to phoenix where tyler's grandparents have a winter home in sun city west. (otherwise known as the "cactus house" to tyler's little cousin due to a minor run-in with a cactus when she was visiting.) we've been wanting to visit them for several years now, so this year finally worked out - but ended up being only a week after our mexico vacation. it was a pretty quick turn around - i barely could finish the 5 loads of laundry from mexico by the time we had to pack up again! but we were not complaining as we spent 4 days in 70 degree weather and escaped the cold and rain once again.

we had a wonderful time in the land where senior citizens are plenty and golf carts are licensed - yes you can drive your golf cart on the road! tyler's grandpa leroy was very excited to show us all the sights of sun city west, so he had us on a firm fun schedule. nobody was to deviate from the plan! you will be amazed by all that we did in just two full days:

riley's first trip to the zoo!

tyler's birthday dinner - some grandma home cooking and play time with grandpa

beautiful hike in the white tank mountains

spring training game: rangers vs. white sox

golfing for the boys on both days

and finally a visit to the swan, on the 7th hole just down from their house

thank you grandpa and grandma for a wonderful visit. we can't wait to visit again!

Go Huskies!

Last week I was able to work at the Husky vs. Seattle University Men's Basketball game, selling bracelets for Andrew. It was a non-conference game, so not quite the crowds as some of the other games, but I had a lot of fun hanging out with Rachel and some of Andrews friends, as well as being able to help raise money for Andrew. It was fun to chat with people as they stopped by, and we were just amazed by how generous and friendly people were. Many people had either heard Andrew on his radio interview, or read one of the articles in the Times or PI.

Even a few of the event staff stopped by, saying they remembered Andrew when he played for the Huskies over a decade ago. Each of them only had wonderful things to say about Andrew, saying they remembered what a nice kid he was. It's amazing that some of our most insignificant and simple conversations or actions can have a lifelong impact. Andrew truly is kind to every single person he comes in contact with, and I am challenged by his example on a daily basis. It is not easy for me to be kind to the grocery store cashier when I am in a rush and they are moving slowly! Something I am constantly working on...thank you Andrew for your great example.

Rachel & Maria in front of our table


Siobhan, Brian, Nichole & Missy (in the background)


The whole group at the end of the game - Maria, Missy, Elizabeth, Rachel, Nichole, Siobhan & Brian

yo heart barra de navidad

the above saying was a bumper sticker we saw all around town. when we first arrived, i did not believe it. but by our second day in barra, i was in love. this town is magical. the best kept secret (expect now i'm announcing it here). we will for sure go back! we had a wonderful trip, besides a last minute cancellation by our dear friends the oranen's. we missed them and look forward to a trip next year. so we ended up spending our vacation with t's mom melinda and her beau john. we shared melinda's condo, set right on the beach and had a wonderful time. we were happy to have grandma around to do a little babysitting and she was more than happy to have riley for a week. we don't get to see her much, so it was a treat. here is what we did:

*walk on the beach*swim in the ocean*read*play cribbage*two road trips up north to do more beach sitting*eat amazing authentic mexican food*walk around town*made meals in condo*go out to eat*habla espanol*pool*surfing for tyler*water taxi to dinner*

that about sums it up. as you can see, we really didn't do anything. it was perfect. just what we needed. the sleepy town, only populated by about 5,000 people with a very local feel was the perfect recipe for a relaxing vacation.

i couldn't figure out how to imbed a slide show in this post, and didn't spend much time on it...so here is the link to some of the better pictures from our trip.

riley's newest skill

in case you don't check andrew's blog...

read this article that jim moore from the seattle PI wrote in today's sports section. it's wonderful and really portrays who andrew is.

never turn your back on riley

*i am going through my pictures from mexico (over 300 - ridiculous) and will try to get them posted soon!