a trip for me

i just got back on monday night from the most amazing city...new york! it was my first time to visit the big apple and it did not disappoint. my dear, long-time friend kim lives in brooklyn and works for the new york legal aid society as a lawyer, doing very honorable & good work with senior citizens, fighting for their rights as tenants. she is living out her dream and i get to benefit by a free place to stay and a lovely tour guide. thanks kim for the awesome trip! our friend carrie was there too, visiting her little sis who just had an adorable baby boy. so i got to hang with her too!

we walked, walked, walked everywhere - taking in the sights, people and of course all the good food along the way. we did a little shopping, but mostly eating, drinking & walking! i am already trying to figure out the best time to go back, and this time want to bring tyler & riley along. i was very thankful to have this little trip to myself, to spend time with girlfriends and just see & experience a different way of life. (could anything be more different than a stay-at-home-mom's world in bellingham and a single lawyer in NYC???)

i am, however, happy to be home and see my little bundle of joy. we have been having fun hanging out and getting back into the swing of things. tyler and i passed e/o in the air as he flew out monday for a week long work trip...so i anxiously await his arrival on friday! and speaking of friday...i am getting all 4 wisdom teeth pulled, so wish me luck!

kims apartment building in brooklyn

my 2 1/2 hour walk from kims apartment, across the brookyln bridge and all the way up to the west village



lunch at mary's fish camp...best trout BLT ever!!!


ramen dinner at midnight


street vendor shopping in soho


outside the maurice sendak gallery - resting our tired little feet


ice-cream in chinatown - yum, yum, yum

the view of manhattan from the brooklyn bridge park right before getting on the plane

happy 2nd birthday...

to my sweet little girl riley kathleen. you are...funny, sweet, talkative, energetic, smart, cuddly and so much more...we love you.

the weekend

thought i'd share a bit of what we did this weekend. i'm currently cozied up on our bed in front of the fireplace in the living room...yes we have been sleeping in the living room for the last week as we finish fixing and painting our bedroom. and for those of you who have been to our 900 square foot house, you know that it has to be a funny sight. but it proves to be quite a fun set up for all: the tv (aka football) is just a mere foot from tyler's head, it allows me to lay in bed and enjoy the fireplace and for riley the living room is pretty much two couches, bed & two ottomans squished together so she has had quite the jump around fun only a 2 year old could have.

our weekend started off with a rainy friday - so we found entertainment at lowes in the christmas aisle (who knew?) and the jump around fun zone with friends


saturday morning our friends took riley for a few hours to the pumpkin patch so we could make some headway on painting our bedroom


saturday afternoon we had a visit from tylers grandparents in their big "bus" as riley calls it. they are en route to their winter home in arizona, so they had to come get their riley fix! we had a great time having cocktail hour in their RV, dinner in the marina at anthony's and a big sunday morning breakfast in our house. riley was completely fascinated by the steps that automatically came out when you opened the door. she squealed with delight each time!

this afternoon we went to the harvest festival at our church. riley was quite upset about the thought of putting on her "ladybug coat" so daddy dressed up like a ladybug too. what a guy.

happy halloween week!

the difference of 1 year...

october 2008, riley & henry, arlington pumpkin patch

october 2009, riley & henry, edmonds pumpkin patch

boulevard park in the fall & my favorite gal

the pumpkin patch

last thursday i took riley and her friend to the pumpkin patch...

almost 3 feet tall!

riley absolutely loved all the animals - and there were lots! her favorites were the bunnies (she liked watching them drink their water) and the "goats up high"

she also loved getting food out of the machine and feeding the animals

we took a hay ride down to the pumpkin patch...

...where she would not pose for a picture. here she is doing everything "by myself".

and lastly, the hay ride back up to the farm where mommy enjoyed a cup of apple cider and a few cider donut holes. we also picked out a few pumpkins and riley got to pick her own baby pumpkin. she has since carried her baby pumpkin around and even wanted to sleep with it. that girl and her obsessions.

happy october!

our trip to san francisco

we returned home last week from a wonderful trip to san francisco. we had five full days of adult-only conversation and adventures and it was heavenly! riley spent the time at nana's house in seattle with her uncle drew, cousin henry and all her aunties. everyone pitched in and took turns playing and taking care of riley and it made us feel so good that she was being so well loved. thank you to my family!!! we are very grateful!

our main purpose for the trip was for tyler to be the best man in brian's wedding. the rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception were divine. it was such a blessing to part of their incredible wedding and get excited about the life they will create together.

we decided to turn our trip into a mini vacation as well since we won't have this opportunity again for a while. a few of our days were spent walking through the city finding the best lunch, tea, dinner, pedicures and window browsing. we also had some wonderful and much needed down time...just time to lounge in our hotel room, nap, sleep in and have no where to be. tyler had a fun day of golf with the boys, we went to a matinee and even went for a mini hike.

we were thrilled to see our little riley again! she truly looked different after just 5 days. we are now fully back into the swing of things although she is still recovering from us being gone (a bit clingy and not sleeping well for a few days...but WELL worth it!)

here are pictures from our trip...enjoy!