Sunday, July 31, 2011

A Simple Summer Day

Today was full of ...

Watching our garden grow.

Dancing a Sun Dance.
*inspired by a favorite story The Sun Egg

Running in the grass.

Enjoying fluffy clouds in the sky.

Being happy.

Dressing up as the Queen of the little cottage.

Being barefoot in freshly mowed grass.

"The grass so little has to do,
A sphere of simple green,
With only butterflies to brood,
And bees to entertain,

And stir all day to pretty tunes
The breezes fetch along,
And hold the sunshine in its lap
And bow to everything"

-Emily Dickinson

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Sweetest Thing

Last night, after singing Sienna her goodnight songs she leaned over and whispered in my face, "Mama, I think you're beautiful." I think being a Mama is the sweetest thing ever.

A photo of my sweetest little girl in Utah.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Flea Market Finds

Today, we ventured out of the little cottage to find some treasures for our home. After Nana arrived (with a little kitchen cart for the little cottage) we drove over to The Mercantile in Anacortes for their flea market sale.

Our treasures ::

Our new kitchen cart (or Daddy's coffee cart) - found on craigslist for $25.00.
Thank you, Nana!

Mama really loved this little jug.
It says, "Live Better Naturally."

The back of the jug.
Cost = $1.50

Pretty picture frame.
Cost = $0.50

Sweet Beatrix Potter picture.
Cost = $3.00

Up close - Miss Moppet

Up close - Pigling Bland

I plan to use the little jug for flowers in our home. The wooden picture frame will go in our hallway, where I plan to hang family photos. The Beatrix Potter picture will go in Sienna's room. I plan to copy and frame some of our other favorite stories.

We also found a larger green watering can for our garden for only $1.00. (I didn't get a photo of the watering can, since Sienna eagerly put it in the backyard when we returned home!)

Total spent = $6.00 plus gasoline, of course
~and~
the cost of lunch at Gere-a-Deli, my favorite sandwich shoppe

Thanks for lunch and helping us find our new treasures, Nana!

We are looking forward to more flea market finds this summer ...

Monday, July 18, 2011

Road Trip to Utah, Part Two

We finally made it back to Washington!!

The rest of our road trip to Utah was spent visiting with our family. On Saturday, we went to a BBQ at my cousin, Mike and his wife Laura's beautiful home. Then, on Monday we started our trek back home. We spent the night at a hotel just outside of Boise, Idaho. We had planned to explore Boise a little bit more, but at 12:30 in the morning we awoke to the fire alarm in our room and had to evacuate outside. The fire department arrived and declared it was safe to return to our room, but we awoke at 7:00 in the morning to a fire alarm once again sounding. So, we decided to just get ready and start our road trip home.

Once we arrived to Washington, we were thankful for the cooler weather and the beauty all around us as we continued our drive home. It seems kind of silly, but this was one of the first times I actually felt like Washington was my home.

Sienna playing the piano at Mike and Laura's house.

She thinks Mama should buy her one. Maybe someday.

Getting so big!

Playing dress up with their toy stash.

Cousin Mike, Laura, and Sienna

Uncle Denny, Aunt Deedy, and Sienna

Me, Sienna, and Mikey

Sienna and Aunt Carol

Sienna and Mike's dog, Sukie

Sisters - Aunt Carol, Nana, and Aunt Deedy

Aunt Carol's dog, Billie

Sienna and Cousin Matt's dog, Rocky

It was very nice to see my family, since we all live pretty far away from each other. I also think that it's important for Sienna to get to know all of her family. I have many fond memories of my aunts, uncles, and cousins growing up and I always valued the time I spent with them.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Road Trip to Utah, Part One

On Tuesday, Sienna and Mama started our road trip to Utah. We traveled with Nana to visit Aunt Carol in Midvale, Utah. We spent the first night in Meridian, Idaho. Meridian is very close to Boise. We didn't get a chance to explore Boise too much, but we plan to stay there on the way back to Washington. On Wednesday evening we arrived in Utah! On Thursday, we enjoyed spending time with family and today we went to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City.

Here are a few travel journal photos ::

Starting our adventure.

Sienna was very excited!
(Our first stop was to get ice at the market by Nana's house.)

Snake River, Idaho

Snake River, Idaho

Sienna at the Snake River, dreaming.

A raven at the zoo.

I thought it was interesting that ravens mate for life.

Nana and Sienna

I love the signs at zoos!

Lovin' the sunshine.

We loved seeing the elephants and of course, Baby Zuri.

I like how the female elephant families stick together.

Sienna and a baby dinosaur.
(They had a special dinosaur exhibit at the zoo. Sienna loved seeing the dinosaurs!)

Sienna and Mama

See you in a few days with Part Two of our road trip ...

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Biker Chick

This afternoon marked another milestone for Sienna!

We took her in the backyard to ride her bicycle outside for the first time. Yes, she was riding her bicycle inside the house prior to today. She loved it!

She did really good, too and surprised us with her coordination. There was only one little bicycle mishap caught by Daddy in a photo. Her bicycle is called a "Skuut." It's a wooden balance bike that teaches kids balance and coordination while riding. It's supposed to make the transition to a regular bicycle easier. It was one of Sienna's Christmas gifts from Grandma Diane and Grandpa Paul last year. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Big girl.

Getting on her bicycle.

Riding around our backyard.

The mishap. She got right back up and rode again!

Happy little one.

She loves her bicycle!

After riding her bicycle, she tended to her garden a bit. She is such a responsible girl and loves to care for her plants.

Getting her watering can out.

Bugging Daddy to fill her watering can up with water.

Watering lettuce.