Saturday Giggles

Evan's first big giggles today. This has to be one of the sweetest sounds on earth!! Zig couldn't find the stop button on my camera...so forgive the technical difficulties.

Franklin Falls

We ventured out on a little hike this afternoon for our Friday adventure. We left the house around 11 and headed about an hour east to Denny Creek and a hike called Franklin Falls. It was the perfect hike for three small kids and a baby. I heard about the hike from my friend, Colleen, and after seeing her photos I decided this one might be feasible with Evan. 1 mile each way and a very well groomed and beautiful trail.

The waterfall was huge, but after a quick glance, the kids were much more interested in jumping and climbing on the rocks, and trying to cross to the other side. The temperature outside was in the mid 60's but that didn't stop Rollin and Nina from getting wet up to their waists. Sela crossed to the other side without getting a drop of water on her. But it was not so easy for Nina and Rollin. They couldn't reach their legs as far as Sela, however they were both very determined to make it to the other side no matter the cost.

I knew they would be cold and fuss on the way down, but what do you do?! I felt like a broken record after a few minutes so I just decided to let them get drenched and deal with the consequences.

Nina ended up taking her wet pants off and we made a little skirt out of her mostly dry sweatshirt. She was happy as could be. Rollin didn't go for that idea and just cried most of the the way down because he was cold. But that's how we learn. He was also in desperate need of a nap, so we were doomed either way.

We stopped by Thenos on the way home because Nina had a very helpful hiking attitude and earned everybody an icecream. She offered to hold the backpack the whole way (it only had keys, cell, water, and 3 sandwiches) and did not whine or complain once.

I think we'll head back to this trail on a warmer day because my guide book says there is a rock slide with water for kids on nearby trail which sounds very fun.

3 months old

We probably tried 30 times to get Evie-poo to smile, but he kept this face the entire time, completely unphased by the theatrics going on behind the camera. Or maybe he is just a wee bit terrified of his crazy siblings! Very likely. Oh well, our little sweetie is 3 months old and as much as I hate how quickly the time is passing, it's fun to watch him grow and change. He really is a happy baby, I promise!

Just making sure it's safe for the kids.....

And having a little bit too much fun! There's a kid in all of us, or so the saying goes. I believe that to be true and it's pretty fun to see Zig embrace his inner 9 year old. I heard laughing coming from the tree house area while Ben and Eric were "working" on the zip line last week. Zig came home Friday and had to give it a test run as well. Just to make sure it's safe for the kids, of course :) He talked me into trying it without the harness (we don't have it yet) and it was actually pretty scary to jump from the balcony. I stood up there for awhile like a big chicken. But I eventually went thanks to Rollin's encouragement and it was a kick.

The kids think Zig is having this tree house built for them, and that's partially true, but he so into this thing that I'm starting to wonder if he might relocate his home office up here. It is peaceful and quiet. Gee, can't imagine wanting to escape when our home is so tranquil these days. The details on this tree house are amazing, and nothing is standard. It has taken forever to finish because Eric and Ben are cutting down trees from their own property to make the railing, none of the windows are standard, and the list goes on. The kids cornered Eric today to find out when it is going to be done. Maybe next week although I highly doubt it.

A zip line coming from the balcony, rope swings beneath, a tire swing made from some special racing car tire, special lights, decorations that are top secret and keep arriving in the mail, an antique bed that had to be put in before the biggest window was added are some of Zig's fun ideas. Ben and Eric almost killed themselves hoisting that bed up the ladder!

Zig is also going to have their beloved love sac reduced to several smaller ones and recovered. They cry anytime we mention getting rid of the monstrocity. Zig just brought home a ton of fabric samples to make sure the love sac lives on. Uh, I'm still working on pillows for inside our house. I think the tree house will be decked out long before my living room is complete.....that guy can focus like a laser beam and get stuff done. I'm a bit envious of that quality sometimes!





Don't worry Mom...there will be huge nets underneath!

It's official

We set a record in Seattle for the hottest day ever, I think. 103 degrees. But it was 105 here in Woodinville! Not even a hint of a breeze. And hovering near the 100 degree mark for several days. The funny thing about this part of the country is most people don't have A/C. Both of our previous homes in this area actually did have A/C and we used it for a couple of weeks in the summer, but I always thought, no biggie, I could take it or leave it. I love to have every single window in the house open and so I rarely turned the thing on. But this week was something different. It was stifling and still and muggy. And the worst part is, there was no cooling down in the evening. There were lines everywhere for fans and the like, so I didn't even try.

We didn't wear many clothes this week. see the little beads of sweat on Nina's face?

Evan had the hardest time with the heat. His extra insulation didn't work out too well for him. Poor baby.
Not too much laundry this week...bathing suits and underwear. I guess there was a lone bright spot!

There was no blogging last week because all I would have written would have been:

We are sweating.
It is 99 degrees inside our house.
Evan is crying.
Evan is crying.
Evan is crying.
We are hot.
We are sweating.
We have no fan.
We are swimming.
We are eating out.
Rollin, Evan and I go to a restaurant to escape the heat while the girls are having sleepovers.
Apparently everyone else had the same idea.
We had to eat outside or wait an hour.
Did I mention I had Rollin with me?
We ate outside.
Evan fussed.
It took an hour to get a grilled cheese and a salad.
I was sweating even more because I had to swing that dang carseat for half an hour to keep Evan from crying.
I think to myself many, many times how I could not have been a pioneer.
We are going to stores for A/C.
We are eating popcicles by the dozens.
We are swimming.
We discover all our chocolate chips have melted into big globs.
Glad I stocked up on those last week.
Somehow Juan acquired a fan.
I wanted to cry when he brought it to the door.
Juan is a good man.
Kids are arguing.
Kids are hot.
Kids are fighing.
Kids are tired.
No one can nap.
We made a white trash slip-n-slide with painters plastic.
The BLACK plastic was burning up in no time.
There were bumps under the tarp.
The kids were crying again.
They didn't like the bumps.
The slip-n-slide wasn't all they had "dreamed."
More swimming.
At the neighbors.
Beach.
Went running.
Didn't go far.
Don't want to be skinny that bad!
I escaped with Evan to the Nordstrom sale.
Left the kids here to roast with Andrea.
Felt kind of guilty.
But they were in a movie for most of the afternoon.
And at Jamba Juice.
Looked for a bathing suit at Bellevue Square.
Felt oh so much worse than I did when I was melting in my house.
Maybe I should have kept running.
Bought mineral makeup and sunscreen instead.
Came home.
Checked the forecast 500 times.
Five people sleeping in the basement.
Wondering why in the frickity frack we didn't got to a hotel.
Four on a blow-up bed that lost air throughout the night.
One on a toddler mattress.
With one tiny fan.
But we were cool, finally.
Life is good.
Zig nice and cool in San Franciso trying to empathize but has no idea. It's one of those "you just had to be there situations."
Another movie.
And then finally some relief.
Thank goodness!
I'm NOT one to ever complain about the sun, but uh, this week was killer.

Today we are sunny, temperatures in the 70's and I'm loving life again.

garden goodies

We've had some very dry, hot weather over the past few weeks and while the grass in our yard is now brown and crispy, the garden has exploded. This week we picked lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, fennel, cilantro, basil, orange cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and a bazillion plums! Mom, I wish you were here!

I got a huge kick out of watching the kids pull dozens of carrots and beets out of the ground. It was like a treasure hunt to see who could find the most oddly shaped carrots. Sela said "Mom, you don't get cool carrots like these at the store!" I love it and I love this stage of life where the kids are so easily entertained. It's hectic in a few ways, but quite simple in others.

raspberry coconut milk ice cream

The raspberries are quite plentiful so we've been trying out some new recipes. I love anything coconut so I was excited to find this recipe. It's so simple. I added coconut to the recipe in addition to the coconut milk.



Raspberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2 cans of coconut milk (full fat), whisked until smooth
zest from one lemon (make sure you don’t get any of the bitter pithy white part)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups of raspberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted slightly)
6 tablespoons of agave syrup
Directions: Blend the raspberries in a food processor or blender with a little bit of the coconut milk until completely pureed. Add to the rest of the ingredients and make according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Freeze to “ripen” the flavor for at least a few hours and serve.