Palm Desert - Katie and her little red bucket

Katie was content sitting in this little corner of the baby pool with her red bucket.  We would get to the pool, she would search for the bucket, and she would sit, fill up the water, pour it out, repeat.  Unless she was wandering, she would sit right here.  She also would find bags to collect toys, food, or other little items and carry her collection around. 

Palm Desert - Pool Time with Bapa

My parents were so helpful at the pool.  It's hard to manage two kids who can't swim...and one little girl who likes to wander.  My mom helped me get to and from the pool and watch Katie while I was with Andy.  My dad spent a ton of time with Andy in the pool.  It's pretty great having a built in swim teacher - who is the BEST : )  I saw a huge improvement during the time we were down there.  Andy was like an energizer bunny and just wanted to keep jumping in to Bapa over and over and over.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Palm Desert - Arroyo Time

We headed down to Palm Desert for 10 days.  Kyle joined us for a long weekend, which was a treat!  We had great weather and it was so nice to see some sunshine.  I loved being able to walk outside without having to bundle up, go swimming with the kids, enjoy cousin time and spend some quality time with Ka and Bapa.  I took quite a few pictures - fun to capture what the kids are doing and compare from year to year.  We were lucky to spend the first half of our trip with the Warme family and overlap the last bit with the Lentz family.

We spent most afternoons in the arroyo outside my parent's house.  It's a great spot for hitting golf balls, playing tag, and burning off any leftover energy.  Andy decided that he was going to ride his bike down the grassy hills and encouraged Miller "that it won't hurt, I'll catch you."  Since there was no stopping their efforts, we made it a family activity.  It was hilarious - I laugh looking at the pictures now.  Kids are so brave! 

Date Night

Kyle and I are implementing a new pattern - date night.  We have gotten out of the habit of spending time together - just the two of us - without kids.  We are going to trade off who plans the date - a surprise for the other person.  It doesn't have to be anything extravagant - just something fun to look forward to.  Kyle was in charge of our first date and I loved it!  The anticipation of the surprise, the time together - it was a special treat.  We are starting with once a month and hoping to make it more frequent.  We went to a dinner spot in Ballard that we have been talking about going to for awhile - Plaka.  We got there at 5:30, which was early, but perfect as it allowed us to have a long dinner without feeling rushed by the line of people waiting to have our table.  Great food, great wine, great atmosphere.  After dinner Kyle had picked out a movie for us to go to, "The Artist."  I love a good movie, but being our first date night in awhile, I wasn't in the mood to sit through a silent movie, I wanted to talk (surprise, surprise).  So, we skipped the movie, went to Basin & Robbins and sat eating ice cream for 2 hours.  Just what we needed.  Can't wait for the next date night!  And thank you to Gamma for allowing us to enjoy a night out!

Valentines & Pinterest

We were out of town for Valentine's Day this year, so we had to prepare our Valentines about a week early to drop them off at preschool.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved making Valentines.  I fondly remember meeting with my girlfriends and embossing, stamping, cutting, and creating many different Valentines to give out in class.  It's high on my list of favorite Holidays.  I love having an excuse to be crafty even if I am not very good at it.  Here is where Pinterest has consumed me.  I love all of the ideas it provides.  I love having access to other people's creativity and a step by step guide.  So, Andy and I chose one of the ideas off Pinterest to make our Valentines...melting crayons into heart shapes.  The downside to Pinterest...every idea looks so simple and "only takes 15 minutes."  Well, after you get the supplies, get everything prepped, actually make it, assemble...it's well over 15 minutes.  Oh well - we had fun in the process.