Ethan's 5th Birthday Party!

What a weekend! We had Ethan's 5th Birthday Party this weekend; his real birthday is tomorrow. This year we hosted it at Chuck E. Cheese in Olympia and it was so great.

I haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese since High School so needless to say; a lot had changed. They no longer had the animatronics birthday show, it has been replaced with huge TV screens and a whole big in-person celebration about your child. Ethan has always been one to shy away from being the center of attention so you can imagine my surprise that he was totally into all the kids chanting his name and singing birthday songs to him. I think it really made him feel special, which is wonderful! Good job, Chuck E. Cheese Olympia!  The whole Washington/Oregon family came and his Oma and Opa even flew in from California, I think this was his best birthday party yet!

Ethan for months has been super into Star War (hes awesome); specifically Lego Star Wars and for months has been asking for a big Millennium Falcon toy from his Oma and Opa. He couldn't get the Lego version because of all the little pieces being a choking hazard for Luke, so we found a super cool early 90's Micro Machines version of it. Ethan loves it so much he is bringing it everywhere we go!
We bought him some Star Wars garb too, including the most awesome Lightsaber toy I have seen.

Sunday, we drove my Mom and Bob to the airport and met up with Shay (sister-in-law) and Elijah (bro-in-law) for dinner. We had a great time together and we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Olympia, Tugboat Annies.  The food is good but I really like Tugboat Annies for the cool atmosphere. Its has old planks for distressed wood for the flooring, fishing and boating garb all over the walls and ceiling and a beautiful waterfront view of the Puget Sound and Marina. Unfortunately, last night our waiter was super awkward and made the whole experience a bit Twilight Zone-ish.

I am exhausted now and getting a little cold but it was such a good weekend and I can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch next weekend!

Scents for Cents from Pink Pistachio

I have been following Pink Pistachio's blog for some time now and recently one of her friends experienced I think every Mothers worst nightmare, her little boy nearly drowned in their family pool. As you can imagine the hospital bills are going to be a lot for this family and one of Pink Pistachios blog readers came up with a way to help contribute so I thought I would pass it along check it out here.

No More Running In The Rain

We joined a gym yesterday by our home and boy am I excited about it. Joining a gym means no more running in the rain and dealing with thigh chafing (it sucks fyi). So I went last night around 8ish and tried my first attempt at treadmill running, its a lot different. I have to figure out how to maintain my current stride and find the treadmill level that doesn't feel like I'm going to go flying off the back of it. So today Sam and I went together and did 2 miles on the bike then I attempted the treadmill again; much better. It still feels like I am going faster than normal but I'm not, my minutes/mile is increased on a treadmill so I am going to have to figure that all out. I did some ab work today too, it hurt...a lot. I am super excited about this new adventure and I hope to get really physically strong from it. I am excited to meet with a trainer tomorrow and learn how to use real weights.

Last weekend we went to the Rutledge Corn Maze in Olympia with my gal pals and their husbands; It was interesting to say the least. Luke flipped out about 20 minutes into it, like full on melt down and wouldn't calm down. I think he was nervous about the dark and not being able to see us; it went from fun to a mission to get out of there as fast as possible. Ethan had a blast with his buddies running through there in the dark but Sam and I left completely stressed out and exhausted lol. I have decided corn mazes are not for babies ;) Please excuse the photo quality, it was dark and I had a baby Moby wrapped to my chest.

Five Reasons I Like Washington Better Than Bakersfield

1. I went to pick up Sam at the Capitol for a lunch date yesterday and in the parking lot we saw a family of 5 deer prancing about and I saw 3 squirrels one of which almost trip a man, mind you the Capitol is in the center of town; you would never see that in the center of Bakersfield.

2. Anywhere and everywhere; there is a great cup of coffee near you, Washingtonians love their coffee like seriously love it.

3. It snows here, not like once every 10 years like Bako, like every winter. (Three different years in the  pictures!)

4. Its beautiful and green everywhere, wild flowers, towering trees, mountains and lakes. I often forget how breath-taking it can be when I am surrounded by it. I suppose Bakersfield has beautiful areas too but in my opinion, it doesn't hold a candle to it in the beauty department.

5. Finally, the community events are amazing for families and its not too hot outside to enjoy them.
I am posting pictures throughout our years here in Washington.

Fall Is In The Air

Washington is such a beautiful place in the Fall; all of the leaves in the trees turn the most vibrant shades of purple, orange and yellow, I just love it so much and it has become my favorite time of year. I can't wait for Halloween and going to the pumpkin patch.

This past Sunday we had a barbecue at my Sister-in-Law Shannon's house in Auburn. This was the first family get together since my other SIL Shay and BIL Elijah moved up to Oregon. It was so nice to have us all under the same roof again, just eating and laughing and its great to know we won't have to wait another year to do that again.

 Today I took the boys to Olympia to visit The Hands On Children's Museum with my Prego friends. It was great because Luke is finally old enough to really get down and play with the other kids, he loved it! I love taking the boys there with my gal pals; we sit around gossiping and laughing and the kids just run absolutely wild. By the time we left to go meet Sam for lunch both kids were exhausted (so was I).

I am making spicy chicken curry for dinner with rice for Sam and the boys and with faux-rice (cauliflower) for me. I can't wait, it smells spicy and yummy!