Sophie and Blake's Garden

For a long time, my mom has been preparing Sophie 

and Blake that she had prepared a spot in their yard to 

plant some strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes. They were going to call it "Sophie and Blake's Garden".

 

Well, this week, Sophie has been on summer break so we took the opportunity to make it happen.

On Wednesday, we went to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market

and picked up 2 types of strawberries and 2 types of tomatoes. 

There were no cucumber this week but the gardener told us 

that the cucumber plant itself is actually quite prickly so it wasn't

all that good for kids to plant. I'm not sure yet what they

plan to replace it with ... but we'll see ...

Yesterday, my parents' gardener, "Grandpa George" came for his

normal Friday date with their garden ... and planted "Sophie and Blake's Garden".

Now ... grow, grow, grow!!!!

Blake's 2nd Birthday Party

For Sophie's first birthday,

we threw a big blow out birthday party.

For Blake's first birthday 

... a small family dinner

Doesn't seem fair does it?

I didn't think so either.

On Blake's actual 2nd birth-day,

we went to Disneyland which was a treat for both kids ...

and a few days later, we threw Blake a 2nd Birthday party.

It's funny because we weren't all that sure we wanted to throw

a party. It wasn't until about a week and half before the party day 

that we actually sent out a save-the-date and a few days before

that I sent an actual invite with all the party info.

Fortunate for us, 

we are blessed by friends and family

who love our little guy and were able to

change their schedules around to celebrate

at the park. With the airplanes.

We are so lucky. 

 Grand Auntie Elaine, Blake and Auntie Hannah

The only people besides my parents who have babysat Blake.

He loves them!

  Madison Faith and Sophie

 Eloise, Iris and Blake

 Auntie Christy and Blake

 Look at all the friends and family that came! 

A CAKE!

Candle Blowing ...

He's participated in many imaginary birthday party

thanks to his birthday party obsessed sister,

that he knew exactly what to do!

 This was as much of the cake that Blake had.

He apparently doesn't have a big sweet tooth ... boo.

 Blessed by 2 members of my small group - Christy and Jenise

 Magalie and Sheppard

 Sophie

Sophie and one of her besties, Alexi

Siblings are the BEST type of friends

We LOVE You Buddy!

We hope felt loved and celebrated

not only on your birthday but every single day!

So I'm BACK!

So I took a hiatus ...

a really long hiatus. 

I tried to come back a few different times

but was overwhelmed 

by how much I had to update ...

which is a lot ...

and when I mean a lot, I sure do mean a lot.

It has been about 8 months since we've connected.

But, I'm baaaaackkkkk!

And hopefully to stay - forever.

Here has been what has been going on:

Sophie is now 4 years old

Blake is now 2 years old

Andrew and Charlotte are well ... 

old ... and getting older.

Numbers need not apply. 

Sophie just finished her 2nd year of preschool -

A-P-P-L-E-S ... juicy APPLES are the BEST! 

Blake is still mommy's little helper - 

coming along to transport Sophie from ballet to gymnastics

to this activity to the next.

His most exciting visit of late is the doctors office.

Oh, and of course his beloved Pau Pau and Ga-Gungs house. 

He is obsessed. 

(side note: Blake for some reason cannot say Gung Gung.

He's renamed Gung Gung "Ga-Gung" - it's starting to stick.

Poor 2nd child. 

Our weeks have been filled with play dates

and lots of fun ... and the weekends have been

filled with birthday parties and family time.

Same old, same old.

In October we went to the Bahamas.

First to the Atlantis Hotel in Nassau ...

it was a few days after a hurricane had come across 

the Bahamas so it was windy, windy, windy.

But, we still had a great time.

Seriously, a great time - sitting by the pool

and for the kids, the kiddie pool area.

For the adults, the adult slides.

The only bad morning was when Andrew

had to work and it took longer than expected.

The kids and I sat and waited ... and waited ... and waited.

That was the only bad moment.

Otherwise, it was great family time.

From Nassau, we flew to the Abacos Island

for my friends Brittany and Erasmo's wedding.

The ride to the airport is worth a mention.

We underestimated the amount of morning traffic and

the amount of time it would take for us to get there. 

We almost missed our flight - arriving only 45 minutes

before take of time. Yep, you read that right ... 45 minutes.

We even were able to check in luggage and made it to the gate

with plenty of time to spare. Thank God for small airports.

Britt and Erasmo's wedding was beautiful and amazing. 

We had an incredible time. 

We played in the sand and celebrated their love.

We danced and danced and danced.

I can't believe they are married!

The in December/January, we made the "trek home".

This time, we brought my parents with us to New Zealand.

On this MEGA-trip, we went to Fiji, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney,

Hawaii, San Jose and home ...

I'm finding that traveling "home" is a great way to see the world.

Fiji was beautiful but honestly, since our stay was so short,

we didn't get to really explore so it left me slightly less than impressed.

The kids had a great time though and we spent all our time at the resort

at the Shangri La pool ... swimming and relaxing.

Lots of ice cream was eaten.

New Zealand was amazing as usual.

The best part was that Richard and Mel (Andrew's brother and sister-in-law)

and their 4 kids came up from Hastings (which is about a 6 hour trip)

to stay with Alan and Erin (Andrew's parents) while we were there.

Steve and Becs (Andrew's youngest brother and sister-in-law)

and their 2 girls live in the Auckland area so we all got to 

be together for about 2 weeks. That would be 2 grandparents,

3 siblings, 3 wives of siblings and 8 grandkids.

It was utterly amazing. 

I love my family - wish this happened more often.

Hawaii was ... well, Hawaii ... do I need to stay more?

It was an incredible end to our trek around the world.

Despite the fact that we were in Honolulu, we found a little

piece of paradise. This time we decided to stay

at the JW Marriott which was right next door to the Disney

Aulani hotel. As it turned out, this was a secluded area,

away from Waikiki and it was nothing but paradise. 

As an early celebration to Sophie's birthday, we treated

the kids to a breakfast with Mickey, Minnie and friends.

Sophie was in heaven as you can see, 

Blake ... well, he was not a fan. 

Some day soon my little friend.

If I ever get organized enough,

I promise to share more photos from our trips

but these are the only ones I currently

have on my computer.

I will get organized

I will get organized

I will get organized.

Probably not.

Speaking of Disneyland

we decided this year was the year to get

Annual Passes. Blake is still free and Sophie is in preschool

so it would be no consequence for her to miss a day or two

of school. We decided to celebrate Blake's 2nd Birthday there

for our first visit. Well, the kids first visit ... ever.

They both love the roller coasters - 

perhaps Sophie more than Blake.

But still. 

Blake just makes the height requirement

for the more roller-coaster-y rides.

That makes me happy.

I will try to organize myself enough to

post photos from Disneyland.

We've been 3 times since May 21st

and plan to go 1 or 2 more times

before our passes black out at the end of the month.

 I think that's about it.

I'm sure I've missed something.

But yet another good reason ...

to blog again.

I'm back.

And it sure does feel good ...

Alex's Lemonade Stand

A few months ago, my cousin, Nicole, asked if my other cousin, Hannah, and I 

wanted to go to the "LA Loves Alex's Lemonade" event. The Alex's Lemonade Stand 

Foundation benefits childhood cancer research so we jumped at the chance to have 

a cousin date all while supporting a really great cause! "LA Loves Alex's Lemonade" brought all types of chefs from the best restaurants in LA and the US brought a yummy dish or two - so delish! Nicole and I arrived first, trying to just "sample" while we waited for Hannah. We unsuccessfully avoided the dessert section but successfully avoided the "Charm City Cake" booth that was offering a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake ... until later in the day. After Hannah arrived, we walked from stand to stand ... eating, sampling, take a picture, eating, sampling ... repeat, repeat, repeat!

They called it a decadent chef cookout. I call it all types of amazing. 

We might have just rolled our way home ...

 Cousin-date! 

The funny thing is these two don't drink alcohol ...

they don't drink alcohol ...

Here we are enjoying a cocktail. 

All for a good cause????

Hannah and Nicole are obsessed with the tv show, "Top Chef".

This is Michael Voltaggio ... he apparently won Season 6.
I just HAD to have my picture taken with him :)

 Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from Charm City Cake.

I love Duff Goldman ... in Charm City HEAVEN!

 GIADA!

No other words needed.

 Bacon and Chocolate 

Need I say more?

The fried chicken was delicious!

Hannah and I each had a bite and went to sample other goodies.

We took so long that by the time we came back ... it was all gone! 

Finger licking good! 

This was one of our favorites ...

I can't quite remember what it was but it had trout on the 

bottom ...  

yum, yum, yum, yum!

Seattle and Vancouver

A few months ago, my cousin, Jon, and his wife, Kaycee, had their first little baby, Lily, 

so what better reason to head up to the Pacific Northwest than to meet my new niece. 

And I think you should know, Lily is a precious, little thing. Seriously, so very sweet.

And since we were planning on a 5 day trip and had been to Seattle a few years before, we decided drive further north and get another stamp in our passports ... Canada. Vancouver to be exact.

But first, we had to meet Lily for the very first time. And we 

were all SO very excited ... most especially Sophie!

 Lily!

 Father (Jon otherwise known as "Uncle Don Don") and Daughter (Lily)

 Auntie Charlotte with Lily

 Thinking of 3 kids? 

Looks like chaos right?

2 is quite enough ...

I know, I know, I look stupid in this one but how cute is Blake!!!

And after a quick coffee/brunch date with Jon and Lily, we hopped in the car for a 3 hour trip to Vancouver. And how we loved Vancouver ... from the hotel to the city to the amazing food. We had an awesome time and felt like 2 days just wasn't enough time ... wish we had just a few more days ... maybe a week, perhaps two ... we probably could have spent the rest of the month there and it wouldn't have been enough time ... that's how much we just loved Vancouver!

Waiting in line to cross the border.

This is the first time the boys in our family (Andrew and Blake) had 

ever crossed the border, using their brand spanking new American passports!

Oh Vancouver,

How I loved thee ...

And miss thee ...

My cousin, Jon, recommended this Chinese Restaurant called, 

"Legendary Noodles" ... yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!!

My beautiful daughter walked fearlessly up to the water ...

And took a step in. Highly, highly unusual ... I'm proud of her!

The "J" boys Hangin' out!

I LOVE Sophie's smile in this one ...

Inukshuk

This reminded me of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010

I've been looking for something nice to photograph

to replace the IKEA print on our wall. Not sure about this one

quite yet but that's why I took this particular photo ...

Right before the 2010 Olympic games,

This group of statues came about. It is meant to show people

about the different stages of happiness. It was meant to be temporary

but people liked it so much, it became permanent.

Maple Sugar Latte

I'd never had one before Vancouver.

It was amazing .. yum, yum, yum! 

Stanley Park 

 With Blake

 Sophie had one of the worst meltdown of her life ...

in Stanley Park. It was awful. She was already kind of cranky but

some Daddy had a great idea to offer her ice cream if she behaved.

I heard her offer it and I knew it was over ... and it was. Poor Andrew

thought it would just give her inspiration to cheer up. She didn't. And when she

didn't get that ice cream, she just fell apart. Screamed and cried for nearly an

hour. It was ridiculous. Upset over an ice cream. Ahhh ... to be 3 years old again!

 Sophie's Shadow

Up Grouse Mountain we encountered a bear.

Don't worry, it was behind a fence ... but I had no idea

we would be able to get so close! Amazing!

Always SO happy! 

Bald Eagle in Canada.

Might have made me feel a little bit of American pride ...

Sweetest little guy

You can't tell, but Sophie was being carried in the Ergo Baby Carrier. 

Yep, it fits up to a 40 pound toddler ... though I would never suggest it ...

But here she is ... in the Ergo ... might have been the last time ...

The poor kid didn't get a nap since we were so much on the go ...

He passed out after we left Grouse Mountain on our way to the Suspension Bridges.

I even carried him a way and then transferred him into the Ergo.

And still, Blake slept ... 

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Sophie walked the entire way,

holding onto Daddy's hand.

Hiking

Holding on tight!

Heading across the suspension bridge

Cheese!

So sweet ... love that little boy! 

View of Vancouver from Granville Island 

Lunch on Granville Island

There is nothing more to say than ...

we got pooped on. Hopefully that is lucky.

Sophie got to pick a special treat from the Toy Market.

May I introduce a new puppet in our house ... 

Sophie Alexi Vancouver Canada Jamieson.

And after a fun trip in Vancouver, it was time to head back to Washington ..

to spend time with Jon, Kaycee, Lily and friends. We were lucky that Kaycee's parents

live in Mount Vernon, which is about 2 hours from Vancouver, 1 hour from Seattle ...
so we headed that way for some fun time with Lily and friends!

Lily!

My cousin Jon went crabbing that morning

Fresh crab for dinner ... yum, yum, yum! 

Bedtime cuddles!

Superman wasn't happy

Sophie feeding some cows with Uncle "Don-Don"

The Pangs ... new and improved! 

Pre-ride back to Seattle cuddles

The cousins! 

Andrew used to work in this building.

That fact obviously bored Sophie

Kaycee and Lily ... trying out the Ergo!

Pepper decorations

Dungeoness Crab

Not as yummy as what Jon served up! 

Pikes Market Place

Fresh Fish

Fresh Veggies

Amazing Pepper Decorations! 

Flowers

Running with Auntie Kaycee

Love that HAIR!

EEEK ... don't take a picture of ME Auntie Charlotte!

With the girls! 

Blowing dandelion

Singin' in the hills! 

Blake practicing his walk

Our friend, Kayla, and her son, Saifo, now live in Seattle

so they came out to visit with us! 

Sweet friends!

With Kaycee and Lily

Trying out sunglasses at Target

She said she was cute ...

Sophie loved these ones too

but we said no ... she wasn't happy about it.

Security Anyone? It's Lily, the security guard! 

So happy! 

Sophie saw this "Pop-t-i-cle" and 

insisted on having her picture with it! 

Getting a lift from Uncle Don-Don

Dinnertime Entertainment

Where Jon used to work - "Zeeks Pizza"

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum ....

With the Space Needle

What a great trip this was ...

from Seattle to Vancover to Mount Vernon,

we had the most amazing 5 days! 

The highlight was of course getting to meet Lily and hang out

with her lovely parents but we also loved Vancouver and can't wait to

go back! It was an amazing place ... until n