We've been busy having fun!

We love it here!  Well mostly, we just love having Ryan/Daddy around!  Washington has no shortage of amazing sites to see.  After fun visits from Grandmas and Grandpas, a trip for Mommy to San Fran with darling Kim, and a day trip to Rainier we have decided we really really like living here.

Dr. Roberts checks Grandma Suzi for cataracts....

Ryan didn't really know what the heck he was looking at, but Grandma was a happy patient!

Thank goodness for Grandparents who give us enormous lollipops!

Sand angels

 A little ice cream at the Farmer's Market on the Puget Sound

 Blueberry picking!

 A visit at Daddy's work

 San Francisco!  Thank you Kim!

 Love our Grandma and Grandpa!

 Hiking at Mt. Rainier

 One thing we have learned as a family....embrace the time you have together and just have fun!  

 It has been an awesome summer!

And now...our Lily starts Kindergarten on Friday.  Back to school night was tonight.  

Confidence, determination, and excitement - that was Lily tonight.  

Kindergarten - here I come!

Moving In

 Welcome to Washington Roberts' Fam!

After 8 years in beautiful Maryland, we packed up and headed west to our new home.

No furniture for 7 days, no problem!

 

The goods arrive....I spared you all the photos of the rooms completely full of boxes!  

But look, they rolled out the red carpet for all of our amazing household goods.

number of losses - too many to count

number of broken items - too many to count

number of dirtified furniture upholstery items - three...lame

 

 

Break time....

Happy Fourth of July in a beautiful quaint little Washington city!!

 

  

And now....almost back to normal.

Fencing and piano lessons from Mommy.....

 

  

......plus pot pie with biscuits.

So here's to the Evergreen state!

A Vegan Thanksgiving

So, I recently went vegan. It's been over a month now and I feel terrific. I'll save listing my many reasons for doing this, but I will try to convince you that it is a delicious way to live. So, what does a vegan Thanksgiving look like? Here you go :) I had to start with dessert first, so look above.

Roasted Brussell Sprouts
courtesy Ina Garten

Wild Rice Salad
courtesy Ina Garten

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
courtesy of my dear friend Kim

Add some vegan mashed potatoes, and yams
(made by my amazingly accommodating friends Scott and Marissa)
and what does this all add up to?

One happy little family....Daddy, we know you would have loved it too!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Are Blogs Out?

Did I miss the blog trend completely? No one seems to be updating frequently anymore. Is the trend dying out, or is it that everyone is just insanely busy? Not sure what the answer is. Well, cute Mom, and sisters, my loyal blog supporters, here are some updated photos of the children as well as a low down on life at our house.

The past week has been, well, hard. With Thanksgiving fast approaching though, I am reminded of all that I have to be grateful for. A daughter who yells "I want a new Mommy!" and stomps out of the room because she has the ability to talk and the ability to walk. A son who says "No!" and pulls my earrings out, or pulls my pants down out of frustration because he has words and strength. Toilets to clean, floors to mop, and laundry to fold because I have a home. Groceries to buy, fruits and veggies to wash, and recipes to follow because I have food to eat.

I am learning on a daily basis of the many blessings I have in my life. They are poured out like waterfalls at times, or trickle slowly around me, but they are there. Here are just a few of those blessings captured on film.....

Happy Thanksgiving from Rapunzel and our little Honeybee :)

Utah!

We are here! It has been a great visit so far with the following milestones:

Cole:
- made it through 6 and half hours on an airplane without completely falling apart (just partially)
- is saying "fish, cookie" and "shhhhhh"
- has eaten almost a whole watermelon rind
- has slurped lemonade off of concrete (not his lemonade by the way)
- is driving a car
- has put one toe into a swimming pool
- has discovered the lazy boy car seat in Grandpa's car is way more comfy than his own!

Lily:
- made it through 6 and a half hours on an airplane without "losing her lunch" as in flights past :)
- completed Fairy Dance Camp
- has heard the "snap, crackle, and pop" from her bowl of rice krispies cereal
- has successfully experienced the good ol' slip 'n slide for the second time
- has discovered the power of her words by telling me tonight "I wish I had a different Mommy!"
- has roasted a marshmallow to perfection in Grandma and Grandpa Roberts' back yard (then proceeded to smack Mommy in the head with the marshmallow stick leaving nice ooey gooey marshmallow in Mommy's hair)
- has watched Disney's Tarzan a total of 8 times already

This pretty much sums up how we feel about being here...and it's only been two weeks!

Lily's Tea Party! She is Four!

She turned four! Four years ago, life changed forever as we welcomed little Elna Lily into our lives. She was so excited for her birthday and is very interested in what it means to be 4!

We started off the day with breakfast and presents in bed....

Then we were off to the fish store to get Flippy! Our new pet....a beautiful pink beta fish!

One of her favorite gifts was her huge bubble wand! She could have played with that all afternoon. And thank you for the darling butterfly dress Grandma Suzi!

We ended the day with a special dinner out for Lily!
She was so excited about the mammoth piece of chocolate cake!

Again, our amazing friend Michelle pulled through to make Lily's beautiful cake!!!
Perfect for a tea party!

Look at our fancy ladies at tea!!

She blew out her candles in one little Lily breath!!

We love you Lily! Happy Birthday to our little one, who isn't so little any more!

Aunt Monica Comes For a Visit!

We love all of our Aunts and Uncles and were so blessed to have a visit from Aunt Monica this last weekend! Cole was smitten and kind of had a crush we think!

We took Monica to Brookside Gardens and we were so overwhelmed by the azalea bushes!

After 5 minutes of walking uphill, Lily was pooped!

A picnic on the Mall! How perfect!

We had such a wonderful time with you Mon! We miss you already!