Priceless entertainment

Once a person has kids, I think they realize how truly important family is.

And today, families tend to be so spread out . . .

My sister lives in Brooklyn, NY . . .

my brother is in Washington DC . . .

and Drew's sister lives in Atlanta, GA.

Luckily, my cousin and her family (Wyatt, 14, Roddie Lee, 11, Hannah 7 and Quade, 5) live in Olympia (about 1-2 hours south).

Ellie was just enthralled with her older cousins.

Cousin love!

Ellie and Quade

Quade was so excited to have a little cousin to entertain that he pretty much ran from one end of the house to the other.

Ellie would have watched him all day long . . . and laughed endlessly!

This ROCKS!

If you don't already know this about us . . . we are huge Simpsons fans!

Tonight, during the credits there was a video of an a cappella group singing the theme song

Check it out! It's awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM-_hz2LLZk&feature=related

My favorite color is dandelion

We have been spending many happy moments outside lately.

Let's hope this beautiful weather holds out!

Ellie frolicking in the dandelions

We had a bacon bbq with our friends Kei and Quinn (as the name suggests - most foods were wrapped in bacon then barbecued - yum yum!)

Happy girl!

Welcome spring!

Spring arrived in Seattle this weekend. The weather was warmer and the sun even made an appearance.

The best thing about the Pacific NW is that people really know how to take advantage of the good weather.

When the temp rises above 60 degrees the shorts and sandals come out and people get outside. The Seattle Center was buzzing with people enjoying the huge fountain.

My guess is that everyone knows it will only be a matter of days until the rain and cold return for winter round 2, which is common here in the spring months.

But for now we are enjoying it!

We spent Sunday enjoying brunch with my friends from nursing school. And this time we even invited the husbands and kids.

Thanks, Bryan, for taking such awesome pics!

I love how it looks like Ellie is telling Ali all about her feet.

Oooo, what cuties. Ellie and Lucy giving eachother a smooch.

Some love

One of my favorite past times of late is exploring blogs, youtube and etsy.

(In case you never heard of it, etsy, is a site where crafters can post their creations on an online "shop")

Here are some things I love :

- My friend Alisa makes awesome jewelry. I wear her bird earrings almost every day. This is her etsy shop.

- Vampire Weekend. Currently my favorite band. This song and this song are awesome! Thanks Shaneen for introducing us!

- I have to admit Ellie and I watch Sesame Street most every day. And I have to say, it kind of rocks! Here is my favorite guest performance.

- This blog. I love that Obama has a blog . . . I know, I know, I'm a political junkie

- The half an enchilada song!

- I'm saving up my "fun" money for some etsy goodness. Love this shop and this one!

What are some of your favorite things???

Of course, this little girl is at the top of my favorite things list!

Evening Routine

One of my favorite parts of the day is the evening. The chores of the day are finally complete and we certainly have estabished a predictable routine.

After bathtime, we spend a few moments chasing after the little munchin to at least apply a diaper in order to avoid wet spots on the carpet!

After a booby snack (no, not scooby snack) it's time for teeth brushing.

This was never one of her favorite activities until we found this great toothbrush

. . . add a dollop of bubble gum flavored toddler toothpaste and she would sleep with the thing if we let her.

Then comes a few nighttime songs like "Goodnight Sweetheart" or "Blanket Bay."

After living with a kid who rarely slept for the first 10 months of her life it is so amazing to rely on this simple and enjoyable routine to result in a full nights sleep!

Easter Loveliness

We have just wrapped up a lovely Easter weekend. Most of it was spent at Drew's parents house, eating and drinking. Just what every holiday should be made of ;)

Ellie had the cutest Easter dress and since it was too stormy to hunt for eggs outside she never had to cover it up with a winter coat!

Ahhh, spring in the Pacific Northwest. I saw a little girl on the ferry today all dressed up in a pretty Easter dress. But she was also wearing a turtle neck, leggings, gum boots and a winter hat.

Our egg hunt was held in the warmth of the indoors and Ellie loved it. She discovered the eggs were filled with candied apricots so she was very interested in finding them.

And here she is showing off her sign for bunny . . . hop hop hop

Analog . . . what??

So Drew has been working at his new job for 3 whole weeks now.

And I can't even tell you how wonderful it is.

But I'm going to try! . . .

The best part is his schedule. He works 10 hour days Mon-Thurs. Which means he has every Friday off! And 3 day weekends every week!!

By Wednesday evening it seems as though the work week is just getting going BUT tomorrow is the last day until the weekend!

And, boy, have dinner table conversations changed lately.

It used to be a mournful discussion about what sacrifices we will have to make in order for Drew to "climb the ladder" in his field to get a good job.

Will we have to move to Bellingham? Will we ever be settled?

Now, we can sit back and relax. All those questions are answered.

However, nothing compares to the happiness on Drew's face when he walks in the door each evening.

He can't wait to tell me about how he installs a ??pressure sensor?? on the Tolt River Dam today.

I smile and nod as if I know what the heck the word ??analog?? means.

But having a husband who loves his job . . . I know what THAT means!

Return to normalcy

It's been awhile since my last post and because I haven't been well enough to string a few words together into a sentence.

The 'cold of many symptoms', as I have named it, hit the Nobles last week. And everyone but Ellie and MaPop have been coughing and aching and sneezing and dripping!

We are looking forward to a return to normalcy this week.

I am SOOO glad Ellie didn't catch this nasty cold.

Here she is eating her weight in vegetable soup.