Simpsons in Seattle

Scott couldn't figure out how to put pictures onto the blog from his phone, so here's a few from the night of the Green Beacn incident.  Thanksgiving dinner, before the incident The awesome and friendly Orcas fire dept paramedics trying to get a good look up Nora's nose. Success! this is what they pulled out.

Bet you thought that Nora had outgrown Red Blanket! Here's a pic that proves otherwise. She gets a kick of out of wearing this sleepsack and has been zipping herself up in it and calling herself a baby. My sweet sweet baby! I'm ALMOST temped to buy her a larger size of this sleepsack but have to stop myself because I don't want to extend this habit! 

Actually, our tree has been up since the weekend before Thanksgiving! Yep, you read that right - we start celebrating Christmas here early! I love having the tree up because it's so festive and smells so nice. The girls also did a great job with helping to decorate. Can you spot which section Evie did?  We've also amassed different ornaments over the years and had to take a picture of the one that I picked as my favorite when the girls asked me that question. Don't you love the little scrunchy face?

We started a new holiday tradition last year where we celebrate Thanksgiving on Orcas island with my folks. The girls love Grammy time, crafts and baking. Well, after a big meal of turkey, cranberry jello, cornbread and green beans we were rubbing our belly’s when Nora discreetly stuffed a large chunk of green bean up her nose. May valiantly tried to pull out the chunk herself but after it seemed futile grandpa called the fire department! They were very sweet with Nora and after a few different attempts (notice kiddo right side up and upside down), success! Out came the bean. The cheering and applause scared Nora but she soon felt better once she was presented with a stuffy by the fire men. Nora, when you make your case about making wise decisions and ask for a car when you are 16, notice exhibit A above :)

Evie and Nora pulled out some of my dresses to play dress up!

Little cutie Nora has acclimated pretty fast to the water... at least compared to her sister. It helps seeing big sis in the water every week and usually dangling her toes in while she waits for Nora. Nora is often giggling so hard during her swim that she refuses to dunk her head under the water to blow bubbles. And, Nora is becoming quite the jumper into the pool!

This weekend Evie performed her first musical solo playing the flute. It’s been a hard road to get Evie to practice and stick with it, but she is doing a great job! I am proud of Evie and her confidence. Evie was the youngest and shortest soloist at the recital. Note the pink Ugg boots... she outgrew her fancy shoes.

There was too much horse play during dinner the other night and this is what happened: Splat on the floor! She was so upset so it was really hard not to laugh!

Happy (belated) Halloween!  I'm so behind on my posts that I forgot to even post about our pumpkin patch outing! We went a few weekends ago on a sunny Sunday afternoon and the place was a zoo! I think all of Seattle took advantage of the good weather and headed to the pumpkin farms. We picked a farm that advertised having a cider press, pumpkin tossing, hay maze, a petting zoo, and a hayride. It DID have all those things but they were pretty dinky and with the hordes of people, it really just wasn't worth it for me. It was Nora's first time and she enjoyed it so I guess that's what matters! So much to do! We made them pick pumpkins they could carry. For Halloween itself, we first started the celebration last Friday for my company's trick or treat bash. It was a pretty sad little affair because the date got moved several times so many folks didn't realize it was happening. And, since it was during 12-3pm, Evie wasn't able to make it. I br

Here's what I found last night when I went to check up on the girls. I heard lots of thumping and noise as they were settling down to sleep but I didn't realize that they decided to sleep on the floor together! 

Nora has been loving her new ballet class! I know I'm biased but she really is so cute trying to balance and mimic the teacher's poses and what not. Here's a few photos and a video of class.

We took a quick weekend trip up to Orcas to catch the last bits of summer last weekend. Our friends Annie and Vinh, and their two littles Asa and Finn joined us and we had a great time! The kids got along great - the girls were fascinated by little Finn, who is only 8 months old. They wanted to sit next to him at meal time and they thought he was the funniest thing. Asa joined in and played around with whatever the girls played so everyone got along great.  Annie and Asa The four munchkins. These two cuddled up to share watching Peppa Pig. They even obliged when I asked for a photo op! No trip to Orcas is complete without a stop at Buck Bay for fresh oysters and clams! Funny sign at Buck Bay. Picnic lunch at the top of Mt Constitution. Yay for sunny days and clear skies.     Playing with the rocks to pass the time away.

Nora says I'm a "good looker"! :)   I got this praise because I was able to find Red Blanket after Scott did a walk through of the house but wasn't able to find it. My eagle eye and mommy sense found it though. I am indeed a good looker, haha!

A few months ago, when we asked Evie what instrument she would like to learn, she expressed interested in the Flute. Fast forward to several lessons in and it's been such a struggle getting her to practice! It was really hard for her to get a hang of blowing properly, finding the right notes on the instrument, and reading the music. I tried it along with her and man, it's tough - I can't get the blowing part down at all! Anyway, I think she's finally turning a corner! The first song she learned was "Hot Cross Buns". She's learned a few others that I can't make heads or tails of the melody, but I can definitely hear it in this one! She's sounding great!

I spoke too soon. The girls decided to sleep together again last night unbeknownst to us. Here's how I found them when I checked in on them before I went to bed: Both girls swear they didn't feel anything last night and said they had no problems sleeping together and had plenty of space!

The girls wanted to sleep together in Evie's bed the other night. When I went to check up on them a few hours later, this is how I found them: So far, Nora hasn't been too keen on sharing a bed again!

The first 17 minutes of Nora's first swim class was this: But then she got used to water, the teacher, and finally quieted down enough to hear our bribe of tv and a popsicle. She ended her lesson like this: 

We made it to the 10 year mark!! Happy anniversary to me and Scott!  To celebrate, Grammie and Grandpa graciously offered to watch the kiddos for the weekend so we can have some time to ourselves. We eagerly accepted and took a short roadtrip to Portland and Cannon Beach. Our plan had been to get some good eats in Portland, do some shopping and wine tasting, and then explore the coast. We got a late start on Saturday so had to skip wine tasting, but got to do everything else we wanted. And, we had such a fun time in Cannon Beach that we can't wait to go back, this time with the kiddos. Here's to many many more anniversaries together!  Happy anniversary to us! Dinner at Andina in Portland. I wore the same earrings that I had on for the wedding! Ableskivers for breakfast the next morning The next day, View of Haystack Rock from our hotel in Cannon Beach. Watching all the beach action from our room. Washed up driftwood Watching the su

We had a blast last Sunday going to Remlinger's Farms with our buds Vivienne, Winston and Cecily. This "farm" is actually a kiddie paradise with tons of rides for the little tykes and a seasonal u-pick area. The last time we can here was a few years ago and Evie was way too scared to go on any of the rides but now she's brave and was first in line to try any ride! Nora was shy at first but she got the hang of it and was having fun too. The weather was miserably hot (90s and humid) but I can't complain much because we had the park practically to ourselves! It was so nice not having to wait in any lines.  Evie got to ride Strawberry, a sweet mini horse. Not sure what Evie is doing here, but she wasn't holding on! Nora, a bit unsure about this twirly ride....She ended up loving it. I love this pic. Jeff's pumpkin was "broken" and wouldn't go high. You can see Nora sitting with Scott just barely peeking her head out a