Simpsons in Seattle

Summer has finally arrived and we are trying to find ways to stay cool. While Scott went up to Orcas to do some last minute fixes on the house, the girls and I went in search of someplace to splash around.  On Saturday, we went to Gold Creek Pond.  The last time we were here , it was snowing like crazy. Without the snow, the water as clear and beautiful. We did not walk around the lake though because the kids wanted to go wading in the creek that comes off the lake. The water was numbingly cold, but they had so much fun walking around in the water.  Beautiful clear water So cute that they are holding hands! Clear waters! Even though there weren't people around, we were good about having masks on. On Sunday, we ended up a Chism Beach park to play around in the lake and build some sand structures. Nora wanted her legs to be covered with sand, and then one thing led to another and we started to build a car around her. It was a lot of fun, but also super ho

The only exciting things that happen now are new Netflix videos that become available, and new recipes to try out when I have some free time. Pretty sad, eh? Anyway, here's a few more recipes I've been trying out! Fire roasted eggplant with a sour soy dressing was SUPER yummy. Jook with homemade salted duck eggs, marinated duck wings and yam leaves. Get in mah belly!! Laksa!! I first tried this (and loved it) in Australia when I studied abroad in college. I looked up recipes and attempted to make a semi-homemade version myself since I never ever see it on menus here. Blueberry lemon breakfast cake. Definitely a keeper and a great way to use up blueberries! This attempt at bread didn't turn out so good. I don't think I let it rise long enough. Our friends invited us over for homemade chicken ph and it was so good. She cooked the broth for 2 days!

A couple of funny videos of Nora goofing around. This one is her practicing her model walk. I don't know where she learned this from, but I caught her chanting "hip hip hip" and swaying her hips from side to side. And then this one she insisted on me filming because she was pretty happy when she learned how to tie a square knot at Daddy Day Camp. What cracks me up though is how she adds "Nora.com" comments at the end of a lot of her videos. She picked it up watching Mark Rober and Smarter Everyday videos on YouTube and has now taken to narrating things like she's a Youtuber. Aiya!

We've been trying to get Nora to practice biking some more so that she can go on rides with us and not be attached to Scott's bike. She's getting better but is still very unsure of herself. Here we are resting a bit in the shade.

Not gonna lie, it took me a while to get into it, but now I'm obsessed and can't stop listening to the soundtrack or the Mixtap on Pandora or Alexa! Scott and the girls watched it too and they thought it was okay. 

It's just starting to get warm here so that means it's berry picking time! Actually, we are at the tail end of strawberry season and I was actually trying to go pick raspberries and blackberries but when we got to the farm, they told us that nope, UPICK today is strawberries only! Raspberries and blackberries were only available for purchase at the farmstand. That was okay by me since I've never gone strawberry picking before, and the kids didn't know different so they jumped right in and starting getting their hands dirty. Considering what a big field it was, I think they probably could have social distances all of us a bit further apart than just every other row. No matter though, it ended up being ok, as you can see in the pics.  We ended up picking NINE pounds of strawberries, and we probably ate another pound out on the field! I was afraid I wouldn't know what to do with all those berries but guess what? They are almost gone! We took a few to make a be

Figuring out new places to explore while in lockdown is getting a bit tiresome. The kids are mostly game to do hikes and bike rides but that kind gets old after a while. We changed it up a little by heading over to Bainbridge Island last week to walk around Bloedel Reserve. I know, I know, it's pretty much a "hike" through a garden so isn't really outside the box but because it requires reservations to get in, it's not very crowded at all and is a nice little stroll (2 miles) through very pretty grounds. The kids had a mostly good time running around while the grownups oohed and aaahed at the gardens. The last time we went was when Evie was first born, and it was pretty much as we remembered it. Anyway, we couldn't get a reservation until 3:40pm so we took the 1pm ferry over and then passed time by hanging out at Old Man House Park  in the Suquamish reservation area. I'm a bit bummed that we didn't go check out Chief Sealth's (aka Seattle) burial