Simpsons in Seattle

It can really help to have a van when you are shuttling kids back and forth to their various activities not just because it holds more people, but because you can put the seats down in the back and it gives us a place to have a picnic! This was Nora and I the other day having a car picnic for dinner because we didn't have enough time between dropping Evie at dance and Nora's art lesson.  

We just got back from Camp Orkila and we had a blast! Of course, the awesome, beautiful spring weather all weekend definitely helped. :) Camp Orkila is a YMCA camp up on Orcas Island, and people who grew up here rave about it and say it's a rite of passage where everyone goes at least once. I've looked at having the kids go for overnight summer camp but it's pretty spendy so haven't booked anything. It's not just a summer camp place though; they also have weekend camps all year round that they open to groups. This year, some school friends who are part of the Y-Guides invited us to tag along (we are not part of Y guides) for their daddy-daughter camp weekend. Typically, they would all bunk together in a cabin but because of COVID restrictions, they were limiting one family per cabin in which case this opened it up for other family members to join! Yay for that because it meant a chance for Evie and I to go too. The camp is huge - 280 acres along the west coast of Or

I think May might be one of the worst months in Seattle. It starts to get really green here which is pretty, but it's usually still cold and wet and we are jealous of the warm weather everyone else seems to be having in other parts of the country. This past weekend was no exception - it rained rained rained all day Sunday. We took this as an opportunity to try out the pool at McMeniman's Anderson School in Bothell. It's been on my places to check out ever since they opened a few years ago. McMeniman's is a hotel chain that takes over old/historic properties and make them into fun breweries, restaurants and hotels. This spot used to be an old Junior High, and they've transformed the campus into a hotel with 3 restaurants on site, a movie theater and a pool that's open to the public. The pool is salt water, indoors (with some open sky lights) and heated to about 90 degrees! Perfect for wimps like me who need warm water to swim. Anyway, the tropical themed, warm po

How is it that Evie is getting so old already that she is going to be attending middle school next year?!😲 She will be attending Issaquah Middle School, which is a bit of a trek away (about 15 minutes in the opposite direction of work), right next to old town Issaquah and across the street from Issaquah High. It has beautiful views towards Tiger Mountain and Squak Mountain. Earlier this week there was an Open House to familiarize yourself with the campus, and this was the first time we've ever walked around to explore! The last time, we just saw the music rooms and auditorium/lunchroom. This time, we meandered around and peeked into the gym, the library, the classrooms, art room and walked out onto the field. Evie came home very excited and can't wait for Sept to roll around! Looking out on to the field. Side entrance to the school

Guess what we got yesterday? A baby grand piano! Someone posted on the local Buy Nothing group that their neighbor was moving and looking to get rid of a piano. Our friend, Kathy, saw the post and coordinated for us to get it. For Free!!!! All we had to do was get movers which Scott was happy to do. So now we are proud owners of a gently used baby grand. It seems to be in pretty good shape and just needs some dusting. Now all we need to do is line up piano lessons for the kids.  

The sun is out and it's starting to warm up in Seattle. And by that, I mean temps are getting into the upper 50 to mid 60s (if we're lucky!) during the day, and we've spent a bunch of our time on the weekends doing garden clean up, and the girls will help out if we force them or pay them, otherwise, they are content to play around in the backyard or sit outside with us and read.  Nora outside reading Picking flowers while on our hike the other day Quick stop at the boat for spring cleaning