Simpsons in Seattle

A few weeks back we watched Evie's spring band concert. She switched from flute to oboe back in January and it's been awesome to see how quickly she's picked up this new instrument! She chose to play oboe because the band didn't have enough oboe players and now that she's been playing a few months, she seems to want to stick with this instead of flute. She's even signed up for band again next year. Great job, Evie! Close up of Evie getting ready for the show. You can really see her because she is one chair in. Yay, Evie!  

Flashback to this photo from March 2015! Daddy and his two girls! This is the hike to Franklin Falls.   

There's a very popular hike in the nearby Issaquah mountains called Poo Poo Point (apparently named for the sound of the trains that pass by) that everyone says is a must-do activity if you live in the area. We pass the trailhead often but the parking lot is always jam packed because this is the literal jumping off point for paragliders. With a break in the weather and the girls sick of skiing, we finally decided to try it out last week! It did not disappoint! The girls opted for the shorter (4.5m r/t vs 7.5m r/t), more difficult trail and yes, we can confirm that it was not an easy one! It's uphill the entire way. It was beautiful though, especially the lower part where the trail is lined with rocks and stepping stones. You are rewarded for burning those thighs with really nice views at the top. The first lookout point that faces south-east and we were lucky enough that it was a clear beautiful day and could see the Rainier in the distance. A couple hundred yards further is th

We've had a heck of a time trying to wean Nora off of her "blanket". The problem is that she just likes having something soft covering her face so when we take away one blanket, she'll just find something else. She will use her shirt even to cover the lower half of her face if she's really desperate. Lately, I've even caught her using the Penny's TAIL as "blanket"! Good thing is that Penny doesn't mind. In fact, Penny loves hanging out with her Nora mommy. She will literally walk across Evie and me to get to Nora, and then will proceed to snuggle and wiggle her little booty until she finds just the right spot on Nora. It's very cute.