Simpsons in Seattle

The weather was beautiful on Orcas Island last weekend so for Mother's day, I lazied around in the morning and then we all went for a hike around Mountain Lake. It's the first time we've done the whole thing (3.9 mile loop) and it took us a lot longer than we anticipated! We had lots of fun but we did not bring nearly enough snacks and treats to keep the girls energies up so it was a pretty successful trip considering there was minimal crying, whining or piggy back rides.  Prepared in case we meet other hikers on the trail. We probably saw about ~10 people total. The scarf has a lot of uses. This is her happy face before we set out on our hike. This is about halfway through. She brought 3 marshmallows that she took her time savoring. Pit stop to rest. Nora dipper her feet in the cold cold water. A hiking we will go! My reward for our long hike!

Scott has been on a tear baking up lots of delicious treats! He's made cookies, banana bread, upside carmelized banana bread cake, lemon tarts, special k bars and more cookies.  I got into it a little last week by making biscuits. We still haven't been able to find yeast at the store so biscuits was an option since it doesn't need yeast. These turned out delicious and really easy to make. They didn't rise that much I think because I used a cup to cut the biscuits which pinched the sides. I'd definitely make these again!

I've been hiking a lot lately Dad has been bringing me and Nora on a lot of hikes recently. When we go on hikes we go on trails some times they are by my house or we have to drive but we still have a blast! We go on hikes for points, points are thingy's that we can earn by doing chores and with points we can by things like Mac and cheese for nine points or a piece of candy for three points. Sincerely, Evie

My mouth had been watering because Way and Samantha had been sending me pics of the green onion pancakes they had been making at home. These are one of my favorites to eat with dumplings and we haven't had them in ages and ages so I had to try my hand at them too! They promised it wasn't too hard so I gave it a whirl and they were right - it takes some time, but it's not too hard. These came out a little denser than I would have preferred and I salted them unevenly, but the general consensus from my taste testers was I should put them into our rotation. Here's some pics of my first ever green onion pancake batch! Roll the dough into a jelly roll and then make it a swirl. Add onion, smash down, roll out. The finished product!

Nora knows how to play chess, but she likes to play HER version of chess even more! There's lots of interesting rules when you play Nora chess. Here's a picture of her being super excited about her rules.

I rung in my 41st birthday with a nice, low-key day! While our original plan of having breakfast in Hawaii (where we should have been this week for spring break) didn't pan out, it still was a great day. I was able to keep work at a minimum, spent a lot of quality time hanging with the girls and Scott and ate some delicious food. Really, all that matters is that we are all healthy and happy and together. I wish for this to continue for many many more years to come!   Birthday breakfast surprise We taught the girls to play Carcassone Going on a hike on a trail near our house. Since Cougar Mountain is basically in our backyard, we have lots of trails to choose from. We probably did about 2.5 miles in and back (5 miles total) Practicing using masks.  The trail follows Coal Creek so there were lots of bridges crossing the water. More bridges Took a while to get her to smile naturally No cake for dessert but we had strawberries and cho...

I should have done this sooner, all it took to break the girls away from their screens and books to join me in the outdoors were a few candies and money (well not really money, they want “points” to use towards LEGO rewards). For two days straight the girls have willingly gone out with me on local hiking trails near our house without a single complaint... and they claim to be having a ton of fun. We have been exploring streams, waterfalls, and interesting looking rocks. We’re trying to keep our social distance when we pass hikers and I have even trained the girls to hold their breath as long as they can when walking past strangers. So far so good. Perhaps we will try masks on our hikes next. With all this outdoor time (and the prospect of more points) the girls have also joined me in doing some spring weeding and gardening. They even helped me clean up a small tree in our yard to use for climbing. I love listening to their little pretend stories while hanging out in ...