Simpsons in Seattle

EEEK! We officially have a teenager in our house!  I can't believe our little Evie is now 13 years old. I can still see her as a little girl saying "Swiper no swiping!"  For her birthday this year, she and a few of the neighborhood girls went to get their nails done at the salon nearby. She doesn't remember the last time she got her nails professionally done ( back in 2016! ) so she was pretty excited about it. She picked a very pretty teal color. Afterwards, the girls had some cake.  To celebrate her actual birthday, her ask was for tv time, shopping and sushi. So after a morning spent hanging out in from the tv, we headed to Bellevue Square mall where guess what? She got a phone! Technically, I got a new phone and handed down my old phone to her. We spent a good 3 hours doing all the transfers but she was very patient about it and grinning from ear to ear when we went to dinner that night.  At 13, Evie has become a very stereotypical teenage girl - she loves clothe...

We are so proud of our Evie girl! She recently was inducted into the Junior National Honors Society and had to get dressed up for the ceremony. She looked so grown up! That same week, she had 2 different band concerts - regular band and a separate jazz band concert. Both were really fun to attend and it has been super neat to hear how far these kids have come since starting band together last year. You can listen to the clips below! Evie receiving her NJHS certificate! This is Blazing Bones from her Band concert:   This is The Peter Gunn Theme from her Jazz Band concert:  

Our little Nora girl has been b-u-s-y this spring! Along with lacrosse, she signed up for Girls on the Run, a running club for elementary school girls. They've been running after school twice a week for the past few months, and we just finished the season with the big 5K event this morning. We didn't run with her (she ran with one of her coaches) so instead cheered from the sidelines and got some fun snaps of her racing to the finish line.  Goooo Nora! We're so proud of you for running this 5K! A little jittery before the event So many people! This is the 5K runners warming up before the start. Here she comes! Look at that stride! With her medal.  

I can't believe we were able to see the Northern Lights last weekend! It was pretty cool. We had a late night catching the ferry so was just getting to bed around 11:30pm when I looked outside and saw the lights. We quickly put on some jackets on top of our PJs and went out to take photos. The photos are just using our iphones, and they turned out really spectacular! To the naked eye though, the colors weren't as vibrant. I could definitely see the shades of colors, shapes and even the solar waves but they aren't as crisp or distinct as the photos. The waves also moved very slowly but sort of pulsated, like the sky was alive. It was super neat to see, and now I can cross this off my bucket list!  

We had a lovely, sunny Mother's Day last weekend! We spent it on Orcas Island and it was just a gorgeous spring day up in the islands - the sun was shining, flowers were in bloom and it wasn't too busy yet. We spent Saturday walking to town and the Farmer's market and then enjoying the sunshine by playing some lacrosse on the lawn. On Sunday, we had a fantastic brunch at New Leaf Cafe in town - I had a scrumptious duck confit with polenta hash. The rest of the day was spent playing outside and then driving home. All in all, a nice, relaxing weekend! I love irises! Super low tide on the beach Playing lacrosse outside Smores at sunset No chocolate bars, but we have chocolate sauce! This is a cute family picture, no? My super yums brunch - duck confit, poached eggs and polenta hash. Picture credit goes to Nora!  

Despite quite a lot of sadness, Nora got a hair cut! I think it looks cute. What do you think? before after  

We signed Nora up to play lacrosse this season and so far, it's been going great! She was pretty reluctant to go to the first practice but she very quickly made some friends and realized that the majority of the other girls were also beginners. We have 2 practices a week, and then 1 or 2 games each weekend. There's about 25 girls altogether, all 3rd and 4th graders in the Issaquah School district so it's a pretty darn big team. There's a few girls who have played before and are really good; they basically carry the team to win every time! Nora's slowly gotten better and in fact, even scored in a game and has had a few great assists. Cross your fingers she will want to keep playing next year! Nora is the one with the pink jacket and pink eye guard.