May ...

... was another difficult month for us. There's a couple of things that happened which I'm not ready to share ... hopefully I will in the near future.

Allergies have hit Riley hard this year, first time ever. We noticed that he would get a stuffy nose and would constantly rub it. Other times it was a runny nose and a cough. When the allergies first started we thought he was just coming down with the common cold but I would still make a doctor's appt just to rule out strep or croup.
Poor thing, he would get coughing fits. The nurse thought he was contagious so she gave him a mask but once the doctor said he was dealing with allergies Riley was able to take it off. He also wasn't getting good rest because he couldn't breathe good even though he used nose spray and we had the humidifier going for him. It made me feel bad that he would toss and turn trying to find a position that would allow him to breathe better. The beginning of the year was tedious and he missed quite a bit of school from restless nights or from suffering from croup. He didn't like staying home from school.
He still sounds stuffy on most days but is not coughing and no runny nose. He continues to use saline nose spray at night and some nights he gets better rest than others.

I've said it before. I'm thankful for the mundane because it's the every day things that I do that keep my mind busy which helps me to concentrate on other than my problems/life issues and makes me see how much good is going on in my life making me feel grateful.

I'm thankful that I have a pet that brings happy moments to my life. Sophie makes me smile ... a lot, and is constantly by my side. I think it's so funny to see her get completely comfortable and sleep all human like.

And her long toes are something we constantly make fun of. Libby was so feminine. I loved her furry paws but since Sophie is short hair we get to see all of her imperfections. We love her still.

We went to see the Mariner's play in early May. It was a fun game because the Mariner's were making home runs like crazy. We enjoyed some yummy food. I got my usual, nachos with lots of jalapenos -so good!
I told Riley we should take a selfie and this is the face he decided to make. What the heck, he's silly.

We had a great time.

Whenever we have a sunny day Riley points it out and asks to go to the park. It does feel good to get some sun every now and then.

Riley is still a picky eater but he now eats chicken tacos ... just as long as I also put beans inside and there's ranch for dipping. So weird right? Who puts ranch on their chicken taco? Oh well, the point is -is that he eats it all.

A new Ikea was built right next to the old one. It has been a couple of months since the new Ikea opened and I still hadn't been to it so several weeks ago Sydna and I finally went. The new one is two levels just like the others. I needed to get votive candles and a set of string of lights. It had began to rain and it was chilly but before heading home we first stopped to get pizza. I do love coming home after a day of shopping and getting some take-out. Home feels so cozy.

Funny how Riley notices little things. I like to order things online so I'm constantly getting packages delivered. Some time ago he asked if he'll ever get anything in the mail. I kinda felt bad and so I decided to order him some summer clothes. His package arrived and I had him open it. None of the shorts from last year fit him so I've been buying him shorts whenever I see some I like. He's gone through a major growth spurt lately. When he noticed I ordered him some shorts he got so happy.

I looooovvveee to wear cute socks. I'm a Birkenstock type of girl. I wear my Mayari's and Boston's all the time. Naturally, when I wear my Boston's I wear socks especially right now since it's still chilly on most days so I want to make sure I have cozy socks on hand. Aren't these so cute! and of course, Sophie had to lay right next to the box. Believe me, if I would have put her there she wouldn't have stayed.

I like variety even when it comes to books. I like variety because I don't want to get burnt out reading about one subject for long periods of time however, I don't ever want to stop reading faith based books. They help keep me centered and remind me to stay humble. This is why I like to change things up, I like to make things fun for myself. I read two faith based books then I'll read a fiction book then two faith based books again then a psychological thriller book ... I loop this routine and I'm enjoying this a lot!
Anyway, I had seen previews of the movie The Girl on the Train and it looked interesting but I knew there was a book out about it so I promised myself that I wouldn't watch the movie until I read the book first. This type of read is not for everybody, it contains profanity, sexual scenes and substance abuse. I found the story line interesting but the main character was annoying ... only because she's an alcoholic.

Jacob and I continue to have our lunch dates although sometimes he's gotta take a raincheck because he's swamped at work. But this time he was able to get away. We hadn't had Five Guys in a while because lately we've been going to The Habit or Red Robin whenever we crave a burger. We realized that we no longer like Five Guys. Hard to believe but it's true. Jacob just loves malts. He gets one whenever we get a burger. I don't like the malt flavor and I don't like vanilla bean ice cream but if they have old fashioned vanilla then I get a vanilla shake, yum!

Isn't this cat cookie dough roller the cutest thing?! I saw it advertised on facebook and next thing I know my sister had ordered me one. Thanks Claudia.
We have yet to use it because I'm not a baker but Jacob is so next time we stay home on a weekend I'll have him make me cookie dough. If the cookies come out cute I'll post them. lol.

Back in mid May the sun was already setting late. It was 8:50 pm and look how light it was still. I like it because we get to enjoy being outdoors longer. And when summer's here it gets dark around 10:00 pm. This is one of the few reasons I like summer.

He he!!!! Her head looks big and surprisingly her body doesn't look that fat. Definitely the angle.

On one of our trips to the hardware store I walked past the garden section and saw this stepping stone. I just had to buy it in memory of my Libby girl.

Cats. Just. Don't. Care!!!

On one of our visits to the bookstore we got Riley the book Dinosaur Pet. It comes with a cd and so you read the book melody style. Well, Jacob is the perfect person to read such a silly book and it sure made Riley crack up.

Just before Riley's bedtime I peeked outside his window to find a cool looking popcorn cloud sky. I don't see this type of cloud formations often here so I thought it was quite unique and picture worthy.

He's looking thicker. He's gotten so big. I recently got rid of all of his jeans cause the button wouldn't close, lol. So now he's in need of at least two pair of jeans. Hanging out by the water in the late evenings gets pretty chilly here in the PNW so layers and pants are still very much necessary even during the hot summer months. {happy face}

I cannot believe there's only seven days left of school. Time is going by like lightning.

If we could learn to find happiness from moment to

moment in the small things of life, we'd

always have a pretty good time.

Family Time & Date Night

As soon as we were able to spend quality family time together after Jacob got back from his business trip we did. Jacob had seen previews to Jungle Book. Riley was excited to go to the movies. I've never been a fan of the animated version so I still tagged along.
Riley was so funny. About five minutes before the other movie previews started showing he covered the popcorn with his arms and put the slurpee on the right hand side so Jacob couldn't reach it. He was noticing that Jacob was getting handfuls of popcorn and taking sips of his slurpee. He told his dad that he wasn't allowed to eat or drink anymore until the movie started. Now, that's funny! We both laughed. Once the movie started he began sharing again.

I ended up liking the movie but Jacob didn't. He thought it was boring, lol. I thought the boy {Mowgli} wasn't that great of an actor but I liked it, better than the animated one. My favorite character is Bagheera and I thought king Louie was so creepy!


Later that evening Jacob and I went on a date. We were so looking forward to spending alone time. This was our very first time in over a year that we've been on a date without Riley. We've been on many day dates and Riley has always been with us but this time I made sure to let Sydna know that she would be babysitting in advance. She was cool with it.
As we left the house and made our way to the freeway I happened to look back and noticed how dark the sky looked. If we would have seen a sky like this in TX we would have been nervous as heck, scared even. I think it looks cool though.

It was nice being just the two of us.

He totally surprised me when he ordered himself a slushy margarita because he rarely drinks. I was like, "who's gonna drive us home?" LOL! I ordered myself a large strawberry slush margarita. It had been years since I had one. It's quite tasty. No, we didn't get drunk. We drink responsibly.

For my meal, I ordered carne asada chilaquiles. They were good but my chilaquiles are way better. I never thought about adding carne asada to it, now I'm going to have to try that. Bet it'll be delicious!

I also ordered shredded beef taquitos rancheros. They were good too. I definitely wasn't able to finish either dish so I had to take the rest home.

Jacob ordered ribeye tacos but he did say that they had a lot of fat on them, not good. Next time we go I want to order the shrimp and chorizo quesadilla. That sounds so good to me, we'll see.

We had a great time on our date. Hopefully we'll get to go on another date in the near future and thankful that Sydna was able to watch Riley so we could enjoy some alone time.

Thanks Sydna.

Saturday Coffee Date Night

Back on November 21st -Jacob and I went on a coffee date night.

We were initially going to Panera. I'm sure you know they have wonderful pastries so I assumed that they would continually be making them throughout the day. When we got there around 7:00 pm. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how empty the pastry section was. I was all bummed out. So we left.

Jacob had initially gotten a salted caramel mocha from Starbucks. I didn't get anything there because I was really looking forward to Panera. I like their coffee too. Well after we walked out we went to a coffee shop. We got a couple of pastries and I got their version of a white chocolate mocha. I took a few drinks and I immediately felt queasy. How sad is that?

My cinnamon donut was decent at least.

Wishing I had gotten a peppermint white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. Chucks! At least Jacob enjoyed his drink.

I love him. {who knew that in about 24 hours I would have had the first anxiety attack that started it all ... and that I would need Jacob's love and support like never before.}

Dinner Date

Last Friday Jacob and I went on a dinner date.

Back on my birthday post I wrote that one of the things I wanted to improve on was to be more intentional. Well, making time for the two of us is priority. So after feeding the kids and Riley was comfortable watching one of his favorite shows we sneaked out.

Jacob had been craving a burger from Red Robin so that's where we went. My husband is not much of a drinker ... but I am an occasional drinker so I ordered a Coors light while Jacob ordered a pumpkin pie milkshare, lol.

When the bar tender came around she assumed that the milkshake was for me and the beer for Jacob. I said, "it's the other way around" and she laughed.

At least I know I will always have my very own personal designated driver on hand.

It felt very liberating being just the two of us. Loved it! and I'm glad we get to do this and hopefully we'll do this more often.

Eighteen Years

Our anniversary was a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't until last Friday that we were finally able to get away for a few hours.
After the kids had their dinner we quietly sneaked out the front door. I texted Sydna back a few minutes later and asked her if Riley had noticed we were gone and she said no. We continued to exchange texts along with pictures to ease my worries.

We drove to W Seattle and from there we took the water taxi into Seattle's waterfront. It's quite a challenge to find parking anywhere in Seattle besides taking the water taxi was definitely more exciting since I love the water and cool wind on my face.

We didn't have to wait long. It was somewhat windy and the dock was swaying quite a bit. We had to hold on to the hand rail or else I would have definitely lost my footing.

Whenever we've hung out in this part of W Seattle it has always been windy and cold but this time, even though it was windy it felt oddly comfortable. It felt cool and fresh but never cold.  Isn't it pretty?!

Took a picture of Jacob taking a picture. I like to do this sometimes ... he thinks I'm weird for doing it. I bet people that live in Seattle probably think we're tourists because we're always taking pictures, no matter where we go.

I figured that the only time I'm in pictures is if I take them myself, i.e. - a selfie. I'm still not a huge fan of them but because I'm always the one behind the camera I rarely come out in pictures unless I have one of the kids or Jacob take a picture which results in me not liking it therefore deleting it.

By the time we arrived at the watefront it was 7:20 pm.

Ever since our first visit to the waterfront two years ago I've been eyeing this restaurant. I LOVE crab and so I knew I had to try this place out. Well, we finally did. Jacob checked us in and we waited. This area is just packed with tourists so naturally the wait was gonna be long. We waited about forty minutes. I'm glad this place is worth the wait.

My two favorite seafood is crab and shrimp so, naturally that's what I got. Jacob doesn't like to work hard for his food. In his opinion he thinks that if he has to crack open a shell and reach for the meat, that's working too hard, lol. So silly. The way I see it is, if it's good I will indulge in it. Cracking open crab is not hard work, its quite fast.

The crab and shrimp had cajun seasoning on it which gave it that bit of a kick. Very good. Jacob got the blackened king salmon caesar salad and a side of crab cakes. He took a bite of the salmon and he nudged me to give it a try {I don't really like fish}. He said, "Grace you gotta try this, seriously". I got a small bite and sure enough it was very tasty. I will admit that it was delicious but something I still wouldn't get if there's crab on the menu. That's my ultimate favorite!

I sent this picture to Sydna and said, "why does my shrimp still have eyes", lol. I didn't mind breaking the crab shells and taking the shell and the head off the shrimp. I was like a kid at a candy store. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. All those years at family get-togethers that we had crab and shrimp came in handy. I was on a roll.

I wasn't able to finish it all so I brought it home.

We had a nice time at dinner even though I didn't have a celebratory alcoholic drink since I had a headache. I didn't want my headache to get worse.

We hung out at the ferry terminal while we waited for the water taxi. Seattle has a lot of vagabonds. So it's really not advisable to walk around at night especially in dark areas. As it got closer for the water taxi to arrive we walked down to the water taxi waiting area. Good thing there was a Mariners game and people that went to the game had begun to form a line.

Soon to board and go back to W Seattle.

As we waited in line I couldn't help but to look around us and once again getting that feeling of being grateful for where we live. Aside from all the liberal hoopla, Washington is such a beautiful state with such ideal weather. I looked over at Jacob and couldn't help but feel that warm fussy feeling one gets when you first date. Now, at 18 years of being married to this man I am finding myself more in love with him than I was when we were starting out. I thought I loved him a lot then but I know that I love him much more now. There's that depth now that only comes along with maturity and God's grace.

Now, I appreciate the man he is/has become a whole lot more. I love that I know we're both on the same page in everything. We've gotten through challenging times by communicating. Even from the beginning I knew and advocated to him that communication is key in having a healthy happy relationship. It's been about three years now that we've become closer to Jesus and we have noticed that positive change that only He can provide. We've also matured throughout the years and now that God is at the center of our lives we've gotten more blessings after blessings.

I'm looking forward in all that's in store for us. Obviously the good, and not if but when the challenging times come around I know that we have each other to encourage and lift each other up.

I love you Jacob. 

Eighteen years ... 'till forevermore.

Wrapping Up San Diego

Our stay in San Diego had come to an end  ... and so Jacob and I decided to go on a date.

We first went to eat carne asada tacos, again. This time I did eat a couple and they were so good. After we ate we drove to Imperial Beach. This beach is the closest to us but I don't favor it much. First, because this area wasn't always a good area but now over the years the city has really cleaned up this beach town and made the surrounding area very inviting and pretty. I was very shocked to see how nice it is here now. The second reason why I don't like coming here is that more likely than not I will run into someone I know. What I want is to relax and enjoy the view with my husband and not to have to be social with people that are no longer part of my life.
This is why we came here just before sunset. I wanted to see the sunset over San Diego one last time before we left.

We walked for a bit and came across this new statue. It definitely wasn't here when I lived here. It sure makes for a nice focal point.

I wish I could have been able to fit in this pretty flower on the ground. It reminded me of the flower from Tangled. I also like the backrest on the bench. Made out of clear blue glass. Nice.

We took in the view and filled our lungs with sea air. I love that smell. I spotted an old couple holding hands walking along the boardwalk. I always take pleasure in seeing old couples loving on each other because that's how I see myself with Jacob thirty/forty years from now. So sweet!

After we left the beach we stopped by a store to pick up some mexican bread, pan dulce. If I ever get fat and dumpy it will be for my love of pastries, chips and salsa/guacamole/dip ... and nachos and pizza.

It was definitely sad to leave my parents and my hometown. I love San Diego so much but I just don't feel comfortable being around the South Bay area anymore. The only area that we would live is North of Poway. If it is in God's will then I'm sure he will open doors for us to move back but for now I am content to live where I live. San Diego and Seattle are very comparable. They are both gorgeous and what one lacks the other makes up for it. At least the weather in Washington is ideal the majority of the time. A lot fresher and more rain than San Diego gets. But still, my heart will always be in San Diego.

Ready for our next adventure.

Day Date

1.18.13

Fact: we have no family here in WA or friends that we trust to leave our kids with, yet so having a date night is out of the question. Maybe one day we'll be brave enough to have Sydna babysit but for now I think Riley is just too little still. Anyway ... but because we have no one to leave the kids with doesn't mean Jacob and I can't have quality time together. Even having Riley with us is not bad at all. He's quiet in the car and we can talk freely. And that is exactly what a date is right? no matter what time of the day you decide to spend together.

Given that there are no Cracker Barrels here in WA we wondered if we would ever find a good restaurant that served a good old country breakfast. We had not seen any where we live or during the times that we've been out so Jacob asked around at work. One guy mentioned that he knew of a place where they served good breakfast but that the place was small. It's also not that far from where we live so after dropping Sydna and Nathan at school on Friday we headed to the Testy Chef Cafe.

The morning was very foggy in parts. There was a large stream on the right side behind this tree line and when there was an open area the stream looked so pretty among the trees. Very picturesque and I wish we could have stopped to get a picture but there was no shoulder to stop at. That back area was quite charming and really not too far from stores or Jacobs work.

The pavement was icy and sleek and because I was minding my footing I didn't take a picture of the outside of the restaurant. The guy at Jacobs work was not joking when he said this place was small. It is tiny but very cute. They do have a back area with more seating and it's enclosed so it's warm but it just doesn't have the same feel as the front does. Good thing that as we walked in a couple had just left. I liked that the table was right next to a window or should I say a door that was permanently closed.
Before we left the house Jacob had fed Riley oatmeal. There is really no sense in ordering him anything because he doesn't finish it or he just wont eat it. He is still not eating eggs. Jacob had the Little Einsteins playing on his phone so he could stay busy. He did ok. Sometimes he would bang the spoon on the table which made an annoyingly loud noise so we had to repeatedly tell him to be quiet. He would stop for a few minutes but then start up again. It didn't matter he had his book, cards to play with and Jacobs phone ... he just wanted that darn spoon.

It doesn't matter where we go eat breafast. I always end up getting the same thing ... scrambled eggs, country ham, and hash browns with wheat toast and coffee. I cannot eat something sweet on an empty stomach, gives me a stomach ache. Well assuming their country ham would be good well that's what I got. It wasn't totally bad but it wasn't great either. I should have gotten bacon instead. Jacob got a fried egg, bacon and biscuits & gravy and that breakfast looked so yummy. I'm totally getting that next time.

After breakfast we drove to Bellevue. We wanted to go to Whole Foods and the closest one to us is about twenty minutes away. It was such a cold day.
Oh man, we totally fell in love with this store. This Whole Foods is so different than the one in Tucson and San Diego. This one is a high end grocery store and it is big. It reminded us of AJ's in NW Tucson. Their meat and seafood department have so much variety and yummy looking food ... even their prepared shrimp cakes, crab cakes, and salmon cakes looked delicious. Not to mention their prepared chicken and stuffed salmon.  What tripped me out was seeing TOMS shoes at a grocery store. Doesn't matter how high end a grocery store is I still think it's weird that they sold them there. Oh, and the desserts! To die for. I'll totally take a picture of them next time we stop by. Wanted to say that Jacob bought me a batch of tulips. Orangy red, very pretty!

The fog got thicker as we got closer to home.

But first we stopped at a car wash. This is the only car wash in the city we live in so come the weekend and it gets packed. This was also the first touchless car wash we've seen. How is that possible? but it did clean my truck pretty good. It sure needed to get washed. First car wash since moving here. Oh, and Riley freaked out when the water machine went over the truck. Poor thing.

Riley didn't get much sleep so by 7:00pm he was tired and fussy.

... and guess who also passed out by 9:00pm? Gosh! This guy cannot stay awake. I guess it's ok. We balance out fine because I'm not a morning person and he is. I just gotta remind him to not make too much noise in the mornings.

*****
Saturday was quite mellow. Jacob made us breakfast. We spent most of the day at home. Left the house around 2:00pm to pick up a few things at the grocery store but then we spotted Dickey's BBQ so we stopped for a late lunch. It was as good as I remembered it to be. My brisket sandwich was super yummy.

Jacob got their ribs but said that his ribs are much tender, lol. I wouldn't doubt it. Jacob has totally perfected his ribs at home. They are yummy!

On Sunday we went to church. What?! We finally did. All of us were ready and still had about twenty minutes to spare at home, that's a first.
Ok, so I had no intention on leaving Riley at the nursery and while we worshiped Riley became restless. Walking up and down the isle and being loud. I sure didn't want to be that parent that didn't leave the sanctuary when their child got loud so we went to drop him off at the nursery. There are two reasons why I don't like to leave my child at the nursery or child care. One because I always worry that someone will be mean to him ... even adults can sometimes be impatient and rude to a child and I would hate to see that happening with mine. And I'm not one to hold back in saying something. Two: germs! We all know that nurseries and child cares are a magnet for germs and I seriously doubt that they constantly clean the play area and toys. But I was being open minded and trustworthy so I decided to leave him there.
As soon as Jacob put him down he walked in, looked back at us once and walked away and began playing.

During the service I had Jacob check on him twice. The service started at 10am and it was already 11:15am and still going. This time I was the one that became restless and wanted to leave. So I did. I walked out, hung out at the lobby for about ten minutes then walked inside the nursery. I spoke with the lady in the nursery. She said that Riley behaved and did good. Didn't cry once and just played. I did notice that he would take toys from kids and I thought Oh boy! That's not good. Since he's the only toddler at home he doesn't know what sharing is, either that or he's just got some learning to do. It's funny because my first two were very shy, didn't want to play with other kids and didn't talk much to people they didn't know. They were also the type that wouldn't speak up if a kid was being mean to them. I have a feeling Riley is going to be straightforward and speak out, a lot. In a way that's a good thing. I just have to teach him to be nice and when he does stand up for himself to do so in a polite way.


Jacob found a fun learning game for Riley on the computer. He loved it and played it for about half an hour. I forgot to write the website down. Jacob knows it. Gotta get it from him so we can play during the day.

We don't think we'll be going back to that church. We felt that the pastor would jump all over the place on what he was saying. It just didn't feel right to us. So we're looking for another church to go to.

All caught up now. Thank goodness. Hope your week has been a good one. One more day 'til the weekend. Yay!