Enjoying the Last of Summer

August 2018
Once Riley's down for the night the one thing I enjoy doing is to watch my scary shows/movies and blog in a quiet relaxing setting. This is how I get inspired to blog. And I don't usually indulge in wine. It was left over from dinner.

Gotta take advantage of our season passes to the Woodland Zoo. Every time we go we take a different path, we go to different exhibits this way the visits aren't dull. This time we went to see these little rascals. Otters are cute. Did you know baby otters (or pups) stay with their mother until they are a year old? also, river otters don't breed until they're at least five years old.

This gorgeous blue heron was hanging out at the penguin exhibit hoping to snatch a few fish.

This girl doesn't hesitate to sit on my books. These were new purchases and I was about to start logging them onto my Goodreads tbr list when she just plopped down on them.

We take a drive out to Snoqualmie Falls about twice a year. It's usually crowded with tourists that's why we don't visit more often. The best time to see it though is during winter when it's at its fullest from all the rain ... of couse, it's pretty cold but fun. Perfect excuse to go for a peppermint white chocolate mocha afterwards.

Wanted to share this colorful dish that Jacob put together for us. Shrimp curry with jasmine rice. I'm not a big fan of curry but this was really good.

Took Riley to a local spray park. We came across a kid whose name was also Riley and his middle name was also James. I mean, what are the odds. The kids mom said that the middle name was taken from the paternal grandfather. Riley's middle name was also taken from his paternal grandfather. So so weird! Good thing the kids last name didn't start with a D.

She looks unimpressed by yet another picture but I wanted to point out her toes. Cats paws are the cutest even if their toesies are shaped kinda funny.

More visits by the water ... enjoying the beautiful scenery. Even on a cloudy August day.

I like listening to oldies. That's my dad's favorite music and now that I've been listening more Riley has learned a few songs. He even remembers the artist name, lol.

Jacob baked this yummy blackberry crumble dessert. It was delicious. Just looking at this made me crave it. I'm gonna ask him to bake it again.

You bet I was happy when I woke up and saw the sky. Gorgeous isn't it? Fall's just around the corner!!

June Days

We're almost through July and this summer has been very pleasant thus far. June felt more like Spring than a Summer month. Still, we've done some summery things.

We visited a spray park at the end of May. We had not been to this one before. The location isn't very favorable but the park itself is nice. Riley enjoyed himself. He always treats each outing as the best one ever.

Got him in mid air. He cracks me up.

Sophie's the cutest. We love to cuddle our cats. Sydna has been home more lately and we like that. Nathan continues to keep on growing it's just crazy! I think he's passed me up by now. I haven't really checked.

You know, we haven't visited our town's farmers market but the Des Moines farmer's market (which is about 15-20 minutes away) has begun and I'm super thrilled because the Mexican food stand that sets up there is my favorite. Their chicken nachos are super delicious! and the drink is very refreshing. So naturally I had to visit and enjoy some for lunch.

We favor this farmers market because it's right on the Puget and you know I love being by the water. It's relaxing and romantic!

Given that my love for books overrides my other hobbies and interests I haven't had the chance to indulge in some adult coloring ... but several weeks ago I did after I had read several pages on the current book I'm reading. It felt good to get back to coloring.

You know I like to read but do you know how happy it makes me when I find new books at good prices and add them to my to read list. I love how many books are out there just for my reading pleasure. I love how one author's mention of another author's name ripples down to finding more excellent books. That's how I learn about new author's out there.

School here didn't let out until the middle of June and during those last few weeks Riley had a blast because they had field trip visit to a pie store where they got to make their very own personal pies. Riley was so excited about that. He especially loved riding on the school bus. He told me, "mommy guess what? The buses don't have seat belts!" I didn't tell him I didn't like that fact. All I said was they don't? I just allowed him to tell me all about his day. It's so sweet hearing him talk.

They also had Pirates Day. Several days before we went to party city in hopes on finding a costume or some pirate effects. I wasn't holding my breath though but thankfully we found a pirate costume kit that came with the shirt/jacket, eye patch, hat, and hook. We were both very excited we found something cool for him to wear.
He makes a very handsome Captain.

It was cool seeing his teacher smile big when she saw some of her students dress up in pirate gear.

This picture was taken by someone at school, his teacher shared it. He looks perfect to play captain.

We got some very cool moody skies in mid June. Ominous clouds covered the sky making it look awesome! Seriously, I wonder how many people look up at the sky and admire the clouds. They are so pretty. Well on this day after taking Riley to school, my home felt so cozy. It game me the feeling of Fall which contributed to create my home environment even cozier by making myself a hot cup of peppermint tea and by putting on Halloween while I blogged. I have a friend who enjoys cloudy skies as much as I do and I know she would just love these PNW cloudy skies.

Riley has been on the frisbee kick ever since our Colorado trip in April. He catches it more times than he misses so I guess he's pretty good.
We had a picnic lunch. Riley enjoys it and I can tell it gives him that fuzzy feeling, I can see it on his face. Once we're in the car or just before bed he'll say, "it was fun today at the park huh?" or whatever it is that we did. He's a very grateful little boy.

I believe I shared in a previous post that Riley suffers from allergies. We took him to an ENT and he prescribed Riley steroidal nose spray. It seems to be working.
It seems that his allergies began around January/February out of nowhere. His nose gets really stuffy, poor thing would get broken sleep because of it. But now, thankfully he breathes better, that is if he's not sick with a cold.

Another cloudy June sky and no filter.

An unexpected cool thing happen to Riley.

We are so proud of Riley for showing such kindness to all even the mean kids. He's always on a mission to make new friends.

We haven't found THE best bbq restaurant here yet. We've eaten bbq ribs, pulled pork, and brisket and some of those places have been decent but nothing extraordinary so we'll continue our search until we find THE best one. Anyway, in June we went to a restaurant in the SODO district (about ten minutes South from the Seattle waterfront) The owner is from TX but I didn't like his style of bbq and I definitely didn't like his baked beans, totally lacked bbq sauce plus it had cumin, yuck! However, the hush puppies were so good. I had never had them before. That's right! They had jalapeno in them and boy, I couldn't stop eating them. So next time I'm craving some I know where to get them.

After our meal we hung out by the waterfront. I sure do like walking around there, taking in all the views. There was a light sprinkle, but it wasn't cold. We enjoyed some ice cream while we hung out by the ferris wheel. Every time I look at it it's always stopped. I wonder how long it takes to get off it. I haven't gotten on it because it just looks scary. I wont get on it (at least not any time soon) but I would love to zip line.

He he! She looks so goofy!!

Jacob and Riley made a phone out of play-doh and pretended to talk. Jacob couldn't keep from laughing. He thought it was the funniest (and silliest) thing ever.

There's lots of silly moments in our family. Riley is always wanting to be doing something and sometimes I'm like, "we're gonna sit here and just rest while I read to you". At first he's not too thrilled about it but after the third page I can tell he's interested in the story and gets closer to me wanting to see the pictures (if there's any) and cuddle beside me.

There was one more school event before school was let out. I'll work on that next.

Take a minute to be thankful for all the little things

that add up to make life a lot of fun.

In August ...

... we did a tad bit more. First, Riley attended Jump Start. The program is through his elementary school and it is to assist children in any area they need improvement in order to start kindergarten. Riley needed some help in letter and sound recognition and for whatever reason he always skipped number 13 and that qualified him for the program. I was thrilled because he would be in a classroom setting before kindergarten started and that would better prepare him for it. Plus, I wanted him to be around other kids. It was time.
The program lasted for only three weeks, Monday - Thursday from 8:30- 12:00 pm. Perfect for someone like Riley for his first time experience. And he was more than ready. He was eager and very excited!
My sweet boy!

Meeting the teacher for the first time. She was very sweet.

And that little girl with the glasses became his best friend from day one. They went everywhere together, it was cute to see.

And because he would see the other kids eat lunch at school he also wanted to eat school lunch. Good thing they always had these pb&j sandwiches on hand because he didn't always liked the other food choice. I just love the school's chocolate milk. So yummy, lol!

We took Riley to several parks. This summer we didn't really go exploring to find other parks we haven't been to before. We just visited our favorite ones and Volunteer Park is a nice one with lots of shade and the playground is pretty cool as well.

And back at home I would find this girl curled up on the couch. I believe one of the kids covered her up and she stayed covered. What a dork. Libby didn't like to be covered up but this cat does. I think that's cute.

We also didn't visit many spray-parks. First because we really had a mild summer and second, well I just wasn't feeling up to it. But the few times that we took him to one he had the best time.

And he also went cruising on his bike along the Puget. My boy, such an active little guy. Thankful for his daddy for always being available to keep him busy especially during these last several rough months. Taking him places so I can have time alone. Thank you so much Jacob.

Mt. Rainier is so photogenic and always making itself be seen from almost anywhere. You sure are gorgeous to look at.

And on days we stayed home we watched lots of movies. Wearing his vampire teeth, pretending to be a vampire like the ones from The Lost Boys. So silly!

Getting some loving from Riley is the best. Small children are so sweet and love you unconditionally. I will miss not getting to have that chance, those memories with baby Reagan. That just breaks my heart.

I never did stay away from the water for too long. I always found myself back here.

This is where Riley is the most serene too.

Days Before Leaving for Our Road Trip

In the last post I had said how it's been sunny but cool ... yeah, well that totally changed from one day to the next. The last few days that we were at home before our trip were HOT! from high 80's to mid 90's. Oh boy! I think after the second hot day in a row is when I usually begin to lose it, not proud of being impatient but it happens all the same. I just cannot deal with hot weather. This is the time when I need to read scripture the most, ha! no, but for real.

Anyway,  since our home doesn't have a/c we try to keep all blinds closed. Opening the windows in Riley's playroom and in the downstairs restroom helps keep the house fresh, those are side windows. I keep the back sliding door closed all day until it gets dark.
Sometimes we go hang out at the library, indoor play areas, spray parks but after a while those things also get old and frankly we yearn to stay home sometimes. Sometimes I wonder when people say they love summer if they will still say that after living in a hot house day after day and not being able to sleep comfortably because it's too hot. Do you think they would? I seriously doubt it.

Even Sophie barely moved during those hot days.

The goof ball. Besides her mouth being joker shaped her upper lip appears to be fat and when she lays upside down it just hangs, lol. She was half asleep here.

According to my weather app the temperature for this day was 94 degrees. That's hot right? So we decided to take Riley to a spray park. We also took our tarp so we could be comfortable too. It's funny to see Riley shaking once he gets wet, ha! Makes me want to get wet too.

These last couple of weeks before our trip I was busy buying Riley summer clothes. He definitely went through a growth spurt early this year because most of his t-shirts and shorts fit pretty small on him. Thankful that kids clothes is inexpensive {usually} because he needed almost an entire summer wardrobe.
After I paired his clothes for two weeks I began putting it in his suitcase and found out that the darn thing had no chance of closing, lol. Relieved that Nathan has a large sports travel duffel bag there I go asking him if I could borrow it. I definitely need to get Riley a bigger suitcase.

Given we were having hot weather just days before our trip we were extremely excited to get our road trip started because the Oregon coast is usually a lot cooler and even cloudier even if it's hot and sunny an hour away in Portland. And knowing we were taking highway 101 {the coast} well, we were just so anxious to leave.

Enduring Summer

We had forgotten all about going blueberry picking and while I was browsing facebook several weeks ago I came across a PNW article stating that blueberry season is almost over. What?! That's when I told Jacob that we had to go that following weekend.
It wasn't the ideal day to pick, at least not for us. That Saturday that we went picking got up to 94 degrees! I would have never thought that it would get this hot here in the PNW. But we got there, we were mentally prepared, had sunblock on and a cap to block the sun from my face and we had cold drinks. So we were prepared to spend some time here.

Riley remembers this place from last year. He had a lot of fun picking then and was looking forward to doing this again.

The biggest blueberries were found on the top branches and there was plenty. Every time we go to u-pick farms I always remember to thank God for all that He provides for us when I'm taking something I didn't grow myself.

We picked a little over an hour. Sweat was running down our faces. It was so hot! We had planned on filling the bucket at least half way this time but we couldn't stand the hot sun so after an hour we called it quits.
Riley's cheeks were red and his hair was matted down with sweat.

We picked a total of 6.6 lbs. Not too bad. Sure will last us for a while.

After picking we had lunch then we took Riley to a spray-park. Perfect way to cool off. We brought our canopy. So glad we remembered to bring it too.

It was still hot when we got home later that afternoon. The house was too hot so we hung out at our front porch for a while.

We are seriously considering investing on getting a/c in our house next year ... it is a complete necessity!
I don't know how people could stand the heat during Moses' time. When he lead the Israelites out of Egypt and walked through the desert to reach the Promised Land. I'm pretty sure I would have perished.

Anyway, even though the heat was somewhat debilitating, it was a good day. We've been enjoying eating the blueberries in pancakes, smoothies and in oatmeal. I didn't used to add blueberries to my oatmeal but now I do and I just love it even more!