Beach Day

Today we rode our bikes to the state park and had a picnic at the beach. We searched for sea glass and seashells, climbed giant driftwood, and walked in the water. Then we rode into town and got a treat at the C Shop, a little homemade candy and ice cream shop :) Gallie really enjoys riding in the bike trailer but I think this is probably the last summer she will fit in it... She'll have to start biking with the rest of us!

Ready for winter!

My grandma made Gallie this cute hat and scarf set recently.  Her new favorite colors are red and black (because of Scarlet the horse for Horseland, of course!) so that's what she got!  I think they look really cute on her - thanks Gram!

Does this look like work to you???

Caleb is currently in Miami for work... if you can call it that!  Tomorrow he is going to Nashville and then Memphis.  I'm jealous of the beach in Florida (especially since it was only 55 degrees here this morning!) and the food in Tennessee!  I hope he eats a lot of delish BBQ!!!

Being 30

Last year I made a list of 30 things I wanted to do when I turned 30.  So here is an update on my progress before I turn 31 next month!


1. spend more time with gallie!  Yes!  Working part-time has been wonderful!
2. get a pedicure once a month  No... it's hard for me to find the time and spend the money :(
3. learn to knit and embroider  No, although I still really want to do this... maybe in the winter.
4. clean on weekdays, relax on weekends  Yes!  I stay up really late on weeknights and get everything done so I can watch TV and go to bed a little earlier on weekends.  Ok, ok I don't exactly stay up late and clean the entire time... I am addicted to "24" and lose a lot of sleep due to it.
5. be more thankful  I really try on this one, but could still be a lot better.
6. eat only real food  Almost!  We have changed the way we eat so much in the past couple of years.  Sugar is still a hard one because I LOVE soda and Callie is often given treats at school or by family memebers... still need to work on limiting it when we're not around.  But at home we are doing pretty good!
7. watch less tv  Yes!  We don't turn the TV on at all until Callie is asleep in bed (have to set a good example:))  We do have family movie night on Friday and sometimes (depending how tired we are) let Gallie watch a show or two on Saturday morning.  She doesn't really watch any TV during the week.  We don't have a TV in our living room in the new house.  People think we are weird but we don't miss it at all!  But we still do watch TV in our room at night - see #4 above :)
8. worry less, guilt less  I think I have gotten better at this... at least the guilt part.
9. spend more time outside  The new house and neighborhood have made it so easy to be outside!  Much different than at the condo.  We are really enjoying it!
10. organize photos  About 1% of the way done on this project... Moving this to the top of my list right now!
11. get rid of 20% of the "stuff" in our house, and buy less "stuff"  Yes!  This is one of the things I'm most proud of - I have been trying to buy nothing that we don't really need, which means cutting out trips to Target.  I've also implemented strict gift giving rules with family members - you know who you are!
12. do volunteer work with gallie  Haven't done this one yet... I'm thinking she may be a little too young, but I'm trying to come up with something.  We were talking about walking around the neighborhood and picking up garbage - her idea!  Off topic but Gallie is so funny - she is really into recycling and composting and when she sees someone throwing food in the garbage she says, "Aren't you going to compost that?"
13. go on a trip with just caleb and I  No!  And I don't think this will happen this year unless I tag along on one of his work trips :)  And he has a lot of them :(
14. work with gallie to master bike riding  Yes!!!  She is doing awesome on her bike and her scooter!
15. perfect jam making, try canning veggies, and bake more - Well, I made a raspberry lemon cake tonight, but that's about it :)  I am saving the canning and jam making for the end of the summer.
16. change my last name to Young  Done!!!
17. renew my passport (and get gallie one)  Not done - for now I think I will just get an enhanced ID.
18. start a new blog about healthy eating for kids  I did start it, but I stopped it just as fast... just not enough time.  I would like to get back into it if I have time.
19. get more sleep  I still stay up way too late and I don't know if this will change :)
20. give up soda (this will be hard)  No!  But I really, really want to!
21. grow out my hair  No :(  I don't think this will ever happen either.
22. have more people over for meals This has been easy with the new house :)
23. wear matching outfits with gallie :) Haha - yes we often wear our matching white & black striped sweatshirts!
24. help gallie with starting to learn to read Gallie is doing sooooo good with reading!  We don't even work on it that much - I try to do casual learning and not make it a big deal, but she's just picking it up so fast!
25. go to a playground every nice day we can We haven't really had to go to playgrounds as much because now we have a backyard!
26. lose 1 pant size (I'm 2 sizes higher than before gallie, but I'll settle for losing 1) I don't even care about this one anymore.
27. take advantage of nice evenings Yes!  We go for walks every nice night we can.  I LOVE walking :)
28. try biking to work (it's not far, but seems scary) Nope.
29. try wearing red lipstick Yes!  Haha - I really like it :)
30. move from our condo to a house Done and done!

Feels like vacation...

Caleb and I both went back to work this week, but it somehow still felt like we were on vacation.  Lots of jammie walks, picnics at the beach, outdoor bbq's, bike rides, dinners with garden veggies, berry picking, and sleepovers!  Another highlight of the week was Vacation Bible School!  Gal and Lily had such a good time and can't wait to go back next year!  I love summer :)

We don't give Gallie soda, but once in a while she gets a sip - this was her lucky day :)

Special sleepover with Horseland and Baby Looney Tunes :)

Breakfast at Dee's Diner - like the only place you can get breakfast in Birch Bay!  And don't worry, Caleb and I split this meal and there was still leftovers!  Gallie loves this place - it's so funny!

Picking raspberries, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower!

Leavenworth

A quick little overnight trip with lots of fun including swimming in 90 degree weather!

4th of July Week

Last night we did our annual firework show in the street while it was still daylight - we just got a few little fireworks for the kids and they loved it!  Luca was quite a trooper but did get a little scared of "the unicorn," which let out a loud whistle at the end - poor guy :)  The best one of the night was the one that shot a million little parachute guys into the sky - it was pretty cool - even for the adults!

Caleb and I actually took this whole week off - we didn't really have any plans, but thought it would be nice to take Gallie to swim lessons each day and get some stuff done around the house we hadn't gotten too yet.  It has been SOOOOOO nice and I don't know how I'm going to go back to work after 12 straight days off!  And I am very proud of Caleb (AKA super work-a-holic) for not doing any film work - I know it's been hard for him, but he even admitted today that it's been really nice.  Tomorrow we are going to Leavenworth for a mini vacation and to seek hotter weather (although it's been extremely nice here the past 2 days!).

And since it's been so nice out, we've finally been able to walk down to the beach!

Water Baby

Today was Gallie's first day of swim lessons!  It was a lovely 59 degrees here in Bellingham today (That's it!  I'm so sick of this weather - we are moving to California!) but luckily the pool was heated.  Gallie really loved it - I thought there was a chance she may be a little timid, but she hopped right in and did great!  She has it everyday for two weeks and she can't wait to go back tomorrow morning!