Shopping & Jamba Juice

For anyone that knows me they know shopping is my least favorite thing to do, for many reasons.   However, there is one store that I have kept my eye on for awhile now.  I went to their clearance sale last fall and found a few pieces I wear almost every day.    The problem is I have to try on these clothes before I commit to buying them, otherwise I would probably by them online.   So the other day, we (Bo, Darby and myself) did not have any plans so we went on a little adventure to University Village.    Our first stop was at the Oiselle store where I tried on a few things, mostly for sizing so that when they do go on sale I know what size to get.   The kids were great and afterwards we just walked around and stopped at Jamba Juice for lunch and a treat. 

It was nice to spend some time outside with these two.  

#JanuaryDateNights #4. Flatstick Pub

We had to schedule our 4th date night for the middle of the week. My friend Jen offered to watch all of our kids. It was a Christmas present from her family to ours.  The great thing is our kids LOVE going to their house so we had absolutely no problem sneaking away. 

We went to Flatstick Pub and enjoyed a 9 hole round of mini golf.   

I was crushing it until the 7th hole when Brad pulled out his bag of tricks and ended up beating me by quite a bit.   You can't win them all, I guess. 

They didn't have a great dinner selection so we had a few snacks and drinks then headed over to a Thai restaurant for dinner.   

And of course we grabbed a Starbucks on our way home.  

Another fun date for which I am very thankful. 

Bo's Sounders Song

Bo has been learning lots of things from his older siblings, including the Sounders song.  I was finally able to get him singing it on video. 

What a cutie!  I love that sweet voice. 

#JanuaryDateNights #3

After a full day of basketball, Brad and I were able to go on our 3rd date for January Date Nights. 

We had a gift certificate for Black Duck Cask and Bottle so we decided to use it.  We weren't super excited about the dinner options but each found something that worked.  We did enjoy our beer and wine. 

 

After dinner we went to Value Village.  Brad wasn't up for a Value Village challenge....he is a  party dud. 

We wandered around Value Village (and bought a few treasures).  After that we went to Starbucks then walked around Fred Meyer. I know, we are exciting aren't we?   But we found these letters on sale and tried to spell out Date Nights but couldn't find all the letters.  So we settled on B & J.  

It doesn't really matter what we do it's just nice and important to get out and hang out with just Brad.  I kind of like the guy. 

Bo & Monkey Sleeping

Brad took this sweet picture of Bo sleeping with Monkey. 

Swim Lessons

I signed Darby and Bo up for swim lessons at Tiger Mountain Aquatics. I have heard great things about this place but have always hesitated because of the cost and its up a mountain. It takes us about 20 minutes to drive there. After the first lesson I have deemed it worthy of the time, effort and money. Everything about it has been wonderful. Darby & Bo count down the days until their next lesson.  And they get a little whiny when their lesson is over. 

Angry Colt

I was trying to get a picture of a basketball jersey (for a size reference). Colt gave me this face to go with it.  I'm not sure what he is trying to do. 

#JanuaryDateNights #2

For our 2nd date we went to Daniel's Broiler on Leschi. We used the gift card that Brad received from his cross country team.  It was nice to get all dressed up and feel a little fancy. 

After dinner we went to the downtown REI and walked around because we are really that exciting! 

We finished off the night with a cup of Starbucks.   

Rock Climbing Party

The boys were invited to a birthday party at Stone Gardens. It was so fun to watch them climb the walls. They even went up the big wall. They were superstars! 

Ollie

Colt

Brody on the left, in yellow. 

Sounders Jingle Bells

Ever since the Sounders Day Parade the kids made up an extended version of a Sounders Jingle Bells song.  I finally found some time to take a video of them.  My favorite is when Bo walks around the house singing the song.  I hope I can get an undercover video of him.  

Lake Sammamish Walk

My neighbor invited us to walk down to Lake Sammamish State Park. It was COLD but sunny so it was a good reason to get out of the house.  The kids played at the playground then we walked to feed the ducks.   It wasn't too long before they were getting too cold.   I couldn't blame them. 

Painting

Darby keeps asking when we can paint. Since our neighbor, Kate, was over for a few hours I thought it would be a good time to get the paint out. Always messy, always fun! 

Skiing

Brad has been able to take the boys skiing a few times. It's been nice to get them up there before the New Year even started. We are hoping to get up there some more. We also let the boys skip a day of school so they could go skiing with Zephyr (he was still here on his winter break). They had a great time and they always get a whole lot better skiing with him. 

These are videos of Ollie skiing. 

Frozen Duck Pond

I love the adventures I get to have with Darby & Bo. Since it has been SO cold it's hard to get outside so the other day I suggested we go to Robinswood park to see if the pond is frozen.  They were so excited about that idea.  Thankfully it was frozen and we got to see the ducks walking on it.  We also spent some time playing on the playground before our fingers got too cold. 

#JanuaryDateNights #1

It's one of our favorite traditions, January Date Nights. This year I have a few friends who are doing this with me. (not going on dates with me but trying to go on one date a week for the month of January) And when I say a few friends....there are 135 people in my facebook group. They aren't all doing this but a lot of them are trying. It's been fun to see other people get excited about this too. 

Our first date was to the Seahawks playoff game against the Detroit Lions. I wasn't super excited about going because I am a bit of a mess when it comes to watching but I'm glad I went and especially glad they won. 

We are looking forward to our next date night.  

 

Happy New Year!

We spent most of New Year's Eve at Uncle Brian & Aunt Angie's. Jenny and her family joined us and later in the day Papa Bob & Grandma Shari came. 

We watched the Husky game, played Catan and just relaxed.   

When it was midnight in Florida we facetimed Jessi, Gunner and a sleeping Sayler.  

When it was midnight in Colorado there was some chatter with the relatives there.  

Then it was midnight here....Bo was fast asleep on the couch and so was I. 

Happy New Year! 

Bellevue Ice Arena

Jenny, John and their 3 boys came into town. We decided to take the kids ice skating.  It took a little while to get used to it but once they did the kids had a blast.  

I was on the rink the whole time alternating between Ollie, Darby & Bo.  I was tired. 

Sledding

Colt was invited to a birthday party. They went sledding for the afternoon. What a fun adventure! 

This was the picture the mom sent me. 

 

Hula Hoop

Darby loves her hula hoop and especially loved me taking some videos of her.  I asked her where she learned to do that and she said I taught her.  Who knew? 

Christmas Day Evening

After our Christmas morning and some time spent being lazy, we headed down to Uncle Mark & Aunt Pede's house. We ate food and had a very low key evening. It was very nice. The kids played some video games and a few other games, including twister. It was a nice end to our Christmas day.

Brad and I got our Starbucks Christmas drinks.