Tulip Festival

Friday night we headed out to Mt. Vernon
(not the home of George Washington) for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. We made it to Roozengarde Farms just before it closed and got in free! We walked around and saw more varieties of tulips and other flowers than I have ever have seen before! Most of the flowers were in bloom, so it was an amazing site. As we drove through Mt. Vernon we also saw endless fields of daffodils. Unfortunately we were too early for the bigger fields of tulips. Maybe next year, but is was still worth it!

Spring

Finally we are enjoying some Spring weather here in Seattle. We celebrated a sunny, and warm day with a trip to Green Lake Park, where the kids literally got in the lake (it was not that warm) and then basically rolled in the sand. After dinner we had strawberry shortcake outside with our friend Isa. One nice thing about living this far north is that the sun sets so late, so when it is sunny we get a lot of it!

Opening Day

Joe and I were lucky enough to come by tickets to the Mariner's first home game of the season. We had an awesome time. Safeco Field was sold out (around 50,000 fans). Ken Griffey Jr. was back, and Seattle was thrilled. The game was really good. The Mariner's pulled out a win in the 10th inning with a bunt. Everyone was pretty excited. It was actually sunny, so the retractable roof was off for the day and it felt like real baseball. I don't think I have ever seen an exodus quite like the one leaving the ball park. The streets were packed with people leaving the game. Go Mariner's!

Easter

We traveled to Yakima to see Joe's family for Easter weekend, and had a fun time! Madison learned to ride her black bike with flames (her favorite color really is black, I will have to put up a picture of her riding). We were able to see a lot of Joe's friends and family there, so we kept pretty busy.

On Sunday Grandma and Grandpa hid Easter eggs in the yard for an Easter egg hunt. It was hilarious to watch them scour the yard. Overall, I think that they liked Easter.

PROM 2009

Last night Joe and I went to UW's med school prom at the Space Needle. When we found out they were having it at the Space Needle we had to go, even though we aren't really dancers.

That afternoon a couple of my friends and I got ready together (so high school, so fun) and had someone do our makeup and stuff. I did my own hair, which ended up being a lot of time with the curling iron! I have way too much hair! The dance was pretty fun. I totally was like prom, and I think some of the songs they played I did hear at my first prom. We had dinner and met some of Joe's classmates. It was nice to finally put faces with names. After dinner we headed up to the observation deck to get an excellent view of Seattle. It finally stopped raining and was actually pretty nice. My favorite part was people-watching seeing what the other girls were wearing and watching everyone dance. We had a ton of fun! I love to get dressed up! (P.S. I stole almost all of these pictures off of my friend Melissa's blog (pictured below) so I can't take credit for the photography).

Hooray Visitors!

Last week was fun for us! Our friends Alyson, Treyton, and Jayci came out from Virginia (via Texas) to visit us in Seattle! We haven't seen the Sharps in almost two years, but Madison and Treyton picked up right where they left off and played with each other the whole time. Jayci and Hayes were probably overshadowed by their more extroverted older siblings, but they did have a great time.

While the Sharps were here we dodged the fickle Seattle weather and went to Woodinville to check out one of Alyson's hometowns and visit fellow SVU alum Mary Rudd. The next day we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, and the kids had a great time. Alyson and I left Joe with all the kids that night (chill out, most of them were already in bed) and went and saw Twilight. On Thursday we headed down to Gig Harbor, just south of Tacoma, and went to Kolpachuk State Park. It was a steep and muddy hike down to the beach, but it was pretty there. The kids found some water to play in and trees to climb on and had a great time. I had a seasonal allergy meltdown while there, and spent most of the time sneezing. It was still fun though. It was so fun to see our friends again, I think Alyson and I both got a lot of reading time because our kids kept each other occupied! It was so nice. Now we just need Nate to get a residency here...

Twenty-Seven

I recently turned 27. I had a great birthday. My sister Clare came up for a visit, and I got to spend some time with her, Joe, and the kids.

Here we are feeding the birds at Matthew's Beach on Lake Washington. Hayes and Madison ate a lot of the bread themselves, rather than give it all to the birds!

27. I am getting old! I decided to make 27 goals or resolutions for my 27th year. Here they are:

1. Run a half-marathon (I still totally need to sign up!)
2. Start really using my reusable grocery bags instead of paper or plastic.
3. Stick to my budget.
4. Learn how to do something crafty like sew or knit (this will at least make my mom laugh).
5. Go to the Lavender Festival in Sequim.
6. Run a mile in nine minutes at least once (this will actually be hard, because I am incredibly slow).
7. Go on at least one day hike in Western Washington.
8. Refinish at least one piece of furniture. All of them do need to be refinished so this will be a good start.
9. Take the bus somewhere by myself with the kids!
10. Apply to grad school...and get in!
11. Go green on my cleaning products, I am actually almost there.
12. Go to the Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley.
13. Read the Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich. This has been on my list forever.
14. Sign up for a CSA program in Seattle. I always read about it in the Seattle PI.
15. Save up for my mountain bike.
16. Get the kids more outside time on the rainy days, and conquer my fear of the cold and rain.
17. Start lifting weights again for my wimpy arms.
18. Potty-train Hayes (not looking forward to this one).
19. Take advantage of more of the great classes and programs for kids through Seattle Parks and Rec.
20. Go kayaking/canoeing on Lake Washington.
21. Do some more scrapbooking. I like it, but it has definitely been a long time since I have done it.
22. Plan a trip to New Mexico and Arizona. I have really wanted to head down there for the last couple of years. I just need to make a plan and do it!
23. Make some jam when blackberry season starts.
24. Visit Mt. Rainier. I love Mt. Rainier!
25. Attend at least one first Thursday at a Seattle museum (free night).
26. Work harder on all of the tasks I have assigned to myself in the department of emergency preparedness.
27. Get one of my brothers and sisters a spouse so that I can be an aunt before I am thirty!

I am looking forward to checking some things off the list!