Liberty Ridge Park is officially open for play!


The ribbon was cut the Mayor gave a speech the council members supported and the community turned out in droves....even the local newspaper was there!
What a successful opening ceremony for our wonderful community playground!


The kids were so excited to play on the new structure and make lots of new friends. Harry played with his school friends from down the street and Thomas played with his little buddy Miles from across the road.

I think the highlight of my day was meeting Norma McQuiller a city council representative who helped make the whole project happen. Norma is such an amazing advocate for the community. Not only helping create a real community here in Renton with all her wonderful community projects, but who is also a real local Renton resident so in touch with the community and its needs! Norma is someone who I really admire and respect a lot, it was great to finally meet the person who I am constantly reading about in the local paper with all the ways she gives to the community....Oh I could go on! I hope to work with Norma on some community projects in the near future.


Here is the group of wonderful people that made it all happen!
I love this playground and how it has brought a community together!

A Blue Angels kind of weekend!

Seattle Seafair weekend August 1st-3rd 2008

This is one of the those weekends we look forward to all year!

Seafair is a family tradition. If we don't go down to the event itself we watch the airshow from somewhere on the foreshores of Lake Washington. This year we could even see the Blue Angels from our house...

Seafair is Seattle's annual summer festival.

Located down on Lake Washington over near Seward Park, South Seattle area, just a beautiful location. Its been going for 58 years and consists of hydroplane races, airshow, fireworks, music, parades and so much more....check out the official website in my links.

This year we decided to go down to where all the action was taking place. I had been there a few days before with the boys and scoped out a location for us to watch from. (Plus we got to watch them practice, a sneak peek of the day! See previous post =)

The day was finally here!!! After our usual IHOP Sunday breakfast, we headed out to the lake. We parked the car, right where I had hopped and avoided driving around for ages trying to find a spot...yay for us! We then packed up the stroller and made our way down to the waters edge.

The boys were so excited! we had packed their fold up tent, blankets, games, coloring books, crafts, snacks...etc they were set! Dave and I just kicked back in the shade with the cool breeze blowing over us from the lake, looking out over the water. We had taken our camping chairs too so we sat in comfort and relaxed!

While waiting for the Blue Angels we were entertained by the hydroplanes...Unreal! They really do fly, you can see the boats leave the water as they go by so fast. Harry was amazed and a little confused as to why they were not called boats?

Snow cones, sunburns & Smiles...ahhh summer!

Then Finally it was time for the Blue Angels.....

Need I say more, just check out the photo's and see the video...amazing!

The boys had a wonderful time. Thomas was a little scared by the noise, they really did get close. Flew right over the top of us at times, we loved it, poor Thomas not so much! Its funny Thomas was 2 weeks old when he attended his first Blue Angles show, now he's 3!

We can not wait for next year when we get to go to Seafair again....

What a Noise!

More photo's from the McChord Airshow July 08.....

Hands on the ears, that was a common site today!

Dave, Grandma, Grandpa, Harry & Thomas (in the stroller) out front of the hanger!

The huge crowds, there must have been tens of thousands!

Harry, Mom and Nikko, he was scared of the noise so he hid down Harry's top! The Thunderbirds were amazing! Mt Rainer made a beautiful backdrop for the show on such a clear day.

The boys enjoying the day when it wasn't noisy. We set up camp where the kids had fun playing, coloring and eating frozen lemonade, that is when they were not hiding from the noise.

Here is Harry on the C12...agh forgotten the name (Dave help, what was the plane called?)

Great day and can't wait for the next show!

BBQ....Yum!

Grandma and Grandpa helped us enjoy our first BBQ with our new grill and outdoor set while they were here.
It was the most perfect night, 7pm and it was a whopping...84deg! The sun out, a beautiful cool breeze blowing, shade from the wisteria and the smell of Meat grilling. It doesn't get much more relaxing after a hot summers day! Oh, and did I mention the wonderful iced wine....mmm!
The kids played in the pool and took great pleasure in trying to splash Daddy while grilling. Only if every night could be this easy.
We started out with the Bruschetta that Harry and Grandma had made, it was delicious!!! Thanks Harry you are quite the little chef. It was then followed with Rib eyes cooked perfectly, Cesar Salad with sundried tomatoes and bacon, grilled red peppers and crusty bread!
The best part was taking our times, we had no where to be and nothing else to do so we just sat, ate, drank and talked for hours!!! What a great summer night!

Thanks Grandad and Nana....

Thomas loves his present....a box of cars what more does a little boy want!

He was so excited when he opened the box I had to get the video camera. So you kind of miss the initial reaction of excitement but I thought you would like to see him enjoying them!

Hugs...xx

Letter to my little boy.....
Happy 3rd Birthday Thomas!

Its hard to believe that this time 3yrs ago the labor and the pain was all over! And I was laying with you tucked in my nightgown, you fast asleep on my chest, so precious and so small!
Only a few hours old and already the feeling of an amazing love!

To this day my first moment with you alone is one of my most treasured memories.
That special time after the chaos of the day, to finally have you in my arms. No nurses, no Doctors, no bright lights or loud noises, at long last everyone had gone.
Just me and my new little baby Thomas.

Now you are 3, how that time has flown!
Happy Birthday my little man...xx

We celebrated at the Rainforest Cafe, see movie above.

Here are some of Tom Tom's favorite things -

• Cars
• Speed Racer Movie
• Story time before bed, "where's my mommy?" "Kisses" "Round the garden"
• Eskimo Kisses
• Drawing with chalk
• Digging in the dirt ie, mommies garden
• Playing soccer
• Best Bud is Noah
• Pulling all his bedding down and sleeping on the floor
• Has chocolate milk banana and oats for breakfast
• Swinging in his yellow bucket swing
• Word World, Noddy, Jay Jay and Super Why!
• Picking on his big brother
• Baby George, aka Curious George
• Polar Bear

Cooking with Grandma....

"Mix some love and hugs and a little bit of milk, that's how its made" - Harry talking of Grandma's tiramisu, what a sweetie! I think he was quoting what grandma had said previous but I didn't hear it, anyway still cute!

Grandma and Grandpa have been staying with us this week.

Harry has had a ball in the kitchen cooking with Grandma. If there is anyone that can teach him to cook its his Grandma as she cooks for a living!

Here are some of the delicious things they made....

Here they are grating chocolate for the tiramisu...yummo!

Harry holding up his little tiramisu cake with chocolate sprinkles

Fruit salad....yummy yummy!

Washing the freshly picked mint from the garden, so yummy on a fruit salad.

Bruschetta...mommies favorite! Great job with the oil Harry it was delicious!

The star of the show.....

at the Northwest Pony Roundup 2008!

Today we started out the same way we always do on a Sunday morning, breakfast at IHOP!

We then spent the rest of the day at a mustang car show with Grandma and Grandpa. This is the biggest Mustang car show in the states, so I guess the biggest one in the world! It was great, not only because it was Mustangs but because Dave's car was being showed for the first time!!! Whooo Hoooo!!!

Dave's car being showed was a total surprise. We drove to the Mustang shop yesterday to show the grandparents and it was gone... It could only mean one thing (or maybe it was stolen...but who would steal a car with no seats!) Anyway, we got to the show and guess what we saw first.....The car! It was quite exciting. The perfect blue paint glistening in the sun, Dave was so proud and I was so proud of him, a very special moment! Sure it was not finished and in no way was it driven there, like I said it doesn't even have seats yet or wheels or an engine...lol! But man did it draw the crowds, just a stunning looking car, we can not wait to see it finished.

Harry found his favorite Mustang..... next to Daddy's of cause!

Is it a bird? Is it a Plane......Thunderbirds at the McChord Air Show

Today we spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa out at the annual McChord Air Show....Unreal!
They had so much fun stuff to do and so many planes to see and explore. We got there around lunch time and the crowds were crazy! It took us so long to park and even longer to get out of the parking lot afterwards on the way home. So many people! I would love to see what the crowd count was today.

The main attraction of the day is the aerial acrobatics and plane demonstrations. They did a reenactment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor which was really amazing. Obviously no boats, but the air display simulating what took place that day was incredible. Harry loved the explosions, especially when he saw the skydivers a little later on.
He said "look mommy the Power Rangers are here to save them" from then on, he just wanted to see the power rangers....Harry you are so funny!

But really the best was still to come. The boys were loving the planes, that is until they made the sonic boom noise or flew over the top of us or were just really loud. Harry didn't mind, but Thomas freaked out with the sound! He spent most of the time on my lap with his hands over his ears, poor little sweetie! Mommy will bring the earmuffs next time, I promise.

So anyway, like I was saying the best was still to come......the Air force's Thunder Birds!
Awesome, is really the best word I know to describe them, just amazing!
Dave, Grandma and Harry moved towards the runway to get a closer view, while I stayed back with Thomas and Grandpa. I didn't think Thomas would handle being any closer with the noise. They started up and took off, man they were loud! Just as I thought, Thomas freaked out again, so he snuggled with me and put the blanket over his head. Every time a plane would go over his little arms would cling on to me even tighter, just precious! He was asleep within 5mins, how he slept through that noise I will never know.

We had a wonderful time, such a sight to see and I know Harry will be talking about this for weeks to come. It was perfect day for an airshow, clear skies, sunny with a cool breeze. Could not ask for a more perfect summer day!
I will update some photos from the airshow over the next few days, when ever I get them off my camera!

On the way home we stopped of for dinner at a great little Thai restaurant in Kent called Mauigotai....yummo! Best Green curry chicken ever! The boys even ate their vegetables, we are so going back there!

A great day was had by all, but I am tired so I am going to bed! Big day tomorrow, but you will all have to read about that tomorrow night!

Claim Jumper....home of the motherload!

One of our favorite places to take our out of town visitors, for a true taste of American food not to mention outstanding American portions is....Claim Jumper's.
A fun family restaurant located 10mins south at South Center (great shopping area)
River stones, log beams, chandeliers made from antlers and a huge buffalo head over a very impressive stone fireplace, its got the charm of a huge log cabin that offers wonderful home cooking.
Meatloaf, pot pies, pot roasts, biscuits and gravy just to name a few of their signature dishes. But the real signature dish that its know for has to be the Motherload....chocolate cake 8 layers high!
This cake measures over a foot high and when you ask for a piece don't expect to finish it! Even Dave couldn't finish it! The deserts on their menu are crazy huge and will need to be shared, that's even if you get to the desert! The meals in general are just huge, you don't leave without a bag of left overs.
Today we headed there for lunch with Dave's mom and step-dad who are in town this week. We had a great time catching up and hearing all about their travels up to this point.
We didn't order anything to outrageous today, mainly salad's. They do a killer Asian chicken salad which I got. Warren ordered a crab wedge salad which I think I will be ordering next time we go, looked sooooo good! Man were we full but it didn't stop us from heading of to the Cheesecake Factory for coffee and cake for afternoon tea....yummo!

XXX Car Show in Issaquah....

One of our new favorite weekend traditions is checking out local car shows!

Sorry its a little small to see the list of car shows, you can check out the website on the side of our blog

On Sunday after Breakfast at Issaquah IHOP (our first and favorite weekend tradition) we head 5mins down the street to a diner called XXX. I know strange name and no its not adult rated...hahaha! Its a real 50's diner decked out in cool 50's decor. Every weekend during summer they hold a car show specializing in a type of Muscle car, Vett's, mustang's, trucks....etc very cool!

Today we got to see the General Lee from the Duke's of Hazard. It was one of the cars used in the TV show, one of 17 that didnt get destroyed during the show. Over 250 were destroyed in the series.

Harry thought it was very cool, especially when they honked the horn!

This 67 Fastback is just like Dave's.... He can't wait to show his car, when its finished that is...Oh and drivable....hehehe!

Fireworks Day....

4th of July is such an exciting day to be here in the states.
The country pretty much has one big patriotic party. Our plans ended up getting cancelled so we made the most of some downtime at home. It was great, Dave and I stayed in our pj's until lunch time and had a totally lazy day around the house which was so badly needed. It was nice to not have any expectations for the day, so relaxing. The boys were pretty happy playing outside today and so excited about seeing fireworks tonight, I think they were on a bit of a high, it was great.
While Thomas slept in the afternoon I got out my paintbrush and kept working on the living/dinning room which I am currently decorating, I am nearly there and will post some pics soon. I'm painting it a happy, warm yellow, I call it bringing the sunshine in which is needed here in Seattle =)
Anyway getting back to the day of celebrations...
Around 6pm we started hearing the bangs of fireworks. Renton prohibits residents from letting of fireworks at home, but most of the surrounding areas allow it. One of our neighbors let of a few small fireworks on the corner so we walked down to check it out. It was nice to meet some more neighbors in the area. They had sparklers and gave the boys a sparkler each, Thomas was loving it! He was dancing around with it and giggling his head off, just wish I had the camera for that.
We have really great neighbors, earlier that night our neighbor that backs on to us brought over some little pop rockets for the boys to let off, so sweet of him.
After our little neighborhood display we jumped in the car to go see the big city of Renton display down on Lake Washington at Coloun Park. We didn't want to go to the park as we knew it would be crowded and the parking is horrible. So we went further around to a little park that juts out into the middle of the lake (can't remember the name?) It was perfect, lots of parking and not to crowded, but enough people to give it a fun atmosphere. It looked out over the Renton display as well as the Bellevue, Seattle, Mercer Is. and all of sth Seattle area. Just amazing, you didn't know where to look. As well as the big displays all those cities put on, most of the hills were lit up by private displays, we were surrounded. we decided that we will head back here every year, we loved it!!!
Its a very moving time and even though we are not American, you still feel a real sence of pride and gratitude to be living here.

Thomas eye's are bigger than his Belly!

Sunday morning by 9:30am you will always catch us heading out the door for our weekly ritual....Breakfast at IHOP!

On the way to Issaquah we always stop off at Starbucks for a triple shot Grande Mocha with no whip, yummo (IHOP's coffee is horrible...yeah, I'm a coffee snob)

The staff at IHOP know us now, we walk in and they greet us like friends, its a real family feeling place. We get shown to a booth and look over the menu only to then order the same thing every time. First up is the drink order, chocolate milks for the boys and OJ for Dave (or a diet coke if he needs the caffine, he hates coffee) we also order Thomas breakfast....A tall stack of Pancakes!!! What? Yep! A tall stack, that is 5 huge pancakes. If its a new waitress they always question us and suggest the kids menu or the small stack. We just laugh and say you'll see.

Dave usually orders the chicken fajita omelet with holindaise sauce, Harry gets the French Toast with a side of bacon or sausage. I usually get the eggs Benedict, they don't come close to Dave's but I am a sucker for hollindaise.

Trumpets should blare, the pancakes arrive and the kids think its Christmas!

Thomas was fascinated by the maple syrup dribbling over the side, what a huge stack of pancakes for a little guy.....

Why use a fork? when you get so much more in your mouth with your hands.....

We can not wait till next Sunday. Sure its only IHOP but we love our little family tradition!