Frogs, Scooby, and Seattle City Mice....oh MY

Just what you need after pizza and cupcakes....a GIANT lollipop, right?

A Very Scooby Birthday!

OK SOOO, our AWESOME idea to have
a mystery scavenger hunt with a monster stealing a present may have caused a bit of childhood trauma for a few kids....amelia included. whoopsie :0

Brian (the monster) comes roaring through the park and steals a present and leaves....At least 3 kids flip out, stare in horror and Amelia is in tears. We calm everybody down and are on the hunt for the stolen present...a total hit....UNTIL the "monster" comes back, and when they are supposed to do the big reveal. An older kid tears off the mask to reveal Brian. Amelia is only mildly amused, ok not really even mildly...it's more of a "why Daddy, why?" She still doesn't completely understand the whole thing...which is a mystery to me..she eats, sleeps, and breathes scooby mysteries...her favorite game is mystery hunt around the house for ghosts....who knows?! kids

gma liz

mia, hudson and Jillian

Amelia soooooooo didn't want to take this picture, I told her she would get a time out if she didn't do it....is that abusing my mommy power? I kinda think so, but totally worth it...hilarious!!!!

waiting for the kids to come

Night before Amelia's Scooby mystery scavenger hunt Birthday PARTAY!!

Silverwood with cousins Ivy and Asher, Randy, Kelly, Gma Liz and mom and dad...carousel

One of the few times when Amelia has insisted I take her picture, there were a ton of them..but alas this is the only I'm posting

Jillians pirate booth at Art on the Green

Painting at art in the green

Climbing at a.o.t.g

PUFFY SLIDES, amelia and carmen

pure JOY, camen and amelia

Riding on mudgy, downtown, street fair

morning sweetness with amelia, carmen, and finn

Bobbing for apples with carmen, front yard

lake time with the bortons

fig pickles carousel

Stike a pose!

ribbit, ribbit

So sensitive

We recently purchased a twin big girl bed for Amelia. She's out grown her toddler bed and it is becoming increasing difficult for 2 people to snuggle down at bed time. So last night while going to bed Amelia said she was ready for her big girl bed to move in. I said ok, we are getting a mattress on Wed. She asked me what will the big girl bed say to the toddler bed:)

I said "it will say thank you for taking such good care of little kid Amelia and letting her have such sweet dreams for so long, now it's my turn to take care of big girl Amelia"

She completely lost it! She started sobbing that she doesn't want to get rid of her little kid bed. I love how sentimental she is. I told her we could keep toddler bed until she's ready for big girl bed and she calmed down and finally...finally decided that she did want her big girl bed.....she's so sweet

Stehekin WA, North Cascades

Cute valley bus

Last day, outside the lodge

note: brian's "new" boots he found in the used/lost and found box. He said he would pack himself. He packed: 2 t-shirts and 1 pair of shorts.....nothing else, he's wearing my socks. The other clothes he had were the ones he was wearing when we left. Needless to say he had to go stand outside on the boat ride home cause he smelled like fresh onions

Brian deep in thought about quitting his job and moving to a national park, after about half a bottle of wine:)

Amelia deep in thought about roasting a marshmallow

smores.....

widdling the marshmallow stick

Ben our kayak guide and Amelia...so choppy and windy. We've decided to sell the sailboat and trade up for kayaks, it was awesome. Saw some pictographs, the guide said they were either 800 years old or 8,000 years old...um really, so much for an exact science in the pictograph world

night, night stories in the cabin

coon lake hike, where we saw the dreaded rattlesnake

about to walk up on a rattlesnake...eiikkk

hide and seek, not too many places to hide in a 13x13 cabin...she couldn't find him though

tent cabins in the back ground

The lodge, dining room. Cedar chips for the floor. We didn't know if the animal head was a deer or an elk. So the guy we asked wondered where we were from. I think he was surprised when we said Idaho and not New York City

We probably spent 5 hours total on this tire horse swing, amelia loved it

high bridge, stehekin river

family portait

first day hike, Turns out hiking with a 3 yar old isn't so fun

Lady express. Ferry boat ride