March 2012

March started out with a 22 month photo shoot with Bailey. Man I love this girl. Every time I look at these photos I want to kiss those cheeks off and give her a big squeeze! I also found a photo of me at about the same age and I was shocked to see that we not look alike, but almost identical. Wahoo! My genes are pulling through!

I should also mention that she has Bunny and Snuggles with her. These are the two items she can't go to sleep without. I wanted to document them now, I'm sure they will be "well loved" as the years go by.

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Ward Activities

I love our ward. I've met and become friends with some of the best people around and I love all our activities. In March we had two: International Food Night, and "I"m a Mormon" Talent Show. For the International Food Night everyone brought a dish from a different country or culture, we had games, and enjoyed a very diverse dinner. I brought crepes with bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and of course Nutella! Yum!

For the second activity we had a "I"m a Mormon" Talent Show. Everyone either performed or brought things from home to represent their talents. I brought some cupcakes and jewelry, Bailey brought some finger paintings, and Mark performed a song with his friends - Brad, Nate, Taylor, and Matt. These guys did great! 

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Seattle

We took advantage of Mark's Spring Break this year and took a little trip Seattle. Mark's brother, Jake, and his family live just outside Seattle so we spent a few days with them and then got a hotel in downtown Seattle for another few days. This will go down in my books as one of the worst vacations ever, for several reasons: Bailey was sick, Mark was sick, I hate rain, and snow closed the mountain pass on the way home.

To start our trip, Bailey came down with a fever as we were loading the car and got progressively worse each day. She only slept 1-2 hours at night then would cry until I rocked her back to sleep. She also screamed every time I left the room. Mark ended up getting it too and he wasn't much help at all - which if you think about it, a vacation with kids is actually a LOT of work and you need all the help you can get, so it was really frustrating for me. The days we spent with Jake's family were the worst, but we made the best of it. We went to the beach and found crabs, and attempted fishing in the rain.

I love these beach photos.

Fishing in the rain was fun for the little girls, it seems like kids just find fun in everything no matter what's going on around them. I was a little nervous the entire time with Bailey on the dock, but we made it through without any falls into the water - or fish.

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Science Center & Space Needle

Once we were in downtown Seattle Bailey started to feel a little better and Mark was on the mend too. We got the Seattle City Pass which included the Science Center, Space Needle, Aquarium, Harbor Tour and Zoo for a discount, so we crammed them all in. The Science Center mostly had things for older kids, but there was a play area for small kids and a butterfly sanctuary that was pretty amazing! I've never seen so many butterflies in one place!

After the Science Center we RAN in the rain over to the Space Needle. These places are just around the corner from each other so we seriously did run. Good thing we were bundled up, because the top of the Space Needle was even colder and super windy. Bailey didn't like it too much but it was a nice view.

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Aquarium, Harbor Tour, Pike's Market

We spent the next day at the Aquarium, took a Harbor Tour and shopped around Pike's Market. Bailey really liked the Aquarium and being able to touch the starfish, and seeing all the other fish. They even had a little play time for kids with crafts and hands on activities too. The Aquarium was probably Bailey's favorite place on the trip.

Right after the Aquarium we quickly walked down to the dock where our harbor tour was. Mark and I both agreed that one harbor tour on a boat was probably good for us for the rest of our lives. We were both so motion sick by the end! Plus chasing Bailey around the boat didn't help. It was a pretty ride though and we learned heaps about the city.

It was such a blessing that this day turned out to be the best weather day, it only rained a little bit and then it was sunny the rest of the day. So after the harbor tour (and a stop for some caffine and candy to make us feel better) we headed over to Pike's Market. We shopped the inside and outside and got our Seattle shopping fix. We even pulled aside to see the famous "Gum Wall"...sick.

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Zoo

Our plan for the last day of our Seattle vacation was to go to the zoo then drive home. Well, we didn't last that long at the zoo because it was pouring rain. We wrapped Bailey in a plastic shopping bag and ran from exhibit to exhibit. It was actually really disappointing, most of the animals were at the vet or something and we kept seeing signs that they were gone. We did get to an elephant, an orangutan, and some chickens. Sweet huh!? Ha ha! 

The drive home was probably the worst part of the vacation. It ended up snowing so much that the mountain pass was closed! Police officers made everyone without snow tires or chains go back down the mountain and not make it through the pass. So we had to go back to the nearest town, buy chains, then drive back up the monition. With all that what normally a 5 hour drive took us 10 hours!!! Yes, 10 hours in the car to get home. Bailey was still not feeling the best so she ended up sleeping for most of it. 

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Bowling, again

We don't really bowl all that often, but it seems like that was the only thing to do in these winter months, so we went again! This time we got ice cream at the creamery first. I love seeing all those kids lined up with their cones!