cupcakes

who doesn't love indulging in a good cupcake every now and then? even better when it's an ordinary wednesday afternoon, and you feel like treating your kids to a cupcake "just because." the fact that i have the freedom to do this in the middle of the day on a wednesday is even better than a good cupcake! way better.... yesterday i took the kids to cupcake royale. it's seattle's original cupcake bakery, and it was our first time there. i loved everything about the place, and i couldn't help but admire their awesome branding.  it's pretty impressive. we had a coupon for "buy 3, get 3 free" so we chose an assortment of cupcakes. brooke chose vanilla with pink icing. i chose carrot cake with cream cheese icing for gavin. he ate almost the entire thing :) brooke usually eats the icing and nothing else, but this time she ate the cake off the bottom and left the top and the icing. the cupcakes are that good! unfortunately, i had come down with brooke's stomach bug and wasn't even well enough to enjoy a cupcake with the kids. not to worry though, the instant the nausea wore off i dug into the cupcakes we had brought home :) the chocolate cupcake with salted caramel icing was out of this world. 

a truly happy birthday

out in the woods on a cozy little farm, the chickens roamed free. people gathered. champagne was poured. chefs were busy preparing our meal. winemakers mingled. the anticipation was building... for what turned out to be one of the most unforgettable nights of my life.

we were seated at a long row of picnic tables in the greenhouse. just as the first course was served we could hear the pitter-patter of rain. the room buzzed with conversation, ours included. we were seated in between 2 families - to my right was a mother, father and their grown son - to my left was a grandmother, her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. by the end of our 4 course dinner they felt like old friends. they were some of the nicest and most interesting people i have ever met in my life. and we were reminded once again what a small world it is. i heard a woman three down from me mention cincinnati. turns out she lives in cincinnati and works for Luxottica. we'll be on the same flight to cincy on monday. when talk turned to cincinnati, the grandmother beside me told us that her granddaughter lives in cincinnati because her husband is the librarian at Miami University. the woman next to kevin has a best friend that lives in cincinnati and is a nurse at Children's Hospital. yes, it is definitely a small world.

the food was divine. the wine was plentiful. the conversation was rich. it was a perfect birthday dinner. i had this great feeling through the entire evening that i was exactly where i was supposed to be. and if that's all my day had been, i would have been a very happy 35 year-old woman.

but there was more...

my day started with brooke coming into our bedroom and exclaiming, "happy birthday, mommy!" she must have awaken thinking about it because it was the first thing out of her mouth at 6:30am. so sweet. kevin went out for doughnuts, then he and the kids put candles in them and sang happy birthday. brooke and gavin both helped me blow out the candles. i finished the morning by getting my brand new iphone 4 up and running :) i even used the new "face time" feature to call my sister. so cool! then i was off to the local nail salon for a little "me" time :) the sky was blue, and the sun was shining. i arrived home to homemade birthday cards, a happy husband and happy children.

... and that is all i could possibly wish for.

cookies

last friday was a good day. the kids and i were out of the house by 8:30am. we went shopping at Target and Old Navy. we had breakfast at one of our favorite cafes. we went to the park. i prepared dinner. gavin napped. brooke and i played. when i looked at my watch, i had a hard time believing it was only 3:00pm. we had done so much, yet there was still so much of the day ahead of us. so, i decided to bake. brooke took off for hanna's to make cookies so i thought i'd let gavin have his first experience helping mommy make cookies. he was very interested in the whole process, standing right next to me on his little step stool that he carries all around the kitchen to make sure he's a part of the action. he loved watching the mixer, especially as i added new ingredients. he got out his own spoon and asked for a bowl. i gave him some chocolate chips to put in the bowl, and he stirred them up. he loves to pretend to cook. he examined the chocolate chips and then plopped one in his mouth. yum. he was happy. when it came time, i put the big bowl of batter on the floor and let him dump in the bag of chocolate chips and help me stir them in. you can tell from the picture that he was thrilled. it was a fun way to pass the afternoon for both of us. we made orange chocolate-chip cookies for the first time, and they were sooo good.

chelan

we spent labor day weekend at lake chelan in eastern washington. chelan is well-known around these parts, and several people we know have 2nd houses there. the climate is so different from western washington - they're known for getting 300 days of sunshine a year!! makes sense why people living in seattle would want that :) it's a great vacation spot because it has most everything you could want - sun, water, sand, mountains, golf, good wineries and good food. we love to travel over labor day weekend because it's a great way to celebrate our anniversary (6 wonderful years!!), and this anniversary was extra special because we celebrated with our children. one of the cutest things about our trip was the fact that brooke called it "SHY-LAN" :) a couple of "firsts" also occurred on this trip - brooke went kayaking for the first time with her daddy, and brooke and gavin played putt-putt with us (well, sort of...). the kids loved it. we loved it. there's just something so special about family vacations. i love being in such close quarters for a handful of days - everyone in one hotel room. it's lights out when the kids go to bed, so kevin and i get plenty of sleep (a key ingredient in any vacation of mine :) i love eating out. i love discovering new things. we saw tons and tons of orchards on our trip. i don't think i've ever seen an orchard before. there's so much fruit that is grown in eastern washington. everywhere we looked we saw green and red apples on trees and fruit stands on the side of the road. we saw sea planes and sailboats. we built sand castles and splashed in the water. we played games and swung the kids in the air. we smiled and laughed and loved.

photo book

Click here to view this photo book larger

about once a year shutterfly gives away free photo books, and i stay up late the night before the promotion ends to get my photo book done :) this year it wasn't so hard since i had all of these great photos of brooke from her dance recital.  thought i'd share the book for everyone to see even though you've already seen the pictures.

gram

i still celebrate you on your special day, in my own quiet way. usually with a glass of wine because you sure did love your chablis. one glass and you were so tipsy. that's one of the things i remember about your later years, when i was old enough to have a glass with you. but it's the memories from my childhood that keep you alive in my heart throughout the year. i bake peach crisp in the summer and with every bite it's like you're right there with me. i keep a jar of maraschino cherries in my refrigerator. i love driving through the mountains. i look for seashells on the beach. i know to keep some lumps in the pancake mix. i love a good card game. i play christmas carols and love christmas eve more than christmas. i scream and yell at the tv during michigan football games. i love peonies. i wear the initial of my married name around my neck. i take my children to the library. i believe in myself.

thank you for being such a major influence in my life. you were everything a grandma should be and more. you live on in me.

happy birthday, gram.

preschool

brooke's 1st day of preschool was last tuesday. it was raining. kevin was out of town, and the kids and i slept in until 8:00 am so the morning began with a rush. brooke likes to take her time eating her breakfast and watching the morning shows on PBS so getting her out of the house on time was just not going to happen. gavin was supposed to have his first class at The Little Gym at 9:15, but i quickly realized i should just forget it and relieve a lot of stress. so, we did. i got everyone fed and dressed and even got to take some pictures before heading out. we picked up flowers for brooke's teachers and placed them in the homemade vase that i was up way too late making the night before :) brooke was very excited to be in her new classroom. she had a great first day and came home skipping while yelling "brooke had a lot of fun today!" when any other adult asks brooke about preschool she likes to tell them "i'm in preschool, then next year i'll be in pre-K and after that Kindergarten!!!" the girl knows where she's going. i just wish she'd slow down....