Just another Friday

For the past four and a half years we have gone to playgroup on Fridays. I love it because the kids and I know that we can always depend on Fridays. As the kids have gotten a little older we have been able to explore more of what our lovely little town has to offer and recently we explored a natural area. All of the kids walked about a mile and at the end got to play in a little pond throwing rocks and dipping their toes in. There was minimal complaining about how much we were walking (most of it from my little Lilly, she's very much a girl and too much walking rubs her the wrong way), but overall they loved it and loved exploring the world around them. Being with friends was an added bonus!

Only in Seattle

There is a must see for every visit to Seattle and that is Dicks. They have the best little burgers and they are super cheap. We love eating there, but I am pretty sure every time we walk away with a stomach ache. I am pretty sure it's just because we eat WAY to much. This time was our kids and my nieces first trip. It was a great first time except for Kyle's little...well maybe not so little...potty accident. Thankfully that was at the end of our meal.

Pacific Science center

When you grow up in Washington you have one thing in common with every other kid around you, you all visited  the Pacific science center on numerous occasions. Whether you were there for a field trip or just a fun family day you went. My husband and I are no exception. We both have very fond memories of going there and we both have been lost as children there. Hopefully though we will not lose our children though and will just stick to the find memories.

Although we don't live in the Pacific northwest any longer, we still want to help our kids to experience some of our favorite things for our child hood. This time we also we blessed to bring along my sister's daughter who was just shy of 7 months at the time. The PSC has not changed much in the past 17 years it's as if time has stood still whenever we go back, although now we are adults who get pushed out of the way so all of the kids can have a turn.

Though the kids are young still I think they really enjoyed themselves and may learned one or two new things. It is a little pricey, but if you think about the experience and learning through exposure that you are giving your kids, that right there, makes it worth every penny!

The kids and Ziff walking towards the space needle

Pacific Science center

Learning about dinos

Hanging out in a dino foot print

Leaning about salt water animals

My niece getting in some playtime

Water exploration

Discovering music

Cousin love

Learning more about animals of the ocean

Air play

St Patty's day activities

I decided to take this holiday as an opportunity to tech our kids about our heritage. My side of the family has some thick Irish blood and we are all very proud of it. Growing up I knew that I was Irish. My cousins and grandparents always talked about it,  but my dad never taught me about it. When I was older that I started learning about it on my own because I know that it's important to know where you come from. I have decided that I want my kids to grow up with a knowledge of many cultures not just the one we live in.

I tried to keep it as simple as possible seeing as the are still young. But we learned how to say hello in Gaelic and leaned about Irish step dancing by watching some youtube videos of it. (I am thankful for the internet to make teaching my children a little bit easier.) We also talked a little about Celtic crosses, shamrocks and of course leprechauns.

I also had some fun crafts to help us get in the st patty's day spirit. This year we opted not to try to catch the leprechaun and no fancy all green meal, I just thought that this year I'd give myself a little break, next year though I think we'll try to pick those two traditions back up. We did however attend the local St. Patty's day parade and this year Ziff was able to make it and our good friends and neighbors joined us also. It was a fun and festive day. A little chilly but all in all we had a great time.

Prepare for picture overload!

Making shamrock sun catchers

The finished project

Fine motor skills- Irish themed foam stickers (peeling the backs off are tricky)

Stamping with green peppers

We tried some Irish soda bread (one of my personal favorites)

I dyed some noodles and punched little holes in some shamrocks so we could make some festive necklaces

Waiting for the parade to start