Tumwater Falls...a recruitment destination

I thought this would me a good time for me to show you all a little part of the beauty in Washington. Maybe, this will make you all more likely to think "hmmm, this is where we should go on our next vacation!!" (hint, hint Amber and Scott)

About five minutes from where we live there is a great little park called Tumwater falls. It has a gorgeous little trail, perfect for the short attention span of a 2 year old (ahem, Candise that was your hint. Although, I am sure Eliza Jane would be happy identifying plant and animal life). At the end of the loop there are some breath-taking falls which I am sure could be viewed as quite romantic (mom and dad, there is yours). The entire park is a lush green forest leaving much to be identified(Paul, mr. grass man, I figured that would draw you in)

The trail is wide enough that many people come to jog or exercise (melody and kimmy...don't forget your jogging strollers. Marianne, don't forget your running shoes.)



As for the rest of you...I am sure you would want to come even if you didn't have kids or a jogging stroller!

I hope you have enjoyed a short tour through this fabulous destination. Also note that there are about one hundred other spectacular parks just minutes away if you didn't get you fill!!

There will be more recruiting posts soon enough...I hope to see you all soon ;)

For the Utah Nana...

I am sure my parents are wondering if Jack had grown up since we left just two weeks ago...I think he has!

hereditary eating habits??

I had an interesting conversation with Scott's mom a few days ago. I was feeding Bianca and she mentioned that when she first started solids with Scotty he would have a hard time swallowing. He found that if he stuck his thumb in his mouth it would help suck the food down. I thought it was odd and had never recalled seeing anything like that. Just as we were having that conversation this was the scene:

She was doing exactly what her daddy did. she sticks those two fingers in her mouth and sucks to help swallow, then pulls them out when she is ready for more. Interesting. hmmm, it does make for a much larger mess to clean up!

so, the question is...what do YOUR kids do just like their daddy or mommy?

The Great Northwest

We have safely, but uncomfortably arrived in Olympia, Washington (only after the AC in my car broke half way through the trip, ugh!!). We are living with Scott's gracious parents for a couple of months while we look for a place to live and get things situated. The room we are staying in is actually bigger than our first apartment so we are feeling really lucky! Scott has started his job for the state and enjoys crunching numbers all day (before this he would actually make formulas and play with numbers for fun, so it's nice that he is getting paid for it!) Jack is adjusting to life with cousins around, I think it's going to take some time...The poor kid just can't seem to keep up!

Since we had been here I have noticed several differences that remind me that I am not in Utah any more...here is what I have observed:

-The garbage cans are TINY because people actually recycle here. In fact, they have "recycle" and "yard waste" cans that are much bigger as an incentive...genius.

- It's HUMID!!! In my life I think I have maybe gone through three sticks of deodorant because I simply don't sweat. Let me tell you something, it has been really hot here that last few days and I have felt drops of sweat fall down my back...DROPS. I don't think I will ever get used that. On the up side, my hair is amazing in the humidity.

- The wine selection of the grocery stores easily takes up one entire row...you definitely don't see that in Utah!

- Because it is usually overcast you get spectacular light to take pictures. I was making the bed and bianca just happened to be sitting there in some great light...I couldn't resist those chubby cheeks



-Produce is cheaper but everything else is more expensive. 77 cents for a carton of yogurt, you've got to be kidding me...looks like Scotty will be down-grading to store brand yogurt instead of Yoplait for his lunches!

Well. there you have it folks. We are really enjoying ourselves here and look forward to what the next few months has in store. Hopefully soon life will get back to a bit more normal pace...until then I will just keep wiping the sweat off my face and try and get this whole "recycling" thing down!

In the Land of Baby...

I think many of my posts lately(not on purpose of course) have taken you on a trip through toddler-ville, with Jack as the capitol. Today however, we will take a slight detour into the land of Baby where Bianca is the Queen. This little ray of sunshine gets more and more beautiful with every passing day. She is nearly 6 months old and loves to roll around and I think she will be sitting up in no time. She also has one tooth and another on the way(hallelujah for Ora-gel and Tylenol!!) Bianca usually has a big grin for anyone that will smile at her and especially loves to be tickled under her chin. Weighing in at just over 17 lbs. this girl is well fed and has plenty of cute baby chub to go around.

These beautiful blues are enough to just about knock you over!

I hope you enjoyed your trip through the Land of Baby...I promise to be a more frequent visitor in the future!