Golfing with Daddy

Last weekend, Taylor got to take her first trip out to practice golf with her dad. He was showing her how to put in the living room, so the next day, he decided to take her with him while he practiced at the course. She enthusiastically went along. He took her out to breakfast and she hung out with him and "Ricky Ricky" in the morning. Apparently she got bored. He did get her a cookie and a cup of hot chocolate. I have no pictures from the experience. When Taylor came home she said, "It was boring." Maybe if she had a putter of her own, her own size, it might be a little more fun.

Lipstick

One day, while Taylor and I were home, she decided it would be fun to give me a makeover. She said she wanted to brush my hair and put makeup on me. I decided we would limit that to lipstick and powder. After she did what she wanted, putting it on me, she put the lipstick on herself. I thought she did a pretty good job. Especially since she was not looking in a mirror. I was impressed!

A Talk about Jesus with Taylor

Taylor and I are planning on going to the "Journey to the Cross" again this year. We have been talking about it, and our other plans for the weekend. We have a baby shower on Saturday. Taylor said, "Mom, after the baby shower are we going to celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead?" I said, "You mean the Journey to the Cross?" She said, "Yes. And we get to see God." I said, "You know those are people, pretending, showing us what it was like, a long time ago when Jesus lived on earth." She said, "Ya, and they ran out of wine and God makes more." I said, "Yes, that's right. You remember that part, when Jesus turned the water into wine?" She said, "Ya, but you know, they can just get wine from Costco."

Girls' Weekend in Seattle!

Taylor and her souvenir "Lucy" from the Seattle Aquarium, and the little flower I picked her off a tree.

Taylor and Holly at the Seattle Aquarium.

In March, Taylor and I had the pleasure of a "Girls Only" trip to Seattle, along with Holly and her cousins Jodi and Emily. Emily was visiting from Wisconsin and they had a trip planned and invited us along. It was a fabulous weekend! Jodi bought Taylor a little purse for the trip. Above is Taylor at one of our "potty" stops along the way. Jodi bought a GPS for the trip which was great! We called it Susan and she provided very good instruction. She would kindly tell us to turn around as soon as possible, if we made a wrong turn, to get us back on course. We stopped for a potty break and were waiting in the car, teasing about "Susan" and her instruction. I said something like, "Clearly, you have made a wrong turn." Taylor followed that up with, "Clearly, we have stopped to pee." Maybe not the most appropriate statement for the blog, but very funny if you were in the car and heard the spontaneous comment come from my four and a half year old daughter.

Jodi made all the arrangements. It was so nice! We stayed at the Marriott on Alaskan Way in downtown Seattle. We had a nice view from the room.

We checked in, got ourselves situated, and went down for dinner at a restaurant in the hotel. The food was very good!

Holly and Taylor stopped and gave me a pose along the way.

Holly, Taylor and me at dinner.

Taylor enjoyed her carrots, and fruit. She had several helpings of melon.

After dinner, we went back up to the room to change to head over to the pool.

The pool was half inside and half outside. There were no stairs for Taylor to play on and the entire pool was about four feet deep. I wasn't sure how she would like that at first, but she loved it! She became very brave, very fast. She would hold our hands, under water and kick her feet. I think she may have thought she was actually swimming a little. Holly and Taylor were on the outside portion of the pool, with the lights in the distance.

Taylor jumped from the side, into the pool to me more times than I could count. She didn't want to stop. She had so much Fun! She was so brave.

The next morning, it was a little drizzly, but that didn't detour us, Jodi, Emily, Taylor, Holly and me. We had umbrellas and started off on our walk to the aquarium.

And, really, what's Seattle without a little walk in the rain?

The first time Ben took me to the Seattle Aquarium, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. The only reason is because I grew up going to Sea World in San Diego, and there is no Shamu in Seattle. So, this was my second visit, and I must say, I was absolutely delighted. I would definitely go back.

Taylor loved the hands-on pools to gently touch (with one finger) the many creatures, like star fish, etc.

Taylor did have a small melt down for a while. She saw the gift shop, as we walked in, and wanted something right away. We're on vacation, so of course I'm going to get her something. However, I wanted to wait until she and seen all the exhibits, and maybe had a favorite animal she wanted to remember. After a little sulking, and some stern words from her mother, she changed her attitude, and we continued on.

Notice the little whale (she named Lucy) she is holding in the picture. Always happy with a "friend" (as she calls all her soft toys). We went out to lunch after the aquarium, then walked up to Pike Street.

We then walked over to Nike Town, to get Emily some new shoes. Shopping! Of course! Taylor was hilarious. There was music playing and she was strutting back and forth, doing a little dance and wiggle...

and flipping her hair. The hair flip was a new move.

This must have been all the big silly before the down time.

Shortly after that, Taylor cuddled up with Lucy and took a nap. As we were walking it began to really pour rain, and huge wind gusts blew Holly's umbrella backward. Taylor slept through it all. We ducked out of the rain, back on Pike Street, and into one of my favorite places....Crepe de France. I had a nice, delicious mocha and we all shared a strawberry and chocolate crepe. It was divine! It was actually my favorite crepe of the weekend. The rain was back to an occasional drizzle, so we began our trek back to the hotel. It is very hilly in Seattle. I love to walk it, but it can be challenging if it's rainy and you do not necessarily want to take the long way back. We each grabbed a corner of Taylor's stroller and carried the sleeping princess down a huge flight of stairs, to get down to the level near the hotel. Funny story...as we were walking back, we passed the elevator right outside the hotel, which would have been much easier, but it was an adventure.

The next morning, we took the elevator back up to Pike Street. We had breakfast at Crepe de France, because I couldn't bear to leave Seattle without having another crepe, and I really wanted to have the tomato, basil, mozzarella one that I had on previous visits, and craved.

Taylor enjoyed some little donuts. She was not so into the crepes. Crepe de France is a fabulous little place, I would definitely recommend!

We went over to the monorail and took a ride over to the space needle. I couldn't get the entire space needle, and Taylor, in the same picture.

We walked over to the Experience Music Project, Science Fiction Museum.

We actually (thanks to Holly) made our own little "rock band" video. It was fun!

There were many interactive exhibits. Taylor is doing a vocal, where she literally repeated everything she was told and sang it loud and proud....adorable!

We took the monorail back, and began our walk back towards the hotel to began our journey home.

It was one of my most favorite trips to Seattle. I loved the walking and the time spent with wonderful ladies! It was so relaxing and just a lot of Fun! The following morning, when Taylor got up, she asked, "What are we gonna do today? Can we go back to Seattle?" We have had several conversations about it, and hope we have many more fabulous trips, like that, in our future!

Just a Random Evening at Home

Taylor, hanging out with her daddy, watching TV...

Taylor's Bike Ride

We had a warmer day last week, and the sun was shining so Taylor and I went for a walk, and Taylor rode her bike. She rode it, while I pushed. She can ride it by herself, but she prefers I push. I decided to walk outside our neighborhood, around the golf course, so I could climb the hill on the other side. The handle on the bike was great for pushing her up the hill!

We decided to sneak through the golf course, taking the path that leads to our neighborhood. Golf courses are so pretty. I always worry we may be told not to take those paths, but it really is the best route. Taylor said, "Mom, I like this park." Yes, I do too, but we can't play here :)

Thanks Aunt Yolanda

I joined my Aunt Yolanda's bible study last week. It was so nice to get together with other ladies. I actually really enjoy my homework too. My aunt had a little gift for Taylor, an apron and headband she made. Taylor was at home with her daddy. When I returned home, Taylor always gets so excited, which is sweet after I have been away for a couple hours. We don't spend much time apart, Taylor and I. She loved the gift made for her by her great aunt. Thank you!

Taylor Decorates

Taylor loves to decorate. She did this espeically for her daddy :)

Halloween at Disneyland 1996

On Splash Mountain with Matt, October 1996.

My fun adventure at Silver Rapids with Taylor reminded me of one of my favorite outings with Matt. We bought special tickets for Disneyland in 1996. When we lived in Southern California, we visited several of the amusement parks pretty regularly. I knew about "Knott's Scary Farm," which was not geared for young children, but I didn't realize Disneyland did anything special, until 1996. When we arrived in the evening, because there were special times for this event, there was a huge Mickey Mouse near the entrance, in the parking lot dressed as a Sorcerer, with the broom.

It was completely decorated with all the fall festivities you could think of such as huge pumpkins and hay bales, scare crows, etc. See the "invisible" horse pulling this coach.

Matt posing near some pumpkins, placed throughout the area. Unfortunately, this was before digital cameras, so I did not take as many pictures, and could not preview them either. How did we ever manage? :) I wish I had more pictures! One of the biggest pumpkins I have ever seen was at this trip to Disneyland, but I have no picture of it.

I think this was near New Orleans Square, where the band was playing.

As we passed through Main Street, towards the castle, several of the "wicked" ladies put on a little song and dance performance, you know, Cruella di Vil, Magnificent from Sleeping Beauty, the wicked Queen from Snow White, etc. It was fabulous.

Matt was nine at the time. This was one of my favorite outings with Matt. Disneyland had trick-or-treat stations set up throughout the park. So, while children were lined up to get candy, the longest line we waited in was 10 minutes for the Indiana Jones Ride. It was wonderful. We were able to run around all over the park and ride without waiting. It was not as crowded as a typical day at Disneyland and I loved the decor.

I have not been back to Disneyland since 2000, but I do have many wonderful memories from the many trips we had there from the 1970's with the tickets (remembr the E ticket ride) through 2000, just prior to the California Adventure park opening.

My leg looks wet in this picture. It must have been taken after Splash Mountain. I hope by time I get the opportunity to take Taylor to Disneyland, it still holds many of the wonderful memories I have, to share with her.