Evergreen State Fair 2013

We spent the entire day at the Evergreen State Fair today, just the three of us.  What a spectacular day!  It wasn't too hot, it wasn't too crowded, and we all had a blast together!

As soon as we entered the gates, the first thing we saw were pony rides for kids.  So of course we had to get Samantha a turn!  She loves all kinds of animals and was so excited at the prospect of riding a pony!! 

Such a natural!

What a beautiful little cowgirl!

We asked her what she wanted to do next and, no surprise, she wanted to ride the carousel.  We did take a little detour on the way over there to get our annual "Old Fashioned Frontier Photo" together as a family.  The last two years we've made the mistake of waiting too long to go do this and so Samantha looks exhausted in each of those pictures.  Not this year!  She was all smiles!



Our annual "Old Fashioned Frontier Photo."
(Sorry, it's a picture of a picture
and those just never turn out!
It really is a great picture though!)

After the photo shoot we made our way over to the kiddie rides.  Holy frijoles, rides are expensive!  We opted for the bracelet allowing Samantha access to ride any of the rides for which she was tall enough.  Hey, at 41" tall, let me tell you, she got to go on LOTS of rides!  Some either required she be accompanied by an adult or, at least it made me feel better if she had one of us with her, so we bought some ride tickets for Ed too!  (I'm not really a fair/carnival ride kinda person anymore...)

At any rate, we sure got our money's worth out of that bracelet.  Samantha must have been on 15-16 rides throughout the day and loved every minute of it!

I think the carousel is her favorite...

Riding the swings with Daddy

Happy little driver...

...and boy, she takes those turns seriously!

All aboard!  The train ride.

The only type of motorcycle she'll
EVER be allowed to ride! :)

We convinced her to take a break from the rides for a bit while we went and strolled through the animal exhibits.  We saw cows, goats, sheep, pigs, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats (we saw the cat exhibit three times at Samantha's request! :), horses...I think that's it!  Like I said, Samantha loves all kinds of animals.  It wouldn't surprise us a bit if she becomes a Veterinarian when she grows up!

After and in between animal exhibits, we wandered through some of the other displays, grabbed a bite to eat, and then Samantha was up for more rides!  Before that though, we found a small exhibit all about farming, so we took a break for Samantha to pick and apple, dig up a potato, find an egg, and milk a cow.

Learning how to milk a cow

Learning where all the food she picked goes and separating
it accordingly

At the chainsaw carving exhibits. 
Some of the things they make are just amazing!

On a smaller version of the swings
all by herself

Leaving on a jet plane!

Riding in the big bear.  Samantha and Daddy did NOT
like this ride...

With Daddy on her first roller coaster!

Back to the carousel - told you she loves this thing!

So excited she got the BLUE car this time!

AND the BLUE motorcycle.  She loves blue!

What a ham! :) Look at that smile!

Back on the train, this time in the caboose!

At the end of our fantastic day, we followed through with our tradition of buying a baker's dozen Fisher Scones for the road.  :)  The fair wouldn't be complete without them!

Mmmmm, scones!

We always tease that this is just the "warm up" fair because in a couple of weeks, we're off to the Puyallup Fair for the day.  But you know, this really was a perfect day and we enjoyed every minute at the Evergreen State Fair this year!

On our way out to the car after the perfect Fair day!

Farm Fest and the Museum

This morning, we started out our day at a "Farm Fest" at a local farm in Snohomish.  It wasn't very impressive, unfortunately.  On the bright side though, Samantha did enjoy the time in the small hay maze, racing rubber ducks, and riding the cow train...TWICE!  Our purchase of kettle corn made the morning complete, as we headed off for new adventures.

Samantha and Daddy in the hay maze

Samantha and Mommy in the hay maze

Riding the cow train - Samantha's cow was named, "Susie Q"

Samantha and Daddy in the giant pumpkin

At the duck races

Dancing in the play house

We drove through Snohomish, on roads that twisted and turned to places we'd never before seen, until we ended up in a familiar place--Monroe.  We decided to see what, if anything, was going on at the fairgrounds.

While there were no events happening, the Western Heritage Center there was open and not at all busy.  This was great for us because it meant the folks that worked there were excited to see visitors and showed us every part of the museum.  Samantha loved pushing buttons to see play trains move, grinding corn into corn meal with a hand crank, running a washing machine from the early 1900's, making her own rope out of twine, and walking through the model of a mine.

Pedaling the mini-tractor

This is the rope twisting machine Samantha
used to make a piece of rope to take home

More duck races (notice the rope she made around her waist)

Plugging her ears and blowing the train whistle

Since they weren't busy, they even took us for a ride in a motorized Surrey (with the fringe on top! :) and let Ed drive one of the riding lawn mowers.  Attached to the back of the lawn mower was a trailer in which they put two chairs; one for me and one for Samantha, so we could enjoy the ride around the fairgrounds too!

Riding with Mommy in the trailer while Daddy drove
the lawn mower

Daddy - what a good driver!

Samantha posing in the Surrey

I was so impressed!  We went there not expecting a whole lot but this was the easy favorite of the day!  If you're ever in Monroe, stop by and check it out!

Blueberry Season

It's blueberry season again so Samantha and I decided to go to a local U-Pick Farm and pick a few pounds of blueberries.  Samantha was a big help this year.  Though she still ate quite a few, she really got excited about picking berries.  What's funny is that when we get home with the berries, she's not as excited about eating them, but we use them in pancakes, smoothies, breads/muffins, and I just like to eat them frozen!  :)  I love this time of year with all of the fresh fruits coming into season!

Ready to pick blueberries

Looking for just the right berries...

Ok Mom, I'm done now.  I'm just going to
rest in this wagon for a bit while you pick.

Dressed for Spring!

Spring brings a whole new set of wardrobe possibilities and while I have never been known for being fashionable, I love to dress up Samantha!  Give me a hoodie and a pair of jeans and I'm happy, but Samantha?  Yeah, I love finding cute clothes for her.

Ready for church!  Love the coat!

First attempt at double French braids! :) 
(Yay, Mommy!)

After church and a fun day in nursery!
I love the cute ruffle socks!!

And...the goofy pose - puffing her cheeks!

NATS Vocal Adjudications 2013

Every year, the Puget Sound Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) holds vocal adjudications.  I haven't participated the last two years, so I was excited to be a part of it again this year.  To add to my excitement, one of my voice students entered to sing as well.

Since one of my students was also singing, I had the opportunity to be an adjudicator.  That meant that I got to listen to others sing, provide written feedback, and, along with the other judges, select first and second place winners, and other students to receive an honorable mention.

This was a great experience.  I enjoyed learning new pieces, providing feedback, and rubbing shoulders with other voice teachers.  The best part?  The fact that my student received an Honorable Mention on his first time in the NATS adjudications!

As for me, I was in a tough category.  I got to listen to 4 other students in my category and I must say, I was so impressed with the singer right before me that when I found out she received 1st Place, it neither surprised nor upset me.  She truly deserved it!  I also got the opportunity to sing in the same category as my sister.  It's so much fun to have something we can do together!  She recorded my pieces (though due to technical difficulties, the first piece didn't record).  At any rate, here are two of my four pieces :)  I received an Honorable Mention in my category!

Birthday Celebration!

I am feeling much better today!  In the mood to celebrate, even!  That's a good thing, because my family is going out to The Olive Garden tonight to celebrate my birthday.

As our family has grown :) and it's difficult to go out with kids, we get a babysitter to stay with Samantha, Thomas, and Riley so we can go out for dinner.  It was fun to spend time with my family.  Afterward, my family came over and we had ice cream cake and opened presents.

Dairy Queen ice cream cake - one of my favorites!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day.  We celebrate it every year...oh wait, that's because it's also my birthday!

This year, my birthday falls on a Sunday, which means we will go out to celebrate tomorrow evening instead.  I was looking forward to a quiet day with my family...I was not counting on a migraine headache all day long!  Ugh!  I felt so crummy most of the day - we didn't even sit down for dinner until 9pm!

Oh well - maybe tomorrow will go better! :)

Happy "Pi" Day!

Yeah, I know, it's corny.  Kind of clever, but definitely corny.  It's "Pi" Day!  ...Because it's 3/14 today, (3.14).  You know, Pi, the Greek letter, the mathematical constant, 3.141592654...

So, in honor of Pi Day, or maybe it's just an excuse to eat yummy food, I made Pizza Pie for dinner!

Mmmmmmm, pizza....

Cooked to perfection!

 And, while the rest of the world cleverly celebrated with actual pie...I made Apple Turnovers! :)  Yeah, I don't like pie crust very much, but flaky, puff pastry dough?  Mmmmmm...

Did I mention the filling is homemade, canned fresh last Fall?

And the frosting?  Nope - this didn't come from any can!!
You know you're jealous!  :) 

So, corny as it may be, I'll take the excuse for this yummy dinner and treat anytime!

Imagine...

A couple of weeks ago, my mom gave us some free passes to the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett that she had received from a friend.  Since those passes expired at the end of February, we got to go twice last week.

Neither of us had been there before but had heard great things about it.  Samantha had a blast!  When you walk in, there's a treehouse with hand puppet animals inside.  We climbed up the stairs by the treehouse and discovered the library (Samantha LOVES books). 

Samantha with a squirrel puppet in the treehouse

As we headed back downstairs to explore some more, we discovered the water room, the farm, the trains, and the huge play area up on the roof!

Samantha milked, patted, and kissed the cow in the farm area

On the tractor

Loving the trains - choo, choo!!

The water area is one of her favorite places there

On the roof they had some "safari vehicles"
so Samantha took a turn "driving"

Huge play structure up on the roof area.
She didn't go down any of the slides,
but loved climbing all over the jungle gym!

In the basement there was a construction room, so
here she is in her safety gear.

Before we knew it, 2.5 hours had passed and they were closing up for the day.  Samantha was NOT ready to go home, but the prospect of coming back to play in a couple of days with her Aunt Missi and Cousin Tommy helped us make it out the door without a tantrum :)  Well, that and the statue of the dog outside the front entrance.  Have I mentioned that Samantha loves animals?!

Hugging the dog, telling him she loves him
and that she'll be back soon. (So sweet! :)

On our second trip there, Samantha and Tommy had fun on the fire engine but it was all over when Samantha found the Veterinary Office!  She was in heaven!

Tommy on the fire engine - what a cutie!

Samantha's turn on the fire engine...

In heaven in the veterinary office.  Look at
her giving all the animals check-ups!

I'm still thinking about an annual membership but I'm not sure yet. If just Samantha and I go more than 5 times in a year, it would pay itself back. Might not be a bad idea considering it's a great day to play on a rainy day and there's always something more to learn!