The best recipe for happiness? Wading pools.

^I love this picture. She looks like such a little lady.^

Yesterday I took Tessa Kaye to the wading pool at the park. I love how excited she gets with everything in her life. She's such a curious little explorer. She went right in that pool and marched those chubby little legs everywhere she could. She smacked at the water and then giggled, quite pleased with the big splashes she was making. She smiled a welcoming smile to every child that was near beckoning them to come join in her fun. And every once in a while she would lift her head up, face towards the sky and let out a triumphant yell. No fear. Just curiosity and joy. And lucky me, she held tightly to my finger the entire time.

^Also one of my favorites.^

What kind of adventures are you going on this summer?

The best recipe for happiness? Family adventure to Green Lake.

Every Saturday our little family does a big family adventure. The main goal is to get us outside for a couple of hours :) Saturday we went to this awesome park in Seattle called Green Lake. We've been wanting to go out on the water for a long time but most places won't let children under one on a boat or they don't have a life jacket small enough. Although renting a water toy can be a little expensive, they have plenty to choose from. They even have these cool paddleboat type things that look like wave runners. Our boat of choice was a small yet cozy two person paddleboat. Just the right size for our little family. Below are some pictures from the day via my smart phone... just before it died :( 

^My little crawler :) ^

^Tessa was mesmerized by the water.^

^The beautiful lake.^

^Too bright!^

^Our little sailor ready to embark on her main voyage.^

I love Saturday family adventures!

The best recipe for happiness? Discovery Park.

Be sure to make the video "full screen." Much better than the little "fun size" box that blogger posts.  :)

The best recipe for happiness? Kidnapping your husband and running away to the park.

Yesterday Tessa and I convinced Brady that a trip to the park in the middle of the day was much more important than work. He didn't put up much of a fight since it was b-e-a-utiful outside. We packed up a luch and met him there. Tessa and Brady had a hoot of a time playing in the water and mom had a hoot of a time chasing the crows out of our picnic bag (they put a hole in my bag of nuts, the brave little things). Sometimes mom and dad do things that they think is awesome... Tessa not so much. Like when dad put her upside down and mom said, "hey, nice catch! Smile while I take a picture." Well Tessa didn't think pretending she was a fish was as fun as us but as you can see by the picture below she's pretty patient with her mom and pop. Fish or not, right side up or upside down I still think she's a pretty nice catch. How's that for a cheesy last liner... I've heard I'm pretty good at those.

The best recipe for happiness? An evening at the beach.

   

Yesterday we went to Mathews Park for family home evening. I decided to change it up a bit and make a video rather than make Brady take a million pictures. Let me know if you like it and we'll make sure to include those on the blog more often.  Oh, and shout out to Melissa who is spending the week with us and who just so happens to be awesome. If you're new to the blog, she's the pretty little blond too old to be my baby. We love her. Happy Tuesday!

The best recipe for happiness? A little bit of fresh air.

Over the weekend Brady surprised Tessa and I by taking us on a family hike. I loved hiking in Utah but hiking in Washington makes Utah seem like a barren wasteland (just kidding...almost). This was Tessa's very first hiking trip and I think she did pretty well! We did have to carry her in our arms half of the way but as soon as we took her out of her carrier she was smiling non stop and talking up a storm. Seriously, people were beginning to stare. Funny little chatterbox. Tessa is a beam of light. Everyone that crosses her path can feel that light and they can't help but smile at her, or talk to her, or touch her. It's intoxicating. I'm lucky enough to drink in her sweet spirit every single day and I forget what joy she brings to other people. The lush green was exactly what my soul needed. Sometimes I get so caught up in this mothering gig that I give myself little opportunity to just stop and look in awe at the splendor around me. I live in such a beautiful place and I don't want to waste any of the time our family gets to spend here. We've decided to make Saturdays our "Family Adventure" day and I can't wait to see what we end up doing next!

^If anyone has a carrier that they are just raving about, please share. This one is no bueno.^

^The bridge felt like it was a hundred feet in the air. Heights make me nervous but heights with your kids is unbearable!^

^Everything is just covered in a thick coat of moss. So GREEN!^

^This picture doesn't even do it justice and Brady is one of the best at taking pictures. It was so cool.^

When you come to visit, which I hope you do, I'd love to take you on this hike. It does the body good :)

The best recipe for happiness? When blossoms blossom.

Washington is well known for a lot of things. In my opinion, the best is its cherry blossoms. For our date night we went to University (Brady's grandma is british and says university instead of "the" university. I've been saying it that way ever since because I so want to be awesome like that.) to soak in some spring.  

^Can you believe he got that shot? Just wait. There's an even better one.^

^Apparently mommy isn't as...funny?^

^That's kind of a smile, right?^

^How would you like to find this sweet thing on an Easter egg hunt :)^

^Golden, just golden.^

^These blossoms make me want to just curl up and read Anne of Green Gables.^

Tessa and I danced in the petals and drank in the delicious perfume while Brady snapped some pictures. It was breathtaking. I hope our families make it up next year to go see the cherry blossoms. It's definitely going to be a tradition in this home.

The best recipe for happiness? Primary.

On Sunday I was called to be a teacher in primary for my church. I love it when I get that calling. Those children have a way of strengthening my testimony and make me want to be a  more Christlike person.  It's so interesting to hear about the gospel from a child's perspective. So, to celebrate I posted one of my favorite videos called "Mouth of Babes." You'll laugh whether you're religious or not because...well...kids just say the darnedest things!

Happy Tuesday!

The best recipe for happiness? Big, blue eyes.

This picture is currently our desktop background. On Saturday afternoon our little family took a trip to the park. The weather was fabulous. Brady snapped some shots of the landscape while I introduced Tessa to things like waves and ducks. Can you imagine being where she is right now? Where everything is new, just waiting to be explored. It seems so thrilling. I'm really grateful for cameras that can capture moments like this.

Today while fishing through Tessa's drawer to find her something to wear, I found the pants from this post. When she was born they were too big for her and now, even if I tried, I couldn't get them past her knees. I walked to the bathroom to watch her and Brady playing during her bath. I'll admit I got misty eyed. My baby is growing so fast. I asked time to slow down and then I blinked twice and whoosh! in a couple of days my little girl is going to be four months old. This mothering business is SO bittersweet. I love when she hits her milestones but I miss my little newborn in her bundle of blankets.

She loves to jump. She's on the verge of rolling from her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy. We'll see which comes first. She loves to rub her hands against her daddy's beard. She'll look you right in the eyes and talk to you. She smiles when we practice our ABC's (especially D for Da Da and M for Ma Ma). She has to have her thumb and her baby lamb for nap times. If it were up to her she'd already be walking everywhere. So much personality and so much love. And the best part? Those big, blue eyes.

The best recipe for happiness? Brady's younger sister and brother, Tessa's aunt and uncle, and two of my most favorite people.

I mentioned in this post that Melissa and Curtis were coming up for the weekend. Gosh, I sure love them. I don't have little siblings of my own but these two sure come close. We thought it would be fun to show them around the university's campus. We visited the library from this post and walked around the campus grounds. And of course we had to take them to Pikes Place Market because we ALWAYS take everyone who visits to Pikes (see our Pike adventures here and here). The weather was a little nippy but definitely better than Utah.

^Oh Tessa just loves that coat! More about that here.^

Brady (but I really mean me) wanted to take pictures of everything.We stopped to snap some shots on a bench which would have been really easy/fast if it wasn't for the pesky person in the middle.

^Brady: Kate you didn't smile (meaning you didn't smile right, lol).

Kate: I was smiling... with my whole body.^

^Brady: (looks at picture) Kate! Take a normal picture!

Kate: (sigh) Fine...^

^Much better.^

^Here is our very patient and did I mention awesome photographer.^

Hopefully it's not too long before those two come visit us again. Brady and I will have to go out a little more before they do because we're running out of places to take our family when they visit! 

The best recipe for happiness? Sunny days in February.

Today feels like spring and it's only February. Tessa was sun bathing in front of the window this morning. Cutest little naked thing you'll ever see. I didn't take any pictures (sorry grandmas) because I don't want to horrify her too much when she's a teenager. I'm pretty sure I'll do enough of that without naked baby pictures. Today we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of Melissa and Curtis (Brady's younger sister and brother, Tessa's aunt and uncle, and two of my most favorite people). If you're a frequent reader you'll remember reading about our adventures with Melissa here, here, and here but Curtis has yet to be a subject on this blog. I'm pretty stinking excited to spend the weekend with those two and Tessa's super excited because she thinks mom will forget about tummy time. Tessa's not a fan of tummy time.