Kids concert in Kirkland

This was one of Talisha's last meet ups with her MOPS group in Redmond. They met at the Marina Park in Kirkland to hear a childrens concert. Braedyn loves live music of any kind so he got right in the center of the pack to show off his moves. Then we walked the short distance over to lake washington to practice another favorite past time of Braedyn's, rock throwing. We had just gotten back from Santa Barbarbra a few days before so I think he still had warm weather and beach images floating through his mind when he waeded into the water up to his waist fully dressed (pants and shoes) before mom got a hold of him. Not to mention it was about 60 degress, maybe, that day but he didn't seem to notice. Talisha got cold though fishing him out.

Redmond Farmer's Market

We made one last trip to the Redmond Farmer's Market last weekend. It was a pretty nice day so we rode our bikes from our house, down the Sammamish River trail to the Redmond Town Center where the market is. Berries were in abundance there and they were really chep so we picked up a box of juicy treats, which mostly ended up in the tummy of a little boy we know who immediately sat down in the middle of the market to begin eating them... One of the things that the market is know for by our son is Kettle Corn. So we picked up a bag of fresh popped corn to enjoy.

Last Goodbyes

We've been taking Braedyn to some of his favorite spots to say his last goodbyes so to say... There was a nice sunny day to play in the fountain at the Redmond Town Center, and a long session of rock throwing in the Sammamish River near our house!

Swings

Braedyn is starting to like swings more and more lately!

 
 

Washington friends

We've been trying to see some friends before our big move. Braedyn and Talisha got to go hang out with the twins last week and it sounds like they all had a lot of fun together. Then Braedyn got to hang out with Juene and Eva at our house, Eva is always a favorite of Braedyn's as she gives him constant attention and is lots of fun to hang out with. We also had a family picnic with Justin, Amiee, Eva and Juene (spelling?) at a park on a nice day. We BBQ'd out and played in the water a lot. We'll miss the friends that we have made in Washington, but hope to keep in touch with people and welcome all to come visit us.

Airplane toys

When daddo was a little boy flying around the world he remembers always getting a new toy for a flight. It was usually a new, small lego set or something like that. We've carried on that tradition and it's been working out great. This trip we grabbed a fun learning game from a kids store called Chicken Little in Santa Barbara and it was a hit. Braedyn played with it for at least an hour of the flight before he took to jumping across the aisle between mom and dad!

 

We are Homeless!

Well, the movers finished packing and loading our house today and our stuff is somewhere on the road on its way to Carpinteria, CA. We are hanging out in a nice hotel in downtown Redmond for the rest of the week until our one-way flight Saturday morning to Santa Barbara. The weather this week in Redmond has been typical Seattle weather being cool and spitting rain, but we've been making the most of it by still heading to the parks pretty much every day including a Subway picnic at Marymoore park Sunday after church that got rained out and blown away. One thing we will miss about all that rain is the beautiful greenery it produces and the peacfulness of the pitter patter on the roof as you're falling asleep.

Climbing trees

Although they're not too high quite yet, Braedyn has become more and more interested in climbing trees. This of course makes daddo very happy as it won't be long until the love of climbing things and the love of rocks converge into a sport daddo has always enjoyed! Here we are waiting for our plane at the Santa Barbara airport, it only takes a few minutes to clear security from this nice grassy area so it makes for a more enjoyable flying experience.

 
 

Street Performers

Another thing that will captivate this kid without fail is any live music with a beat. It's even better when he can become part of the act either by dancing or by making the music himself. On this occasion, after dropping a few dollars into the tip jar, Braedyn was invited to join in the bongo playing with this Santa Barbara street performer. Braedyn had a blast and had to be removed from the area by dad or we would still have been there today! The guy here was quite good and was able to make a good beat around Braedyn's toddler drumming which made him all the more excited to keep playing.

 

Fountains

There are fountains everywhere in Santa Barbara county and toddlers are naturally drawn to them of course. Braedyn always wants to try to scoop the money out of them or beg a penny off mommy to throw in. If money is too hard to come by then he'll try rocks or sticks or whatever else is laying around. Mom and dad will be watching closely, but we hope that Santa Barbara's fountains are ready for this kid.

 

Santa Barbara Carousel

On our last day in CA this past week we were hanging out in Santa Barbara and hit the carousel for a ride. Of course Braedyn was VERY excited about this and was talking about it all day!

 
 

We noticed the carousel had been made in North Tonawanda, NY, which is where Mike and Kelly Hobbs live! So we had to put this one up for you guys! Now you have another reason to come visit us in CA.
 

Posing in a Tree

We found a nice tree to take some cute pictures in.

 
 

Overlook

Braedyn and daddo hanging out on the cliffs overlooking Santa Barbara channel at the Bluffs Nature Preserve.

 

Visitors Already?

We haven't even moved there yet, but already we had visitors! This past week we were back in Carpinteria, Michael at work and Talisha and Braedyn hanging out at the beach. We also settled on a rental home that we will be moving into shortly. Our friends Jon and Heather Rose from Colorado came up to see us for a day as Jon has been doing some work in Los Angeles recently. We had a lot of fun with them hanging out on the beach and also taking a short hike at the bluffs nature preserve. We went there to see the seals, but they are apparently somewhere else as there were none to be found, but at least the flowers were in bloom!

 

Sunset

We got spoiled by the sunsets along the front range of Colorado, and always missed seeing their beauty in the Seattle area since the overcast skies typically block them out. But this week in Carp, we were reminded again of the awesome painting the skies depict each evening. We're looking forward to a lot more of these gorgeous pictures in the future!

 

Hot Lava

We headed to the Padaro Beach grill in Carp for dinner and they had a live band playing there just for kids. The band was called Hot Lava, they sang different kids songs to a little more upbeat tune! Braedyn absolutely loved it and we could barely get him to sit down to eat any food. He was running around, dancing, and trying to take over the lead guitarist's spot on stage.

 
 

MOPS

Every other week this year in Redmond, Talisha was in MOPS, which is Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers. She had a lot of fun and met a lot of good friends there. Braedyn had fun as well getting to go play with a bunch of other kids. Some of the moms got together for some outside playgroups as well, and this was sort of a last playdate for them all for the year.

Ooba's

One of our family traditions is to go swimming at the Pro Club on Friday evenings and then head to downtown Redmond and go to Ooba's for some mexican food. Braedyn has come to really like the food there and will actually sit and eat most of it. With the nice summer days here lately we've taken to riding our bikes to Ooba's along the Sammamish River trail. With our upcoming move, Ooba's will be one of the things that we really miss about Redmond.


 

Seattle Seafair

We headed down to the shores of Lake Washington once again this year for the annual Seafair Airshow. We got to the beach park with plenty of time for a picnic lunch and some playing in the sand and mud before the show started. There were a couple of different shows including a performance by the Blue Angels that was pretty cool. Braedyn really had no interest in looking at the planes and wanted only to stick his hands in the mud. The planes were pretty loud and scared him a little bit a couple times, but all in all it was a fun day and is certainly worth the traffic hassles.