Tulip Festival

Yesterday we spent the day at the Skagit County Tulip Festival and what a great day it was! The sun was out and there were millions of tulips everywhere - what more could a Tulip fan, such as myself, ask for? We went with our good friends Bob & Sarah - they brought their little guy, Connor (who is such a cutie pie... totally makes me want to have a boy!) and we of course had "boots" with us (we call Gracie "Boots" whenever she wears her princess moon boots)... look closely in some of the photos - you can see the infamous boots on her! Enjoy the pics!

Water! Please water!

Up until a few days ago we have had nothing but crummy weather here in Washington - I'm talking dark clouds and lots of rain - and for the most part we've all been in crummy moods to match... BUT, the last few days have been gorgeous and we haven't felt better! Saturday we planned a day at Fort Casey with my in-laws and it was sooo much fun!! It was nice to be able to get outdoors... we've been so cooped up inside it's no wonder that we've all been a little cranky!
When we arrived at fort Casey we immediately got bundled up - the wind is pretty strong there and it can feel rather cold. We then let Parker loose! There's a nice open field - perfect for puppies with lots of energy! (there's a leash law as well but we cheated a few times and let Parker go free ;) I think he really appreciated us for it!:) Gracie ran along side him - at times I wondered if perhaps she should be on a leash as well! We tossed the frisbee around and attempted to fly the $3 "Elmo" kite we had bought (last minute) for Gracie - all I can say is you get what you pay for - the thing lifted off the ground only when we we're sprinting - Gracie thought it was fun so I guess that's all that counts... of course she wasn't the one huffing and puffing around the field! We started moving our way towards the bunkers and as soon as Gracie overheard us say something about the water (the bunkers are set on a bluff that overlooks the Puget Sound) she went bonkers! She absolutely loves water! She grabbed my hand and said, "Come on mama!" I said, "Where are we going?" She said, "Water! Please water!" I said, "okay, okay!" as she literally dragged me along. We made our way up a steep flight of stairs that led us to a path down to the waterfront. Whe she saw the sparkling water she ran to the edge of the bluff and I quickly ran after her - it's a good thing that I caught up to her because as I picked her up (inches away from cliff) she said, "Jump! Jump!" She's a little crazy woman with no fear whatsoever! We played at the beach for at least a good hour (probably longer) and we had a blast! It was just a really nice day - one we'll never forget. I sure do love my little family!

My little curious Georgette...

Gracie has always been a busy beaver but lately it seems as though she's packed full of Duracell batteries and I simply can't keep up! Considering some of the recent mischief she has gotten into, it's no wonder her favorite t.v. show is Curious George... a show she can totally relate to. It only takes her a few seconds to put the capital 'T' in "trouble"... here's a few examples of what happens when I turn my back for just a couple of minutes...
The other night I was upstairs tidying up while Gracie was downstairs playing in her toy closet. After a few seconds I realized I couldn't hear her playing anymore... it had become far too quiet so I bolted downstairs - and there she was sitting in nothing but her diaper - red nail polish painted on her nearly naked body (from head to toe) and a big fat smile on her face! She thought it was cute, however, I wanted to scream bloody murder - another mess to clean up! As if that werent enough, she managed to include Parker in her "day at the spa" and now his paws and legs are marked in "cherry red'".

You would think after experiencing the above mentioned incident that I would be more leary of giving Grace even the slightest chance to "explore", but that my friends, was not the case yesterday...
While I was in our bedroom folding some laundry Gracie was two doors down in her bedroom having a tea party with some of her closest friends - "Monkers" and "Bear-bear". With my back turned to the door I hunted for a missing sock and that's when Gracie must have slipped by me... Within only a few seconds of hearing silence I quickly called out to Gracie - no answer. I went to her room - no Gracie. I called her name again and this time I heard a faint "uh-huh!" I quickly made my way downstairs and I was shocked to find my once clothed daughter, now buck-naked on my kitchen counter! She had snuck one of her tiny chairs downstairs and used it as a stool. She crawled on top of the counter and made her way into the Sugar jar... there was sugar everywhere! When I caught her she had both fists full of sugar and she was shoveling it into her mouth - I'm not sure how much sugar she downed before I could reach her but I'm guessing about a 1/2 cup! I think she has been plotting this for a few days... last weekend we baked cookies together and she got a taste of sugar when she licked some off of her fingers... she quckly said, 'please more! please more!" I of course told her 'no' and that's when I think she locked that jar into her radar! In retropsect I can recall a few times during this past week where I caught her just standing in front of the counter, eyes glazed, staring at the jars... what a crazy little girl! And she's all mine!!:)