Tag: Abby

Santa Makes A Stop In Port Gamble

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I think that it has become very apparent that one of our favorite places to go is Port Gamble. Its small, charming and has a great sense of community. So when we discovered that Santa would be visiting Port Gamble and there would be some fun festivities to go along with it, we were there! We spent the afternoon in the shops, visiting Santa’s workshop and taking part in the tree lighting ceremony and fireworks. It was a great afternoon and evening. Another fun Wharton Adventure in the history books!
Walking the road, singing her own Christmas songs.
Enjoying a stroll with daddy, talking about Santa and his reindeer.
Ellie was so excited to see Santa, I thought she might explode.
At first Ellie was a little shy but then she had plenty to say to Santa. There was a huge line behind us but Santa let her talk and tell her stories. So sweet!
Big smiles with Santa
So happy to see Santa and tell him all their hopes for Christmas, like Abby’s Barbie Dreamhouse.
Making their own Christmas cookies.
Ellie went all out with the cinnamon dots.
Abby loved the cinnamon dots too as well as all the red and green sprinkles that she could handle.
Abby’s finished cookie product. Yummy!
Ellie’s finished cookie product. Yummy!
We closed down Santa’s workshop and stopped for one last picture before we left. I wonder where Santa is off to now?
What a fun afternoon with Santa. Don’t fret though, there is still more to come!
We decided to take a little walk around  town to kill some time before the tree lighting. Ellie kept looking for Santa too. I don’t think he is here though.
Two little monkey’s in a tree!
Look who we found again! Santa was visiting the kids near the little garden and light display.
Abby and Ellie were so excited to see Santa, yet again!
A cold and gloomy night in Port Gamble. Lucky for us the rain stayed away!
The sun is setting and Puget Sound looks beautiful in the stormy, waning light.
Hot chocolate and magic candy canes make the wait for the tree lighting very easy.
Snuggling up until tree lighting time.
Santa counted down, the tree was lit and the fireworks began. What a beautiful sight to see.
Port Gamble might be a small town, but the fireworks were beautiful and very well done.
The Grand Finale!
The tree is lit and now its time to go home!

Shaun’s 36th Birthday

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Happy 36th Birthday Shaun! Happy Birthday to the best husband, father and friend anyone could ask for. We certainly hope that you enjoyed your day and evening out with the cutest girls on earth. Love you very much and again… HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Dinner out at Azteca with endless coloring for Ellie.
Ready for tacos at Azteca! Abby’s favorite!
Oh that little head and that rug burn. Its a goof thing she has a cup of lemonade to make life better.
WAIT… THE CAKE IS ON FIRE!
Goofy Daddy surrounded by his super silly girls. Love the hat Shaun!
Silly Daddy… thats not how you put the candles out!
Silly Abby… that’s not how you wear your hat!
Cake mouth!
MMMMMMMMMM CAKE!

The Mini Tree

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This year Shaun thought it would be fun for the girls to have their own little tree to decorate and enjoy. We have a big window seat and window on the landing heading upstairs that is perfect for such things. It looks right out onto the street and sits above our front door which means everyone can see something that is displayed in it.
So we headed out to Target, found a little artificial tree and let the girls pick out some ornaments and decorations for it. It was a very exciting even for them and I could tell that they couldn’t wait to decorate the tree. I love that Shaun thinks of these things for them. Such an amazing daddy!

Prepping the ornaments to put them on the tree.
Ellie is excited to decorate the tree, can you tell?!
Its a tree just their size with their very own ornaments.
Abby the elf putting the pink ornaments that she picked out on her own onto the tree.
Taking a good look at their hand work and decorating skills.
All lit up and ready for Christmas!

Tricks, Treats and Lots of Fun!

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Happy Halloween! What a fun filled day we had today. All I can say is that it sure is fun to be a kid. For Abby and Ellie the fun began at school. We lucked out that Halloween fell on a Thursday this year, which allowed for both Abby and Ellie to celebrate the day at school together. 
All classes were encouraged to dress up and the girls gladly did just that. As a compromise, they wore costumes that were different from the ones they planned to wear Trick Or Treating, that way nothing was ripped, torn or damaged before the night time festivities began.
Abby and Ellie all dressed up for their school Halloween parties! Ellie was Rapunzel and Abby was Merida.

Abby’s teacher made these awesome monster faces with petri dishes and jello for the kids. Such an awesome idea!

Slimy guts and brains! (Spaghetti for those without an imagination)

Ready for some Halloween artwork.

Halloween cookie time for Abby and her classmates.

One of Abby’s cookie creations.

Happy preschoolers with Halloween cookies.

Merida and a Ninja Turtle having a chat. 🙂

Ellie had the chance to make Halloween cookies too, she was very focused on the decorating part.

Super cute Rapunzel, if you ask me.

Love thier little class and all of Ellie’s friends. They get along so well and seem to have a great time together.

One of Ellie’s cookie creations. She ate the other one before I could get a picture of it. No shock there.

 After school we came home and attempted a nap, but I think the excitement of their time at school plus the anticipation of the night made sleeping just a tad difficult. As the witching hour grew near, we started costume prep and then waited for daddy to come home from work before out night time festivities began. As soon as he walked through the door, Abby and Ellie were off to the races.

Our porch with our cute and creative Jack O’ Lanterns.

Jasmine and Izzy reporting for Trick Or Treating duty!

Our funny faced little girls. Super cute if you ask me!

Pumpkins!

The weekend before Halloween we drove around town scoping out neighborhoods to go to. Being that we live in a town home community, we knew that the girls might be a tad limited to what they could do. So we found a few places that had some great decorations and headed that way. It was well worth it and the girls had a great time collecting their “loot” and enjoying some of the very creative decorations. Several of the homes took a lot of courage for the girls to explore but they did it and had a blast scaring themselves in the process. Ah, to be a kid!

Walking door to door through our chosen neighborhood.

This house had quite the setup with mannequins, antique cars, lighting effects and great sound effects too. Abby and Ellie weren’t too thrilled about some of it but we sure enjoyed it.

Spooky, creepy and just the right amount of Halloween fun!

Abby did not like this part but once mommy walked through, unharmed, she was ok.

We certainly missed our favorite spots back in California to Trick Or Treat and we especially missed going with friends but we found something new and fun. I am sure the more we become settled into life here in Seattle and make more friends things will change but for being new to the area again, we managed to find some fun and excitement. After a night of begging people for candy we headed to Red Robin for dinner and then it was back home yo put two tired little monkeys to bed. The car ride home was silent, so you know a good time was had by all. Until next year!

Jack O Lantern Central

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Tonight our house turned into pumpkin carving central. Halloween is nearly here and the girls are definitely ready to add their own personal touch! That and there is something super cool about playing around with the “pumpkin guts”. So our little surgeons got to work and and turned those pumpkins into their own masterpieces! As always we had a fun time with plenty of giggles and lots of smiles.
An Ellie before picture with the perfect pumpkin picked out at the farm!

An Abby before picture with the perfect pumpkin picked out at the farm!

Choosing the correct tools is serious business.

Faces are drawn and Ellie has a little sass to share with us!

Its my pumpkins nose!

All of the pieces have been removed from Ellie’s pumpkin and now its time to remove the “guts”!

Daddy is helping Abby get the pumpkin pieces out. Their pumpkins were super ripe and juicy which made cutting the pumpkins a bit tough for small hands.

Pumpkin brains!

Pumpkin brains for Abby too!

Scooping out the guts and having a blast!

EWWWWW, that feels slimy.

Pumpkin seeds for everyone.

My cutie and her finished Jack O’ Lantern. She was so proud of it!

My big girl and her adorable Jack O’ Lantern! She had a blast creating it with daddy and couldn’t wait to put it on the porch for Halloween.

We cant believe Halloween is only a few days away but we didn’t let it sneak up on us too fast this year. We made sure that we had some beautiful pumpkins to decorate our porch with. So much fun with these kiddos!

Leavenworth in the Fall = Gorgeous!

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The end of September brought the official start to fall and with it came the clouds and rain. This is Seattle after all. After nearly a week and a half of gloom and drizzle, we made the choice to take a trip and find sunshine! Impossible you say? You would have to go too far to see the sun again, wouldn’t you? Nope! All it took was an hour and a half drive into the Cascades to do it.

We had the whole day and decided to take a drive into the mountain to a beautiful Bavarian town called Leavenworth. Leavenworth sits on the eastern side og the Cascades. This might not mean much at first thought, but it means a lot when it comes to weather. While Seattle might be covered in clouds and rain, the passes and eastern side of the Cascades often boast sunshine and clear skies. Today didn’t disappoint. As we started to climb up to Steven’s Pass, the clouds quickly disappeared and pretty soon we saw the sun!

The drive through the pass and into Leavenworth was beautiful. The leaves were changing and the colors were amazing. Once we arrived immediately started exploring the area and of course we had to find something to eat.

We’re here and ready to explore!
Exploring the streets… You truly feel like you are in the Alps when you are here. I can only imagine how beautiful this place is in the winter.

We had lunch at the Baren Haus, which was delicious! I splurged a bit, but it was worth it. We also planned to do a lot of walking afterwards, so I didn’t feel too bad! After lunch we continued on our way to look at te shops, bakeries and other fun places. We found THE BEST Christmas shop, full of amazing ornaments and decorations. I really didn’t want to leave but the girls were getting antsy.

Inside Baren Haus. This place was truly charming and you could hear the band playing in the town square from here.

Sister… AKA Partners in Crime

Looking out towards the cascades. The trees and their colors were amazing to see!

Abby said walking through Leavenworth was like being in Disneyland again.

A picture with the bear was too cute to resist. They loved this guy!

Big Ellie Bear Hugs

Big Abby Bear Hugs

Streets filled with changing leaves and plenty of piles to play around in.

Our beautiful girl enjoying the sunshine and leaves.

Its raining leaves!

I love the fall and the amazing colors it brings!

Fall Sunshine and Mountain Tops

The loves of my life… and boy are they silly!

Rolling down the hills into piles of leaves. The joys of being a kid!

As we explored the streets, the girls took interest in the horse-drawn carriage they kept seeing. Ellie was completely in awe over it and kept beggining us to go for a ride. We held off until after lunch and some sightseeing and then went on a hunt for the carriage. After asking around, we learned that she would pick up at the maypole near town square (how adorable is that?). It was getting late though, and everyone was pretty unsure as to how long carriage rides lasted. We waited and waited some more and still no sign of the carriage. Just as we were about to leave with one broken hearted and crying Ellie, the carriage came around the corner. Talk about luck!

Very excited for a carriage ride around town.

The Wharton’s out on the town… Old Timey Style!

The ride was fun and we had the chance to talk with a very nice woman. Her little dog rides up front with her which is completely adorable. The poor little guy is blind and partially deaf but the cutest thing you have ever seen. A mutt that whimpers every time he smells another dog and is happiest when he is up riding with her. The girls giggled each time he moved and had a great time.

The carriage ride capped off a day of fun and afterwards we headed to the car and went home. The girls fell asleep almost instantly so the ride home was relaxing and quiet. I know that both Shaun and myself cannot wait to come back here again. What a great little escape. Until next time Leavenworth!

Pumpkin Picking at the Farm

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Realizing that Daddy was missing out on all of the fun, the girls decided that they wanted to take him to the farm for some pumpkin picking fun. If Abby and Ellie each had a pumpkin to carve, mommy and daddy needed one too! So off to the farm we went!
When we arrived, the farm was very busy and the day was cloudy and a bit chilly but we didn’t let that stop us from having fun. We found a spot, snagged a wheelbarrow and set out to find the perfect pumpkins for us. The pumpkins weren’t all that important to Shaun and I but the fun being had while searching for them is priceless. 
“How about this one mommy and daddy?!”
The pumpkin patch at The Farm at Swans Trail. What a great place!
“Look, we found some corn!”
A few of the contenders to come home with us.
I think we found a few extra large and odd shaped pumpkins. That’s some heavy lifting!

Sisters in a wheelbarrow
Our cute little pumpkins.

After picking out our pumpkins, we packed them into the car and then took some time to explore the farm with daddy. We decided to check out the animals, the barn and stopped for a few yummy treats in their event barn. Abby even held a kitten all on her own! big steps for our girl.

“Look I am holding a kitten!”
Abby would have taken the kitten home if she could. It was so sweet and cuddly with Abby.
Ellie had the chance to hold the kitten too! With a little help from Daddy.
Yummy caramel apple! As big as my head!
“I cant wait to eat this!”
Maybe if I lick it, I can eat it faster!
We had fun in the barn maze and ended with a fun slide.
Its time to slide!

Our day out at the farm was so much fun. Even though it was busy the day was magical and so much fun. Days like these, the simple ones, are sometimes the best to have. We had the best laughs today!

West Seattle Fun

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Today was just too beautiful of a day to sit around and do nothing at home. So we decided to hop into the car and go for a drive. We didn’t have any thing planned and pretty much made things up as we went. Good thing I always bring my camera with me when we travel like this!
Because of the quick change into fall that was happening all around us, we decided to head over to West Seattle and check out some of our favorite and old neighborhoods over on that side. We knew the fall colors in those areas would be spectacular and it didn’t disappoint. We also knew that the sunny day would give for a great view of the city and of course, it did.
Sunny Seattle skyline from Alki Beach.
It may be sunny but the breeze is a bit chilly. Good thing sisters are great for snuggles.
On the ferry from Fauntleroy to Southworth.

After our stop at Alki Beach we thought about going home and then decided to make an adventure out of the rest of the day instead. So, we headed on over to the Fauntleroy ferry and headed to Southworth which is on the other side of the sound and south of Bainbridge. That was a pretty ride, especially close to late afternoon.

Once on the other side, we quickly stopped to get the girls sweatshirts (we managed to forget them at home and it ended up being pretty cool outside). After a little shopping we continued on and Shaun decided to take a different way home, one that Abby has been very curious about. This time, instead of heading to Bainbridge to take the ferry we headed to Bremerton. Abby always sees the Bremerton ferry during our travels from Seattle to Bainbridge and asks to go on it. Well this time, she did! Its a longer trip and goes past some pretty areas along the sound. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see much. By the time the ferry arrived and we were on it, the sun was setting. That’s OK though, we had a great time anyway! Once again, you never know what kind of adventure we might go on.

Abby’s Trip to the Farm

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After a fun filled weekend, it was Abby’s turn for a trip to the farm. She was very excited and because we found a wonderful babysitter to watch Ellie, it also meant that she had the chance to have some quality Mommy and Abby time. Yup, mommy was excited too! Its not often that I get the chance to have some quality one on one time with my girls.
We were hoping the day would be sunny, it was supposed to be, but the morning brought cold weather and heavy fog. It was chilly, very chilly but that didnt stop Abby from having a great time. She had heard Ellie talk about it so much over the last week and now, she finally had the chance to experience it for herself.

We finally made it! Its cold and wet but Abby is ready for some fun!
First up… the Barn Maze and slide! Abby went down the slide several times before she was told we had to leave.
Abby really loved the goats. She says she wants one. That and a puppy.
Petting the new little kittens at the barn. I was so proud of her for petting them. She also pet the farms old basset hound too! Way to go Abby!
Not only did she pet a kitten, she pet the kittens mommy who was keeping watch near by.
Abby and her buddy Nathan
On the tractor heading out to the patch to find the perfect pumpkin.
Out with all of her classmates, searching for the right pumpkin to take home.
Abby found the one! It was heavy and she wanted to put it down right away, hence the look on her face.
Playing in the corn house with her friends from school.
Wranblin’ some steer on the farm.
Rubber Ducky races…
Abby’s ducky won!
Waiting for the real duck race to begin…
Go Ducks Go!
And they finally pass by. The white duck in the lead, named Aflac, is the one Abby chose. He won!
Farmer Abby is finishing up a few chores before quittin’ time.

The day at the farm was perfect and Abby found a pretty amazing pumpkin. After the tractor ride, the kids had ice cream and then it was time to leave. Now Abby had so much to share with Ellie when she got home. I loved seeing the excitement on their faces when talking about the farm. I have a feeling we will be going back there again before Halloween. Hopefully Daddy will be able to come with us!