Beach babes of the Pacific NW

Warning: This will be part one of what will probably be a three part series about our trip to the Olympic Peninsula this weekend. Our goal was to endulge my fangirlness (new word!) and visit the Twilight hotspots around Forks and Port Angeles, but it became so much more.

My children were all born in Seattle and are 100% children of the Pacific Northwest. Isabelle crumbles if she's in temperatures above 75 degrees. Sophia shields her eyes and screams on days the sun is shining full blast. And Hudson sunburns in two seconds if left unattended without sunscreen. They are in their element when its cloudy, raining, and cold. This point couldn't have been proven more true than our trip to the beach this weekend.

As part of our Twilight tour, we went out to La Push and visited First Beach. The temperature outside? A "balmy" 63 degrees. Conditions? Cloudy with occassional sprinkles and a breeze. Water temperature? About a chill 50 degrees. My children? In their bathing suits running into the suf.

I probably don't need to point out that the rest of the spactators on the beach were wearing jeans, sweatshirts (jackets in some cases) and fingers twitching towards their cellphones, no doubt aching to call Child Protective Services on us. Hey, this is how my kids like it...ocean to themselves!

We're at the beach? Everyone jump for joy!

In Isabelle's case, not even being without a bathing suit can keep her out of the water

This is the face we get when we say it's time to leave.

They're like sharks on the shore, watching and waiting for the perfect wave to play in

They run in the water, run from the water...just let my kids lose at a beach and they will be entertained for hours. The colder the better!!

Summer crushes

As summer (supposedly) makes its way to my neck of the woods, each morning I take a glance at my closet and realize I'm not quite as ready as I'd like to be for warmer weather. Not that I'm ready to part completely with my skinny jeans, sweatshirts and thermal tees, but I realize that my legs actually might like to see the sun should it ever come out for an entire day. That being said, needed additions to my closet have resulted in my scouring the internet to figure out exactly *what* direction I'd like to go for the summer. As a result, we have my top three crush items of the moment. This will probably change by next week, but for now this is what I've got on my mind.

Crush #1: Anthropologie

Last week it was the cute items that H&M had splattered across my new Lucky, this week it's Anthropologie and all their adorableness. More specifically, the cute layering of dress/cardigan/belt like pictured below. Ugh. Must have. Double ugh. Must find more money to afford Anthropologie.



Crush #2: Cross body saddle bag/messenger bag

This seems like the perfect hands-free, yet holds a lot of crap bag for the summer. Durable enough that I won't have a stroke when I drop it on a sandy beach or grassy lawn, yet cute enough to take to dinner. I had found a less expensive version a bit ago on http://www.shopbop.com/ but failed to buy it before it sold out. Lesson as always: if you really want it, get it before it's gone. For now, I found this Lucky Brand Abbey Road bag. At $178 I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet, until I fully feel I've exhausted my search for a comparable alternative, but I'm getting close. I see this bag being highly versatile and something that can get a lot of use into fall and winter.

Crush #3: Gray shoes

My love for gray shoes actually started months ago, but I've found I'm very picky about exactly what type of gray shoe I want, and in turn the shade of gray. A couple of months ago, when it was colder, I had found a great pair of Steve Madden boots that were sold out before I even had a chance to blink. My hunt continued to no avail, until these cute little booties popped up on Nordstrom. Perfect to wear with jeans during the summer, these should hold me over until I can begin a boot search again in the fall. And at $99, these Nine West beauties are pretty affordable. Must move before they're gone...


What are *you* crushing on for summer?!?

iPhone Pic #1

The love I have for my Nikon is probably quite clear to all who know me, but the love I have for my iPhone isn't far behind. Picture taking isn't the best, but sometimes you have to make the most with what you've got, right? With that, I'm challenging myself to post one iPhone pic a week. The photo will be taken with my phone and adjusted using FREE apps (cause I'm cheap like that).

Here we go...

Bench Warmer

Summer is here! (fingers crossed)

After much anticipation, it seems summer *might* have finally arrived in Seattle. Gorgeous, clear blue skies blessed us with their presence this weekend, and we took full advantage of it. Friday Isabelle had a sleepover with a friend, so we took the little ones to watch our friend's son play his first game of a weekend soccer tournament. Saturday was spent getting ready for the end of season party at the house, a Kid v. Parent soccer game (kids won...), and then wrapped with our party. WooHoo! (Note: I'm not as young as I think. Just saying.) Sunday, after much moaning and groaning to get my sore self out of bed, Todd took off to play another (all adult) soccer game and I took the kids to West Seattle for low tide, one of our favorite activities in Seattle. As always, they had a blast.

My three little ducks in a row

Isabelle actually dug this clam up on the beach. It was huge!

Sophia loved sitting in the warm tide pools and playing with the sand.

Boy + Sand = Love at first sight!


My girls sitting in the tide pool with a beautiful Seattle backdrop

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday!

~ Shannon

But we just started...

Seems like yesterday I was writing about spring soccer starting and now we've already come to a close. Last Sunday was the final game of the Monsters' spring season, and they went out with a bang. The Monsters played probably their best overall game of the season, and walked away with a 6-1 victory to finish the season 6-1-1. Isabelle scored two goals and an assist in the final game to bring her goal total for the year to 14, with who knows how many assists (yeah, we don't keep track of them...sue us). This was easily Isabelle's best season to date and she did nothing but make us proud week after week. Not just for her goal scoring, which she scored in every game but one this season, but for her drive, determine, hussle, and constant ability to change a game and be a competitor. She never gave up, even when the game got tough or she got hurt, and she would often turn the tide to bring the momentum back our way; she truly showed leadership on the field. Best of all, she had FUN this season! Go Monsters!!

Waiting to get in on the action

Isabelle with Coach Todd and Coach Jeff



2010 Spring Monsters
Back row (l to r): Coach Jeff, Amanda, Emilia, Gracie, Kielee and Coach Todd
Front row (l to r): Sydney, Isabelle and Riley

Public Service Announcement

I'm diverting a little from the norm today to make a public service announcemnt. Smoking is bad, people. It's a disgusting habit that should be banned EVERYWHERE. ALL THE TIME. FOR GOOD. In the US alone, approximately half a million people die from smoking related illness each year. That's...disgusting. That being said, if you're going to smoke, you sure as hell better look like this:

28 days until Twilight Eclipse opens. I can hardly contain myself. Todd is probably sick of hearing about it, but I'm giddy like a school girl. Two hours of new Robert Pattinson as Edward? Swoon. Have a good one. And don't smoke!

We missed the memo for summer

Memorial Day weekend reigned wet and cold in the Emerald City this year. We barely cracked 60 degrees and it rained every day. Not until nearly 700 on Monday did the sun decide to show its lovely shine. Nice. Just in time for bed. Whatever, weather, be a stingy bitch. As the pictures below show, we just don't care. We're hearty Seattleites! Rain or shine, we're off on an adventure.

Sophia walking the grounds at Kelsey Creek Park

Isabelle strolling the path at Kelsey Creek looking at the horses

My sweet girls

Hudson running through a muddy field

Old farm equipment that obviously didn't hold up as well in the weather

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend! And that your weather was better than ours.