Gas Works Park

Any time it's not rainy and semi clear, we seem to drive over to Gas Works Park on Lake Union. The girls love the grass and all the flowers. Jack loves the sun dial hill and the trails that wind up to it. I enjoy just getting out of the house and moving my legs. And I think Darrin loves just being with the children and not on his laptop. Needless to say, it's a great place for all of us. One of these times, I need to actually take a picture of the Refinery.

Surrey was having the time of her life with all the daisies in the grass.

They were everwhere!

Easter 2011

We packed up for an extended weekend to Seabrook for the Easter weekend. It was the perfect weekend to get away too. Friday was nothing but sunshine and then Saturday, more sunshine and warmer weather. We put on our shorts and headed to the beach. Saturday, was also the first day of clam digging season and so the ocean was packed with clam diggers and capris. Jack and I collected over 70 sand dollars. Martha Stewart, what can we do/make with sand dollars??? Sunday was cooler, with occasional sunbreaks. The pictures below captured that. Our children just love the sand, water, waves, and shells. Love that we live so close to it all. Now we just need to get our own home in Seabrook. For those who would like to join us next time, come! www.seabrookwa.com

Surrey managed to get caught in a quick moving wave. Jack tried saving her for the second one. Surrey didn't seem to mind and would rather roll in the water and splash around instead.

The Ford Children in the 1970s...

This was taken before my little brother, Adam, was born (1977 approx), as Adam was born in July 1978.

Marion (1969) is on the far left, then Dan (1970). I am in front of Dan, but centered (1976), and Corrine (1974) is on the far right. And for those who ask where Megan gets her hair, voila! Genetics, people.

An idea of our kitchen

A rough idea of our future kitchen. Our island is going to be stained godiva brown, but everything else will be white shaker millwork with bosch SS appliances, santa cecilia granite, subway tile backspalsh, and shaker knobs and pulls. Oh can't wait to cook in it. Friends and family: we have room for visitors...

The Stone is going up...slowly.

The weather has finally started to semi cooperate to start laying the stone on the house. We got one corner finished and now the front of the house is going up. We had our 4 way yesterday. All looks good. Sheetrock starts next week and then paint. Cannot wait to see cabinets installed-shaker #1 throughout the house-yippee! Love it. The architect and contractor are projecting a mid July closing-yeeha. Want to be in by Darrin's birthday and to celebrate with a good 'ol BBQ in the backyard. Oh so ready to have my own kitchen and own bed again.

Surrey and her breakfast of champions!

For all my friends out there who are in the midst of motherhood and all those memorable mothering moments, this morning happened to be one of them. Between Darrin's incredibly long days, school routines, coordinating teacher appreciation week, my running, lack of sleep, and the normal normal chaos in the Allred Home, Surrey picked out her own breakfast and ya know, it was a battle that I was not picking that day. So she ate 2 bags of chips, a bag of Oreo cookies, and an whole wheat English muffin with butter and jam. And from the next picture, she surely enjoyed it. We do eat pretty healthy in our home, but same days you just gotta go with it. At least she let me run in peace, sort of...

April 6, 2011

She ate every last bite!

That is truly the breakfast of champions, you think? ;)

The House-April 7, 2011

The wood siding and shingles are all on. The stone is starting, but wont be finished until next week. Can't wait for cement and paint! What's next: insulation and sheetrock. April 7, 2011

Our Front Porch with a front door

Megan and the dinner battle

Sunday, April 3, 2011- We fixed hamburgers and pasta salad for dinner, nothing weird, but fun and good on this Spring weekend. Well, our Megan absolutely didn't want to eat any of it. In fact, she told us so. So we sent her to her room until she wanted to come join us for dinner. After several minutes, I went to her room to check on her. She had fallen asleep. When I put a blanket on her and a pillow under her head, she woke up. And after long negotiations, she agreed to eat her hamburger and 5 bites of salad. (I agreed to have pizza for dinner on Friday...yes, I am a sucker.) Well, her obstinacy won out yet again. As I went to give her sister a bath, Darrin told me to check on "your daughter" (as he didn't want to claim ownership in stubbornness). She had fallen asleep, yet again, at the kitchen table without touching her salad. Give her kudos, as she took a couple of bites of the hamburger...

What am I going to do, as she is no different than I? She is only learning to be obstinate and stubborn from me. Yes, I need to be better. But like mother, like daughter is so true in this situation. But it's not pasta salad I fight over...that's another subject on another day. :)