Marrowstone

He loves to be outside.

View from the deck. You can see Mt. Adams.

Part of Ft. Flagler.

Sunday after church Sam, Søren and I headed up to one of our favorite places, Marrowstone Island. It was a perfect 24 hour get away. We spent our time at Sam's grandmas house. Grandma Betty passed away last November, so we spent some time remembering her. Sam made her famous swedish pancake recipe and we ate lunch at her favorite spot, The Chimacum Cafe.

I saw Fort Flagler for the first time. I was never really that excited to see it, but I have now fallen in love with it. The scenery is unbelievable, the barracks are gorgeous and you can just feel the history. I was amazed by it and can't wait to go back.

I feel as though it was the perfect way to let go of summer. The weather was amazing, sun shining and just warm enough to be comfortable. As soon as we left the clouds rolled in and the cold set in.

For lots more pictures check out www.samandlinnea.com

Lily Bug

My dear friend Maya asked my friend Allison and I if we would make an outfit for her daughters 1 year birthday party. We were happy to take on the challenge.  In the midst of making the outfit I joked with Allison that I was pretending to be on Project Runway. I wouldn't have wanted to be partnered with anyone else. We wouldn't have been one of those teams that always fights and throws each other under the bus. 

The birthday party was a bug theme. Lily was a lady bug and her cousin Spencer, only a few weeks younger, was a bumblebee. Here are a few pics from the event. 

Happy Grandparents Day!

    This was the day that I had enough of Soren's long hair. :)

This entry is a day late in posting, but in case you didn't know, yesterday was Grandparents Day. I have to admit that Søren has the best grandparents in the world. They shower him with love, whether it be from 10 miles away or 2,000 miles away. Thank you for how amazing you 4 are with Søren. Sam and I could not be more grateful for all you do for him. 

Boy with Manners

Isn't he just the cutest?! Now that one of Søren's teeth broke through he is back to his normal self, and then some. He has been talking so much lately. Saying things like: "more peease", "boo-boo", "whyee?", "dirty", "'scuse me", "tank ooo", "bye-bye", "love you", "yeah, yeah, yeah", "bus", "hey", "shooes". I mean, seriously, where did this burst of language come from?

He makes me laugh so hard and I know people rarely see this side of him. My father-in-law, Dan, picked him up from the nursery on Sunday and the nursery worker, Karen, asked him, "Doesn't he ever smile? He's so serious. " Dan replied, "Of course he does. Want to know what else he can do?" Karen of course wanted to know.

Dan: "Soren, can you laugh?"
Soren: "Ha Ha Ha."
Dan: "Soren, can you burp"
Soren: makes a belching sound.
Dan; "Soren, can you say excuse me?"
Soren: puts his hand over his mouth and says "'scuse me."
Karen: "Oh, honestly. Only you could have taught him that"
Dan: "You have to teach him what to do wrong in order to teach him manners."

Soup for the Toothless

I opted out of making dinner last night because I had a wisdom tooth pulled yesterday. So, eating a normal meal was out of the question for me. Soup sounded perfect, so today for lunch I tried to make one of my favorites. Broccoli-Cheese Soup. I was a little skeptical of the recipe I found, but I picked it because I had all the ingredients on hand. This soup was SO good and super creamy. Salt and pepper were not even used and it still had lots of flavor. Here is the recipe.

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup(s) onion(s), minced
16 oz frozen chopped broccoli
29 oz canned chicken broth
4 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product, cut into cubes, or similar product
1/2 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup(s) water
1/4 cup(s) cornstarch

Instructions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Add broccoli and broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 3 minutes, until broccoli is tender.

Reduce heat to low, add cheese and stir until cheese melts; stir in milk and garlic powder.

Whisk together water and cornstarch. Add mixture to pan and simmer 2 minutes, until thick. Serve hot. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.