If you're in the Seattle area, other carts to look for are:
Natalie, Andrew, William and I embarked on an adventure today! We decided to try out Seattle's new Light Rail. The kids were excited to ride the bus downtown and explore the city. Natalie's mom helped me plan the trip, ( her job deals directly with Seattle's transit) while we were planning she invited us to stop by her office. The kids went CRAZY over the idea of visiting Jamie at work!
Natalie and Andrew on the bus, heading to Jamie's office. Our bus went over the Aurora Bridge, and since we were sitting up so high the kids had a great view of the city. They said they saw a volcano (Mt. Rainier) but then Natalie explained to the whole bus that it wasn't active. "It was a sleeping volcano," I think were her exact terms.
In the transit tunnel waiting for the light rail to come. The kids were decked out in flashing lights and bright orange backpack's, swag from Jamie's work! :)
On the light rail! In the tunnels "where the ninja turtles live!"
The kids were glued to the windows the entire time we were on the light rail. 
Natalie and Andrew trying to spot Ninja Turtles in the tunnels.
We got off the light rail at the Othello station, located in the Rainier Beach area. A friend of mine clued me in on a park that was 2 blocks away from the station. We walked to the park and had lunch, afterwards the kids had a blast on this giant slide!
Andrew's bob sled moves.
Best Friends! Today was Andrew's last full day with us, he starts kindergarten next Monday. My feelings are very mixed about him going to school. (I think his mom feels the same!) We will still see Andrew on random school holidays and half days, but when I saw this picture of the two of them I got a little sad. Natalie and Andrew have been inseparable since the day Andrew joined our little nanny family. (I think he was 18 month old.) People always ask if they are twins when we are out not because they look alike, but they seem know each other so well. In some ways I think they have a twin like bond. Andrew we are very excited for you and happy that our time with you isn't over, we'll just have more time between visits!
I am very excited for Glee a comedy/musical starting this fall on FOX. They previewed the pilot last May and Ben and I tuned in. At the very end of the episode the Glee Club is practicing their latest number. They sing Journey's, "Don't Stop Believin'." I though it was great and was humming the tune the following day. Later they released the Glee Club's version of the song on iTunes and I decided to purchase it! I introduced the song to the kids I nanny for and they've loved it... I've also discovered Lydia and the rest of the McDougall clan love singing it as well.
Last week I was in Bed, Bath, and Beyond (or as Ben calls it, Bad Breath and Beyond) with Andrew and the original song came on in the store. Andrew started rocking out, I spotted a 15-ish year old boy playing air guitar and lip syncing the song, followed by a sighting of a BBB employee singing along as she re-shelved towels. I felt like I was in a musical!
I'm hoping the reason why so many people of ALL ages know this song is they've caught the Glee bug. Watch the video and get excited for the shows return on September 9th!
Dear Frozen Pizza,
First Special:
Second Special:
Looking for an original card to send to your family and friends for the holidays? Choose your favorite photo and favorite card stock color.
All the photo's shown in this post are available for ordering.
The first time I made cooked jam it was a total disaster, I didn't know what I was getting into. I was at my mom's house and I was boiling the berries, adding pectin, reading directions, and trying to get the boiling water going all at the same time. My pot-o-boiling berries started to boil over and it was like raging lava flowing all over my mom's range. I am happy to report since that traumatic experience I have mastered the art of jam making and haven't had any berry lava since. 
Yes that's 7 cups of SUGAR!!!!!
Today is a sad day. 1980s (and early 90s) icon John Hughes has passed away at the age of 59. Last month the web was replete with sentiments of how Michael Jackson defined the 1980s. MJ didn't do much for me but the cannon of Mr. Hughes was very important to my social and cultural development. Sure, I was not a teenager when he made his best work so I can't say that his films were a reflection of my experience. I can say, however, that I approached junior high and high school with the expectation that my experience was supposed to be like it was in Sherman, Ill. What I liked the most about Hughes was that he was one of the grown ups who "got it." He seemed to have a knack for what it was like to be a teenager who didn't fit in. It didn't matter what side of the proverbial track you lived on he wrote about teens with a sincerity that was appreciated. Although his films are very funny he also approached adolescence with a sense of seriousness that made you feel like perhaps you were not that much of an outsider. I'm sure over the next couple of days we are going to be reading heightened accounts of how important Hughes was and then we will get the inevitable backlash about how he shouldn't be praised. So for now while my thoughts are still fresh I thought I would bid a fond farewell:)
