now I am three!

Maren is so excited to be three! (Or, "free!" as she says it.) We had a fun birthday celebration this weekend. She really wanted a Cinderella theme, so we had a Cinderella cake, and painted pumpkins, and had great fun. And then we kicked everyone out at midnight. (Just kidding.)

First, some photos of the birthday itself, during which Maren became the proud owner of a dollhouse. And, of course, some various Cinderella accessories.

And now, the birthday party! Let the games begin...

It's hard to wait for your friends to get here...

maren and the great pumpkin

Fun at our local fruit and vegetable stand this week...

summer recap

Well, our summer remodeling project has made it a little difficult to a.) find the camera, then b.) take  photos, then c.) find the photos, and d.) get to the computer so we can e.) update the blog. So we'll just run through a quick recap.

In no particular order:

Daddy had a birthday. With cake. Yum. (Maren decreed that it should be a ferryboat cake, so it was.)

And presents.

Lots of sprinkler time.

Family trip to Spokane.

The beloved carousel!

Traveling home in style.

SUPER fun trip to the local fire safety center with our cousins!

(In case you didn't know, it is perfectly acceptable fire safety etiquette to suck your thumb.)

We had some doughnuts.

And we got to see Ken Griffey, Jr, be inducted into the Mariners' Hall of Fame.

With Grandpa.

Also, we grew some tomatoes.

And we had an excellent beach day with more cousins.

All in all, a pretty great summer!

maren meets thomas the train

Such an exciting day today; Maren got to take a ride on Thomas the Train (in case you are not as well acquainted with Thomas as we are, trust me: this is a big deal). She and Sofia had a fantastic morning. We started with a visit to the train-toy-tent, and then had a train ride, and then came back for some music and dancing.

Choo choo!

a little warm-up train-playing

Maren was happier about this hug than you might think.

snack time.

what is under this table?

enjoying the kids' concert

dancing!

THOMAS!

Welcome to toddler/preschooler heaven.

Maren and her other hero, Bob the Builder.