Let Me Tell You a Story - or Two!

We love our local library. It is not as big as the Central Library, but it has enough children's books on display to amaze Sophie. Last time we went to the library to pick up some books, Sophie decided to sit down and read me a story. Of course, she can't read yet, so she's making it up as she goes. It's pretty entertaining.

Arboretum

We needed a break from hiking for a weekend, so we rented a canoe from UW (University of Washington) and rowed to the arboretum. Last time Vân and I did this, we almost killed each other because we could not work as a team. This time, I just let Vân have control, and it worked out a lot better. We actually enjoyed rowing. Sophie was really happy to be in the canoe, and she even tried to help Vân row. 

In the back

Lake Washington

The 520 bridge

Lily

Blue Heron

Rowing

Foie Gras?

Hiding from mommy

Row, row your boat...

Songs from "The Princess and the Popstar"

Sophie has finally memorized all the songs in the Barbie movie "The Princess and the Popstar." It was cute at first, but then it was Barbie all the time. I even learned to play "Here I Am" on the guitar, so that Sophie would play along with her Ukelele. Now, I can't get these songs out of my head!

"Here I Am"

"How High We Can Fly"

"A Perfect Day"

"To Be a Princess"

"To Be a Popstar"

Heather Lake -- Darrington

We were supposed to go to Blue Lake. But it was 3 hours away. On a whim, Vân decided on Heather Lake because she remembered hearing her co-workers recommending it.

It was not an easy hike -- 4.6 miles round trip with 1,100 ft in elevation gain. There were stretches on the trail that scared me. I had to put Sophie down and make her climb over a boulder and a fallen tree. She did really well and kept her calm better than I did.

As soon as we reached the lake, Sophie and Vân took off their boots and walked in the mud. They spent a good amount of time walking around in the water and catching tadpoles, frogs and salamanders. It was worth the trouble.

Mother and daughter hiking together

"I need a break."

Heather Lake

See the snow?

Muddy feet

Walking in the water

Walking in "chocolate mud"

Burke Museum

Burke Museum is a part of UW (University of Washington) -- or Daddy's school, as Sophie would say. It has some interesting exhibits, and the best part is that it's free to all UW students. We came and saw so many interesting things: totem poles, dinosaur fossils, and Native American art. Sophie was scared of the fossils, but she loved playing with the dinosaur toys. When we left, I even bought her a "souvenir." A scorpion sucker -- which I've yet to let her eat! 

"Who are these guys?"

"What's that about it?"

Mastodon

Whale

Dinosaur egg

Toy dinosaurs

Prehistoric fish

Bye Bigfoot!

Scorpion sucker

Black Leotard and Pink Tights

Black leotard and pink tights are the required uniform for Sophie's dance class. It seemed simple enough, but it took us two tries to get it right. What we picked out from the dance store the first time did not fit the requirement. The leotard had to be a certain style. We just forgot to check the school website before visiting to the store. It turned out that the uniform was what we rejected during the first visit. Well, Sophie still looked pretty cute.

Wading Pool

We know summer is here when the wading pool at Green Lake is open. Before we had Sophie, we used to shake our heads in disapproval when driving by the wading pool. It was "filthy" with kids running around in wet diapers, and the parents took up all the space with their damned strollers. Well, we are now those parents because Sophie loves the wading pool. Just don't look too closely at the water.

 Swimming?

Bridal Veil Falls - Stevens Pass

I forgot how we decided on Bridal Veil Falls. 5 miles round trip, 800 ft in elevation gain. The trail was flat and wide for the most part, but the climb at the end was rough. And the trail was a bit scary at certain spots due to rocky terrain, but we did it. We had lunch on a rock right by the waterfall and let the mist cool us down. "It was amazing," as Sophie would have said.

Where's the waterfall?

Picking berries

Scenery

Bridal Veil Falls

Lunch

Feel the mist?

SAM - Revisited

July 4th was the first Thursday of the month. This meant the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) had free admission. So we celebrated Independence Day by checking out the "Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion" exhibit there. It was quite interesting. Vân liked the exhibit a lot more than Sophie and I did. But we shared the same hunger afterwards. We walked around downtown a bit then headed straight to West Seattle for Marination. We ended up eating way too much. Fish and chips, tonkatsu burger, kimchi sausage sliders, macaroni salad, and shaved ice. They were all just so good!

Poster for fashion exhibit

Some of my favorite outfits

Tantrum

Vanishing Eye

"I love soda!"

Slurping up some shaved ice

Creative Dance

Sophie has graduated from the Parent/Toddler dance class. She's now in a more advanced class called Creative Dance. This means I no longer get to dance with her. I only get to watch. I prefer participating, but she needs her space to grow. Here are some videos of Sophie in Creative Dance. She's the one without uniform.

Warming up

Jumping over obstacles

Dancing with a scarf

Belated Birthday

Sophie was sick during her birthday this year. She had bronchiolitis, and there was nothing her doctor could do. We had to postpone everything. So, two weeks later, when she felt better, Vân baked a cake, and we celebrated her third birthday. But the heatwave came. Well, Sophie got to blow out the candles in her underwear.

Blowing out candles