It's Spring!

My very first Spring and it's finally here! We have gorgeous sunny weather since last weekend. I never thought I would say this, but this is one of the few times in my life that I'm loving the sun. I LOVE it! I love Fall with its crisp air and pretty leaves, and I love Winter for its white snow flakes. Summer - as long as it's below 80F, I'm fine with it. But Spring is all about springing back to life. There is a certain kind of vibrancy and freshness in the air that makes me want to stay outside as much as possible.  Plus the the days are getting longer, the produce section looks so much better and I can put on lighter clothes without having to worry about having blue feet and fingers. Spring break is starting this Friday until next week and I can't wait to discover new places with the boys. Hope you guys will enjoy your Spring break too!

Took the kids to school today. Emir joined a club at his school called Pearson Pride Club that started last Fall to improve his Math and reading skills. The club meets every Monday to Thursday from 8am-9am and today was its last day. Parents were invited to the last meeting and the kids were given a special breakfast treat  which consisted of waffles with strawberries, milk and juices, plus prizes for being consistent in their attendance. I brought the other 2 boys along instead of letting them wait for the school bus and lucky them, they got to have the treat too. I love the school yard. It's big considering the school building itself is pretty small with less then 400 students. 

Daryl's House

I'm really lagging in my blog updates and I feel terrible about it. As much as I want to frequently update my far away families and friends about what we're up to in our lives, I am constantly putting it off  to do other stuff.  There are a couple of things that have been taking up my time lately. New things that are pretty exciting to me so I basically spend most of my time doing just that. So for those of you who have been constantly following and checking in on the blog, I thank you. I appreciate it very much.

Now back to the post. Daryl is Daniel's friend from work. We were invited to his house for a housewarming party a long time ago (actually a few weeks after we got here from Hawaii). So this is a pretty rusty entry. He bought this house with a huge yard, it's unbelievable! For the great price he paid for it, I think he and his family are extremely lucky to own the place. 

 The front yard. Wait there's more to it. 

 How awesome is this yard?

It comes with a miniature windmill.

There's a peacock roaming freely around the area. Daryl told us the peacock is already there when he moved in with his family. The quirky bird would come and go as he please, sometimes venturing into his neighbors' yard, but will always come back at night. We didn't see the peacock that day but we did  find a couple of his colorful feathers laying on the ground.

The backyard

The backyard is equally large as the front, if not larger. The previous owner left a few nice raised vegetable garden beds and a shade. There is also a huge man's cave/workshop adjacent to the house with a porch separating the two. The sweet thing about it is that the previous owner left some of his tools in there! I should have taken some pictures of it.

 Love how green and thick the mosses are

There were no other children there except Daryl's son who is 2 years old. They played with him and his toys for awhile and then sat down on the couch the whole time, watching Disney's Prince of Egypt.

 This is Daryl's son, Nate.

 He's one happy boy.

We didn't eat anything since it was Ramadan and we were fasting. But we came anyway because we wanted to meet Daryl and his family and to see his house. We thought of having our Iftar (breaking fast) at the party but unfortunately we had to go back early due to my allergy. I think that's my worst allergy attack in a long time. Daryl has a few cat pets and after spending some time inside the house, I started to sneeze constantly. And then my eyes, throat and skin started to feel itchy. Then coughing spells followed by wheezing. I usually stay away from any furry animals and did not have any supply of allergy pills on hand. But I guess within the enclosed space, the allergen were pretty much everywhere. 

Fay Bainbridge State Park

We went to this park 2 weeks ago. It was pretty much unplanned. We woke up one weekend morning, saw the 'glorious' weather (Here, great weather does not necessarily has to be bright and sunny. Even if it's gray, gloomy and bone-chilling cold yet DRY, it's still a great day) and decided to explore around the area and we came to this place with some help from our map app on our phone.

The park is a little bit smaller compared to the other state parks we've been to, about 17 acres of land but it's still a great park nonetheless. It's located on the northeast of Bainbridge Island, about 15 - 20 minutes drive from our home. It's actually a marine park with 1,420 feet of saltwater shoreline.

It has a really nice view of the Cascade Mountains in the background with a wide open field for kids to run around. Its beaches are not the typical white sandy beaches that we're used to back home in Malaysia. Almost all beaches here  in the northwest are a mixed of sand and gravels but the water is pretty clear with lots of seaweeds.
 

A short video from our trip

I'm not sure where all these logs came from but they certainly add some character to the place.

This house is occupied.

 Mother and son

 There are some logs stacked together, creating a playhouse and the boys pretended it was their home

There is a nice size playground to keep the boys busy for awhile

We hope to come here again during summer, probably set a camp and spend a night or two. There are over 30 plus overnight campsites around the park, each with a picnic table and outdoor grill. Most importantly, they have a restroom/bathhouse with hot showers, yay! I've checked that out. So we're good if we were to decide to camp here. I wish our families live nearby so they can join us.

We stopped to have lunch at Bainbridge Island downtown in Winslow. It's a nice small town with rustic charm and I really love the houses around there. It is also near the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal  . A ferry ride from here will get you to Seattle only in 30 minutes.

My favorite store

Skating and Birthday

Last Saturday Farhan got an invitation to his friend's birthday party at a skating rink in Bremerton, so we decided to go there as a whole family. All of us except Daniel had never skated before so we were excited

about it.

 This place is so vintage looking! They rent old fashioned quad skates and also roller blades.

 Some other kids at the party.

 Love love love the lights.

 The face of a frustrated skater.

Daniel took turns helping the kids around the rink.

 Presents, cake and pizza time.

 Close up of Adrian. He is so much bigger and taller than Farhan.

I was waiting for this little girl to turn around so I could take some pictures of her. She was so engrossed watching the other kids skate, I only got to take her picture from the back. I love her curly hair!

 Farhan is making a smooth face while waiting for his drink.

Another cute girl. I think she loves cake because she was eating her piece of cake with great enthusiasm.

 Getting ready to go back.

 Enjoying his orange juice.

Randomness

Despite all the frustration at the beginning, the kids really want to go back asap!