Crazy about Cherry

Apr 2, 2011

It's cherry blossom actually. Unfortunately I think their blooming time is almost over :-(. The ones across the street from our backyard still have flowers but they're falling off fast. And I am craving for some pretty colors instead of just gray, brown and green - which are pretty much the standard colors here. Hence, I took tons of pictures of them - at a parking lot. And I'm going to share them with you so that hopefully when you look at them, they will make you feel cheery too. That's how I feel.

A Rainy Day of Sightseeing

Apr 2, 2011

My friend Anna told me about this place Point No Point which has a sandy beach. That got me excited since most of the beaches here that we've been to are full of rocks and gravels. Although the weather looked pretty gloomy as if it would rain any minute we decided to go anyway to check out the place.

Point No Point is located in the small town of Hansville, WA. From  where we live, it takes about 30 minutes to get there. Go here to see the aerial view of the place and click on each picture at the side. I love it.

On the way to the light house, we saw this old boat which probably has been converted to a house. 

 The Point No Point beach. 

There were light rain and hail right after we stopped at the parking lot. Plus it got really chilly and we weren't prepared for it. It was pretty disappointing but the place is not too far so we would definitely come back sometimes soon.

We were not prepared to call it a day. On the way back, we spotted this place and decided to explore it.

 I feel like I'm back at the park when I look at this picture.

The trail was all wet and muddy but the rain stopped and the sunshine peeking through lacy moss made things much better.

I love this part of the trail.

Spring Break

The boys are having their Spring break for a week.  This week's weather has been pretty miserable; it's mostly gloomy and rainy.  It makes me want to camp out on the sofa with a blanket and nap all day long. The thought has not materialized so far. I got busy with daily routines and the boys kept themselves busy with story books, math practices, Legos, toys, TV and bikes but we did go to some parks nearby.

Here's the boys' favorite new park, Poulsbo's Fish Park. I used to think that the park was pretty small considering it's just right off the busy Lindvig Way road. It never did catch my attention until Emir mentioned it to us when he went there on a school field trip. He came back from the trip, all excited about the park and  told us about how he released his salmon fries into the streams at the park. Emir has been studying salmons since Fall and he has a Spring break challenge in which he has to create a Riparian ecosystem model that is best for salmon development. 'Ripa' means river bank in Latin.  I thought going to the park would give us an idea on how to build the model. So we did. Two days in a row.

At nearly 21 acres, the park is certainly larger than it looks from the road. I'm glad I took the kids there. There are a couple streams running toward the Dogfish Creek. 

The trail at the park is almost 1000 feet, a combination of wide wooden boardwalks, gravels and dirt. Hundreds of bird houses are scattered throughout the park and we did see a lot of birds.

 Can you spot a bird and a seaplane?

Poulsbo's waterfront is just across the street so this plane might landed there because it flew pretty low above us.

Enchanted forest

The boys found their favorite place to play right away.

I found mine. A big cherry blossom tree with white flowers.

The boys declared this place as their secret hideout. This is actually underneath my favorite huge cherry blossom tree. They cleared some of the fallen branches and they got this nice space to play. 

This was the view when we looked up

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. 

Wordless Wednesday