Baby Beluga, Oh Baby Begula Part 2

We spent Sunday afternoon/evening in downtown Vancouver. Twenty years later, Rich returned to the Vancouver Aquarium with two kids and a wife in tow. I had gone with the kids in the fall and was eager to get back. We waited in line to see the so sweet forty day old baby beluga - with its mother who likes to swim upside down!

Then we went for a picnic supper on Beach Drive. It was a late trip back home but a quiet one after a busy and super fun weekend in Vancouver!

Weekend in Vancouver

Last weekend, we drove up to spend some time with our family in Vancouver. I'm including some of the favourite shots including a ride on a local Thomas the Train and a visit to Redwood Park. Part of this crew is moving back east and we are really going to miss them!

Group shot taken by Ethan and Mina at Redwood Park.

80% trying their best at silly faces

Big and little kids on the tire swing

Amy and Mina walking back from Crescent Beach

The big ride on Thomas!

Photo of me taken by my nephew Ethan.

Eisenia fetida

The hot topic of worms! Look what was in "print" today...

Seattle Times -"Cadillac of worms" rules as an urban composter!

You Grow Girl - Worms for Composting

Bluebird Grains

Based on pre-kid visits to Twisp (including the Cinnamon Twisp Bakery) and Stehekin, i have a strong love for the Methow Valley of Washington. As a result of this love, my ears perked up when i heard about Bluebird Grains, a family farm producing heirloom grains in Winthrop, WA.

We received our first order last week and i've been having fun with my new friend named Emmer. So far, we've enjoyed Emmer as a pilaf as well as flour in bagels and pizza dough. We bought 5lbs of the berries and grind it fresh with our Whisper Mill 2000. I'm going to try sprouting it shortly. Anyways, our family is 100% hooked. As a pilaf, Mina thought that it was the best "rice" ever! I'm currently making our second batch of bagels with it. I'm in the midst of the pre-bake boil. This time i was smart enough to make a double batch but i'm up rather late making bagels! Late night baking seems to be a theme in my life...

Anyways, if you are interested in Washington grown grains and flours, check them out!

Foodie/Farm Links

I'm making bagels and blogging, so this is quick and dirty...

Visit some of Washington's 33,000 farms

Eat Wild

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Feist Meets the Muppets

I can't wait to show this to Mina in the morning, Feist on Sesame Street...

Mina's current swim teacher's name is Leslie, which Mina was quick to point out is similiar to Leslie Feist.

:)

Beijing 08-08-08

In case you miss them during the events in August, these pictures beautifully highlight the facilities that have been built for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Sub Pop 20

On Sat, Rich and i biked to Marymoor Park to take part in the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Concert weekend. We savoured an afternoon/evening back in the childless land of all day concerts. We heard favourite bands like The Helio Sequence, Fleet Foxes as well as Iron and Wine.

I just found this cool picture from the Seattle Times with the Space Needle getting dressed up for the record label's celebration. Here is another photo album from the weekend.

July 4th Weekend

I love a long weekend - and this one was particularly great! We biked, hiked, swam, canoed, letterboxed, played catch, hung out with neighbours at the lake, cooked garden-fresh veges (lettuce, peas, artichokes, sorrel, chard, herbs), bbq-ed, tried out some new local wine/beer, worked like mad on the yard AND Rich built a new, swinging double bike stand. Not to mention, we also got totally hooked on the American Team Olympic trials! Go Dara Torres Go!

I did not get time to sort through all the recent camping photos! Soon!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day from our house to yours!

This morning, the kids were excited to see the Canadian flag flying out front. Mina quickly asked, "where is everybody else’s flag?". I'm tickled that she thinks the holiday is one to be shared by all. We send out love to our families and friends - and to everyone else who is celebrating! Tonight we'll having our friend Kent, fellow expat Canadian, over for bbq dinner.

We've just returned from an awesome nine days of camping across Washington. I'll be posting more of that and some pictures later. Next year, we hope to get in some BC camping too!