The Farm

Another fall season means another trip to The Farm @ Swan's Trail in Snohomish.  Many years ago my best friend took me to this pumpkin farm and I have been going there every year since.  It is my favorite tradition and I love sharing it with Gabbi.  This place has everything!  From a petting zoo, pig races, kids tractor rides, hay maze, amazing food and best of all a 12 acre corn maze in the shape of Washington (the maze is actually the state highways in WA).  Every year we go there is something new to explore, Farmer Ben is always improving or adding something.  My favorite addition was the U-Pick apples and garden open this fall.

Gabbi was a hoot this whole afternoon.  She wanted to see everything, twice.  Duck races was where we started the day.  Gabbi was pretty impressed by them, but once it was over she moved on pretty quickly to the petting zoo.  She got to hold a teeny tiny kitten and see even smaller bunnies.  Every year I wish I could adopt one of the kittens, but alas I never do.  Some day.

We checked out the pig show and the best part is Farmer Ben and his pig voices.  Then on to cow train.  Basically they took water barrels, attached them to a frame with wheels, cut out a hole on the side and bolted down a seat from an old school chair.  But it is genius, and Gabbi loved it.  I remember taking her myself when she was just six months old.  Afterwards we picked out our pumpkins, 2 for Goo and 1 for me (only $3 in all).  Note: As soon as we got home she decorated her pumpkins, so that is another thing off our to do list.

After some yummy roasted corn we were off to the corn maze.  As usual, we entered at Pullman (duh!).  Gabbi led the way and some how we did make it out in good time.  I was just glad to make it out of there with out Gabbi or I slipping in the mud.

Before we left we had to go check out the U-Pick apple orchard.  These apples are huge and I can't wait to make some apple crisp with them.  Gabbi thought it was pretty fun, but I had to make sure she took the apples she picked.  She was more likely to pick, inspect, and decide it was too dirty to take.  I had to remind her that we could wash them.  She is too funny.

Once again, The Farm did not disappoint.  I am so glad we have this tradition and I can't wait to see what Farmer Ben adds next year.

Doin' the Puyallup!

It is either the best way to say goodbye to summer or the best way to say hello to fall...The Puyallup Fair!!  

I loved going to the fair as a kid and I love it even more as mom.  Gabbi's excitement is truly contagious.  

This year she got to go to the fair three times!  Luckily the two times she and I went, we were able to stay on budget.  FYI, the fair is crazy expensive.  I was expecting the food to be a quarter or two more expensive, but I was not prepared for the cost of the rides.  Maybe because Gabbi has been too little to really get into rides.  Now she is all about the rides.  But of course the "dizzy passes" or bracelets are no good on the weekend.  In a nutshell, the fair has parents by the...!  

Either way, we make the fair a priority and it is worth every $1 we spend.  We don't mess around with toys or games, we head straight for the rides and elephant ears.  We also love checking on the animals and some shows.  

One of Gabbi's favorite rides this year was the Tilt-a-Whirl or the  ICEE Ride (according to Gabbi).  I finally asked Gabbi why she calls it the Icee Ride.  She informed me it was because the seats have the top that covers you that looks like the the lid to an Icee drink.  Genius!  Thank you so much to Chris for going on the ride with Gabbi.  She had a great time and she let me know it was going "thunder fast!!"  

We did have one small tiff when the carny guy said she couldn't go on the Tiger rollercoaster by herself.  But as soon as she found out she could go on the Lil' Coaster on her own she moved on, thank goodness.  Another great ride for her!  Love her smile, the pics/video do not do it justice.  

One of my favorite places to walk through is Hobby Hall.  It is amazing what folks collect.  Some are impressive and some a just odd.  Our favorite was of course the WSU collection, very impressive.  I didn't see a UW collection?  Gabbi started making her Christmas list while checking out some of the collections, My Little Pony, Cars, Bumblebee from Transformers, etc.  

In the Agriculture Hall there was a bee/honey table that was very fascinating to Gabbi.  They had live bees and not so live bees on display.  Gabbi had lots of questions, really great questions, that even impressed the volunteers at the table.  They were not ready for it.  Love my little scientist.  

In the end The Fair was a huge blast and I can't wait until next year to do it again.  I better start saving now.

Preschool Begins!

Another huge milestone was achieved today.  Gabbi started Preschool!!  Now this is real pre-kindergarten preschool.  Last year was pre-preschool.

We have been talking about this day for weeks and even months.  Everyday for the last week she has asked if she gets to go to preschool now.  I was all smiles this morning when I got to tell her "Yes!"
Gabbi, being Miss Independent helped pack her snack last night, picked out her outfit this morning and made sure her hair was just the way she wanted.  She looked so grown up when it was time to get in the car.  Is she really 4 already?  Do I only have one more year before kindergarten?  Holy smokes.

I am still so thrilled with our preschool choice.  I love the families that make up our experience and it was so great to see them all today!  Gabbi was very excited to see her "best friend" and come to find out they have the same lunch box/snack box.

First part of class was to have everyone make a name tag.  Each kid had a pre-printed slip of paper with their name on it with a small sticker.  Unfortunately, Gabbi's name was spelled wrong (Gabby) which did not please Gabbi.  So...we just went with it and she wrote her own name and decorated it herself.  No matter how it looks, it is HER name tag and she was very proud of it.

Gabbi had a great first day (minus her a bit sad when I had to leave) and I can't wait to see what she creates and learns this year.

Play Dough a la Mommy

Homemade dough just doesn't compete to store bought, nothing can compare with that wonderful smell.  :-)  But I think that it is a mommy/kid right of passage to make some dough ourselves.  I didn't even have to search the web for a dozen recipes, I actually received one at work last week.  It is an easy recipe and nearly every thing you need can be purchased in the bulk section of your grocery store (thank you Winco Foods).

This was a great evening project and very simple, so I thought I would pass it on.  We will certainly being doing this project again.  Would be a great play date activity or just a rainy day one.

Here is what you will need...          
Large pot
Spatula
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons

Mix dry ingredients

Large bowl
Food coloring

Your ingredients...
3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 cups water

Add all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In the large pot add the water and oil, I also added the food coloring at this point.  Set your stove to low to low/med heat.  I got impatient on low heat (and so did Gabbi) so we increased it a bit to low/medium heat.

Add dry ingredients to pot

Stir often

Add the dry ingredients to large pot.  Stir often.  As it heats scrape the bottom and you will see that the "dough" is starting to firm up.  Never leave the pot.  Keep stirring.  Then start to form the firm dough into a ball in the pot.

Once ball is formed, remove from heat.  I let it cool for just a minute in pot, then dumped on to the cold (clean) counter.  I find that if you leave it pot to cool it gets too dry.  While it is still warm start kneading until it is cooled.  Store in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.

Kneading in action

A great thing about this project is Gabbi got to help with every part of it.  She helped measure out the ingredients, helped mix, counted out the food color drops, and helped knead the dough.  It was also a great opportunity for us to chat about things changing from a liquid to a solid and even how water and oil do not mix.  All great reasons to have her in the kitchen, so much to learn.

Gabbi is very excited to play with this dough and I don't have to worry about it drying out since it was so cheap, and she is even going to bring some with her on a weekend camping trip and no one has to worry about it getting dirty or left behind.

For my frugal friends here is the financial break down.  I was able to get the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in the bulk section of my grocery store and I already had the food coloring and oil at home.
So... Flour ($0.30) + Salt ($0.07) + CoT ($0.39) + Oil (free) + Water (free) = $0.76 for nearly 2 pounds of play dough!!  A total win!

Happy dough making! 

Got Her Swim On!

Tonight was another milestone for our little Miss Gabbi.  She had her first swim lesson!  

Her dad and I, both want her to be comfortable in the water and boy was she.  Gabbi was in her swimsuit two hours before she needed to even head to the pool, she just couldn't wait any longer.  

Gabbi had no hesitations when it came her time to get in the pool.  She met her teacher, climbed down the ladder and was all smiles.  Her dad and I would have loved to sit on the edge of the pool but...  When we take her swimming we are right there next to her, holding her, coaching her, helping her, etc so you can imagine how difficult it was to go the "spectator" area, a whole 10 feet away from the pool.  Within about 3 minutes of in the water she was dunking her face in the water, something that she has resisted forever any other time in the water.  She was so proud of herself and so were we.  

For the next 27 minutes she had a smile on her face.  She did everything the teacher asked her to try, and when it was the other kids' turn she continued to dunk her face and play in the water.  Roy and I were nearly crawling out of our skin with anxiety because we were so worried she would fall off the underwater platform, but she never did.  Mom and Dad need to calm down.  :-)  

I am so very proud of how well she did.  She had so much fun and that is the best part.  She was pretty proud of herself too.  At bedtime she was still chatting about putting her face in the water.  But she also knows when to turn on the drama.  After we got rinsed off and changed at the pool Roy asked her if she was excited about the next class.  She informed us that she wasn't because she was scared.  Little butt head.  She showed no fear or hesitation tonight.  Only fun and excitement!  Way to go Gabs!  

Reusable Snack Bags

Normally I post about a Gabbi adventure, but tonight I decided to post about something I did for Gabbi, and the planet.

A couple of weeks ago my cousin, Heather, posted a sewing project on her facebook page and it gave me an idea.  I decided to make Gabbi some reusable snack pouches from material I had leftover from other projects.  My cousin's design was a useful one, but required a surge machine, which I don't have.  Then I remember a design I saw online and decided I could design something myself.  They came out so well, I thought I would share...Enjoy!  

Here is what you will need:
7" zipper ($1.99)
Leftover fabric cut to 15" x 7 3/4" (free)
Utility fabric cut to 15" x 7 3/4" (I purchased 1/2 yard for $2.50 - it was 50% off!!)
Coordinating thread
Pins and scissors
Iron

Cut fabric and utility fabric

Right sides together, stitch ends

Simple straight stitch used

Once these two ends are sewn, turn right side out and iron at seams.  This will make it easier to sew to zipper edge.  Then, with right side out still, sew short sides to zipper so in the end you have a cuff.  To me this is the most difficult part because of width of zipper.  Take your time and if you have it use a zipper foot.  After this step you should be left with the following "tube".

Turn right side in and pin the open sides.  Sew a straight stitch about a 1/4" from the edge.  Be sure to reverse the stitch at ends since this project will likely get a lot of wear and tear.  I also added a zigzag stitch to the edge to reinforce the sides and stop any fraying.
 

Ta Da!!

And there you have it!  A great reusable snack bag that cost less than $3.00 and will last for a lot longer than a whole box of ziploc bags.  Gabbi loved the bag and already put it to use, as a toy bag.  Snacks or toys it can be used for anything.  I also enjoyed using leftover fabric, that was too small for any other major projects.  Certainly beats paying the $8.95 or more on different sites.

C is for Camping

Gabbi and I recently took off for a Mommy & Goo camping adventure.  Gabbi and I visited the Lake Sylvia State Park, about 45 minutes outside Olympia,WA.  I have to say, this was the best site I have been too.  Great set up, great park office, fun activities, and fantastic amenities.  

We arrived, Gabbi started to collect little sticks, leaves, and moss for our evening campfire while I started on the tent.  Once she collected enough for the fire pit, she started to build her habitat.  More on that later.  Mommy was extremely successful setting up the tent, solo mind you.  Totally admit that I was giving myself a high five at this achievement.  

We had a great time!  The first night we explored the camping area and participated in the park's scavenger hunt, which Gabbi did great at and was awarded with a Junior Park Ranger card.  We also had a chance to head over to the lake and beach.  The park has a wonderful (and new) playground area for kids near the lake and Gab's loved it.  She enjoyed digging in the sand more.  Once we got back to the site, it was time for dinner and more time to spend on the "habitat".  

Ok, so this HABITAT...it is the best, most amazing habitat you will ever see.  Gabbi has always been drawn to science, nature and environmental things.  As a science nerd myself, I am loving that she is into this stuff.  When she went to Yellowstone earlier this summer, she picked out an animal pack that came with about a dozen little toy animals.  So when she brought them camping, she had to make them a habitat at the end of the table.  She had moss, grass, handmade trees, flowers, "logs" and even a beaver dam.  She is too cute.  

Day two of the camping adventure, included a hike (on the search for a water turtle), lake time, some rest and my favorite... kayaking.  We rented a kayak for an hour and paddled around the lake.  We loved it!  Gabbi even paddled for a bit a few times.  

Another great dinner, homemade chili.  Gabbi kept asking for roasted marshmallows, but Mommy didn't bring any.  So cookies served as a pretty good substitute.  

When we woke up on Sunday, we woke up to a bit of rain.  We powered through, had a great morning fire, packed up and headed home.  Gabbi's chores, to clean the table and pack up her habitat. 

Since we left a bit early, we had plenty of time to take a detour for lunch and a stop at our state's capital.  I had never been there before, and was pleasantly surprised that it was open for tours.  Gabbi was not into this detour, or the tour, but was pretty happy with the free coloring book and a fun game of hide and seek on the lawn.  Another detour...31 flavors for a quick treat.  

Then it was back home.  Stay-cation came to a close with emptying the car and trying to wash off the campfire smell.  

To sum up...it was a great!  This will certainly be an annual tradition for Gabbi and I.  And we will certainly visit Lake Sylvia again.