Taking Rachel Fishing

Andrew loves fishing. And now I like fishing too. So, of course, we share this hobby with our sweet daughter.

When she was just a tiny babe, we took her to Cabela's to look at fishing poles.


So tiny. So uninterested and overwhelmed by Cabela's.

We took Rachel for her first fishing trip to Silver Lake.


Rachel and Dad sitting on the dock. Everyone is excited!


Rachel and Mom enjoying the cool evening on the dock.


Dad and Rachel fishing!

No, we did not catch anything. But we had a good time. It was nice to just sit by the water.

On Brainwashing Your Child To Love Airplanes

It is no secret that Andrew loves airplanes. He and our neighbor Ric have "nerd nights" where they geek out over anything and everything airplane. Andrew works for Boeing in aerodynamics and that was his dream job while growing up (and now, though he enjoys his job, it is still a job, and jobs are not as fun as bumming around all day). He is working hard to teach Rachel that airplanes are important by...

Playing Yaw, Pitch, and Roll

Which I unfortunately do not have a picture of. But usually Dads hold their babies above them when laying down and the baby flies. Andrew says the planes that airplanes move on.

Playing Flight Simulator




She is absolutely thrilled.

Taking Baby to Airplane Museums


And posing in front of airplanes.

Taking Baby to Airshows

As illustrated in the previous post.

So that is how you do, it you are so inclined.

The Air Show and Women Role Models

We went to an air show at Paine Field. They had a lot of historical airplanes, which I really appreciated. It made me want to wear WWII clothes and be cool like that. I would probably dress up like a woman in the WAC, or the Women's Army Corps. Don't they look awesome and military and helpful and smart and attractive?


Source

I did see a few women dressed up in WWII attire, but they were dressed as pin-up girls. Seriously women, dress up like something motivational from history. OK, OK, pin-up girls were motivational for soldiers and airmen, but I think there are much better role models from history than sexy women. Intelligence is sexy!

This article where I got the photo from is interesting and informative about the WAC.

Back to the air show.

We saw a lot of airplanes, and if Andrew wants to blog about those, he can, but I will just post pictures of Rachel. Because she is very cute and smart, therefore a good baby role model.


Andrew and a thirsty Rachel in front of a Navy airplane.


These two have so much fun.


Rachel sitting in the airplane model for children.


We went with Ric, Claire, and Dallon.

We had a lovely time watching airplanes and walking around and thinking about interesting things like "women in the military" and "how rich people must be to own and maintain antique airplanes".

Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle Aquarium

I almost entitled this post "Willow Park Zoo," but that is the zoo in Logan, not in Seattle. How crazy that they are practically the same name.

These are our adventures with our friends, Sarah and Olivia. We walk together on the trail near us once a week. We are in the same ward. Olivia and Rachel look like cousins. Sarah and I don't, except we have the same name, brown hair, and glasses. Our husbands are nerds and mechanical engineers.

The Woodland Park Zoo

We went at the beginning of May. I have been lazy and haven't blogged it yet until now. I decided just to get a zoo pass. If we go three times in the next year it will be worth it. Since I don't think Rachel really understood the zoo, so we will have to go again.


Olivia rocking her sunglasses.


Olivia and Rachel looking at the penguins. Sarah taking a picture. The penguins ignoring the people.


We will force you two to be buddies.


Rachel and I in the jungle. It was humid and hot. Rachel thought it was weird.


GORILLA!


Hungry Rachel showing off her bottle-holding skillz.


A giraffe's behind.


A lion cub! It was so cool. He came right up to the window and seemed really interested in the kids. It seemed like he was looking at Rachel's bottle, or maybe he wanted to eat Rachel.


Of course, he walked away as soon as we tried to get a picture.


An elephant with only one tusk.


Rachel fell asleep. I guess the zoo was not all that thrilling for her.


Flamingos. Not as noisy as the ones I remember from my childhood.

We had a great time at the zoo. It was a beautiful day and we spent it with our lovely friends. :)

The Seattle Aquarium

At the beginning of June, we went to the aquarium with our friends.

We began the journey by locking Olivia in the car. We had to wait for 45 minutes for a locksmith to come because the 911 dispatcher was dumb and said the police couldn't help us, but she should have had the fire department come. Anyway, Rachel actually helped cheer Olivia up by patting the windows. She handled the whole situation pretty well.

Be brave, Olivia...

Blessings include:
The car was in the shade
Only one baby was in the car
The older baby was in the car
It was not a hot day

And then we made it to the aquarium.


Rachel enjoying the Puget Sound fish exhibit.


Olivia enjoying the tide pools.


Rachel enjoying the tide pools.


Rachel eating my sandwich bag.


Rachel liked watching this tropical fish.


Rachel and me looking at fish.


A funny picture of Rachel playing with her bottle.


Cute sea otters! They were all playing and barking at each other. I love otters.


A beautiful day in Seattle!


A harbor seal.

We had a really great time at the aquarium with our friends. I think Rachel "got it" better than the zoo, probably because the animals are all right there and are generally bright colors or swimming around.

Things I Never Thought I Would Say: Chinese Edition

At Hot Yoga

Kendra: I have never been this hot in my entire life.

Me: I have.

Kendra: What! Where?

Me: Hong Kong.

About my favorite food

Me: Who would have though my favorite food would be a tofu dish? I love tofu.

(Disclaimer: My favorite food is Ma Po Dau Fu, which has pork and tofu in it.)

Discussing dinner parties

Me: Who can we have over for hot pot?

Andrew: The Georges? McIntoshes? Martins?

Both together: Who is brave enough to eat our Chinese food?

Both together: The missionaries!

Concerning pregnancy cravings

Me: If I could only eat one food, it would be curry.

Post-Mother's Day meal

Me: Curry, I love you; curry I do. 

    Father in Heaven as sent you to meee! 

    When I am near you, I love to hear you 

    Singing so softly that you love me, too.

    Curry, I love you. I love you, I do.

On reasons why I love Andrew

Me: You introduced me to curry. And to Ma Po Dau Fu.

Texting Andrew

Me: The red bean paste is done! (homemade)

Andrew: How is it?

Me: Yummy. I would even put it in ice cream.

Emergency preparedness discussions

Andrew: We go through at least 75 pounds of rice per year.

Sarah: I think we should switch the recommendations of wheat and rice.

At our Chinese New Year feast with a Hong Konger

Me: I've  never cooked for a real Chinese person.

Alex: Well it's good! I haven't had anything this good in the US.

Conclusion

Something is wrong with me.

I'm obsessed with food.

I'm obsessed with curry.

If you are brave, come eat with us.

Being Fabulous

Rachel is learning to be fabulous and I am not even teaching her. She just inherently knows how to do it.


Rachel enjoys watching the Food Network.


Too cool for the swing.


Standing without hands! She is leaning up against the LoveSac.


Rocking the redneck raincover. This one is my doing, but I think it is rather ingenious.


So glamorous in these sunglasses!


Blowing raspberries because she can, therefore she will.


Extremely pleased with herself to be sitting in a highchair at the restaurant. She was very noisy.


Rachel was crying until I gave her these fabulous shorts. Then she was inexplicably happy.


She's so vain, she knows that this blog post is about her. She was very happy checking herself out in the mirror.

I tell you, I did not teach her about being fabulous. Even though I rock at it.

Golden Gardens

We went to Golden Gardens Natural Reserve Beach in Ballard with the in-laws. We had a great time! It was a really really low tide, so we got to see a lot cool things.


A cool star fish.


Rachel rode in the Ergo carrier with her Oma until she got tired of the wind.


Hannah rode on Glenn's shoulders so her feet didn't get super soggy.


A sea pen (it looks like a quill when it's under the water). These are pretty rare for the area--and we saw three! It was one of the lowest tides of the year.


Rachel sleeping.


A sea cucumber!

We had a great time at the beach. The day was windy but not horribly cold. It was a fun time.

What is your favorite sea creature?