Happy Halloween!!

I am THAT mom. After swearing forever that I would never let my kid have those "dumb" Halloween costumes, duh duh DUUUUUHHHHHH, Here we have it! Hazen saw Optomus Prime in the Grocery store. Yeah. That's right, Smiths, and he had to have it. This was the costume he hoped and dreamed about, nd in his mind, there was no other option. Sigh. So, dumb, commercialized Halloween costume it was. Luckily he's cute, so he was adorable in the costume. We were in Seattle for Hazen's Halloween party at school, which was held on the Friday before (dumb). Fortunately for us, Heather still had her annual Halloween trick-or-treating and fun, so Halloween wasn't a wash! The weather was beautiful, and we definitely scored. Hazen couldn't have been any happier! He ran and ran and ran from house to house, and loved every second of it! We love that we live so close to cousins, because I honestly don't know that the kid would know what to do without his cousins for fun occasions like this! Thanks Heather and Brad for hosting us yet again for another Halloween!

October School Artwork

Thanks for the Fun time, Seattle!

So, as with all things, even the most fun experiences must come to an end. Our trip to Seattle was no exception. We had so much fun, and I am SO happy that we decided to all go together on our trip. The trip wound up with some more delicious food (sensing a theme yet?), and some more fun. We watched several movies, took plenty of naps, and once again, just had a generally great time. Hazen was really sad when it was time to go, because he loved spending time with Uncle Dougie and Auntie Ashley. Jason and I talked about how lucky we are, because we can seriously take Hazen anywhere. He is so easy going, and always down for an adventure! He didn't complain when we were in the car, and really, the only time he was angry was when he was super hungry! This trip just reaffirmed to me how important and how fun family vacations can be! Thanks Ashley and Doug for letting us crash at your house for 5 days!!

Food Tour 2011

Now, I don't know if you recall, but when I went to Seattle last year, we dubbed it "Food Tour 2010". Well, this year put last year to shame. We literally ate everything in sight for 5 days, and it.was.awesome. From the book that Ashley had sent me before the trip, I had highlighted and bookmarked several places that I had wanted to go, and go we did!

Wednesday: We flew in, and started with a late lunch at a Pizza place that had fancy pants Pizzas. We were there for Happy Hour, which was good, because I would have been really annoyed if we paid as much as we would have had to if we went during regular hours. The best Pizza that we had was the Truffle Pizza. YUM! After, we headed over to a doughnut place that we had seen, and then I ran quickly over to pick up some cupcakes for later. They had unique flavors like Lavender, and Tomato Soup, and Sweet Potato Pie, and they were much different than the cupcakes that they have everywhere in Utah, because they weren't so sweet. Probably not something I'd eat daily, but good nonetheless! After, we drove to Issaquah to Ashley and Doug's gorgeous house, and got settled in. That night, we had some Thai food for dinner, and it was really good! I got in trouble for not ordering enough, but I definitely redeemed myself later on down the road.

Thursday: We got up and went to Crossfit that morning, so we just had a really light breakfast. Then, for lunch, we went to Whole Foods and sampled a plethora of the delicious foods that they have to offer there. We also bought $30 worth of salt. What, is that weird? Next, we met up with Ashley and headed over to Pike's Place. We bought a few chocolates at a fancy chocolate shop, and then went to do the whole tasting experience at Pike's. It did not disappoint, and was both delicious and beautiful all at once! I bought some truffle oil and also some specialty balsamic vinegars that are seriously out of this world. I also went to a cheesecake place and bought a bunch of cheesecakes that we ate later that night. Also delicious!! For dinner, we picked Doug up from work, and headed over to Ezell's chicken, and got a huge bucket of fried chicken. It was legit! Hazen just really enjoyed being able to gnaw chicken from the bone, and the boys were happy that they were getting enough to eat.

Friday: We started the day by kind of doing our own thing for a while. The boys and I went out for a lighter lunch at Panera, and also went and looked at model homes for fun. I LOVE doing that. It seriously never gets old. That night, we got a babysitter for the kids, and headed out for an AMAZING Italian dinner. We didn't get any pictures, I think because we were too busy stuffing our face with food. We got the Chef's menu, which meant that we got to have AS MUCH AS WE WANTED of all of the food that we ordered. We got crab cakes, Lobster Carbonara, and Beef Medallions, to name a few. After we finished eating and eating and eating and eating, we pretty much needed to be rolled out of there. We all went to bed pretty early because we were feeling sick from how much we ate, but it was incredible!

Saturday: For lunch, the boys and I went to Paseo, which gets a post of its own. For dinner, Ashley and I went out in Seattle, and then went to Dillatente's for dessert where the Mocha Praline didn't disappoint, as per usual.
So, basically, it sounds slightly ridiculous to write a post completely about the food we shoved in our faces while we were on our vacation, but we enjoyed every minute spent together!

The Sammie that deserves its own post

Hello. Meet the best sandwich that I think I've ever eaten in my life. This is coming from someone who grew up in Danville, home of Domenico's, which, prior to me partaking of this sammie, had the best sandwiches in the planet.

No longer. Not only was this one of the best sammies I've ever had in my existence, but it just might well be one of the best articles of food I've ever eaten. Meet the Cuban Roast from Paseo. We're talking slow roasted pork shoulder with aoili, cilantro, lettuce, caramelized onions all on a lightly toasted baguette that the angels in heaven constructed themselves. $8.50, but I would probably pay $20 for this sandwich.

We picked the sammies up, and then headed over to a different neighborhood where we found some outdoor seating. It was such a gorgeous day, and I was surrounded by the two best people in my life, and I was eating arguably one of the best things I've ever eaten. It was one of those moments that just couldn't have gotten better. I can't wait to go back and partake of this little dream. Hopefully sooner than later!!

Pumpkin Patch in Seattle!

We were able to go to a pumpkin patch while we were in Seattle. The weather had been perfect for us our entire visit! It was just a little bit misty, but the weather cooperated with us for the most part. We had a little tractor ride that took us out to the pumpkins. We were slightly unwise with our seating choice, because we had to dodge mud the entire ride. Bennett was able to pick out a pumpkin, and Hazen got his face painted. We also bought some delicious salsa and apple cider. I'm loving all of the farms and ready availability of local grown food in Seattle. I wish we had even more opportunities like that in Utah! It was time for Bennett to have a nap, so the Lee family temporarily stole the Clark's Jeep and headed downtown for some more exploring!