All I want for Christmas...

Short days

After the time change and with winter's solstice approaching, our days are at their very shortest. Ironically, it's often clear and dry at night in Seattle, while the warmth of the day traps the clouds and the rain around us.

Sometimes in the late afternoon, the sun drops just under the cloud blanket and we''ll get a moment of dry, "sunny" weather. "Run for the park! Quick to the bikes before it's dark!"

The Rain is Here

The rainy season is well underway in Seattle. While the standard rain here is a gentle mist or wimpy sprinkle, the November precipitation has been a deluge. Daily downpours and colder temps mean we're spending considerably more time indoors.

This weekend, Sam and Elsa created a "house" in their bathroom closet. There's a "bed" for each of them and of course two toilets. This cooperative play (maybe cooperative is a stretch. We all know who the master of the house is!) has been really fun to witness. Its reminded me of all the small spaces I "discovered" with my sisters.

Family portrait

Sam's first stick-figures that I've ever seen and one of only a handfull of times that he's drawn something and told us what it was: the whole family!

Elsa added her own embellishments to the "Mom" one.

Fall

We went for a hike in Carkeek Park last week. We enjoyed the foliage, collected some leaves, and searched for spawning salmon. Perhaps a little early for such a quest, the only fish we spotted was the gigantic slide!

Elsa in true form

In the Yard

Summer's turned into Fall here in the Pacific Northwest. The clouds are rolling in, but we are still savoring the last bit of dry weather. Elsa's been potty training, so we stuck close to the house for several days. Instead of heading off to a park, we stuck close to the yard for biking, only to realize that Sam's rapidly becoming a trickster in the making. Elsa is likewise quickly catching on to her balance bike and has started to lift her feet up and glide. They are both super fun to watch (when I'm not nervous about them colliding!)

In Elsa's Words

Elsa's eating a blueberry muffin.

Elsa: "Mom, this feels good."

Me: "What feels good, the muffin?"

Elsa: "Uh-huh."

Me: "Oh, the muffin tastes good?"

Elsa: "Yup."

I love how she scrunches up her nose when she smiles big!

August Family Roadtrip

My friend from college, Sara, had a beautiful wedding ceremony in Hood River, OR in August. It gave us an excellent excuse to do a little road trip. We drove south from Seattle to the north-west corner of Mount St. Helens, visiting the Forest Learning Center and the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Kyle and I were trading facts all day of the information we learned. Some cool facts:

-The trees didn't burn because they were encased in ash and the gaseous explosion limited the oxygen content in the air

-There was a zone of silence during the blast. The air was so dense that the sound of it wasn't heard within a 50 mi radius, though the blast itself was heard or felt up to 100+ miles.

Someone missing? He's hiding behind my legs.

Apparently, on the south side, you can walk through "lava caves," where ancient lava flows encased forest growth that later decayed. We're saving that for the future since the caves are dark and 42 degrees in the summer...

The best part of the observatory was jumping on a seismic monitor that showed you the subsequent pressure transducer readings in real time. Sam and Elsa loved it!

The kids enjoyed the fountain more than the view.

That night, we camped at Seaquest State Park. It was Sam's first time since he was 2 and Elsa's first camping ever. The kids did relatively well, and fell asleep before 9, but woke up well before anyone else in the campground. We had to high-tail it for a 6:30am breakfast down the road so as not to wake everyone else up! So much for the full-nature experience...

Pre-dinner activities

Finding the moon.

After our night of "roughing it," we drove further south to Portland, OR and used our AmEx points to stay at the Westin. Following a camping night, the beds were, indeed, heavenly! We started at OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and got in for free using our Pacific Science Center membership (score!). Elsa particularly enjoyed the paleontology lab where she spent many minutes picking up rocks and looking at fossilized shells.

Sharing mango juice at a Thai food truck.

After checking into the hotel, Elsa had a nap while Sam and I explored a fabulous toy store and had treats at a vegan/gluten free bakery. It was delicious, though I hilariously asked for "regular milk" for Sam after being offered "Soy, Almond, Rice, Hemp, or Coconut." They were like, uh, this is a vegan shop. Right! Okay, soy milk, then. 

Awesome treats. And soy milk, obviously.

After nap-time, we walked to the waterfront, had a good-ol frolic in the fountains, went to a Egyptian Halal food truck for dinner, and hit a Ben and Jerry's for dessert. Yum.

Love all the statues in Portland!

Fountains!

Sam's become camera shy lately.

Imitation of Sam.

Waterfront Selfie.

The next day, we drove east along the Columbia River into Hood River, OR for the wedding festivities. The first thing we did was a river float down the Klickitat River. It was advertised as a beer-drinking float so we took the kids along assuming that Class 1 and 2 rapids would be no big deal. Elsa and I in a two-person raft and Sam and Kyle each on inner-tube like rafts made it through the first rapid, roped together, just fine while nearly escaping some tree bramble. Some of the adults behind us, having just opened their first beers, were not so lucky. Floats were overturned, beers lost, and let's just say, a graceful, inflatable swan, never enjoyed the river waters again... Elsa and I portaged portaged around one other rapid (after I saw a look of trepidation in Kyle's white-water-rafting guide of two summer's eyes), but we otherwise had a successful river float. Kyle and I were excited to observe how much the kids seemed to enjoy it overall. I think we have more river-rafting in a future, though perhaps we'll wait a few more years...

Awesome park!

The following day was the wedding ceremony, on Eric's family's orchard, an expansive piece of land which has been in his family for generations. It was beautiful to watch the kids play in the creek that meanders through the property and to know that Eric used to play in those waters as a child and that their son, Jack, will play there too. Sara planted over 1500 sunflowers and, wow, they were just perfect. The whole experience felt very rooted in family history and alive with the magical energy of nature.

Beautiful ceremony location.

In their "farm formal" best!

Elsa was so proud to cross the creek. We did it several times. She is a true water-baby!

Biking Lake Washington Blvd

Many Sundays during the summer, Seattle's Lake Washington Blvd is closed to traffic for bikes and pedestrians. After Sam had a successful week of "Pedalheads" bike camp, we went out for a spin today.

They were predicting rain, and the world seemed all the more beautiful with the sun. The Obliteride race made things a bit crowded but the racers were nice, encouraging Sam and praising his speed.

With my frequent shouts of "Stay to the right!" and "Shoulder check left," Sam is quickly learning right from left.

Elsa's been on her Strider daily this week and insisted (i.e. cried like only a 2 yr old can) on "Ride my bike!" So, she did. After a short cruise, I then took her out on my bike so Sam and I could ride a little faster.

Afterward, we had lemonade. What a perfect summer day!

Mt. Rainier

Two year old with 200 foot, 1000 year old trees.

Diana and Dad Visit Seattle: April 2015

This is long overdue:

In April, Diana and Dad made the cross-country journey to visit us in Seattle.  We had reasonably good weather (better than New England!) and enjoyed a lot of the Seattle sites.

Diana and I walked Elsa down to the University Village shops where she played on the playground and enjoyed the fountains:

We had dinner at Aqua Verde, a mexican restaurant and kayak rental boat house along Portage Bay. Afterward, we had a walk along the waterfront:

Diana, Dad, and I visited Pike's Market (where the fish are thrown). We enjoyed sampling chowder (smoked salmon and seafood) and had a drink in my favorite Rachel's Ginger Beer storefront. There's nothing like a Moscow Mule in the afternoon!

We walked to one of our local playgrounds at Bryant Elementary school.

Our ferry ride out to Bainbridge Island was clouded by the classic low hazy clouds of the Puget Sound, but after exploring the main town, the clouds cleared and we had a sunny return ride:

On the island, we enjoyed a morning coffee, strolling along the shops, a visit to the local bookstore, and a lunch with a view of the marina.

We spent a lot of quality time together at home, reading books, listening to Dad play the piano, and eating great meals.

It was such a great visit! Looking forward to the next one!