One quite different than any others in the past. However, it wasn’t completely foreign. Memorial Days in the past we meant getting together with friends or family for BBQs. We would spend some time outside; either going on a hike or playing in the water. And the three day weekend would go way too fast. We still did all of that, and yes, it did go by way too fast. The weekends always do these days when its difficult to make them seem much different than the weekdays. We got together with friends; old and new. We went for a hike and played in the water.
Friday was amazing! After a day that was dreary, unexciting and at the end of a long and subdued week, we got out of the house. Our nanny invited us over to her house for the weekly Friday happy hour and it was glorious to sit on a couch, eating dinner, and socializing in a place other than our own. It was the first time in over two months. We met two of her roommates and ordered a massive Indian spread. I had a ton of naan and washed that down with gin and tonics and was in a completely different mood than when I arrived. Hallelujah, just what the doctor ordered.
Saturday started out with our weekly banana pancakes and bacon and we quickly decided to take ourselves out of town on a hike. It was going to be overcast and cool so there wasn’t much sense in staying in town. We set out of Seattle just before 11 am (nap time usually) and headed south towards Mt. Rainier. We made it to the trailhead of McDonald Mountain and Reese was drowsy, having woken up from only a 40 minute nap. She started out on foot and then moved into her hiking backpack. For the majority of the 8.5 mile, 2,300 feet vertical hike, the route was on an old forest road which provided plenty of space to pass others, both hikers and bikers. It was a gentle uphill climb with one great flat reach where you could catch some views. Reese fell asleep about 20 minutes from the top of the mountain and then woke back up about 20 minutes on the way back down so she definitely missed out on the summit. We didn’t spend much time at the top, what with Reese sleeping and the overcast skies preventing us from seeing Rainier, the Olympics and could barely see Seattle. Reese got a bit cold on the way down and we transitioned into me carrying her in my arms, wrapped in my jacket, where she was super snuggly. We made it back down to the car around 5, making it a 4 hr trek from start to finish. We set back home, picking up Halal Guys on our way home, and enjoyed the night kicking up our feet.
Sunday was a beautiful day from start to finish, only getting up to about 70 degrees, but it always feels warmer in our backyard. We spent the morning building obstacle courses and running Reese ragged. She was ready for her nap shortly after 11 am and slept until about 2 pm, allowing me to read in the hammock and do some tidying up around the house and yard and Bryan to work on the brewing set up. Once awake, we played in the backyard and debated going for a bike ride. Apparently all of us were delaying and hesitating in biting the bullet on a bike ride because as soon as Sarah texted asking to get together we jumped at the chance. Sarah and Lottie joined us for the night for the girls to play in the pool, had an amazing dinner of Bryan’s steak, sweet corn, salad, strawberries (all of the tastes of summer) and watched Moana on the outdoor big screen. The girls were cute and it was good to have another adult to talk to again.
Monday was the gloomy day on the weather forecast so I didn’t wake up too excited for this extra day. Still grateful to have another day off but Reese never got the message about the long weekend and woke by 6 am every single day. I was B.E.A.T on this particular morning so after trying my best to hang in there for the morning, when Reese asked daddy for cereal after 8 am, I passed out in bed and didn’t wake up again until 10 am. This surprised even me because I rarely am the type to go back to bed. But I needed it for sure. Then Reese proved she needed her own sleep, sleeping for nearly 4 hours, 2 hours with her daddy laying next to her. Meanwhile, I took the time to do a workout, make some soup for the week, and call my parents. After she finally woke up, Reese and I set out to walk with Polly, Ryuhei and Momo at Carkeek Park. The rain let up long enough for us to get in this short walk, and Reese was super excited to see Polly and Momo again. We made it home to have homemade fettuccine alfredo with daddy before settling into another week.
I’m glad its a short week and the weather is looking good during the week, just not for the next weekend. Reese has gone back to her usual self, more or less, when going down for bed. I’m thankful we aren’t having marathon bedtime sessions anymore, although she still wants to fall asleep on the big bed next to me. She’s been super sweet and cuddly all weekend. I’m definitely enjoying this stage of Reese. Can’t believe this is the last week of May already.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 