These past several days we have had Grandma and Papa Miller in town to get a glimpse into Reese’s routine, see her school, her parks and even celebrate her birthday with her friends. It’s been a nice visit and we bid them farewell at the airport last night. Not sure when we will see them next but hopefully not in too far a distant future.
Bryan picked up his parents Wednesday night and got them situated in their hotel but Reese and I didn’t get to say hello until Thursday afternoon after work/school. We all met at Reese’s school to pick her up and head to Volunteer Park for some time. Reese showed her playground skills for some time and then we headed home to have some Thai takeout and catch up with one another. The temperatures were starting to heat up and the smoke was settling in on Thursday which ended up remaining through Saturday night.
Friday was the last day of the week and working from home meant more like party prep for Bryan and I as we were fortunate enough to have a slow day at work to get ready. We readied the backyard and then got the bounce house situated. Bryan picked up his parents and Reese a little early and headed home, with a quick stop at Lowrider Cookie Company, and then Reese got to test out the bounce house, which was a hit! We spent quite some time in the backyard on Friday and then had a seafood dinner (thanks to Seattle Fish Guys) at home. We said our “goodnights” to Grandma and Papa and then all tried to get good sleep before the party.
Saturday morning began with us finishing our party preparations; making some snack platters and putting everything out in the backyard. Reese’s party dress came just in the nick of time and she was excited to don her “Birthday Queen” purple dress. Lottie and Sarah came over and then guests started trickling in. The girls had three other classmates over to play and one who came over to say “hi” but couldn’t stay as we were all notified of a positive Covid case in the Toddlers Room that morning. There were four other kids present and their parents and it was the right number to have in our backyard. The kids all enjoyed jumping in the bounce house as well as the bubble guns, the indoor toys and the playhouse and kitchen. We had pizzas delivered around 11:30 am and then sang happy birthday to the girls shortly after that with a variety of chocolate and funfetti cupcakes. The party was over about 1 pm and Reese was pretty worn out by this time and ready for a nap.
After some downtime for all of us, we were ready for round 2 and Reese was back outside to jump and play. Bryan needed to take his parents for an errand that night so Reese and I hung at home, playing more in the backyard and then finally taking a bath as the girl was covered in sweet and smelled like cupcakes. Bryan picked us up Caribbean sandwiches from Paseos and we enjoyed this along with a movie and then ice cream at home.
Sunday was wide open with no plans and we got off to a slow start. The three of us had breakfast at home and tried to get Reese out for a walk to the park but she decided she would rather bounce, go figure. After a morning at home, the Millers came over just before Reese was heading down for her nap, and Bryan and I decided to take advantage of our visitors to go out for a joint bike ride.
We set out for our Mercer Island loop, and although I am slower these days, it still felt great to get some fresh air and exercise after a few days of being at home. The smoke was pretty much gone and although it was warm the ride was pretty well shaded. We returned home from our 24 mile ride and Reese had just woken up from her nap. We took showers and played with some toys inside and then all headed out to Montlake Playfield to have some more park fun. Reese was pretty much running full speed and did everything available to her at the park, including the very difficult ropes ladder that led up to the skyhigh slide. After Reese had done everything we set out for Eastlake Bar and Grill for dinner on the patio. Dinner was enjoyable and Reese did alright during dinner. The weather was beautiful and comfortable and around 7:30 pm we headed home with a stop to drop Grandma and Papa off at their hotel.
Monday was Lon and Trish’s last day in Seattle and Bryan and I both had to work. Lon and Trish came over midday, after checking out of their hotel, and were able to relax at our house for the afternoon. We picked up Reese together and did one more visit at a park before Bryan headed south to take his parents to the airport. It was a nice visit with the Millers and it’s always tough when we don’t know when the next visit will be. I’m hoping that Lon and Trish enjoyed their First Class flight home at least!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 