Last week was an eventful one in our household; definitely breaking out of our normal routine for the various circumstances we had going on. Those being:
- Reese’s school was closed all last week and she didn’t go back until yesterday
- Lon and Trish were here visiting from Monday through Saturday
- With Reese out of school I asked for the nanny share to move to the other household, which meant having her drop off and pick up
- Each of Reese’s days off was filled with fun things for her (and us) to do
- It was another hot week
- It was also the last week that the wading pools and spray parks were open
- We officially had the real birthday to celebrate
- I’ve been continuing to interview and weigh offers from companies
- We had the cleaners come for the first time in like two months
Bryan had a great time spending the first few days of Reese’s week off with her and they sure made me jealous! For her actual birthday, he took her up to Everett to try out a high ropes course for young kids. The course was 20′ up in the air and had the whole harness and ropes getup to keep her safe. The course is open to those 4 and up so she is likely the smallest kid they’ve ever had try it out and unfortunately she couldn’t do nearly everything because she couldn’t reach high enough. But she tried everything she could, albeit nervously but bravely, and then did get to do three ziplines that she really loved. After their time at the ropes course they found a new excellent playground up north that they spent a long time at before heading home for lunch and then picking up Lon and Trish from the airport. We spent Reese’s birthday night out at Eastlake Bar and Grill for dinner on their patio and then headed home to sing happy birthday, have cake and ice cream, and open up presents. Presents this year included some dress up princess dresses, a sleeping bag, a new play rug for her room, purple bike helmet, streamers for her scooter’s handlebars, a harmonica, Peppa Pig puzzles, a kid’s digital camera, and a unicorn edition of Candyland. She did well I think!
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Reese and Bryan started their days at the Hyatt with Lon and Trish, getting a breakfast with them and then swimming in the luxe saltwater pool and hot tub in the hotel. On Tuesday, she swam so hard that she then passed out in their hotel room watching a movie and when I finally got there after work with Brooke and she woke up, she was just ready to head home, so we did. On Wednesday after swimming, they drove down south so that Reese could watch her first movie on the big screen, the new Minions movie. We spent Wednesday evening getting the seasonal special pizza we love so much, the Calabrese, from Tutta Bella. Our love for this pizza special runs deep and made for a simple takeout dinner.
Thursday was the one day that we had scheduled Reese to go over to her friend Lily’s house for their teacher Ashley to watch them for most of the day. This worked great as she got to see and play with her friend and teacher who she likes and both Bryan and I could work for the day.
And Friday was my one day off this week with Reese and we had purchased tickets to go with Lily and her mom and brother to the always-fun Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA. This year I wasn’t pregnant and Reese was tall enough to ride pretty much everything so we did just that. She also got the pony ride experience which she continues to get more and more brave doing and this time as they were sizing her for a small pony based on her height she openly exclaimed “I want a big pony”. Which she got, and this year she rode Cauliflower, maybe the second biggest pony in the entire yard. And she did great and thoroughly enjoyed it the whole time. We were at the park from open at 10:30 am until the kids were so wiped out which happened to not be until about 3 pm. Reese didn’t even want to break for lunch but I still managed to get her to eat something and then we shared a delicious soft serve cup before heading back to Seattle to pick up Brooke, and Reese crashed the whole ride home. We headed back home and Lon and Trish came over for a dinner at home of pork tenderloin with brandied peaches, salad, and potatoes. It was a laid back and relaxing night and a kick off to the holiday weekend.
Saturday was Lon and Trish’s day of departure and we met up with them to get a group brunch with their vouchers at the hotel downtown. We had to wait a tad for a table but once seated had full reign for the buffet where we went pretty heavy handed on all of the fresh fruit, crispy bacon, croissants (especially for Reese) and each ordered a made-to-order omelet and some waffles to share. Everything was delicious and we left full and ready to take on the pool. I got Brooke to nap in the hotel room so the three of us got started without her, moving from the swimming pool to the hot tub and back several times. Brooke woke up about 45 minutes in (I could have predicted it) and she got dressed and joined us for another hour or so. We had to say our goodbyes to Lon and Trish and they got a ride back to the airport to allow us to continue to use the hotel benefits until we had to checkout for them at 4 pm. Reese thoroughly enjoyed the luxurious bath tub (well all three girls did really) and then asked to hang out in the room with Bryan and candy until 4. Brooke was restless so I took her for a walk which she was all about for people watching. We headed back to our house for the rest of the night.
For the remainder of the weekend, we took Reese to gymnastics Sunday morning like normal. We went to the park both Sunday and Monday. We had some friends over for a low key dinner of pulled pork sandwiches on Sunday night, and we packed a picnic and took a long walk through the Arboretum, eating lunch at the point to watch the boat traffic, walked over the docks and all of the way up to University Village where we browsed a few stores, Reese got a new dress for her first day of school, we visited the mall’s little playground, and then we got a mystery shop dinner on the patio of Piatti, which was delicious and easy. We walked back to the stadium to catch the bus back home and got home at about 6:30 pm.
The weekend was over but Reese and I still had a day off together before she was back to school. We had to drop off Brooke at the other house but she slept until 7:30 and Reese I had to wake up after 8. We got ready quick and headed out on foot to drop off Brooke. We then played at the park next to their house for some time, picked up some donuts and coffee, and then found a nail salon to give ourselves a little R&R. Had never been to this salon before and it wasn’t fancy but it was perfectly small and the lady was so sweet with Reese. Reese loved it and of course picked out five colors to have a different color on each nail, rainbow colors. We left there and stumbled on another park before heading home for a lunch of grilled cheese which we ate on our front stoop and then Reese was tired and put herself to nap in her bed. I had to wake her up to walk back to get Brooke by 4 pm and Reese was still barely awake when we got there. We spent our time at the other family’s house before heading back home to meet up with Bryan and then head over to a FareStart friend’s house whom we haven’t seen in 2.5 years. We caught up with some delicious snacks and wine on the back deck before we needed to bring the girls home to get ready for bed.
Reese is back at school and the weather has been PERFECT! I just can’t believe that September sprung on us fast and I still do not want the summer to end at all!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 