I was hopeful that at the time of my last post Reese was getting better on her own but alas, Reese had to take that Friday and Monday off school, would seem to feel better and then hit another wall, fever spike, and she’d be low energy again. This went on all that weekend. She made it through dance class but couldn’t make it through a friend’s birthday party at the climbing gym. While I was delivering a meal and meeting Polly’s new baby boy, Hugo, Reese’s fever spiked to its highest and her complaint of pain in her ear led to the conclusion of another ear infection and Bryan was able to get her antibiotics that night to start taking right away. After 24 hours on the antibiotics she was doing so much better and has felt herself ever since, thank goodness.
Last weekend, now that everyone was feeling good, we also got to celebrate beautiful weather in Seattle. Friday through Tuesday we had temperatures above 60, most around 70, full sun, birds chirping, etc, etc. It was so needed and we enjoyed it immensely. We walked to Capitol Hill on that Friday for a TOPS kindergarten meetup at Stoup Brewing where the parents go to drink the kids got to play, and we decided to linger longer and enjoyed some delicious fried chicken and fries from the Impeccable Chicken food truck parked outside. Both girls had a great time and it was a nice way to unwind from the week with people we continue to get to know better.
Saturday we spent pretty much all day outside. We tidied up the yard in various ways and then set out with the bike and trailer to our friend Marion’s daughter’s third birthday party in the park six miles north of us. It was a nice first family ride, we played in the park, had some cake and then headed back home. Our friends Luis and Carina and their kids came over after the party for an impromptu grilled dinner we enjoyed on our back deck for the first grill of the season. The kids had a great time playing with each other but the late departure might have been a little too late as the girls seemed past their limit when we finally went to bed. Bryan and I were also spent from the day.
Sunday was more low-key for sure but we did have dance class in the morning and then just hung out at home for a while where we waited for Sarah and Lottie to come over for a St Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and red potatoes. We hadn’t had a night with those two in several weeks and it was nice to catch up and we again enjoyed eating outside on the back deck again. We finished the night with Bryan’s grasshopper pie for a touch of green.
Then this week was a week that I had been slightly worried about logistically speaking. I was asked to go to the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Steel Conference in San Antonio for our senior engineering annual team building event. It’s the time each year we get together for some team dinners, earn some professional development hours (PDHs) and all come together where we all normally work independently.
I think this conference was a hit and really worthwhile. The technical sessions were really interesting, both professionally and personally, and well done. The conference was Wednesday through Friday and I was able to attend pretty much the full day Wednesday and Thursday. I flew down to San Antonio on Tuesday and was happy to have one night solo before the rest of the team arrived the next day. I had a great dinner at a place called Corinne, walked along the riverwalk, and then tried to get a good night sleep. Fortunately, the days didn’t start too early for, being in Central Time zone, and I had only a 15 minute walk to the Convention Center. The conference provided easy grab and go lunches each day and I got a tasty cold brew from Starbucks in the mornings. Each day ended around 5:30 pm where I would head back to the hotel to drop off my backpack (we were technically still working so I had to log on and do some projects when I could between sessions) and then get ready for dinner.
On Wednesday night our whole group walked over to Pinkerton’s BBQ for a massive shared family platter of delicious BBQ. I tried ribs, brisket and pork and they were all good. We got tons of sides, which honestly were just a side glance compared to the BBQ and not as good and a Ranch Water from the bar which was my first time trying this drink but really liked it. I was so full from dinner and all of my colleagues were off to bed. I talked to the family but then decided I was not too full for ice cream and walked down the riverwalk to the Justin’s Ice Cream booth I had seen earlier in the day and got some great Mexican Brownie and Oaxacan Chocolate ice cream. Now I was beyond stuffed.
Thursday night our group opted out of the conference block party dinner and had a reservation at Brenner’s on the River for their well-known Texas steaks. This was a length dinner but a great one nonetheless and really good conversation with my coworkers. The American wagyu filet that I had was delicious, as were all of the sides, the wine, and the bread. I was again stuffed and really could do without beef for some time. We went for a walk as a group, which was interesting as it had rained hard while we had been eating and the sidewalks along the river were semi-flooding. I said goodbye to our team around 10 pm as I had changed my flight to the 7 am CST the next morning to get back home for the girls and had a very early wakeup call. My flight this morning went as smooth as could be, although I did not get a nap in so I’m tired now. I enjoyed my few nights away, seeing my peers and a few colleagues from Michigan CEE and Seattle SEAW and having a quick week break off of studying before I enter the homestretch.
Bryan did amazing with the girls while I was gone and had a very busy week himself. Bryan was in charge of running a two-day workshop for about 100 people on Thursday and Friday on the Smarter Testing that they have bene looking into and from what I have heard so far, all went really well. But it was a lot for him to prepare and a lot for him to do on top of being the sole parent this week and I can’t believe he made it work. We did have to have our sitter come over for an hour each the past two mornings to do drop-offs at the bus and school but that also seemed to work well.
I’m glad to be home. I’m glad to not have much of anything on the calendar this weekend other than hang out with the family. And I’m ready to tackle this SE coming up.
—
Chelsea
