It’s been a little over a week since my parents left Seattle but it feels like a lifetime ago since they were here long enough this time to make it actually feel like them being here was a constant. And it was so nice!!!! For an entire month we had people to eat dinner with, take the girls to gymnastics, had a few sleepovers, and Bryan and I actually got to ride our bikes together. How rare! Saying we already miss them here is an understatement. But there were a lot of good times that we had and the most important thing was they really got a peek into the life of the girls and the girls got some really good Grammy and Grandad time.
With my parents here for four full weeks there is way too much that happened to give a daily report but I can give a pretty good summary. They arrived in Seattle the day before we got back from Hawaii so their first day was spent settling in to their new digs for a bit and then brought us over dinner the night we returned. That first week was a short one but a good introduction to all of the various extracurriculars we have with Reese and Brooke at gymnastics on Wednesdays and Reese back at gymnastics on Fridays, Reese swim on Thursdays and Brooke dance Saturday mornings. That first week they joined us for all of the things. We had a few nights of dinners at home and then did our rather frequent happy hour at Tutta Bella in Columbia City after gymnastics on Friday night. Mom and I got to play soccer together after this happy hour for my first night game ever in Seattle and against a pretty darn good team but it was super fun to play and also conveniently located near our house. On Saturday after dance my parents came over to let Bryan and I go for our first long ride together. We packed up the bikes and headed down to Boeing in Renton to bike through Maple Valley and the Cedar River Trail. We enjoyed a great 40 mile bike ride and then headed to Café Sabah for a delicious Turkish dinner that was huge and we easily demolished. We headed home to do bedtime duties to allow my parents to get ready for their friends arrival the next morning.
Sunday was the start to a week for my parents to spend venturing in and around Seattle with their friends Cindy and Durv who were disembarking their very long cruise in Seattle. They picked them up and headed to Green Lake to get coffee and take a walk to catch Reese’s soccer game before they got themselves ready to leave town. They covered a lot of distance in a few short days. They drove up to Bellingham and stayed in the harbor there for one night before driving the next morning to the North Cascades National Park, the Diablo Lake overlook and got in a nice hike before getting back to their car. They stopped at the Newhalem Visitor Center and then drove west, through Whidbey Island, and caught the Clinton to Port Townsend ferry. They spent their second night in quaint Port Townsend and enjoyed a fun cocktail speakeasy bar and playing dominos until late at night. On Tuesday they got up and drove first to Lake Crescent for a little hike and then drove back up and around Hurricane Ridge to the top of the Olympic National Park. The drive up was a little sketchy through some thick clouds on a steep and windy road but the views from the top were worth it. They then drove back down and through Bainbridge Island to Tacoma where they had an Airbnb for the night that included more dominos playing. Their last adventure day began with driving to the Paradise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park, taking in some sights and a good meal, and then heading back to their place in Seattle, having a delicious night of tapas down the street to finish it off. They spent all of Thursday exploring Seattle on a very beautiful weather day. They walked down to Pike Place Market to explore and see the new waterfront. They then walked to the Seattle Center to explore Chihuly and then took a cab up to Kerry Park in Upper Queen Anne to take in the views there. They stopped at a pub up there for a snack and then proceeded to walk all the way down Queen Anne hill and up Capitol Hill back to their place where they picked up Thai takeout and rested their legs. We happily watched the two cats there were sitting for while they were away.
After dropping their friends off at the airport on Friday I told them to go ahead and rest up before reuniting with us, they were going to need it! Our week had been much tamer, aside from the usual extracurriculars we had Georgie and Sam over for dinner on Monday night, Bryan did Farestart volunteering on Thursday and then I did the Sleepless in Seattle dinner on the houseboat for Farestart on Friday while Bryan took the girls over to Georgie and Sam’s house for a BBQ. I did get to catch up with my parents on my way over to the houseboat which was nice to stop and see them solo first without the girls to really hear about their trip.
On Saturday, after dance and a quick playdate with Brooke’s friends over, Reese was off to Mira’s birthday party and my parents came over to spend the rest of the day with the girls so that Bryan and I could go on another ride and then they were going to take the girls over to their place for a sleepover. Bryan and I got a little bit of a late start for the bike ride and didn’t end up picking up Jersey Mikes for lunch and then hitting the route at about 2 pm but this did allow for most of the light rain to pass. This was particularly important because it was fairly chilly out. We set out on a rather flat but really amazing 65 mile ride that Bryan had picked out and it ended up being a good one. We only took a very short break at the turn around point 32 miles in because it then started to rain again and we didn’t want to be out there any longer than we had to. We made good time on the way back and got back to Seattle around 8 pm, changed clothes and quickly headed to Cactus to refuel on some delicious food and one shared margarita that we sadly both felt pretty quickly. We were so tired we basically headed back home for showers before falling fast asleep. It was so nice waking up to a quiet house and we took our time getting breakfast before heading to Reese’s soccer game where we reunited with my parents and the girls. Unfortunately, Reese wasn’t feeling her best and didn’t play at all in the first half. She did get back in there for the second half, proceeded to play at Miller Park with Lottie while I played soccer after her game, but once her and Lottie were back at our house she complained of a headache, threw up once outside while laying on my lap, and then took a two-hour nap. We decided not to do dinner with my parents and just take an easy night off.
We enjoyed a festive Cinco De Mayo dinner at our house on Monday, spent Tuesday playing at Yesler Terrace Park and then enjoying Din Tai Fung dumplings after, and then were back at the daily grind of extracurriculars. The girls had one more sleepover at Grammy and Grandad’s on Friday night so that Bryan and I could attend the TOPS spring auction. This year it was held at the newest Victor Tavern in Eastlake, down the street from Reese’s school. It was a totally open bar and had a great spread for dinner and the first-grade parents were split over two large tables and it was fun enjoying each other’s company without the kids this time. Bryan and I enjoyed ourselves but not too much so that we could wake up the next morning on the earlier side to set out on another bike ride together. This time we had a 65-mile route planned around Camano Island, about an hour north of Seattle. The ride started as planned and was quite enjoyable around the island. We had a time crunch to attend a Zoom call for Reese’s gymnastics and it started to sprinkle right at the end so we decided to skip the extra 15-mile loop at the end and just push ourselves fast to end at 50 miles. We listened to the Zoom call, grabbed a sandwich and headed back to Seattle to freshen up, pick up the girls and then Thai food for dinner.
Mother’s Day Sunday came and Bryan made us breakfast in bed and Reese’s soccer game was later in the afternoon which was nice not to have to rush out for. After the game, my mom and I headed to University Village to do some jean shopping at Evereve. We had a great time shopping together and getting a bunch of items picked out for us from their associates. This was a super fun treat and really enjoyable. We headed back home where the boys were busy making a delicious dinner of oven roasted salmon, potatoes, salad and green beans. Such a great way to end the day, time spent with my own mom and meals I didn’t cook!
We were now into our last week with my parents in town. Mom and I took the girls to Madison Park on Monday. We all headed to the Mariners vs Yankees game on Tuesday. We lucked out with weather and stayed through the 9th inning but left before the extra innings because it was already going to be quite late for the girls to go to bed. We missed the light rail and the bus by a minute and ended up not getting home until 11 pm! I was toast, as were the girls but the game was so fun and the Mariners ended up pulling it out. I managed to rally the next day to go to my friend Marika’s happy hour thanks to my parents taking the girls to their gymnastics class. I got to enjoy drinks with my friends and then came home to my parents grilling us delicious pork chops. Another night of not cooking dinner! Thursday after swim class, myself and the girls met up with my parents to dine at FareStart, where Bryan was volunteering. The dinner was a delicious three course meal by the students and Brian Clevenger from Vendemmia in Madrona. The girls thought it was really special seeing Daddy serving people food and I think they felt a bit like rock stars, getting private access to certain spaces and being greeted by many people they had no idea who they were.
The last weekend brought us some rain which we really hadn’t had the entire length of their stay. We had a cozy dinner in on Friday night and then Saturday was very rainy and we all headed to Reese’s two-hour gymnastics tryout. My parents then took the girls to get their nails done and offered to watch them one more night so that Bryan and I could have a relaxed night out and not one spent biking. We took them up on this and ventured to Pike Market to try the new tapas bar Lonely Siren that my parents had tried and liked. We had a delicious meal here of wine, cocktails, octopus, steak skewers with chimichurri, patatas bravas and brussel sprouts that were amazing. We walked around the new waterfront, in the rain, and then ventured into Shug’s Soda Fountain for a delicious brownie sundae to share. We headed home to put the girls to bed. Sunday was our last full day with the parents and it was fortunately a sunny one. Mom and I got to play soccer together one more time so headed south for that and the girls played on the playground with Grandad and then we got fast food on our way north to Reese’s soccer game. Bryan left the house really early to go get a long ride in with Chris on Bainbridge Island. They enjoyed the hilly ride and nice weather and the ferry ride together. Bryan met up with us for Reese’s game. We headed back home after the game with Lottie in tow for a short play date and then walked down the street to try Hanuman Thai, next to Brooke’s school, for the first time. The food did not come out fast but it was very delicious and was huge portions for us to share. It was a nice walk back home where my parents were spending one night with us before flying back the next morning.
Monday morning came and none of us were thrilled about it. It was also a rainy start to the day as I walked Reese to the bus stop. I then took Brooke to school after we said goodbye to Grammy and Grandad. I’ve told so many people how wonderful their stay was and how it truly made us realize what the life would be like with family close to help with the kids. In one word: amazing! We really enjoyed all of the time spent with them and fun activities that we had. We lucked out with the weather and it really just felt like a special trip!
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Chelsea
