I hurried and tried to get out updates on our first two trips and the bike ride at the beginning of summer and then Bryan’s birthday, party and other things hit and I haven’t gotten around to writing about Bryan’s big 40th birthday!
Coming off of the STP, our bodies were recovering and Bryan wasn’t wanting to do anything big on his actual birthday so we had ourselves a lowkey birthday dinner, cake and fun with just our family. Bryan managed to get his birthday Starbucks on a nice long walk to Madrona Park and spent the day working from home. Reese had her second gymnastics class on the new team so once we got the girls, we headed down to Columbia City to drop off Reese and get the tail end of the happy hour at Jackalope. We each got a margarita (Bryan two) and I decided to try some of their grilled cheese tacos off of the happy hour menu, which were big and delicious. We inhaled the delicious chips and salsa, Brooke got a quesadilla she much enjoyed, and Bryan got the seafood enchiladas which he loved. We somehow were massively stuffed and finished early and intended to go watch Reese in the second half of her class but it was so hot in the gym and we were so uncomfortably full that we decided to just go for a drive to at least have some AC. Once Reese’s class was over, we headed back home to have a refreshing mint chocolate ice cream cake which we shared off of the plate, the girls doing some serious boxing out for their share.
The remainder of this week were the usual events, more gymnastics classes, the Volunteer Park summer concert with Georgie’s family this time, play at the wading pool and playground beforehand. Bryan and I each went for our first run and our first leg lifting in ages and neither of us have been sorer. Saturday was a nice relaxed day mostly at home and we loved it. We did all walk as a family to the Arboretum playground for Brooke’s buddy, Lucille’s birthday party. The girls enjoyed riding their bikes there and back and enjoyed the playground and friends for a few hours. That night we enjoyed dinner outside and used our solo stove for a nice campfire before getting the girls set up with a movie in their bed.
Sunday was Bryan’s birthday party and we had reserved a section for a group of about 40 and a bunch of food at Outsider’s BBQ in Fremont. The party was from 2-4 pm and we got there just a bit early to set up a few of the things we had brought for the party and coordinate with the venue about the food and drink. For this Western themed party, we brought a pin the tail on the horse that Reese led the kids through, some face paint, cowboy themed tattoos, and coloring books. We brought 40 bandanas for people to take and we all came dressed for the party in our cowboy boots, chaps and overalls for Reese, overalls and hat for Brooke, and a pearl snap shirt and belt for Bryan. We had a slew of pork and brisket sandwiches, potato salad, coleslaw, kale salad and mac and cheese for all of our guests. I brought a black forest sheet cake with fresh cherries that we did a cheer to (not sung for) and sliced that up for all of the guests. The venue worked out really great with live music, a fire pit which was nice until it got very sunny and warm, plenty of beer, and the kids’ area where all of the kids vanished to and we didn’t see them until cake time. Our family had a great time and were tuckered out at the end of it. We had a few sandwiches and sides that we took home and made great use of them for about two meals that following week.
Aside from the pearl snap shirts I got Bryan and a STP jersey, my main gift was a boat share for our family. We signed up for the speed boat only level of boat share with Carefree Boat Share and we are very excited about it. It took a bit longer than we thought to get us signed up with the contract, to each get our boater’s license taking an online boating course, and then getting over to Fisherman’s terminal for our orientation and boating course with one of the instructors who essentially just made sure we could maneuver the boat well enough and dock. Being that we were already having to go over there in the middle of the workday, we decided to take it as an opportunity to bike there and back, just over seven miles each way, all on trail. We got lunch after our instruction, in the marina, before biking back home to finish up the day. We’ve taken out one boat so far, on a gloriously sunny and warm Sunday afternoon. We took this as an introduction, sticking mainly to Lake Union, taking a dip to cool off, experiencing the wild waters of the Lake Washington cut, and then getting dinner at Ivar’s on Lake Union before refueling the boat and heading back to the marina.
That same weekend was also the Torchlight Parade which we’ve never been to as a family but now that it is moved down to the brand new waterfront and newly opened playground we decided to take the bus to check it out. The girls had a surprising amount of enthusiasm for the parade and enjoyed the new playground. They lived giving those in the parade a high five and dancing along to the music. The night was beautiful and it was difficult to get them to leave the parade before it was over at 10:30. We managed to, shared a large sundae at Shug’s Soda Shoppe in the market and then got home real late!
The week after the party Reese had Kids Club camp with Georgie and Lily and that meant that she had her overnight camp with them over to Camp Burton on Vashon Island from Wednesday through Friday. She went last year with Georgie and she got homesick, which was a surprise to all of us, I think. This year that was not the case though. She was excited to go, packed her bag all by herself the night before, and only called us from camp at night before bed to tell us how much fun they were having. Of course, on Friday, once their bus got back to Seattle, she called us to say, “I’m back and I’m tired of waiting so come pick me up.” Which we did. We wanted to catch up with her about her experience and Brooke was very excited to have her back home, so we all went for a very early dinner at Tutta Bella before Reese’s gymnastics practice.
Brooke was very excited to have her back but I think she also enjoyed her time with just the two of us. We had a very quiet night at home one night and on Thursday night we took Brooke to the wading pool and park at Volunteer Park like usual and then set out our blanket for the weekly concert, this week an ABBA cover band and 80s hits band which were both super fun, and actually got to sit on said blanket, eat our food and drink wine. Brooke did not sit the full time but she proceeded to play and dance and sing with us while still allowing us to sit and enjoy the music. Crazy! This was actually a very pleasant night.
And the last week was an eventful one for us all. I have had a surprising series of events at my work and was called to come into our Spokane office for the day on Tuesday so I woke at 5 am to go to the airport fly to Spokane, meet with people all day and then was supposed to get back home around 7:30 pm but my flight got delayed and I had dinner in Spokane before flying back and getting home just before 10 pm. It was a long day but went well for me. I took the girls to the Volunteer Park concert this week, for my favorite week which is Dance Church. This is a very fun time doing an exercise like outdoor dancing session led by an instructor and just the best when all of the little kids are dancing along and enjoying it too. Bryan was volunteering at FareStart but we had so many friends in attendance with us.
Friends Mark and Kim from Colorado, and their two kids Addie and Aiden, were in town for a family wedding and while Bryan went to pop in and visit with them on Wednesday afternoon, we got an impromptu and fun visit with them when they came to stay with us for the weekend. They came over on Friday afternoon, right before I went to go get the girls from their school and the Blue Angels were about to fly. They had dinner with us of burgers and hot dogs Friday night and Saturday we set out for Seward Park to partake in our usual SeaFair festivities. We picked up a pizza from Amazon Fresh on the way, found parking fairly easy, and with all four kids riding their bikes and having the wagon to carry all of the other things, we got to the point without much trouble. We inflated our relaxation station and paddle board and swam, hung out and watched the airshow from about 12:30 – 5:30 pm. After the show we kept going around Seward Park, on foot (for Kim and I), bike (for the kids), and paddleboard (for Mark and Bryan). We reconvened at the playground for the next bit and eventually packed up and headed back home for chicken fajitas and quesadillas at our house, another movie in the girl’s room, and sleep. Sunday morning, I think we were all pooped and the two older girls didn’t wake up until 10 am. Bryan let me stay home to catch up on laundry, the house, and some paperwork for Brooke’s school while he took the girls and Mark and Kim’s family to the Seattle Center by bus to play at the playground there, get lunch in the Armory, and then they spent a few hours at the Seattle Children’s Museum, which was a hit. God bless Bryan on this day. They bussed back and we said our goodbyes right before the Blue Angels performed their last show of the year which we watched from the backyard.
Summer continues to be a never-ending series of both planned and impromptu events and I love it, even when it wears you out. We of course have more fun and eventful days in the month ahead but I cannot believe it is already August!
—
Chelsea
