We’ve officially wrapped up summer. The girls are back in school, the paddleboards are stored under the house, and the leaves are starting to change. The past month has been insane. When I last reported, I was on my way back from Spokane to Seattle where we were kicking off a few days with Grandma and Papa Miller. They arrived in Seattle and their basement unit Airbnb just a few streets over just before I landed in Seattle. I arrived home as they were all settling into some Pagliacci’s pizza at our house, catching up with one another, and finally getting to relax after a long drive up from Phoenix. We had to call it a night as some of us still had work/school the next day.
Reese was home with me on Friday and we enjoyed some quiet time together at home. Friday night Reese had gymnastics like usual but we had a nice dinner of Bryan’s Alaskan salmon outside on the deck once she was back home. Saturday we were back at gymnastics with Lon and Trish as Reese had an additional 2-hour routine clinic to learn her floor routine and then we let Brooke do the one-hour Indoor Playground since she had missed her last few gymnastics classes due to our availability. After class we headed back home and picked up lunch from Feed Co. The girls decorated some bird houses that they were gifted from the grandparents and tried on some of the new clothes that they were brought. Bryan sous-vided some steaks for all of us that came out so nice and again enjoyed in the excellent weather outside.
On Sunday, Bryan took the opportunity of the nice weather to paddleboard around Mercer Island with Luis and Phillip. It took them four or five hours for the 15-mile trip. I played soccer with my team at the Arboretum and then we all headed up north to Lynnwood for Lucas’ birthday party at the Pump it Up there. Reese was in a full bore sweat by the end of the party and Brooke was enjoying herself too. Both girls enjoyed the pizza and cake and then we took advantage of the stores up north to go get the girls some new kicks at Sketchers before heading back to Seattle where we picked up Thai food to finish the night.
Our last day with Lon and Trish was on Monday and the girls had their various places but we all went up to their rental to hang out for a bit before heading back to our place and Bryan and I got a rare dinner out, walking down to Harvest Vine for a delicious dinner. We said our goodbyes to them Monday night and they set back out on their long ride back the next morning.
The last week of summer break Reese had a four-day 9-2 cooking class through Frog Legs Cooking School, held at the Mt Baker Community Club with her friend Mira. She learned to make homemade pasta, banana splits, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, tacos, pizza and breakfast for lunch. She seemed to really enjoy it but logistically it was not the easiest. Brooke’s last day at Creative Beginnings was on Wednesday of that week and she was home with me Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, we had her buddy Madison over for a playdate for a few hours and then we got Reese and Mira together and played at the park for a while before bussing back.
On Friday, Madison’s mom took Brooke to Madison Park with her girls for a few hours and this was a much-needed break for me to get some work done and get ready for Reese’s birthday. I wrapped her presents and made her a cookie cake. Bryan took the day off of work and took Reese for her first time to Wild Waves for the amusement park and water park. They both had such a good time and were there for their full hours of operation; from 11 am – 6 pm. Once home we had dinner, opened presents and sang happy birthday to our new 7-year-old. On this day Reese also woke up with her first wiggly tooth.
Our Labor Day weekend was fairly low-key and relaxed. We had our Texas friends, Phillip and Anne and their kids over to watch Texas’ kickoff game versus Ohio State. Unfortunately, the outcome was not as we would have wanted but we still enjoyed waffles, fruit salad and mimosas. On Sunday afternoon we got a last-minute reservation to take one of the boats out. This time we took Reese’s buddy Clara and her sister Fiona and dad out with us and got it in the morning slot. We picked them up from the Leschi marina, close to their home and first had fun swimming off of the boat and then the girls spent about 30 solid minutes or more tubing. They had a blast and we were bummed to have to cut it short to take the boat back in.
On the Monday of the holiday weekend, we got a new sitter to come over to watch the girls while Bryan and I got to go out on the boat for the first time without the kids. Our FareStart group of friends had been talking to get together for a wine/whiskey night for ages and we made it happen…on a boat. We had six of us on a beautiful night on Lake Union, enjoying wine, whiskey and snacks on the boat and then docking at Westward for some snacks off of the boat. It was a super enjoyable night and we got a new sitter that the girls really enjoyed for future outings in our address book.
Tuesday was a day that both girls had no school but I had work so we had Lottie over for the majority of the day. The three girls really played pretty well together, keeping each other occupied and entertained. They spent half the day outside on the bounce house and started winding down in the afternoon. Reese also lost her first tooth! Reese had gymnastics and then we got the girls all cleaned up ahead of their first day at school the next day.
Wednesday morning came early but I was expecting it to be even worse than it was. We managed to get up, get lunches/snacks packed, dressed and to the bus stop well before the bus driver arrived. We all walked Reese to the bus to see her off and then Bryan and I both took Brooke to Interlaken for her first day of preschool. She was very excited and couldn’t wait to get there. Drop off was easy and before I knew it, I was back to my normal empty house for normal work hours, although some very busy work days. In addition to this week being the first week back at school it was also our first week back at soccer for Reese. We have soccer practice Mondays and Thursdays this fall and games on Sundays so it’s a lot of soccer! I was solo coaching for our first practice after school on Thursday. It was good to have the girls back on the field but was quickly reminded how chaotic it all is.
The end of the first week came quickly with only three days of school and so far we have received great updates from school.
Saturday afternoon we had Reese’s birthday party at Playdate. We had 16 kids, including our two, attending the party and most of the parents staying to hang out. The venue worked great and pretty much all of the kids were lost in the maze of play spaces for the entire two hours. We ordered a couple of pizzas and I made some cupcake toppers featuring KPop Demon Hunters for the cupcakes provided by the facility so aside from assembling goodie bags it was a pretty hands-off party. We did have one major accident and that was with Reese actually and a kid that ran into her. I was so shocked when she came out of the play space sobbing with a huge green and white bump already formed on her forehead. We immediately got ice for it and sat outside with her for a bit until she felt better. It was toward the end of the party so as soon as we came back we had to sing happy birthday and do cake before her friends left. Of course we didn’t leave though, our family stayed a full hour past her party end time with a few other close friends playing in the play space and watching Michigan lose to Oklahoma on the TV. Despite the injury, Reese is a tough cookie, the party was great fun and went really well.
Sunday was an eventful day as I played soccer at Miller Park then hurried home to shower and get ready for the Seahawks first game with our new sitter coming over, then immediately followed that up with Reese’s first soccer game down south. My team lost but I had fun, then the Seahawks lost a game they could have won, and finally Reese’s team won by a landslide to not make my sports weekend totally tragic. I was very proud of how all of the girls on her team played and it was fun playing my friend Nikki’s daughter’s team.
Last week was the first full week of school and all of the things. Both soccer practices, three days of gymnastics between the two girls, I went to FareStart for Guest Chef Night, one more win for Reese’s soccer team, and we bought a new car; the Ford Mustang Mach-E. We are now entering the world of electric vehicles and it is exciting and also all new to us. The girls love the new car and its color: red. After test driving a few on Saturday morning we ultimately decided to go with this red one, sight unseen down in Portland which meant Bryan took the train down there at noon, got the car after doing a test drive of it, and drove it back to Seattle getting home around 9:30 pm.
I’m in Spokane for just the day and will fly back home tonight after a team dinner and then Chad and Sarah land in Seattle tomorrow night. Looking forward to spending a few days with them the next few days!
Chelsea
