the summer 2015 unblogged abouts

first i want to thank you all for your kind comments left on my last post. and apologize for making you cry at work. hehe. some days have been harder than others with dealing with the loss of my dad. i have a huge hole in my heart, but i know that nothing would make him happier than me being happy and making the most of the rest of my life. i keep hoping he will visit me in my dreams again soon. ps. i added a few pictures to the end of that post. 

man, do i miss blogging! there was a little part of me that considered just throwing in the towel because i don't have as much time for it as i used to and i feel like i've skipped blogging about so much stuff this summer and it seems overwhelming to recap it all. but i'm gonna try! because apparently i'm extremely loyal to this blog - for better or worse! so, here are some random things that i've been meaning to write about over the summer between all the crazyness.

day trip to bellingham

in between my two trips back to minneapolis, we took a day trip up to bellingham, washington. it's a couple hours north of seattle (almost to canada), on the coast as well. it's also a college town. lots of restaurants and shops and a farmer's market going on. we had lunch at a burger place that was delicious and followed it up with ice cream because - why not?! the kids were pretty well-behaved until azalea decided she was "done" with the farmer's market before we were ready to go and threw a huge tantrum. i could write a whole post about how age 4 was much better on the tantrum-front for a while....until i wasn't! i'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt since her world has been turned upside down this summer, but wow. we've been having a lot of tough days with her lately.

the scenery on the drive there and back was spectacular!

exploring seattle

as i've told a lot of people back home who ask how life in seattle is, we have a lot fewer responsibilities here than we are used to. no yard work, no house projects, no family gatherings, fewer get togethers with friends. now of course we miss some of those things more than others, but the upside is that we have way more time to just go out and explore. most weekends we wake up and say "what should we do today?"  there is so much to see just within the city itself. i'm in awe of all of the wilderness and beaches right in the city. we've been to so many parks, but they are only a fraction of the total number. this is carkeek park: 

this is magnuson park with a view of lake washington: 

at the end of june we went to the pride parade. i had always wanted to go in minneapolis, but never made it, so this was actually my first time. it was very crowded, but a lot of fun! i'm happy my kids are growing up in a time when the glbt community is being granted equal marriage rights.

our neighborhood has an awesome farmers market every sunday, year round. we go most weekends. i love it! 

my birthday

my 31st birthday was july 3rd. honestly, it was sort of a downer of a day. and not because i turned another year older. i am grateful to do that ;) ashford was sick with a fever, so we spent most of the day snuggled on the couch. i finally escaped for a bit around 4pm to go get a pedicure, which was so nice! and thatcher and azalea made me oreo cheesecake brownies, which were amazing! 

preschool camp

azalea did two separate weeks of preschool camp at the community center right around the corner from us. one in july and one in august. they each had different themes. the first week was "costume craze" and the second week was "wacky and wonderful." as much as she has been giving us a run for our money at home, she has done so well at preschool. the teachers have nothing but compliments about her listening skills, etc. sometimes i can't believe we are talking about the same kid. ;) but i'm thrilled to hear it! 

dada's first trip to the zoo

a couple weekends ago, we all went to the zoo together. i have taken the kids a couple times during the week, but this was thatcher's first time. it rained a bit, but we had fun (and it wasn't very crowded!)

hike to franklin falls

this weekend we drove about an hour to do a little family hike. thatcher has done some pretty long, remote hikes when we were gone, but this was a 1 mile, 400 foot gain hike to a waterfall that was more kid-friendly (and melissa friendly, let's be honest) ;) it was a beautiful place and the kids did really well. azalea walked almost all the way there and back! it was only about 45 degrees in the mountains. 

after our hike, we drove to gold creek pond for a picnic it was ridiculously beautiful! 

fall is right around the corner and i'm excited! azalea is starting preschool at the community center 3 days/wk and i'm looking forward to feeling settled and into our new routine! we also have a bunch of visitors coming. my mom comes in mid september, my brother in early october, and my father in law in late october.