me time, south lake union, and a hike i didn't take

compared to last weekend, this one was pretty darn relaxing! i don't have a ton of pictures to share, but the blogger in me can't...not blog ;) 

friday evening i was feeling a bit drained, so i asked thatcher if i could take a walk by myself and come back at the kids' bedtime. i walked down to ballard ave. if i haven't said it before, i love our neighborhood. it has so much vibrancy and life and i feel so energized when i walk around among all the people. most of whom were heading to the bars and restaurants for a fun night, so i lived vicariously through them. the buildings on ballard ave are all historic and beautiful and i never get tired of taking it all in. 

saturday we didn't have any plans and after a few hours of tantrums/fighting/whining at home, we decided it was time to venture out for a re-set! we decided to head back over to the south lake union area where we went last weekend because we mostly just hung out near the water and thatcher thought the kids would enjoy riding the street car, etc. south lake union is where the amazon offices are located, so no doubt it is a very hoppin' area during the work week, but on a saturday morning it is quite sleepy. even most of the coffee shops are closed on the weekend. we rode the street car a little ways (it doesn't go very far), 

then got off in downtown and walked back to south lake union, explored some different plazas - which the kids loved, and grabbed a snack at whole foods.

 the final stop of the morning was a trip to rei (which is in the middle of that neighborhood - i'm so used to big box stores being in the suburbs back in minneapolis). we took the kids to this rei once before and they thought the indoor kids play area was the best thing ever. simple pleasures, right? 

we headed home for lunch and naps. ashford fell asleep in the car and was so "out" that i was able to transfer him to a bed without waking him - that never happens! he woke up around 3 and ate his lunch then. i went down to market street in ballard because "seafood fest" (food, live music, vendors) was going on all weekend. it was pretty crowded, so i just quickly walked through. a clothing boutique on market street that i love to browse, but rarely buy anything from was having a sidewalk sale and i scored a pair of jeans for $15! woo hoo! we made grilled chicken tacos for dinner, then stayed in the rest of the night. 

sunday thatcher had made plans to go hiking with a couple of his co-workers, so it was just me and the kids (and no car) for the day. we spent an hour at the community center, playing with balls and running around.

then i told the kids we could get a special lunch of burgers, fries, and chocolate shakes at a divey little place near our house, called scooters. unfortunately they weren't opening until 1pm and it was only noon, so we walked a couple blocks to another similar burger place (thank goodness for options!). it was in the middle of seafood fest, so it wasn't the ideal location, but it was delicious! we all took naps in the afternoon, thatcher got home around dinner time and then i worked for an hour and we got the kids to before becoming one with the couch. haha. finally, here is a picture from thatcher's hike: