the end of july: swimming lessons and friends visit

azalea started her first ever swimming lessons last week. it's a 2 evening/week class from 5:30-6pm at an outdoor pool about 15 minutes from us. i have been meaning to sign her up for lessons for years, so when she started asking if she could do them, it was the push i needed to make it happen. she has only had 3 (out of 8) lessons so far, but it has gone really well. she was not nervous at all the first night and was willing to put her face in the water, blow bubbles, etc which i know can be scary for kids. it's a group class with only one instructor, so the downside is she doesn't get much one on one attention, but it's a good start for now. ashford gets a little jealous when we are at the pool (there is no open swim at that time, so he just has to sit with me and watch). thankfully it's only 30 minutes we have to kill :) 

our friends becky, jeromy, and their girls linnea (turning 5 this month) and britta (12 months) arrived last wednesday. it was so much fun getting to hang out with them daily and show them all of our favorite places in and around seattle. and the kids had a blast together all week. ashford was always asking "what anaya doing?" and saying "i wuv baby bwitta". they had gorgeous weather for most of the week. here is a little recap of our days together: 

7/27: they checked out our apartment, then we had lunch at "the hi life", and took a quick walk around ballard. we hosted dinner at our place. it was quite comical having 8 people crammed into our tiny eating area, but we made it work! 

the kid table! 

7/28: a trip to the olympic sculpture park...it was such a gorgeous morning! 

walking with kids is basically like herding cats...haha

then a trip to pike place market (which was utter chaos, but when in seattle...!), followed by lunch at a casual seafood place by the water.

7/29: drove into the mountains, stopped at snoqualmie falls, which was the wimpiest i've ever seen it (still beautiful)...

then a picnic and a 1 mile hike (which took nearly 1.5 hours, haha) around gold creek pond. it was a hot & exhausting day, but really fun and so beautiful! see also: lots of pictures

after a short rest at home, we all went to "skillet diner" in our neighborhood for dinner. it was our first time there as well! 

7/30: met up for saturday morning donuts at mighty o's (of couuuurse). every one was a fan :)

these goofy girls are two peas in a pod

then we headed to seattle center where we rode the monorail, checked out the fountain, and played on the artist-inspired playground. 

they made us a delicious dinner at their vrbo (which was SO beautiful) and then we all walked to the locks and got ice cream afterwards. 

7/31: we met becky, linnea, and britta at the ballard farmers market. then parted ways so they could have brunch with some friends they know who also moved here from minnesota. i didn't take any pictures this day. oops.

8/1: ok, i lied...a few days of august snuck in here too. the kids and i met them at carkeek park for a couple hours. it was a cool, cloudy/foggy morning when we arrived, but after an hour it completely cleared out and was beautiful! 

that night becky and i met up with my friend vanessa for dinner at la isla in ballard. it was so nice to have dinner with these special friends (who have also have lost close family members to cancer) on the one year anniversary of my dad's death. the mojitos and delicious puerto rican food didn't hurt either! 

8/2: the kids and i met up with them at top pot donuts (gotta try both donut places, right?!). then we headed to golden gardens for the rest of the morning. it was overcast, but warm enough. the kids played on the playground and then spent lots of time on the beach playing in the sand. 

for their last night in town, we met up at frelard pizza for dinner. the "kid pit" kept the kids entertained, so the parents could actually eat. win-win! we loved having them in town so much and we are all feel sad this morning that it's over. come back any time, guys!