the holiday weekend: part 1

i'm splitting the long weekend into two posts. the first few days of july (ideally when they fall over a weekend) is my favorite time of year - aside from christmas ;) my birthday + the 4th + still the beginning of summer = happy me! this weekend was a perfect mix of fun plans and relaxation.

friday night we stayed in and made breakfast for dinner. we hung out with the kids, gave them a bath and off to bed. thatcher went for a walk in the later evening and got me ben and jerry's. he knows the way to my heart. yum!

saturday we didn't have any plans. we hung out at home with the kids in the morning. played board games, etc. i had some book keeping work to get done and was generally needing a mom break, so thatcher offered to take the kids out in the afternoon. they went to the community center ball fields for a while and then drove to west seattle to meet up with his co-worker and her 6 year old daughter at alki beach. i got my reconciling work done, then went to java bean, buffalo exchange, and the grocery store. the sun was shining and ballard was hoppin'. i swear, summer here never gets old! 

here's me being a dork while shopping. you're welcome ;)

when i got home, i sat out on the patio in the sunshine and read my book...for almost 2 hours! it was absolute heaven! they got back at dinner time and we grilled chicken and veggies. the kids watched their shows on netflix and they were ready for bed!

sunday we decided to head out of the city and do a short hike with the kids. we drove to a trailhead near spada lake (about 1.5 hours from us). it was a really pretty drive! thatcher had done a longer version of this hike this spring with friends, but we only did about 2 miles of it. 

 how cute is he with with is walking stick? :) it sort of made up for how many tantrums he threw on the hike. ha!

there were tons of little creek crossings that the kids thought were super fun. 

we were all super tired when we got home. we relaxed at home the rest of the night. 

today is a busy day! ashford has his first morning of preschool camp at the community center and azalea has her first swimming lesson of the summer. it's also my birthday and this afternoon i'll be heading downtown for 24 hours of fun with my mama friend group. you know there will be another recap later this week :) happy 4th!