august adventures, 3 years of missing my dad, a minnesota visitor

it was another camp week for ashford this past week - this time at golden gardens beach! the first two days it was hot and then it cooled way down (to the 60's and cloudy) for the last two days. he had a fun week with a few other boys who were in his preschool class - as well as his preschool teachers who lead the camp. i didn't take any pictures at camp. oh well. 

azalea and i found our own fun for the mornings (after i finished my work). on monday we went to a nail salon to get a manicure. she's only had one before (last summer) and she's been asking me to go again ever since. i figure once a year is a fun treat for her. and she loved it, of course. 

tuesday morning we went to java bean and the grocery store. i love that she is my little coffee shop girl. i wonder where she gets that from? ;) in the afternoon we met our friends casey, ella kate, and julie at carkeek beach. the tide was the lowest i've ever seen it, and it was so cool! the kids had fun exploring. 

wednesday was the 3 year anniversary of my dad's death. i can't believe it's been 3 years already. the idea of him being gone doesn't quite take my breath away like it once did, but it makes me so sad to think of all that he has missed in the past 3 years. i know he would love visiting us in seattle. we miss him so much and i try to tell my kids about him as much as i possibly can to keep his spirit alive.

wednesday afternoon we hung out with our friends chrissy and eli who recently moved back after living in germany for the past 2 years. at the time they moved, i wasn't sure if we would even still be in seattle when they returned, but here we are! we are excited to rekindle our friendship, even though the boys hardly remember each other. we went to the mohai (museum of history and innovation) in south lake union for the first time. it was a cool place, and pretty kid friendly! and the views from the top floor were spectacular. then we hung out at at lake union park while the kids ran around and waded in the water. i guess i didn't get any pictures of chrissy and eli...

thursday morning our friend nate came into town. his wife missy gifted him a trip out here for christmas to go hiking with thatcher : ) he and thatcher explored seattle the first afternoon and i took the kids to the zoo.

they are obsessed with orangutans...thanks to grandma jan :) 

 then we met up with them again at dinner time and went to the boars nest for bbq. so good!

the guys left early friday morning to head to the mountains for hiking and an overnight stay. they had a great time. 

 so it was the kids and me (and no car) for two days. don't you worry, we kept busy. friday morning we bused to south lake union to playdate seattle indoor playground. i brought my lap top intending to get a couple hours of work in. but for some reason the kids were ready to leave after a little more than an hour. womp womp. in the afternoon we hopped on the bus (again!) to go to a playground in ballard with vanessa and ewan. we also checked out a brewery nearby. i'm on a brewery kick these days. i have a new-found (like) of beer and people bring their kids to breweries all the time because in addition to allowing kids, there are always games/toys for them to play. it's great! our friend erica met us there with her boys and we all had a great time. the temp was back in the 70's and the sun returned. can't ask for much more than that!

saturday the kids and i hung out at home for a bit then took bikes/scooters up to the school playground. we played the new disney "eye see it" game that nate brought for the kids. it was a hit! we had lunch at scooters, where we sat outside in the sunshine. 

azalea and i took a short nap on the couch while ashford played (yes, really! haha). we ate dinner on our own and the guys returned around 7pm. then it was off to bed for the kiddos. 

sunday was nate's last day here. the kids and i were supposed to take a ferry to jetty island with some friends, but multiple people from the group were sick, so we it got canceled. so instead, thatcher, nate, the kids and i headed downtown. we parked near olympic scultpure park and did the walk along the waterfront.

 it was seafair weekend in seattle, so there were blue angels flying over head and some naval ships in the harbor. we toured a royal naval ship from canada that was really cool! 

we also checked out an alaskan cruise ship that was departing that afternoon.

we had lunch at anthony's on the pier and then went to pike place market. it was sooooo crowded (i feel like i say this every time we go, but it was!). this picture does not show it. 

finally it was time for nate to head to the airport, so thatcher and the kids rode the light rail there with him. i headed home and went to java bean to do a little work. 

this is the first (and only!) week of the whole summer when i have both kids in camp. mind you the times don't exactly match up, but i'll get 2.5 whole hours to myself each morning. i'll probably really live it up and do my book keeping work and maybe go to the grocery store and the pharmacy ;) we are also going into another hot week here. i know it's only a matter of time before these days come to end.