thatcher's birthday, special minnesota visitor, father's day

 last monday ended up being a busy day. it was thatcher's birthday and he took the day off work. in the morning, i took azalea to the allergist for testing. she had it done about 4 years ago, but we've had a lot of allergy experiences between then and now and wanted to talk with them again. they tested her for all sorts of outdoor and indoor allergens. turns out she is extremely allergic to pretty much everything outdoors (many types of trees, grass, pollen). she gets very uncomfortable skin reactions (especially on her face), so it was good to learn some new ways to help her.

 

 

thatcher spent his morning walking (and walking and walking). his goal is to walk every block in nw seattle and he's been tracking it on his phone. he did about 7.5 miles that morning. in the afternoon he and i went to wash our car. it had been an embarrassingly long time. then we went for another 2.5 mile walk around fremont/phinney ridge neighborhoods.

 

 

 

the four us went out to mod pizza for dinner. it was a really warm night!  

 

 

then we came back for cake and presents. 

 

 

thatcher actually left after that to drive up to vancouver, bc to spend the night because he was on a panel at a conference tuesday morning. whew! 

on wednesday afternoon my friend michelle arrived in town from minnesota. she and i met and became friends in 9th grade and have kept in touch. a couple months ago, i saw that one of our favorite musicians from the late 2000s (eric hutchinson) was coming to seattle for a show for the 15th anniversary of his first album. i texted her right away half joking / half hopeful that she might come out for it. and she did! it was her first time in seattle and it was so fun. she could only come for 48 hours so we had to pack a lot in. the day she got here we relaxed on my deck, i made tacos for dinner, and then we went to golden gardens beach with thatcher and the kids. i forgot to take any pictures. oops! 

on thursday morning we got the kids off to school, then we met my friend vanessa for coffee at 'venture coffee'. we walked down to the locks. it was a beautiful morning and there was a cute seal swimming in one of the locks. 

then we walked all around ballard's business district. we came back to my house for a little break, then hopped in the car to go to fremont. we got lunch at 'uneeda burger' then walked all over fremont, including a stop at the famous troll under the bridge :) we walked almost 9 miles that day! 

 

 

we picked up the kids from school, relaxed at my house for a few hours, then left for our night out! we had dinner at 'stoneburner' and it was amazing as always. the concert was right in ballard at the 'tractor tavern', which could not have been more convenient. it was my first time going there. i pictured it being sort of a dive bar, but it was actually really nice inside.

 

 

it was a late show for these old ladies (9pm). haha. but well worth it! it was so much fun to see him perform again after all these years, especially in an intimate setting with so many other big fans. every one was belting out his songs along with him, which can sometimes be annoying at concerts, but it just felt right at this type of one. 

 

 

michelle and i were on a mission to get an updated picture with him (our last one was from 2008 at the fine line in minneapolis). so we were happy when he mentioned he would be sticking around after the show if anyone wanted to come say hi. success!!

 

 

and here's our original picture: 

 

 it was such a fun night and now i'm sad that my two concerts i was so looking forward to this spring are behind me. 

friday morning we got the kids off to school, then michelle and i headed to kerry park in queen anne to look at the seattle skyline. we continued to belltown and parked near the olympic sculpture park, then walked along the waterfront all the way to pike place market.

 

 it was very busy as it always is this time of year. but we easily got a table for lunch at 'the athenian' which is my go-to place there. we explored the market and post alley and then walked all the way back to the car. i drove her around south lake union area and then it was time to head to the airport. i'm so glad we could do this spontaneous reunion and that i could show her our city. 

thatcher, the kids, and i had a relaxing night in on friday night. i was so tired from the week. the weather turned cool and rainy.

saturday we had no real plans. in the morning azalea and i went to the library, starbucks, and to look for a father's day gift for thatcher :) arlo came over in the afternoon to hang out with ashford. in the evening i went to my friend kay's for dinner because her family was away on a camping trip. her friend liz came over too and we had vietnamese take out.

sunday was father's day! we had a pretty low key day after a very busy week. thatcher made waffles, eggs, and bacon for breakfast (i promise i did all the dishes!). in the late morning we drove to richmond beach to get out of the house and take advantage of the fact that the rain hadn't started yet. there was a lot of bickering in the car and whining about not wanting to go from some one who will remain nameless. this is the only picture i got. it felt forced/fake to take a smiley picture on the beach, so we skipped that. ah, real life. 

we relaxed at home the rest of the day. made dinner, gave thatcher his gift, and started a new season of "alone".

today is juneteenth and the kids are off school (they don't get out til 6/30!) and thatcher is off also, so he took the opportunity to go up to our property to do some grunt work.