a fond farewell to 2023

as 2023 comes to a close, i'm reflecting on the fun, fairly typical kind of year we had. some years really stick out in your mind as time goes on due to things like births or deaths of loved ones, moving houses, school changes, or a big trip, but 2023 was just perfectly chill. we traveled to minnesota and florida, we got to see thatcher's sister and her family between their foreign service posts, the kids started 7th and 4th grade, we made some upgrades to our sumas property, thatcher walked every block in nw seattle (yes really!), we hosted friends and family who were in town. i've done these recaps every year i've been blogging (since 2010) and i love going back and reading them. so, here's our recap of 2023: 

 january 

we got back into the school/work routine after the start of the new year. i attended my friend meredith's 40th birthday weekend on whidbey island. we had some nice sunny, warm days - a little taste of spring. i celebrated my friend kay's birthday at olaf's. azalea started her winter enrichment program for school (a 6-week cooking class). ashford went to a skate park for his friend ewan's 9th birthday. ashford got an expander and invisalign at the orthodontist. azalea missed almost a week of school from being sick. i got to reunite with my friend teresa who moved back to seattle from the philippines. ashford practiced his recorder a lot ;) i organized and purged stuff from our house all month.

 

february 

i took the kids and their friends swimming at ballard pool a couple times. ashford had a baseball pre-season assessment and got assigned to the same coach/team as last year. thatcher went to the bay area for 3 nights for a conference planning meeting. i had a night out with friends for a school fundraiser. we watched the super bowl. we celebrated valentine's day with a chocolate souffle and some small gifts. ashford exchanged valentines with classmates and they decorated cookies in class. azalea and i got pedicures for our trip. the kids and i spent their mid-winter break in florida with my mom and brother. we had beautiful weather for swimming in the pool, going to the beach, and going out to eat. azalea suffered from really bad seasonal allergies down there and ashford came home with swimmers' ear, but we made a lot of great memories.

march

i volunteered at the scholastic book fair at ashford's school. we went to the ballard commons park reopening event. we had our first 60-degree day(s) of the year. thatcher planted some trees at our sumas property. ashford's baseball season started (first year of kid pitch). i took ashford and a couple buddies mini golfing in interbay. azalea turned 12 and celebrated with 4 friends at the cat cafe for the second year in a row. thatcher also took her to 'portal' to try virtual reality gaming on her actual birthday. i had dinner downtown at 'chan seattle' with mom friends at the end of the month.

april

beloved cherry blossom time! ashford went to fritz's 9th birthday party at 'portal'. azalea started spring soccer (off-season) with her team. azalea also had her very first school dance, which was at the end of the school day and was a big hit. the kids had their spring break: we saw the 'mario' movie in the theater, celebrated easter (a low-key day with just the four of us. we went to carkeek park for the first time in a long time.) grandma cheryl and grandpa durant came into town. while they were here, we went for lots of walks around ballard, to pike place market, saw one of ashford's baseball practices and azalea's soccer games. thatcher and i took a day trip to bellingham and our property in sumas. my blog turned 13! ashford had his first baseball game(s) of the season. ashford went to his friend starryn's 9th birthday at 'elevated sportz.' we had a lovely stretch of summer-like weather. ashford had a lemonade stand with his friend arlo. 

 

may

we attended lots more baseball and soccer games for the kids. ashford's school held their annual moveathon...in the rain. i went to a reopening happy hour for 'the inc' coworking space. seattle had a spring heatwave, very little rain, and the kids both had bad seasonal allergies. i helped stock the teacher's lounge for teacher appreciation week at ashford's school. azalea participated in a middle school 'battle of the books' competition and her team won. we celebrated mother's day with a bike ride to golden gardens and soft serve from little coney. thatcher went to phoenix for three nights for a conference planning meeting. we went to the syttende mai parade in our neighborhood. my mom came in town for 10 days. she and i saw james taylor in concert at chateau st. michelle winery, visited kubota garden, went out to eat, hung out with my friends, saw 'the little mermaid' in the theater, and she visited our property for the first time. azalea went to a slumber party for sisi's 12th birthday. thatcher and i had a 2-night getaway to whidbey island over memorial day weekend.

 

 

june

 

the kids finished up their spring sports seasons. june 5th marked 8 years of living in seattle. thatcher and i celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. we all went to a cabin at silver lake county park for 2 nights. it rained a lot there, but we got to go canoeing and enjoyed the covered porch and grilling our meals. thatcher turned 41! my friend michelle came into town from minnesota for 48 hours and i showed her around seattle and we saw eric hutchinson in concert. we had a low-key day to celebrate father's day. thatcher took lots of trips up to our property to water the new trees and do other yard work. ashford started karate with his friends fritz and arlo. we wrapped up the school year with field day and field trips for ashford, and a 6th grade project presentation and bbq at golden gardens for azalea. thatcher went to minneapolis for a conference planning meeting. the kids finished 3rd and 6th grade on the last day of june! 

july 

we kicked off the month with my 39th birthday: i went out for lunch with the kids, we all did the seattle underground tour together, and thatcher made a chocolate pie. we had a low-key 4th of july. we went to mounger pool with friends, grilled dinner, and watched some illegal fireworks near our house ;) we spent our days at golden gardens, DEFY, mounger pool, the seattle center fountain, the funko store, and hung out with friends. thatcher went to a concert at the tractor tavern and i had a night out in greenwood with friends. the kids both did one week of boys and girls club day camp. we went to a mariner's game. ashford continued karate twice a week. thatcher made many trips up to our property. we all went up one day and also went biking near bellingham. we went to minneapolis for 3 weeks for the kids and me (11 days for thatcher). we got to see thatcher's sister and her family who were in between foreign service posts. we got to meet our new nephew telemachus and celebrate our nephew jack's 16th birthday. we also saw my brother's new townhouse and caught up with friends. 

august

our minnesota visit continued into august. august 1st marked 8 years since my dad's death. i'm thankful i could be with my mom and brother on that day. we all went to my aunt and uncle's cabin near park rapids. we went to 'can can wonderland', saw the barbie movie, went swimming at the st. louis park pool, to the uptown art fair, lake harriet, and caught up with more friends. then it was back to seattle for a few weeks before school started. we went to the mohai museum and hung out with friends. the kids did a week of day camp at the boys and girls club. we did some back-to-school shopping. the kids and i all got summer colds which took up our last week of summer. azalea started fall soccer with a bigger team and field for U13. thatcher spent time at our sumas property doing prep/yard work. 

september 

we had a fun backyard bbq with all of the tenants in our building. the kids started school the wednesday after labor day (7th and 4th grade). we reluctantly adjusted to ashford's school's earlier start time. ashford continued karate twice a week and azalea had her first soccer game(s) of the season. ashford went to 'portal' for arlo's 10th birthday party. the well was drilled at our property in sumas. we had one last summer hurrah at golden gardens with friends. my mom came into town for 5 days. we got together with kay and vanessa, ashford had his belt test for karate and moved up to a white belt with black stripe, thatcher and i had a date night in green lake and watched a luminata procession for the fall equinox, and grandma got to see azalea play soccer. ashford attended a movie night for a classmate's birthday. 

october

we kicked off spooky month with a trip to 'spirit halloween' and put up our halloween decorations. ashford started his new class at karate. azalea had more soccer practices and games, her team won so many games this season, it was so fun to watch. thatcher went to minneapolis for a long weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the urban studies program at the u of m. i went to curriculum night at azalea's school. i traveled to minneapolis by myself to attend my cousin austin's wedding. it was such a beautiful wedding and i had a blast celebrating with family. thatcher and the kids went to curriculum night at ashford's school and up to our property for a day. i was a chaperone for ashford's 4th grade field trip to see a dance perfomance at UW. both kids went to 'parents' night out' at school - azalea as a volunteer. i helped put on the 'fall festival' at ashford's school. i went away with mom friends for a weekend to ocean shores on the olympic peninsula. we carved our pumpkins and celebrated halloween. azalea had a 'block party' at school and ashford went on a corn maze field trip. we trick or treated in the neighborhood with friends. 

november 

thatcher traveled to phoenix for 5 days for the annual mpact conference. the trees hit peak color in seattle. a driveway and shed were put in at our sumas property. azalea had her last regular season games of the soccer season. ashford continued with karate twice a week. our friends liz and max came from minnesota to visit for a long weekend. we enjoyed showing them around seattle for the first time. the kids had a whole week off for conferences and thanksgiving. we didn't have anyone in town for thanksgiving this year. we made a big turkey dinner, watched the macy's parade, and decorated for christmas. ashford got his expander out and finished his invisalign treatment. azalea's soccer team had their first game of the city soccer tournament and won those. 

december

we went to portland for a night to see our friends ian, joanna, and kyla and also thatcher's cousins jade & lloyd, jade's husband ben, and their new baby girl lyra may. azalea's soccer team finished their season after two losses in the city tournament. ashford continued karate twice a week. we did lots of baking and christmas movie watching and christmas music listening. ashford went to parents' night out at school and thatcher and i went to an album release party for our friend shane's band from the 90s. the kids had parties at school the day before the two week break. azalea went to her friend tyler's bowling party for his 13th birthday. we hosted friends chris, misty, and penny for dinner one night. we celebrated ashford's 10th birthday with a visit to 'northwest wildlife sanctuary' to meet some sloths and other animals. we had a cozy christmas with just the four of us. lots of good food, movies, and relaxing. i took the kids to mopop and azalea went to work with thatcher one day. we ended the year at a mountain cabin in ashford, wa. lots of hot tubbing, reading, fires, and cozy time. 

can't wait to see what 2024 has in store!