2024 vibes

it's the last day of 2024. another year has come and gone. my kids keep growing, thatcher and i keep getting older (and wiser). ;) i would categorize 2024 as a 'regular' year (in opposed to a crazy one). no house moves, no job or school changes, no international travel. but lots of time with family and friends in minnesota, oregon, florida, and washington. i'll take it! 

 january

january always feels like a long month. we got back into the groove of school + work after the holiday break. ashford continued with karate twice a week. he also had a slumber party with two friends at arlo's house and went to ewan's 10th birthday party. we had some of the coldest weather we've seen in seattle - lows in the teens, but no snow. i read a lot of books and organized our house. ashford had a belt test for karate and moved up to yellow belt. we had colds that went through the house. i had a hotel overnight with my friends vanessa and meredith in south lake union. 

february 

we had a belated friend party for ashford turning 10. the boys did an escape room in belltown and had snacks/cake at our house. thatcher went to denver for three nights for a conference planning meeting. ashford went to raleigh's 10th birthday party and he continued with karate. we watched the super bowl. the kids celebrated valentine's day at school, and we celebrated at home in the evening with a chocolate souffle and some small gifts. we hosted our friends yiling, kris, and baby q for dinner one night. the kids and i went to florida for their mid-winter break. we enjoyed spending time with my mom and brother, eating out at lots of restaurants, mini golf, siesta key beach, and pool time. 

march

thatcher's parents came for a week. they went up to our property for the first time, went out to eat, saw ashford's karate and baseball, and watched the kids while thatcher and i went to portland for a night to see 'josiah and the bonnevilles' in concert. we got a beautiful weekend in seattle with temps in the 70s and spent lots of time outside. ashford had his first baseball game(s) of the season with a new team. azalea turned 13! she celebrated with a roller-skating party with friends followed by vietnamese dinner, cake and gifts with our family. ashford went to fritz's 10th birthday party. we celebrated easter with baskets from the bunny, a little egg hunt in our yard, and we had vanessa, matt, and ewan over for dinner. 

april 

baseball practices, games, and karate continued for ashford. azalea's spring soccer season started. azalea had a middle school dance the friday before spring break. vanessa invited us to join her family at a cabin near mount rainier for 3 nights over the kids' spring break. we had fun hot tubbing, eating, relaxing, and enjoyed some beautiful walks in nature. our friends ian, joanna, and kyla came into town for a weekend. we ate/drank our way through ballard and went to mopop with them. i chaperoned ashford's class field trip to carkeek park for a salmon release and scavenger hunt. azalea and i saw AJR in concert at climate pledge arena and had a blast together. thatcher volunteered at the opening of the new light rail line in bellevue/redmond. 

may

my brother came into town for 4 days to see ashford play baseball (2x), karate, and see azalea's soccer game. it was chilly and wet, but so much fun to spend time with him. i helped with teacher appreciation week at ashford's school. i found out a dear friend of mine going back to kindergarten passed away from cancer. we got to see a small glimpse of the northern lights from our front yard. we celebrated mother's day with a family trip to the property where we grilled lunch, enjoyed the scenery, and visited with the neighbors and their animals. ashford wrapped up his regular season of baseball and the playoffs started, which lead to lots of wins for his team. i went to the moveathon at ashford's school and we all watched the syttende mai parade in our neighborhood. ashford had a belt test and went from yellow belt to yellow with a black stripe. he and arlo went on what was supposed to be a break from karate, but they ultimately quit. my mom came into town for a week and we went out to eat, she got to see a baseball playoff game (they won!), and thatcher and i had a date night in bellevue. over memorial weekend we babysit our friends' little boy "Q" and wished the weather was better. azalea watched her friend simone in two rock shows. 

june

ashford's baseball playoffs continued (the wins too!) until they lost the final championship game, but what an amazing season. the night before the championship game, we had an end of the season team party at ballard smoke shop restaurant. azalea's spring soccer season also ended. azalea went to a 2-night camp on the olympic peninsula with all of the 7th graders from her school and had a blast. ashford's class performed 'the stinky cheese man' for the parents. june 5th marked 9 years in seattle. thatcher and i celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. thatcher went up to our property a bunch to work on projects. i chaperoned ashford's class field trip to arlo's house for a 3D printer art project and also volunteered at field day. thatcher turned 42 and we celebrated with 'uneeda burger' for dinner and oreo brownie cake. azalea was chosen to be a 'w.e.b. leader' (mentor) at school for the fall. we all went to silver lake cabin for father's day weekend. it was rainy/cool but we enjoyed the scenery and spent a day in abbottsford, bc. the kids had a bunch of end of the year activities and said goodbye to 4th and 7th grades. we saw our friends' band "warren dunes" at a redmond street fair. the first week of summer we saw 'inside out 2', both kids got haircuts, thatcher and i saw 'hollow coves' in concert and we got ready for our big road trip to minnesota! 

july 

we spent the first week of july on the road to minnesota. we took a different, longer route through utah and colorado and we visited tons of great coffee shops and restaurants along the way. we celebrated my birthday in moab, utah at arches national park. we celebrated independence day in ouray, co with fireworks in the mountains. we met up with friends we know in various states and took in all the awesome scenery. the rest of the month was spent in minnesota visiting family and friends. we got to see anders, nith, and moss in between their foreign service posts and cedar, eric, jack, and telemachus mid-zambia post. we celebrated durant's birthday and jack's birthday. we spent lots of time with my best friend kelli and her family who recently moved back to minnesota from california. i went to a celebration of life for my friend erin and a 40th birthday for my friend em. we experienced some epic thunderstorms (one even brought trees down). we went to an airbnb cabin for 2 nights in lake holcombe, wi with anders + family and jack. we saw my brother play baseball. thatcher and i had a date night to see 'mates of state' at the turf club. my aunt lea visted minnesota for 4 nights and we did mini golf at the walker, saw the belfast cowboys perform, and soaked up time together. 

august

we adjusted back to life in seattle for the final month of summer break. august 1st marked 9 years since my dad passed away. azalea went to her friend penny's 13th birthday pool party. the kids did a week of boys and girls club and both ended up with covid after a few days. womp womp. it eventually got passed to thatcher and me. at least it was mild. thatcher and i went on a neighborhood walk together almost every night in august, which was so nice. azalea took a virtual babysitting class through seattle children's hospital. the kids did another week at boys and girls club and everyone stayed healthy. we spent 3 nights at the silver lake cabins near our property including a hike at mount baker and a day trip to vancouver, bc. azalea had 'web leader' training at school. we soaked up the last bit of summer with a trip to golden gardens and mounger pool. 

september

we enjoyed labor day weekend before the kid started 5th and 8th grade - last year of elementary and middle school! we got back into the school routine and azalea's fall soccer season started as well as PTA meetings for me. my friends kay and vanessa hosted a belated 40th birthday party for me. ashford went to arlo's 11th birthday party and azalea went to sisi's 'school of rock' concert. we took the kids to the luminata lantern festival at green lake, azalea did a lot of fall baking, we had a bbq with the building neighbors, september 30th marked 2 years of owning our land in sumas.

october 

we decorated for spooky month and watched lots of seasonal movies, we went to curriculum night at both kids' schools, azalea had more soccer games and went to her friend bridget's 14th birthday party, thatcher did more projects on our land, ashford got strep throat, we got to see thatcher's aunt and uncle who were in town from alaska, my mom came into town for a week. we went out to eat a bunch, watched azalea play soccer, and thatcher and i had a kid-free overnight to la conner. thatcher went to philly for the mpact conference and also to vancouver for work. my brother came into town. we saw a concert at the paramount, went to a ballard high football game, went to a pumpkin patch and out to eat. we carved our pumpkins and celebrated halloween. it was a wet one, but still lots of fun. 

november 

the month started off on a not-so-good note with trump being elected. azalea had more soccer practices and games and finished up the regular fall season. i had a mole removed from my foot followed by quite a few days of healing. vanessa and i went to our friend kristina's business launch party. the kids had a week off school for conferences and thanksgiving. grandma cheryl and grandpa durant came in town for a week. we celebrated thanksgiving, cut down a christmas tree and decorated, ate out, and went to the waterfront overlook at pike place market. 

december 

azalea had her city tournament for soccer with some very chilly games, they played 3 games before the losing their spot in the tournament. azalea started invisalign, which she will have for nearly two years. we had an overnight to portland where we got to see friends and family. ashford started piano lessons. ashford and i went to see his friend sebastian in 'willy wonka' with a group of friends. we all went to 'a very warren dunes christmas' at fremont abbey. i had a festive holiday sleepover with mom friends. we had some sickness in the house. azalea hosted some friends for hot chocolate and cookie decorating. ashford turned 11 and we went bowling as a family, out to mod pizza, and zoomed with family for present opening and cake. on christmas eve eve ashford and i went to 'kringles christmas filling station' with a group of friends and had a gathering afterward. we celebrated christmas at home with just the four of us. lots of yummy food, treats, video calls with family, christmas movies + music, and relaxing. all of my favorite things! we ended the year with our annual cabin stay. back to ashford, wa like the year before, but we stayed at a new place. we went up to mount rainier to play in the snow, sat in front of the fire, enjoyed the hot tub. back in seattle we closed out the year with a multi-family get together at vanessa's on new years eve. 

i can't wait to see what 2025 has in store for us!