hello 2019! bike riding, minecraft lego camp, bellingham

the first week of 2019 was a good one. backing up to new years eve, we went to our friends chrissy, zach, and eli's for an (early evening) celebration. we ordered thai take out, drank champagne and the kids ran around and played some games. it was low-key and perfect. we left their house at 9pm when the kids started to get tired. and i was in bed before 11 :) 

thatcher was off new years day. we hung out at home for the morning, took down our christmas decorations and cleaned. it always makes me a little sad, but i love having a clean space to kick off the new year.

 after lunch, i walked down to market street to "kick it boutique" because they were having their annual new years sale. it has become a tradition for me since living here. i love the store, but the clothes are a little more expensive than i prefer to spend, so i only buy stuff there when they have their sale. when i got home, we took ashford up to the ball field to try out his new two wheel bike and he mastered riding it right away. i was so impressed! i guess the balance bike he had previously paid off. he is very excited about his new skill: 

that night we watched the second harry potter movie because thatcher and azalea finished the second book. they have now moved onto book 3. 

wednesday thatcher was back at work and the kids had their first day of minecraft lego camp! we've never done a winter break camp before but thatcher found this one at the green lake community center that was just 3 mornings and for 5-7 year olds, which meant they could take it together! they had a great first day and i got some work done at "the inc" (which was less than a 5 minute drive) and fit in a trip to target. vanessa and ewan came over in the afternoon for a play date. 

thursday morning the kids had their camp and i came home to work and go grocery shopping. we stopped at mcdonald's on the way home for lunch for them and ran into our friends beth, audrey, and eliza. the kids were thrilled to have playmates for the playland. we went to the queen anne library to get new books and to check out the winter craft party. it was a good way to kill a couple hours. 

friday was the last morning of camp. it was the most beautiful sunny morning at green lake:

i decided to work from a nearby coffee shop that my friend vanessa recommended. it's called "retreat" and it was the most dreamy spot! i'll definitely be back! 

after camp, we headed to the zoo to meet our friends casey, ella-kate, and julie. the kids ran around in the zoomasium and casey and i got to catch up. 

that night, thatcher assembled our new headboard that got delivered. i have wanted a headboard for our bed for over a decade, so thatcher told me i could pick one out for christmas. so fun! i love it, and our bedroom feel so "grown up" now! 

saturday we decided to take a day trip to bellingham. we hadn't been in close to a year and it's a beautiful drive and fun city to explore. we did chucknut drive on the way in and out of the city and the views never disappoint. 

it was lunch time when we arrived, so we went to "fiamma burger" in the downtown, which we've been to a couple times before.

 then we walked to a model train exhibit (i laugh when i think about how many trains museums we have been to in minnesota and washington). it was good for killing time! 

next we went somewhere hadn't been to before, boulevard park. it was right on the water, had a nice new playground, a beach, and a coffee shop. jackpot! we enjoyed all the amenities before hopping in the car to drive back to seattle. 

sunday was a low-key day before the regular back to school/work week starts up. i joined a gym in our neighborhood on new years day because i have not worked out regularly since before having kids and it was time. so i  had a consultation with a personal trainer (included when you sign up). he was really nice and helpful, but was trying to sell me a training package, which i don't really want to do. i just want to get access to the cardio machines and light weights. my goal is to go 2-3 times a week. i'll let you know how it's going in a few weeks ;) 

we ran some errands and mostly hung out at home the rest of the day. for dinner we made home made pizza and i made myself prosciutto and arugula. the recipe i used called for tossing the arugula in lemon juice and it made the pizza. it was so delicious! 

now the kids are back to school after 16 days off. here's to routines!