It felt so good to pull up to Amanda and Josh’s house on Thursday afternoon, unstrap Jules from her carseat, and tell her she was free to wander through the house, to run through the backyard, to go enjoy the luxury of space after several days in a hotel. Â Coincidentally, my dad was in town for work through Friday and was able to pop over that evening for a visit. Â Juliette ran right into Grandpa’s arms, as if we’d left their house in La Pine just last week.
Juliette and Sadie were fast friends – they woke up Friday morning ready to play hard and get dirty.  So dirty.  (Look at those feet!)
Amanda and I have a ritual of visiting our favorite discount shoe warehouse every time I visit and thought it was time to inaugurate our daughters. Â They loved it, pulling shoes off the shelves and strutting down the aisles in sneakers and sandals and bright pink boots. Â Girls after our own hearts.
Turns out Juliette has a flair for flashy footwear.
Sadie and Jules were attached at the hip throughout the whole day, saying a very tearful goodbye once their bath was over and it was time for them to settle into their separate beds.
Poor Sadie woke up with the flu on Saturday morning, so Shane and I took Juliette out to Knights Ferry to give her buddy a play break.
We scaled a few rocks and found a perfect little nook down by the water to get our feet wet.
I know, the Central Valley isn’t known for it’s beauty, but it has its gems. Â This is one of them.
There’s a beautiful old covered bridge over the river – a perfect RUNway for Juliette.
Sadie perked up in the afternoon, much to Juliette’s delight. Â My delight, too, as I was tired of pushing that car around!
This girl really doesn’t like to wear clothes. Â My word, though, can’t blame her for wanting to show off that belly.
A few friends came over on Saturday evening for backyard pizza and some quality catching up.
GIRLS. Â Old friends and new!
Sunday morning was go-time – Sadie and Juliette squeezed in a few more precious moments of playtime, and then we said our sad good-byes.
Amanda and I remarked over how hard it is to miss watching each other’s daughters grow.  But our girls make these annual visits extra-special, make us feel extra-close as we share in each other’s mothering joys and struggles and anxieties.  Amanda’s so good at getting me, so genuine in her exclamations of, “I know what you mean!”, so wonderful at offering advice without even the slightest twinge of condescension or judgement.  I miss her already.
Sunday was a long day of travel, but we made it back to Seattle without any major hiccups, thankful for a week free of illness or sleepless nights, a week so full of adventure and beauty and time with friends.