Ah, June – when daylight runs long, but gosh, the month runs short. Some highlights:
A new family toy! Shane leveled up his e-bike game and bought a RadWagon to tote around Juliette for school drop-offs and miscellaneous errands. I wasn’t sure this was necessary…
…until I realized there was room for one more!
Isaac loves his new chariot.
On Sunday afternoons we hop on the bikes and pop over to the library for Juliette’s weekly reading material, swing by the Hiwatha playground to get some wiggles out, and then head to Good Society for a soft pretzel and a round of cold drinks. On a ride last month as we zoomed through the neighborhood, Juliette called over to me, “I feel like I have to pinch myself, I can’t believe how fun this is!”. I tell you, it’s the little things.
In mid-June we spent a weekend in Sequim with the Rusts while Shane, Nance and Jason all made their debut in the PNW pickle ball tournament circuit. It was A LOT of pickle ball.
A LOT of time on the playground adjacent to the courts.
But also a lot of hanging out at our AirBnb, getting to know the resident deer.
Are they watching the NBA finals on the iPad, or are they watching Isaac yuk it up? Tough to say…
We put on our most exuberant cheer faces when Nancy and Shane took to the courts on Saturday morning.
Ok, Isaac’s cheer face lacked a little luster. Kiddo was making up for all the hours he didn’t sleep in his Pack N Play the night before.
These two won a couple, lost a couple, and took a few sweet sips of the tournament Koolaid. They’ll be competing again come July and August!
G continues to be the best “chosen” big bro to Juliette (and to Isaac, for that matter!).
I know, Isaac, I KNOW! This is all taking a bit longer than expected…
I super-duper don’t mind having a sleeping baby strapped to my chest, but was all too happy to hand him off to Shane for a bit once he woke up roaring to go!
We spent the late afternoon and evening back at the house, hot tubbing and watching this mama and her baby wander through the yard.
It was homemade pizza for dinner, s’mores for dessert, and then a good hard crash at bedtime.
Shane and Jason took to the courts on Sunday morning while I got off to a slower start with the kiddos, opting to let Isaac grab his morning nap in our king-sized bed.
We’re ready!
We arrived at the courts to find Shane and Jason taking out their opponents one by one. These guys were on fire!
Meanwhile, big bro manned the playground.
(Slow down, G!)
Seriously though, they were on a roll.
And giddy about it.
The gold medal match was intense, but Shane and J kept their cool and emerged victorious. GOOOOOOLLLLLLLD!
Look alive, Bud!
I guess I’m officially a pickle ball wife now, toting around the kids and cheering from the sidelines while my husband lives out his athletic dreams. I’m here for it.
Mid-June saw the end of the school year and its requisite swirl of emotions. Juliette was chosen by her teacher as the recipient of the Seymour Kaplan Humanitarian Award and Shane and I got to go to the assembly where she was presented with her certificate. Goodness, it felt good to be in her school again after over two years of having to stop at the front door! Felt even better to see our girl recognized for her kindness, generosity, and willingness to look out for others.
I picked up a bouquet of flowers to commemorate the last day of second grade, knowing Juliette would have a hard time saying goodbye to her teacher and classmates, but the flowers didn’t cut it. I spread my arms wide open at pickup that day, the goofiest of congratulatory grins on my face, and Juliette burst into tears as she buried her face in my chest. Change is hard. But hallelujah for good teachers and good friends. They’re not going anywhere!
And she did perk up a bit over pizza that night.
Soccer season ended right on the heels of the school year, and again, what a group! Such progress this season, as the girls really started to pass to one another and play the whole field, rather than just following the ball around as a cluster of awkward arms and legs. Juliette is getting more aggressive with her play, but because she’s Juliette, there are always overtones of friendliness and concern for others.
Plus, such cute fans.
See you in the fall, ladies.
Isaac attended his first Mariners game and Juliette caught up with an old buddy…
And we celebrated Fathers Day with a romp in the park, the finest rosé, presented with such flourish, and a homemade card from Juliette that brought tears to Shane’s eyes with her outpouring of gratitude.
(Isaac didn’t make a card, but he certainly turned on the charm.)
Shane and I had Juneteenth off from work, which happened to be Juliette’s first day of summer break, and daycare was open, so we dropped off little brother and headed for the hills. We wanted to seize the day and do something that Isaac would typically put a damper on, so we settled on a hike at Rattlesnake Ledge.
It was misty that day and visibility wasn’t great, but I didn’t care a bit. It felt so good to be in the woods with Shane and Juliette, to have it be the three of us that day, like old times. We missed Buddy, but also…we kind of didn’t? I was FREE!
And the…lookout?
We booked it back to the car as the rain started to come down, but then we did some shopping at the outlet mall and lingered over pizza at Tutta Bella and got a drink at Starbucks and took our sweet time through it all, just because we could. And then we picked up Isaac and were overjoyed to fold him back into our threesome.
We wrapped up June with a weekend trip to Portland to catch up with the Jarrells. The cousins picked right up where they left off at Christmas.
Juliette earned some dog-walking points…
Isaac didn’t sleep great that first night, but again, was more than happy to nap in my arms.
I coulda shoulda woulda put him back in his Pack N Play for his nap, but…nah.
Time to go play, huh?!
It was hot that day, so we packed up the paddle board and the kayak and drove down to the river to play in the water and lounge in the shade.
We had milkshakes as our afternoon snack and ordered pizza for a backyard dinner. When it’s hot…
I don’t know what’s happening here, but it’s making me laugh!
Isaac had his bedtime bottle al fresco…
And we went to bed sun-kissed and full of pizza. Morgan made pancakes the next morning and offered to do a special one for Isaac. Tiniest pancake ever! There was a quick round of pickle ball later that morning and a spin through the farmer’s market, and then it was time to head back home. As always, the weekend felt too short and before we’d even hit the Washington border, I was looking to put another visit in our calendar.
And that, friends, was June. Isaac says thanks for scrolling this far. Onto July!
