July! Berry-picking and pool parties and pickleball, oh my! The photo recap:
Juliette and I let Isaac tag along on our annual pilgrimage to Remlinger Farms for raspberry picking early last month, when the berries were PEAK.
Juliette showed Isaac the ropes and he quickly learned how to find the juicy ones, but very few of his berries actually made it into the bucket.
But to be fair, Sister did a fair amount of sampling the merchandise herself.
Get in there, Bud!
Nailed it.
Some friends of ours hosted a pool party on a Sunday afternoon and Isaac went wild over the water – he’s tolerated swimming before, but on this particular day he went full-on water baby.
Mid-July was fraught with a Nasty case of hand-foot-mouth (capital N!), but the moment Isaac’s rash cleared up, we jail-broke and walked up to California Ave to watch the West Seattle Parade.
We got there early, before the action started, and there was a moment when Isaac WAS the parade. He’s got that friendly wave down pat.
And then, finally! Fire trucks and dance troups and convertibles driven by local business owners. It was all very small-town and kitsch and the kids loved it.
Little loves…
When the swag started rolling in, Buddy ate it up. Not pictured is the beer cozy he wore as a wrist cuff on the walk home.
We had a wide-open Saturday that I had envisioned spending at home, catching up on laundry and yardwork, but by mid-day it was clear that Isaac had other plans. He wanted OUT. He’s way, way into buses these days, so I hopped on the C line with the kids and we rolled toward the waterfront to check out the scene there.
We carosel-ed and got ice cream and people-watched (the rickshaw driver dressed as Spidermas was particularly interesting).
Dig in, kiddos!
Getting out with this boy is rarely easy, but it’s worth the effort.
We water-taxied back to West Seattle, where Shane met us for dinner at Marination. Isaac passed Mass Transit 101 with flying colors.
Mitch and his family came up to Seattle for a brief visit so that Shane and Mitch could play in the Seattle Metro pickle ball tournament. It was hotter than heck that day and the guys’ matches didn’t quite pan out as hoped, but we appreciated the chance to catch up.
And the following weekend, Shane took Juliette to the PPA tournament in Seattle, where they had front-row seats to watch and Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns take gold in mixed doubles. I stayed home with Isaac but spotted these two on ESPN!
Juliette couldn’t believe how cool it was, seeing Anna Leigh up close. THEN Ben Johns came by and handed Juliette a signed paddle and she about lost her mind.
THEN she ran into Anna Leigh at the snack tent and gosh, you’d think she’d just met Taylor Swift, the way she buzzed afterward.
And Hannah Johns to boot!
So happy for these two. Top day for them.
Isaac missed out on the tournament, but again, he’s a sucker for free swag!
Other highlights include Alki mornings with coffee and scones…
Sunday afternoon bike rides to Good Society for beers and hummus plates…
Fishsticks games with buddies…
And more pickle ball. Always more pickle ball. Shane is training up the next generation.
Finally, yard time. This yard has been our happy place on many a summer evening and weekend, when it’s too hot indoors or Isaac is infected with a rash that should not leave the bounds of our property or we just need to get a few last wiggles out.
(I think they’re having fun?!)
Summer lovin’. It’s something else.
