little black journal

Fall officially starts on Wednesday, but it feels like it rolled in about a week ago – skies have been gray, mornings have been chilly, leaves have been losing their green with each passing day…  Thankfully, we made the most of what turned out to be the last blazin’ day of summer a couple of Saturdays ago, renting kayaks and hitting Lake Union for a spin with the Chens.

When we were told that the kids would have to sit in their own seats, we paused for a moment – Juliette’s not one for sitting still, and I wouldn’t be within arm’s reach to restrain her.  What if we got out on the water and she didn’t like it?  What if she tried to jump ship?

Or…what if she loved it?!

(And then still threatened to jump ship?)

Although Juliette’s insistence on testing the water made Shane super-anxious, and although I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to steer with the foot pedals and directed La Verne’s and my kayak into oncoming speedboat traffic a couple of times, we had a blast out there.

Sweet Jesus, that sun!  Already feels like a distant memory…

Soak it up, Nico!

We made it safely back to the dock, relatively dry and a little pink-cheeked.  We grabbed a table at Agua Verde and raised our margaritas to the end of my most favorite Seattle season.  And now the nine-month countdown begins.

Two.  TWO.  Jules up and turned two on Monday, just like that.  Where’d my squishy little baby go?  I miss her.  Luckily, I like the silly, adventurous chatterbox that’s taken her place a whole, whole lot.

We kicked off the celebrations on Sunday, with a birthday-eve donut and gifts after church with the Rusts.  Gryff still calls her “Baby Ju-Ju”.  I’m going to let him ride that wave for as long as it lasts!

Sunday afternoon, we hopped on Lightrail and made our way to Safeco Field for a Mariners Game with our buddies.

Juliette refused to sit still for more than about five seconds and spent the duration of the game running back and forth in the fortuitously empty row of seats behind us.  Despite her limited attention span, a good time was had by all!

It was run-the-bases Sunday, so we all headed down the field after the game to let the little ones go wild.  Juliette took off the minute she hit the dirt and we had to wrangle her back in, reminding her to wait her turn.

Finally, she hit first base, and she was off!  She was completely taken with the moose mascot when she spotted him from way up in our seats, but once she saw him up-close…not so much.  Pardon the chaos at the beginning, but dang, this video makes me laugh.

Made it, in record time!  So proud.

Nico, on the other hand, took the “home run stroll” to a whole new level and walked the bases.  Way to soak up the glory, kid!

Gosh, this crew.  There’s a lotta love here.

All through dinner, Jules excitedly chatted about her day, exclaiming “I run da bases, mama!  Scary moose!”

And then, somewhere between dinnertime and bathtime, all hell broke loose.  She didn’t want to get out of her highchair, and she didn’t want to get into the tub, and she didn’t want to get out of the tub, and pajama time was a fight, and heading upstairs was a fight, and toothbrushing was a fight…she was yelling and hitting and at 7:15 we plopped in her crib, said a very exasperated “I love you.  GOOD NIGHT.”, and walked out as she screamed bloody murder.  I don’t know if she was crashing from that donut, or if the day had plum tuckered her out, or if she wanted to get a jump-start on the terrible twos, but ho-ly crap.  Total monster.

Monday, Juliette’s actual birthday, was a work/daycare day, but I made her favorite meal for dinner and let her swipe a couple of finger-fulls of icing off her cupcake before snatching most of it away and risking another sugar-induced meltdown.

And, praise the Lord, she was a total delight that evening.  The previous night’s drama was quickly forgiven.

When I asked Juliette old she was, she proudly shouted “TWO!”, but she has the damnedest time holding up two fingers, so this photo will have to suffice.

We resolved to get her just one gift this year let her tear into her new easel after dessert.  She was wide-eyed and open-mouthed before even understanding what was inside the box – joyful surprise comes so easily at this age!

She spent the rest of the evening scribbling away – it’s so gratifying when a child’s gift is a complete hit.  Counting on this thing to get us through some rainy winter days.

A couple of cards from the grandparents, a few more happy birthday hugs and kisses, and then we called it a wrap and tucked our two-year old into bed for the night.  Agh!  TWO.  Still letting that sink in.

Today when I heard Juliette stirring after her nap, I went up to get her and rather than reaching for me, she said, “No, mama go!” and ordered me right out of the room.  I left, a little bit hurt (and a little bit thankful for a few more minutes to myself), and headed downstairs to watch her on the monitor and see what my big girl was up to.  She rolled around in her crib for a bit, fussed with her blankets, and then stuck her finger way up her nose.  She pulled it out, inspected it, and then put that finger up in the air and yelled, “MAMA, GET MY BOOGIE!”  So I guess she still needs me, after all.  There’s comfort in that.

Happy birthday, little lady.  It’s been one heck of a year.

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.  Coincidentally, my dad was in town for work through Friday and was able to pop over that evening for a visit.  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.  They loved it, pulling shoes off the shelves and strutting down the aisles in sneakers and sandals and bright pink boots.  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.  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.  My delight, too, as I was tired of pushing that car around!

This girl really doesn’t like to wear clothes.  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.  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.

After all the excitement of the museum and the pier, Jules and I were ready on Wednesday for an easy-going day closer to our hotel.  I opened up Google Maps and was happy to see there were two large rectangles of green about a mile up California Street, so we grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Flour & Co and set out for some park-hopping.  First stop: Lafayette Park in Pacific Heights.

Winding, wooded paths criss-crossed the block – plenty of trees to climb and flowers to smell.

I resolved not to rush us along and let Juliette move at her own pace.  This meant letting her stop to touch every single sprinkler head along the path.  Twenty minutes later, every fiber of my being was screaming, “LET’S MOVE IT!”, but I held my tongue.

Finally, her urge to run kicked in.

We were stoked to find a great playground at the other side of the park and spent an hour exploring the terrain.

From Lafayette, we walked a few blocks up to Alta Plaza Park – Juliette and I came here last year and I was eager to revisit the super-active playground.  And the view!

Seriously.  That view.

After a picnic bench lunch at the park across the street from our hotel, we settled into our room for quiet time.  By this point, I’d given up on calling it naptime, as Juliette doesn’t want to have anything to do with afternoon sleep anymore.  She was pretty good about entertaining herself with books and coloring for about…12 minutes, at which point I’d succumb and let her watch an episode of Curious George while I took a breather.

We headed out after quiet time to meet up with Shane – Juliette was a champ in the stroller while we were in the city, patiently sitting still while I pushed her up and down Nob Hill several times over.  She loved using her new vocabulary, pointing out motorcycles and flags and green lights.

I needed a boost and we popped into Bread and Cocoa for a short Americano and a tall milk.  Coffee dates with this kid are my new favorite thing.

Seeing Shane at the end of the day was always so thrilling – the way Juliette ran into his arms, you’d think he’d been gone for weeks!

We opted again for an outdoor dinner and grabbed burgers from Super Duper to eat on the lawn at Yerba Buena.  My old friend and college roommate, Brieanne, joined us and we compared notes on motherhood and work and the quest to do it all.

Juliette was fried by the time we returned to the hotel, as was I, so Shane offered to take care of bath and bedtime while I headed down to the hotel lounge for a glass of Prosecco and some cherished time to myself.

Shane had a pretty light conference schedule on Thursday, so the three of us ate breakfast together at The Grove and then bopped around for awhile.

This little plaza off Mission Street contains some of my favorite public art.

I’ve seen this sculpture a couple of times but didn’t realize it was so “interactive” until Juliette pulled us into it for a 15-minute game of peek-a-boo.

Shane headed out around 10:00 to catch his morning session while Juliette and I walked over to Rincon Park for one last stint by the Bay.

And one last visit to the Ferry Building, for a vase from Heath Ceramics and macarons from Miette.

We ate our treats on our favorite bench, snapped one last pic, and then called a wrap, as it was time to head back to the hotel and pack up our things.  And not a moment too soon – Juliette and I had a really, really great time romping through the city together, but shortly after this photo was taken, she took off running in the wrong direction and smacked me in the face when I scooped her up to put her in the stroller, at which point I had to exercise the utmost self-control not to toss her in the bay.  We were both wearing thin after so much go-go-going.  The museum and the carousel and the countless parks had been a blast, but they had left us exhausted.

Case in point:

Thank goodness for a chance to recharge with old friends in mellow Turlock!

Jules and I have been flying solo these past couple of days, as Shane has been busy at his conference.  Chasing a toddler around the city was much easier with a partner, but I’m hanging in there and when I’m not yelling at her to “wait for mama!!!”, we’re having a really great time.

The California Academy of Sciences was at the top of my list of places to take Juliette, so we set out for Golden Gate Park on Monday morning.  First, though, coffee.  I knew I was going to need it.

We got to the park 45 minutes before the museum opened, so we took a walk through the botanical gardens.  The sprinklers were on and hitting our pathway, but I thought we could dart through them, super-quick, and stay relatively dry.  I was wrong – just as I barreled down the path, another sprinkler rotated just-so and drenched us.  Jules was a good sport about it, but my hair was not so forgiving.  Oops.

We headed back toward the museum and found a sunny bench where we could finish drying out, while taking in the view of that beautiful De Young.

Our first stop inside the Academy of Sciences was the rainforest – parrots squawked from tree branches while butterflies fluttered overhead.  A few of the butterflies fluttered a little too close to Juliette’s face and sent her running to my arms, but she eventually loosened up and was taken up in the magic of the place.

From the rainforest, we descended down into the aquarium for some serious fish-gazing.  This was a hit – Juliette has just started to master her colors and loved pointing out the orange fish, the yellow one, the blue one, the purple one…so many fish.

We took a quick spin through Africa after the aquarium, but hit the road just as Juliette was threatening to climb into the zebra exhibit.

We grabbed lunch at a little cafe near the park and then caught the N train back toward our hotel.  Jules was wearing a little thin by the time we rolled up to our stop…

And then this happened, 10 feet from our door.  Can’t.  Walk.  Any.  Further…

We spent a couple of hours recharging in our room and then headed down to Yerba Buena to meet up with Shane for dinner.  Juliette was back on her game by this point, running and running and running.  And running.

We chowed down on Indian takeout at the park and then called it a day and headed back to our hotel.  I love being on Nob Hill – the climb is brutal, but the views are amazing.

We kicked off Tuesday morning with coffee at Blue Bottle and treats from Frog Hollow at the Ferry Building.  Gosh, that Ferry Building – I find something new and delicious every time we go there.

Plus, the wide open hall is perfect for…running!  (Notice a theme here?)

We strolled along the waterfront after breakfast, stopping every 10 piers or so to look at the boats or go for a quick jog or play a game of peek-a-boo behind the lamp posts.

Finally, we made it up to Pier 39 to see what the sea lions were up to.  They were out in full force, active and loud and so fun to watch.

I took Juliette here last year and she just stared at the docks blankly, unimpressed by the action.  But yesterday I could hardly tear her away from them, as she arf-arfed back at them and exclaimed, “look at that one, mama!  splash!”.

Fisherman’s Wharf has always felt like a giant tourist trap to me – it’s not high on Shane’s and my list of San Francisco hot spots.  But dang, the look on her face when she saw those horses.  I couldn’t resist.

Jules was pretty heartbroken when the ride stopped spinning and she was asked to say goodbye to her shiny plastic zebra.  This is where the responsible mom would calmly explain that the ride was over and that whining afterwards can take away the fun.  Or, you could just distract your kid with a trip to the candy store!  I gave Jules a bucket and let her wander down the rows of taffy barrels, telling her she could pick out a few pieces.  She picked out about 50 pieces (and I put 40 of them back when she wasn’t looking – I’m not that much of a pushover!).  We shared a piece on the bench outside the store and then I hid the rest away in the bottom of my backpack.  This girl on a sugar high?  I feared for my sanity.

I strapped Jules back into the stroller and we made our way toward the hotel, stopping at Washington Square Park to eat our lunch and have a go on the swings.  She constantly insists “higher!  faster!  higher!” – this is probably as high as it goes, baby.

We “rested” (I use that term loosely – stubborn kid is on a nap strike!) in our room and then met up with Shane to catch a ride over to the Mission for dinner.  We picked up burritos and took them to Dolores Park to eat on the lawn with all the champagne-sipping, guitar-playing hipsters.

Jules looks a little out of place, doesn’t she?

But the playground there!  Now we’re talkin’!  It’s amazing – tons of places to climb and swing and slide while enjoying a great view of the city.

Jules and I turned in early last night while Shane went out to party with his fellow techies – sun and strolling and swinging had us both beat.  We’re rockin’ this city.

When Shane told me that he’d be going to San Francisco again for his annual VMware conference, there was a moment of pause in deciding whether or Juliette and I should join him.  But it was a brief moment of pause – forget about last year’s trip, with it’s plague of roseola and sleepless nights in the hotel!  I’d be danged if I was going to turn down a chance to spend a few days in one of my favorite cities, even with all the challenges that come with bringing our feisty, unpredictable extra baggage.  Let’s do this!

We left Seattle yesterday morning and landed in SF after an exhausting day of travel.  A two-hour flight should be no big deal, but when you factor in security lines and waiting at the gate and waiting in the plane while other passengers board and runway taxi time at both ends and waiting for baggage and getting from the airport to the hotel and checking into your room, you’re looking at about six hours of desperately trying to keep your toddler quiet and entertained.  Six hours of asking, with increasing levels of panic, “Do you want your new coloring book?  Do you want pretzels?  Do you want to play with mama’s phone?  Do you want dried mangoes?  Do you want to look out the window?  Do you want pretzels?  Please, just EAT SOME PRETZELS AND BE STILL!”.  Ok, I’ve dramatized the journey a little, and Juliette did pretty well, but it wasn’t without a great deal of effort on Shane’s and my part.   We were beat by the time we unlocked the door of our room at the Fairmont.  We unpacked a few things, laid down for about three minutes, and then headed back out, because Juliette was plum full of energy after sitting all day!  Thankfully, we found ourselves a boost in the form of margaritas and carnitas tacos at Tacolicious.

Best-looking kids meal I’ve ever seen.

We took a spin around Washington Square Park after dinner to burn off those last few wiggles.

It worked.

We headed back to our hotel, soaking in that marvelous San Francisco golden hour.

Hotel living can feel extra-tight with a kid in tow, but it has its perks – I can lay in bed while keeping an eye on Jules during bathtime!

Juliette hit the hay hard after just a couple of books.  She conked out around 7:30 and I wasn’t far behind her.

After a solid night’s sleep, we set out this morning in search of breakfast.  We walked down California Street, stopping to enjoy each glimpse of the water, and eventually landed at the Ferry Building.

We spent awhile enjoying the waterfront (and a Blue Bottle Americano) while we waited for Il Cane Rosso to open for the day.

We eventually landed a couple of killer breakfast sandwiches and an outdoor table.  The makings of a perfect Sunday.

After breakfast, we headed across the street to the Sue Bierman playground.  Spin, swing, slide, repeat.

We spent the afternoon at the Giants game – again, there was pause in deciding whether or not Jules would be up for it, but c’mon!  It’s the Giants.  And Juliette ended up being a champ through the whole thing.  We had to vacate our seats a couple of times to let her run laps around the club level, but there were periods when she actually seemed interested in the game, shouting “Hit it, Buster!” as each player stepped up to the plate and gasping with excitement as each foul ball sailed into the stands.  She’s a fan!  And I’m over the moon about it.

Speaking of being over the moon, do you know that on Sundays kids get to go down to the field and run the bases?!  How fortuitous!  Skipped nap be damned, we were doin’ it.  Shane might have been even more thrilled than Jules.  The sight of the two of them, rounding third at AT&T – I’ll remember that forever.

(She was so proud of herself.)

(Crazy proud.)

We snapped a couple last photos and then shouted “Bye bye baseball!”.  What. A. Day.

Shane and I were again pooped by 5 pm, so we kept dinner easy and picked up a pizza and salad to eat at the park across the street from our hotel.  Juliette ran around the playground, a regular Energizer Bunny.  I’m in denial over the fact that she seems not to need an afternoon nap anymore.

One last go on the slide (seven times), and then we headed back to our room.  Juliette went to bed with very little protest, Shane headed out for drinks with some friends, and I made myself a cup of tea, watched a couple of episodes of Gilmore Girls on the iPad while going through photos, and put together this post, so thankful for the quiet.  But also thankful for a day full of running and clapping and laughing.  This trip is off to a pretty grand start.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are getting ever-so-slightly cooler – summer has begun that sad, inevitable process of waning…  But we haven’t pulled out our sweaters and holed up just yet.  Rather, we’re doing our best to seize the 82-degree days, hitting our favorite hot spots and doing some quality outdoor exploring.

We still love our Thursday evenings at Jefferson Park, where Shane meets us after his post-work bike ride and Juliette romps in the splash pad.

And Saturdays at Lincoln Park – an oldie but a goodie!  Shane and I used to come here a lot for summer sunsets before we had Juliette.  Now that she’s in bed by sunset time, we’re hanging here in the mornings instead, eating donuts with the Rust clan or reconnecting with our community group.  Shane borrowed Brian’s paddleboard and took Jules out on a very short tour of the Sound a week ago – they didn’t make it more than 20 feet from shore before Juliette was asking to turn around, but we’ll try again some other day.

Shane and Jack logged their annual Redhook ride out to Woodinville last weekend, but this year we introduced a twist – La Verne and I met our biker dudes up at 192 Brewing in Kenmore with the kids, and Shane pulled them the remaining few miles up to Redhook in the bike trailer.

I guess this is what a pub crawl looks like for us these days…

Beer, burgers, bikes, success!

We made it!  (A celebratory hug.)

The weather was a little cooler last Thursday and Juliette and I opted to stay closer to home, taking our afternoon treat across the street to the greenbelt.  This girl will be sorely disappointed when popsicle season comes to a close.

La Verne texted me as we were leaving the greenbelt and asked if we wanted to meet up with her and N for a walk/bike ride at Seward Park.  The kids have matching balance bikes and we figured the wide-open path there would be perfect for trying out their new wheels.  Plus, it was just a tad too cool for them to take their usual dip in the water.

Or…not.  They darted into the lake before we could even strip them down – I managed to fish Jules out of the water long enough to pull of her soaked pants and salvage her mostly-dry shirt, but then she and N were off to the races again, reveling in the late summer rays hitting their pale, bare bellies.

Shane and Jules have done some quality cruising on the bike this summer, taking regular spins to the grocery store or along Lake Washington Boulevard.  Despite Shane’s urging that I get a bike so that we can make this a family activity, I’ve resisted, happy to play the part of the spectator.  But on Saturday the lure of afternoon sun and time with friends was hard to turn down, so I borrowed Nancy’s bike and we all set out along the Green River Trail for a slow, easy spin.  And you know what?  It was kinda great.  Easy, breezy, perfectly paired with a mid-ride picnic dinner.  I might put a bike on my wish list after all.

And Jules was pretty stoked about our matching helmets.  “Mama ride bike?  Mama ride biiiiiike?!”

Yesterday morning we drove up north to check out St. Edward State Park – I had been wanting to check this place out for awhile and am so glad we made the trek.  After a quick go on the huge playground, we hit the trail down to the water.

The forest fires in Eastern Washington have been terrible it was hazy even in Seattle yesterday, the smoke hanging in the air like fog.

Juliette crashed in the stroller before we reached the water, so Shane and I had a few rare, quiet moments to ourselves.

Just as I spread out my blanket and reached for my book, though, she was up, wanting to come say hello to the ducks that had waddled onto the shore.

She lays it on so thick when she wants to.

Those few freckles on her nose have gotten darker with each passing weekend.  I’ll miss them if they decide to leave the premises come rainy season.

We headed back up the hill and through the forest once we’d had our fill of rock-throwing and pretzels.  Green, green, GREEN.  So good.

We spent the evening at Seward Park with the Chens, this time more prepared for a swim in the lake.  Jack lifted weights while the rest of us sipped wine on the lawn.

We packed up our things as the ultra-orange sun began to set, wondering what on earth we’ll do when it’s 40 degrees and dark at 4:30 pm.  I mean, I don’t want to sound too gushy about summertime in Seattle, but dang…it’s magical.

23 months!  It’s hard to believe that Juliette’s second birthday is right around the corner.  On the other hand, with all the cognitive and verbal strides she’s made this past few weeks, she hardly feels like a one-year old any more.  She’s chatting like crazy and it’s fun to finally get a glimpse of what’s running through her head.  We were driving to the park last week when I asked her what she was thinking about.  Her response: “Opp-o-tus swim in water, mama!  Pretzels, please?”

She’s a full-fledged sponge, picking up new words every day and thrilled with herself when she’s able to put them to use.  She loves drawing and naming shapes and went a little nuts when she realized that the world is full of octagons in the form of stop signs – every time we roll to a stop now, she excitedly points out the window at the stop sign and shouts, “ANUDDER OCTAGON!”

She has a host of new interests – after several months of neglecting her doll, she’s back into playing mama, so sweetly giving her baby a bottle and then picking her up and gently patting her back for burps afterward.

She loves helping me in the kitchen and was stoked when I let her sit on the counter and mix the ingredients for pancakes.  Messiest breakfast ever – that extra “help” comes at a cost!

Despite her total disregard for cleanliness in the kitchen, she does seem to have a knack for organizing and order.  Her new favorite pastime is pulling all of my nail polish bottles out of the bathroom drawer and then lining them up one-by-one on our windowsill, making sure each label is facing the same way just-so.  Once they’re all lined up, she puts them in my purse, slings it over her shoulder, and says “Bye-bye!  See you later!”  She returns 7 seconds later, having gone no farther than the hallway, and then repeats the routine again, carefully arranging each and every bottle.  It’s pretty great – I stayed in bed almost an hour yesterday morning while she did this bit several times over.

She’s really into hunting for things and adores her new Elmo book, which is kind of a toddler’s Where’s Waldo – the hours we’ve spent looking for all 10 popsicles on these two pages!  Her counting skills could use a little work, but at least she’s consistent, always ticking off “one, two, three, five, seven, MUNTY! (twenty?)”.

And the jumping!  So much jumping these days.  Girl can get some height!

She’s a social butterfly through and through, ecstatic when she gets a chance to ditch mama for a bit and hang with her buddies.

I helped out as a chaperone on her class field trip to the zoo last Wednesday, and wowwwwwweeeeee!  What an adventure.  It was kind of fun, climbing onto the bus with her classmates and grabbing a seat next to La Verne and Nico.

But once we climbed off the bus and all 19 toddlers were officially un-confined, I got a little anxious.  They were like an unpredictable, feisty hive of bees in their matching yellow t-shirts.  I was put in charge of Juliette and one other little boy, and I’m pleased to say that I didn’t lose either one of them, but it seemed that every time I looked around, a child was crying or trying to climb over a railing or resolutely sitting down in the middle of the path.  My blood pressure was through the roof by the time we all convened for lunch.  Jules, on the other hand, had a grand time – she’s been talking about those monkeys and giraffes for days!

A rare moment of compliance as we headed back to the bus (although look at Juliette’s bottom lip – she was none too pleased about leaving!):

Thursdays are as good as ever (and comparatively quiet, after that field trip!), as we work our way through our list of to-visit parks and playgrounds.  We hit Northacres last week, swinging and sliding and running and jumping.

Happy 23 months, baby-cakes!  I sure love hangin’ with you.

P.S.:

The drive to Portland on Friday was uneventful – Juliette didn’t sleep at all, but she was content to sit in the back seat with her new Elmo book and her bag of dried mangos, so we’ll call it a win.  We settled into Mitch and Kathryn’s for the final leg of our vacation and the girls took up right where they left off, tearing through the house thick as thieves.  Once the kiddos were finally put to bed, the grown-ups sat around the table eating pizza, drinking wine, and talking late into the night about the joys and perils raising daughters.  It’s cool, feeling a deeper bond with my brother since we’ve both become parents.

We got a slow start on Saturday morning.  Let me rephrase that – I got a slow start on Saturday morning.  Juliette, Morgan, and Elise woke up roaring to go.

I suggested we all go out to Sauvie Island to some berry-picking.  Shane checked the forecast and said it might rain, but I shrugged off his warnings, optimistic that the skies would clear and we’d spend a couple of hours frolicking among the rows of bountiful blackberries.  Turns out I really should have trusted that weather report.

We did manage to pluck a couple of pounds of fruit, but called it a day once our jackets were thoroughly soaked and our shoes so caked in sticky mud that we could hardly lift our feet.

Thanks for being such good sports, kids!

It was nice to change into clean, dry clothes and settle down for naps.  Elise helped with storytime, calming Juliette down after a busy morning.

And then she got Jules riled up all over again!  I couldn’t bring myself to break it up, though – Elise is such a delightful goofball.

And Morgan!  So sweet!  Most of the time.

Once naptime was over and the rain clouds cleared, we shepherded the kids back outdoors.  Their energy is endless.

Throughout the day, Juliette and Morgan were either the very best of friends or were engaged in a fierce bout of tug-of-war over some toy or book.  I think Morgan isn’t quite ready to relinquish her title as baby of the family, and for reasons I just can’t comprehend, Juliette seems to be used to always getting her way!  Plus, there’s a whole lotta strong, strong will between the two of them.

But dang it, there’s also a whole lotta love.

Elise is all growed up – helpful and kind, but also playful and silly.

I asked the girls to pose for a final cousin photo before we took off.  SMILE, ladies!

Thanks, Mitch.

We got in the car one last time on Saturday evening and plowed on home to Seattle.  We pulled into our garage around 9:30 pm, just as Juliette’s eyelids were starting to get heavy.  We unpacked in a flurry and hit the hay hard, more thankful than ever for the comfort of our bed (and crib).  What. A. Trip!

Total miles logged in the car:  1,400

Miles logged in the car while Juliette was sleeping:  ~25 (not per our plan)

Miles logged in the car while Juliette was screaming:  ~20 (not too shabby!)

Number of lakes and rivers visited:  6

Number of deer spotted:  13

Number of times Juliette looked out the car window and asked, “baby deer???”:  312

Number of times we talked about moving to Bend:  3

Number fond memories made:  So, so many.

Deer sightings are common in my mom and dad’s neighborhood – we saw a doe with her three fawns our first day in La Pine and since then Juliette had been constantly asking “baby deer?  baby deer?  baby deeeeer?  where arrrrrrre youuuuuu?”.  On Wednesday my mom and I strapped Jules into the stroller and set out on a deer hunt.  Just as we were about to call it a bust and head back to the house, we spotted another doe with a couple of fawns.  The great outdoors for the win!

We passed the afternoon at Elk Lake, bobbing in the calm, cool water.

Shane couldn’t resist the paddle boards for rent at the dock and rowed over to pick up Jules.  I had my doubts about how this would go down – she isn’t one to sit still for more than about 15 seconds at a time.  But she was amazing, perching so perfectly on the front of the board for half an hour while she and her dad toured the lake.

I hopped on for a quick spin, a little nervous when I realized I didn’t have a dry change of clothes with me, but I managed a short (wobbly) trip to the buoy and back.

We ate dinner on the patio of the lodge while Juliette ran circles around our table – all that sitting still had her wired!

We spent Thursday morning hunting deer and jogging down the wide-open dirt roads.  What a relief to not have to get after this girl to stay on the sidewalk and watch out for cars!

Juliette helped Grandpa with some watering, washed some rocks, scooped some dirt.  This is the stuff of a toddler’s dreams…

Another day meant another lake – after naptime, we hauled my dad’s boat up to East Lake for a spin.  We motored out to the middle of the lake and just let ourselves drift, as Juliette was eager to take the wheel.

Hey, Gilligan!

Juliette eventually let me sit in the driver’s seat and I put the pedal to the metal.  I want a boat.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out on the back porch – Juliette cozied up with her new best buddy, Bernie, then rummaged around in the tool shed and passed a good 20 minutes sweeping the sidewalk.  It felt so good to spend the bulk of our waking hours outdoors every day, enjoying the simplest of pleasures.

We loaded up our car on Friday morning and said good-bye to La Pine after one last stroll through the woods.  I miss this place already.

Thanks so much, Mom and Dad, for a perfect week!

We made a stop at Mohawk Cafe in Crescent for a hearty breakfast before hitting the long dusty road to Portland.  We’ll see you next summer, Central Oregon!