little black journal

Since our first attempt at family camping was a rather damp disappointment, we figured we needed a re-do.  Shane did some sleuthing on Washington’s most beautiful campgrounds and we settled on Colonial Creek in the North Cascades as our Take Two destination.  We turned on our out-of-office auto-replies, played a few rounds of cooler Tetris as we struggled to get all our gear into our car, and on Wednesday morning, we were mountain-bound!  We rolled up to camp shortly after noon and snagged one of the last water-front sites – this place was hoppin!  I mean, of course it was – check out the view…

Jules and I scoped out the bathroom situation and paid our fees at the ranger station while Shane set up camp in record time – this guy was clearly Jonesin’ to get out on the paddle board we had borrowed for the weekend.

Juliette was wound up with the excitement of it all, but quickly crashed once we settled into the tent for naptime.  Snuggling up to this sleeping kid has become one of my favorite parts of camping.

I’m glad she rested, because that evening her buddies joined the party – all aboard the camp chair choo choo train!

This girl looooooves the babies.

And this guy loves the water.

We cooked a mondo steak over the campfire for dinner and then capped off Day One with toasted mallows.  I figured we could push back Juliette’s 7:30 bedtime, it being vacation and all, but was a little surprised when I checked my phone as we tucked her into her sleeping bag – it was after 10:00!  Ah, well, carpe diem – how often do we get to completely lose track of time anymore?

Thursday morning was sunny and glorious – the guys got back out on the water, the kids played in the mud, and I took my time drinking my large cup of coffee.

Paddle board yoga!

Once Shane and Brian were properly zenned, we packed up a few PB&J’s for lunch and hit the Thunder Creek trail right near our campsite.

Jules can be a tricky hiking companion, often darting ahead or lagging waaaaay behind.  Hence the lollipop bribe to get her to hang tight in the backpack.

Juliette asked if a dinosaur broke this rock:

We told her yes.

The woods were dense and lush, Shire-like with the abundance of moss.

We were bound and determined to make it to the bridge, even if that meant carrying Jules the last half mile (see previous two photos).  Finally…voila!  The river and lake are this amazing aqua blue, colored by the minerals from the glacial melt.  Incredible.

We grabbed a river-side log for lunch and took a much-needed load off – that may have been the longest two miles I had ever walked.

The water was freezing, but too tempting to resist a quick little splash.

Eventually I told Jules it was time to hit the trail back to camp.  She just shushed me.

We eventually coaxed Juliette into the backpack and high-tailed it back to camp for naps, pausing only briefly along the way to take in these colors.  THESE COLORS.

We dozed a bit in the afternoon, and then these speed-racers rolled into camp Thursday evening – welcome, Rusts!

This is the face of a kid sister that just can’t quite keep up…

Meanwhile, Shane was…

We chowed down on another campfire meal and then walked/biked over the amphitheater for the 7 pm ranger talk, which turned out to be a rather dry discussion of the concept of wilderness, spiced up only by folk tales about salmon women and demon elk.  Not quite the bedtime story I’d planned for Jules, but we went with it, hoping the ranger’s monotone voice would tee us up for an easy bedtime.  No such luck – this girl was pumped!

Up next:  a lookout, a goat, and lots more paddle boarding!  Stay tuned.

Some of my earliest, fondest memories are of family camping trips in the Colorado woods.  Drinking Tang and building campfires and hanging out along the river, playing with worms while my dad and brother fished nearby.  And so I was pretty thrilled when Shane (warily) agreed to book a weekend at Beckler River Campground with our friends.  We were doing it!  Becoming a camping family!  Jules was going to love it!  We would go on beautiful hikes and eat delicious meals cooked on a camp stove and spend our nights snuggled warmly together, snoozing soundly in the great outdoors!  My mind swirled with exclamation points.  Shane bought us a big new tent and I made a grocery list that included marshmallows and graham crackers – we were due to head toward Skykomish on Friday morning.

And then…

I checked the forecast.  RAIN.  So. much. rain.  Dang, I was bummed.  More than bummed, actually – I was a wreck.  In the wake of the Orlando shootings, I was desperately needing a breath, a chance to get away and soul-share with some of my nearest and dearest and to rejoice in the beauty of summer in the PNW.  We were on the verge of begrudgingly taking a literal rain check, but regrouped with the gang and decided we’d try our luck at a campground further south with a slightly better forecast.  Shane stayed true to character as the skeptic, but he decided to go with the flow after watching me weep over the thought of throwing in the towel (seriously, folks, I was a mess).  We would give it a go.  Owhi Campground for the win!

And then…

Juliette woke up Friday morning grumpy and complaining that her ear hurt, so I called her doc right away and got her in for a 10 am consult.  The pediatrician said it looked like she had the beginning of an ear infection.  We could still head out for the weekend, but it was suggested that we pick up a round of antibiotics for Juliette, to nip any chances of fever and full-fledged infection in the bud.  I cleverly had the doctor call in the prescription to Costco in Issaquah, so that they’d have it ready and waiting for us as we swung by on the road to Cle Elum.  We could still make camp by noon and have our pick of the first-come first-serve sites!

And then…

Three hours later, the prescription was finally ready – the Costco pharmacy was insanely slow and held us hostage in Issaquah way past our target departure time.  But hey, at least we’d be landing at Owhi about the same time as everyone else – we’d be together to pick a spot or form another back-up plan if things were full!

And then…

Nance texted – she was sick.  Really sick.  Their clan was out.  Brian was stuck at work.  They wouldn’t make it till evening.   Josh and Jess weren’t coming until Saturday.  And the weather forecast was looking gloomier by the minute.  If not for Juliette chanting “I want to go caaaaaaamping!” from the backseat, we might have high-tailed it back to Seattle and let her overdose on Daniel Tiger while I sulked and Shane very secretly breathed a sigh of relief.  But we pressed on and rolled up to Owhi, 40 minutes north of Cle Elum, in time to snag the last of the lakefront sites.  We pitched our gigantic new tent, rolled out our sleeping bags, and settled into our camp chairs.  Shane poured me a cup of wine, Jules slurped on her apple cider, and I patted myself on the back for my pig-headedness optimistic persistence.  Things were looking up.

The Hickory’s joined us just in time for dinner.  Juliette and Stella haven’t spent much time together recently, but they took to each other immediately and within minutes had claimed this log as their special spot, as I heard Stella ask, “Juliette, wanna go to our spot and play dinosaurs?”

Eden is the sweetest little photo-bomber ever.

We chowed down on bratwursts and veggies and then pulled out the marshmallows for dessert.  Juliette’s first toasted mallow!  Oh, the wonders of burnt sugar!

We felt the pitter-patter of raindrops as we were cleaning up and headed to our respective tents for bed.  Juliette was pretty excited to crawl into her new purple sleeping bag and do books with Mom and Dad.  So excited, in fact, that she tossed and turned until 10:30 pm.  At least, that’s what Shane tells me – I was out cold by 8:45!

There was one midnight rearranging of sleeping pads and blankets, but for the most part, we slept soundly until 7 am, at which point Juliette’s eyes popped right open and she exclaimed, “I wanna see Stella!”  We piled on coats and hats (it was cooooold) and made our way outside to join the Hickory’s for oatmeal and coffee.  In the rain.  Thank goodness they brought their pop-up canopy.

Eden looks thrilled to be in her full-on winter gear in the middle of June, doesn’t she?

These girls are for-reals thrilled, though – ain’t no rain gonna get them down!

Thank goodness for the ridiculously large tent Shane splurged on at REI – it turned out to be a pretty great play space!

The rain showed no signs of letting up, so we all decided to drive into Roslyn to find a dry place to grab a warm beverage and plan out the rest of our day.  We found refuge at the Red Bird Cafe, thankful for their good coffee and cell reception (Owhi is off the grid) and their kids’ area, where the girls whiled away the morning playing in the little pretend kitchen.  Three hours later, as the woman behind the counter began to wonder if we were ever leaving, the rain let up and we ventured out into the streets of Roslyn.  FREEEEEDOM!

The break in the rain was short-lived, so we decided to drive down to Ellensburg and spend the afternoon at the movies – I’d been wanting to take Juliette to Finding Dory, anyway.

And then…

The dang movie was sold out.  Gah!  We got back in the car and headed toward camp, a little defeated, but consoled by the fact that time in the car was time out of the rain.  The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around camp, venturing down nearby trails with the kids when the rain let up and then ducking back under the canopy when it started to pour.

The Howells made their entrance before dinner, Josh in shorts on his mountain bike and little baby A snuggled into her puffy red rain suit.

We ate dinner in the drizzle and did our best to keep the campfire going.  It really started coming down just as I was about to settle into my camp chair for a cup of wine and a s’more.  I looked up at the sky and dramatically shouted, “Whyyyyyy???!!!”, at which point we all just laughed.  Turns out there’s a special kind of camaraderie that comes with camping in the rain – come hell or high (high) water, we were going to make the most of the weekend.

We all turned in early that night – Jules drifted off without much trouble and Shane and I capitalized on the opportunity to catch up on some reading.  The rain continued throughout the night but proved to be a pretty soothing soundtrack, as Jules didn’t move a muscle until morning.  We left the cocoon of our sleeping bags at Juliette’s urging and layered up again (38 degrees out there!) to join the group for breakfast just as the skies began to clear.  And wow, did they clear!  By 9 am we were peeling off jackets and taking turns on Brian’s paddle board.

THIS.  This is what I had been waiting for.  I paddled out into the middle of Cooper Lake and just let myself drift for awhile.  Thanks, PNW, for coming through in a clutch.

We slowly packed up camp, letting the kids romp in the empty tents as we trekked sleeping bags and coolers up to the cars.

The weekend certainly wasn’t ideal as far as weather goes, but I’m still glad we pressed on.  We got to catch up with friends we’ve seen far too little of over the past year.  Jules had a total blast.  And after enduring the elements without crying or freezing or checking into a hotel, I’d say we’ve officially earned our badge as a camping family!  Already lookin’ forward to next time.

June has brought her A-game this year, kicking off the month with a solid six days of sunshine.  Shane had Friday off and suggested a family hike in the mountains – I wasn’t sure I was up for a long trek, but when I saw him throw Juliette’s bike in the trunk, I figured we were in for some pretty mild terrain.  We made a pitstop at the bakery for sustenance, and then found ourselves nestled among the Cascades at the Gold Creek Pond trailhead just one hour later.  The “trail” was flat and paved and the perfect place for Jules to practice her cruising.

And Gold Creek Pond was a glistening turquoise lake, clear and serene and all kinds of lovely.

We found a patch of grass and a shady picnic table where we could have a snack and then dip our toes in the freezing water.

I love baseball cap weather…

Our mile-long loop left us all parched, so we hopped over to Dru Bru for beer and ginger ale.  Cheers, kiddo!

After a solid family nap in the afternoon, we met up with some friends at Jefferson Park for a taco picnic and a romp in the splash pad.  This picture makes it hard to believe that summer hasn’t officially begun:

We spent Saturday morning down by Lake Washington, sunning and paddleboarding.  It took some major negotiating to pry Juliette off this thing – had to promise the kid treats and a trip to the plant store (she loves Lowe’s these days).

Sunday was hot, hot, hot, so we headed to the mountains again, this time to check out Franklin Falls.

Shane wanted to save his shoulders and asked Jules to walk the first part of the trail.  She made it…0.1 miles before begging to get up in the backpack!

I’ve been on a couple of waterfall hikes that end with an anti-climatic trickle over some rocks.  Not the case here!  This baby was roaring.

Juliette wasn’t a fan of the cold falls-spray and spent our time down there nuzzled into my chest.  There are worse things, I guess…

We plowed through the crowds back toward our car, scoring a sweet little spot near the river to stop and refuel with strawberries and pretzels.

And we found ourselves back at Lake Washington on Sunday evening, eating pizza with Jack and La Verne while the kids ran circles around us.

These ring-around-the-rosy pics would make the best flip book ever!

Ahhhh…June.  So far, so good!

Trips to Portland are fewer and farther between since we had Juliette, but it feels like every time we go down there, we think, “What took us so long?!”  We made it to Mitch’s house around lunchtime on Friday, after an easy (although not altogether quiet) drive.  As soon as we walked in the door, Morgan grabbed Juliette’s hand and said, “Do you want to come play in my room?”  And with that, they were gone!  The girls spent the next hour trading baby dolls back and forth while Shane and I ate a peaceful lunch and caught up with Mitch.  This cousins thing is money.

Elise came home from school a couple of hours later and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the yard, cardboard sledding and testing the range of the rope swing.

Last time we were in Portland, Juliette was happy to play the part of the baby.  Now it’s, “Come sit on my lap, Elise!!!”

We ate dinner at the house and then took the kids out for frozen yogurt in Multnomah Village.  Nothin’ like an up-past-bedtime sugar high…

Saturday was cool and damp, so we opted for a morning indoors at OMSI, bouncing from the giant sand box to the turtles to the earthquake house.

When we got home, Morgan and Elise offered to put Juliette down for a nap.  I’ll give you one guess as to how well that went.

But finally, once the cousins were sent upstairs and I let Juliette climb into our bed, she slept.  As did I!  We woke up refreshed and ready to hit the hot tub.

We closed the day out with a trip to the library and playground, followed by dinner at the neighborhood Mexican joint.  Not a shabby Saturday!

Sunday morning was quiet and lazy, perfect for coffee-sipping and lounging indoors (until the kids started climbing the walls, at which point we headed up the street to do our coffee-sipping at Starbucks).  Kathryn and Morgan went out to run some errands while Elise enjoyed some solo time with her little cuz.

Elise is really into the Harry Potter audio books right now, but quickly learned that Juliette isn’t the most attentive listening companion…

So out to the trampoline we went!

We closed out our visit with what has become our traditional living room dance party.  The grownups and Elise pooped out after a couple of Miley Cyrus songs, but Jules and Morgan rocked out to what felt like Billboard’s entire Top 40 Pop.

One last snuggle for the road as I prepared for that familiar ache of missing my nieces…

See you sooner rather than later, Jarrells!

Ahhhhh weekends: a precious time to recharge and reconnect after a long week.

Riiiiiiight.

Juliette woke up at 5:45 on Saturday morning.  I think she was in time-out twice before 7 am.  Shane and I had made grand plans for a fun family hike in the mountains that day, but when I came out to join them in the car, I found Jules laying on the floor of the back seat, scowl on her face and arms stubbornly crossed, and Shane on the verge of losing his shit.  We almost called it a day.  At 7:45.

We pressed on, though, as the thought of shuttering ourselves indoors with our little monster was hardly anything to look forward to.  We sweet-talked Jules into her car seat, put on some music, handed her an apple and a couple of books, and just north of Seattle it seemed the toddler tides were turning.  We all sang along to “Ho Hey” and decided it was going to be a great day (Lord have mercy, please make this a great day!).

We arrived at the Heather Lake trailhead around 9 am and loaded up our backpacks – I carried snacks, water, and sunscreen while Shane hauled the kid (I got the better end of the deal, for sure).

The trail was a little more rugged than we anticipated, but Shane channeled his inner mule and plowed right on ahead.

Oh, and look who came along for the ride – three Rust boys!  And a dog with a gimp leg!  (That’s Dexter, their weekend dog-sitting charge.)

Juliette has no idea how good she has it.  Actually, judging from that face, maybe she does.

I had my qualms about setting out on a five-mile hike with three kids and a gimpy dog, but the boys scrambled over the rocks like little mountain goats, chattering happily as I struggled to catch my breath.

PLEASE let that be the light at the end of the tunnel!

And…voila.

We sat on the shore of Heather Lake and dipped our toes in the freezing cold water, thankful for our long trek’s stunning pay-off.

Once we’d hydrated, we set out for the short loop around the lake.  It was an easy walk and the perfect place to let Juliette do some “hiking” of her own.

The kids were stoked about the patches of snow along the trail.  A snowball fight in May – who’d a thought?!

Juliette spent much of the day yelling, “Gryffin!  Hold my hand!”  He was so sweet to oblige.

We found a shady spot on the water’s edge to stop and eat lunch.  Juliette snuggled into my lap and I marveled at how lucky we are to live in the PNW.

Soon enough, it was time to hit the long dusty trail back to the car.  These two make hiking looking so fun.  And deceptively easy.

Juliette started getting antsy toward the end, so we pulled her out for the last half mile and let her grab her own walking stick.  Ok, actually Shane lost his balance and she kind of fell out, but thankfully, no one was hurt.  I tell you, we’re a bunch of troopers.

MADE IT!  It was a long, exhausting day with a touch-and-go start, but a grand success in the end.  Kudos to Shane for upping the adventure ante – he always seems to know just how far to push us.

For Mother’s Day, I asked for nothing more than rest.  Juliette obliged and didn’t stir until 8:30 on Sunday (penance for the previous morning’s obscenely early wake-up).  Shane took her downstairs while I slowly rolled out of bed and I came down to find the two of them busy in the kitchen, Shane at the stove and Jules at the coffee grinder.

Shane served me perfectly crispy bacon and just-gooey-enough poached eggs with my fresh-brewed coffee and then Juliette and I piled blankets and pillows on the living room floor so that we could snuggle up with a movie.  Once we’d sufficiently vegged, we headed out for an easy family bike ride.  We drove over to Marymoor Park and then hopped on the Sammamish River Trail.

I’m getting on board with this bike thing.  Particularly when it involves biking toward french fries and beer – Redhook, here we come!

It was so serene out there, all gray and green, cool but not cold.

We rolled up to the brewery just in time to beat the lunch rush.  Juliette was a lovely little dining companion and could hardly believe her luck when Shane told her that our next stop was for ice cream.  Mother’s Day was suddenly right up there with Christmas on her list of favorite holidays!

French fry high?

Shane had read good things about Shug’s, a fancy new ice cream parlor in downtown Seattle, and it did not disappoint.  I recommend a scoop of the blueberry.  And a scoop of the coffee.

And oh my word, the cookies and cream!

I’m so thankful I get to be this kid’s mama.  No doubt, it’s not all smiles and snuggles, but my word, she’s amazing.

I sneaked away in the afternoon for a pedicure and coffee with La Verne and made it home for a mellow dinner and goodnight kisses.  Shane fell asleep at 8:00 and I finished out season 6 of Gilmore Girls.  Ahhhhh…weekends: they really can be so, so good.

Shane has been working long, stressful hours lately and I’ve had a few work-related evening commitments over the past couple of weeks, leaving our schedules uncomfortably full.  I’m feeling mired in the logistics of the day to day: “If I drop off Jules on Monday and Wednesday and pick her up on Wednesday and Thursday, can you do the rest?  And how about leftovers for dinner on Monday, takeout on Tuesday, and takeout leftovers on Wednesday?”

We’re making it work, but by last weekend Shane and I found ourselves desperately in need of some quality family R&R.  An island getaway, perhaps?  Maui sounded nice.  The flight did not.  Whidbey it is, then!  On the ferry we went!

It’s a short ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton, but Jules made the most of it, jetting from one end of the boat to the other.  And back again.

Serenity!

We breakfasted at Useless Bay Coffee Company - bacon and eggs taste so much better when eaten on a sunny patio.

Jules was enamored with this glass sculpture garden next door.  I wasn’t sure I should let her pet the glass turtle, as she’s not the gentlest kid on the block, but we made it through with zero casualties.

Bellies full, we drove over to Ebey’s Landing for a family hike.  The sky was as blue as I’ve ever seen it, the fields popping with yellow and green.

Some friends gave this backpack to us a few months ago – I was skeptical as to whether Jules would fit in it, or whether Shane could handle 38 pounds of toddler on his shoulders, but apparently she did and he could!

I know, it’s not Hawaii, but dang, PNW!  Way to bring your A-game!

Juliette was a champ throughout the duration of the two-mile trail down to the beach, happily snacking and singing from her perch.  Shane was an all-out super-hero, “grimacing with grace” as his shoulders bore the burden of his daughter’s contentedness.

Finally!  The promised land!

The beach baby rears her pretty head:

We slowly made our way back toward the car, and then just flopped down in the warm sand for 30 minutes to eat pretzels and play with rocks.  I could have sat here all afternoon.

Jules could have happily hung at the beach all day as well, until she heard mention of a trip into town to get some ice cream, at which point she was all too eager to hit the road.  

It was 2:30 by the time we left Coupeville, which is past Juliette’s regular naptime, so we crossed our fingers that she’d catch some Z’s on the car ride home.  Sure enough, 2 minutes into our drive, this happened:

It is incredibly satisfying when a day trip with a toddler goes even better than you’d hoped – we were rolling the dice when we set out for a full-day ordeal.  But it was just what we all needed, active but leisurely, sunny and warm and tantrum-free.  Family reboot complete!

A smorgasboard of photos from the past couple of weeks:

One of my very favorite kids turned six last week and we celebrated with pizza and popsicles at the park.  I remember when this sweet boy was just a little roly-poly of a thing – now he’s SIX, all grown-up and super-cool.

Still awfully sweet, though…

Most of the attendees were boys in the 6-10 year range and Jules couldn’t quite keep up, but she was pretty thrilled to watch from the sidelines and get a glimpse of future shenanigans.

Don’t even think about it, kiddo!  Too high, too high!

Best to stick with frolicking in the grass with her pint-sized buddy!

Love you, Z!  It’s such a pleasure to watch you grow.

Shane, Jules, and I spent a sunny Sunday morning hanging out at Lake Union, watching the boats and sea planes go by.

Girl knows how to accessorize!

And then a sunny Sunday evening at Seward Park – suddenly beach weather is upon us!

These two were giddy with the promise of summer on the horizon (it’s a distant horizon, but still very exciting!).

I’m loving these longer daylight hours – we can push Juliette’s bedtime back a bit on the evenings we want to take a spin around the block after dinner.  She’s slowly getting the hang of her balance bike, although it seems she usually decides she’s done riding once we’ve reached the farthest point from home.  Of course.

We checked out Montlake Playground on Friday with our buddies – Juliette was quick to set up shop in the “kitchen” and make me a sausage with chocolate.

This.  Kid’s.  Smile.

Little O turns three tomorrow and we celebrated with him on Saturday morning at a Top Pot Caspar Babypants concert.  He is Caspar’s biggest fan and bopped along to every single song.

Jules was not so impressed with the music, but the donut with sprinkles was a major hit.  Points to Shane for not complaining once through the whole thing – this is decidedly not his scene!

Shane is bound and determined to make a biking family out of us, so he borrowed Nancy’s bike for me on Saturday afternoon and corralled Jules and me over to Seward Park for a short ride.  Truth be told, I would have preferred to tuck myself into the bike trailer with Juliette and her books, but still, it was fun.

The mid-ride stop for snacks by the water was a plus.

Yesterday was rainy and gray – we spent a lot of time cuddled up inside with hot tea and Finding Nemo.  Juliette and I did venture out for a quick run up to Jefferson Park - I haven’t jogged with the stroller in awhile and barely made it up the hill with old bag of books.  As I huffed and puffed, she called back, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”  I said, “You’re so heavy, baby!”  She sighed dramatically and said, “I know!  I’m so tired!”  Life is rough, huh, kid?

In spite of the pink fluffy trees and the sunshiny weekends, I’ve found myself feeling funky these past few weeks.  No single thing has me down, but a handful of stresses and sadnesses have left me anxious and blue.  And I noticed over the weekend that I wasn’t just being mopey and withdrawn, I was being impatient with Jules and cold toward Shane.  It was time to nip this funk in the bud.  I needed a reboot, a little time to introspect, a day off.

I’m pretty scroogey with my vacation days, hoarding my time off for…what, exactly?  A spur-of-the-moment three-week trip to Paris?  Ha!  I figured I could spare a day for the sake of self-care and told my team on Tuesday afternoon that I’d catch them on Thursday.  Now…what to do with nine luxurious hours of freedom?  I thought about going shopping or working on a house project or just staying in bed all day with a book, but decided I’d mix things up and head to the mountains for a hike.  I dropped Juliette off at daycare on Wednesday morning and drove east to the Little Si trailhead in North Bend, feeling so very Carpe Diem-ish.

Shane and I hiked this trail back in 2009, but I’d forgotten how rugged it was.  Or maybe I’d just forgotten what hiking is really like?  I mean, it’s been awhile.  Still, scrambling over those rocks felt good – I was 36 pounds lighter without a toddler in tow!

Brace yourselves – it was a moss bonanza out there I got shutter-happy trying to capture the infinite shades of green.

Seriously though, this moss!

Finally, just as my ankles started to get wobbly and my knees started to ache, the light at the end of the tunnel…

Satisfaction.

This guy took my spot…

Not to worry though – I found another monster of a rock a little further up that had my name on it.  I pulled out an apple and just sat, the crunch of my Fuji seeming like the only sound for miles.

After 15 minutes of lonesome zen, I was joined by another couple who recommended that I check out the Boulder Garden Loop on my way back down.  I took swig from my water bottle and was off.

Something about the word “garden” in Boulder Garden Loop conjured up images of easy, meandering, flat pathways.  WRONG.

But I huffed and I puffed to another summit and then flew down the hill, satisfyingly bone-tired by the time I reached the car.

This little out-of-character foray into the woods did me a world of good – I’m not completely funk-free, but I’m on the path toward gratitude and contentedness.  And let me tell you, that path is covered in moss.

Cherry blossom season in Seattle comes in two phases – first the dainty white and light pink blooms of the UW quad, then the puffy pink pom-poms that burst forth across the city.  The pom-poms peaked last week and it felt like I was greeted with happy clouds of pink around every corner.  The walk from my office to Juliette’s daycare has never been lovelier!

This sprawling beaut of tree was spotted around the corner from Juliette’s dentist last Friday (poor kid had no idea what she was running toward – teeth cleaning is not in her wheelhouse of favorite activities!)…

And Lake Washington Boulevard has been donning its finest – Juliette and I headed there to decompress and eat a cookie after said traumatic dentist appointment.

Cookies and sunshine do a body good!

Shane went for a long bike ride on Sunday and then met Jules and I at the other end of Lake Washington Boulevard – we found a sunny patch of grass near the water and piped the Giants game through Shane’s phone.  It ain’t Spring till you hear Jon Miller shout, “That. Ball. Is. OUTTA HERE!”

It was a stunning weekend, weather-wise.  And then…this happened.

The trek to Juliette’s school wasn’t quite so grand today – no chirping birds, no bright and fluffy trees.  Just gray skies, wet shoes, and bloom-strewn sidewalks.  I know, I know, part of the magic of cherry blossom season lies in its ephemeral nature, but I can’t help wishing it would last just a little longer.

I’ve always looked forward to my mom and dad’s visits to Seattle, but I’ve longed for quality time with them even more in the years since I’ve had Juliette.  It’s a good feeling, watching people love your kid, and grandparents are especially good at doting, at hugging and playing and bearing witness to the fact that you have the sweetest, smartest, most amazing child on earth.

Thankfully, grandparents are also good at keeping their cool when that sweet kid turns into the whiniest, clingiest, most tantrum-prone of toddlers.  Jules was on a definite mood swing rampage this past weekend!  Way to keep it real, kiddo.  So maddeningly real.

But hey, let’s dwell on the highlights:

We had a good time running along the blossom-lined sidewalks of Lake Washington Boulevard on Friday morning.

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On Saturday we all hopped on Lightrail to take advantage of the recently-expanded tracks and catch a ride to Capitol Hill.

We spent awhile at Cal Anderson – Jules hit the playground while my mom and I sipped our tea and coffee from Caffe Vita.

When Juliette was feeling stubborn and disagreeable, we found that the only tear-free way to move her along was for Grandma or Grandpa to challenge her to race.  On your marks, get set, GO!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at home, sidewalk-chalking, kicking the soccer ball around, and cracking open cold drinks on the back porch.

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we ventured to Kubota Gardens for a green-and-pink fix.

My mom and dad hit the road back to Oregon on Sunday afternoon.  As we said our good-byes, I felt that overwhelming urge to plead Juliette’s case, as she’d had another doozy of a morning.  I wanted to shout, “She’s usually not like this, I promise!  She’s such a sweet, funny, affectionate little girl!  She loves you so much but is just having a hard time showing it!”.  I bit my tongue, though.  I mean, they’re her grandparents.  They know the drill.