little black journal

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.

On Wednesday Shane, Juliette and I left Isaac with his grandparents and drove over to Boulder Beach for our annual water park pilgrimage. First, though, some early morning laps on the slide with Buddy.

Juliette rolled out of bed a little late and reunited with Isaac like she hadn’t seen him in weeks.

Some storm ditch body rolls to round out the morning cardio…

And then off we went, sans toddler!

We’ve got our strategy down pat now and hit the most popular slides right when the park opens, before the lines get too long. The four-person tube rides are my favorite, when I can sit across from Shane and witness the look of WHOA on his face as we reach the major drop-off at Ricochet Rapids, then look over and watch Juliette yell DADDYYYYYY as we plummet into the abyss, as if he can save her from the momentary terror. In those moments, it’s like we’re all kids together.

Once we’d done the slide circuit a couple of times, we hopped in the lazy river. Shane and I tubed, but Juliette always opts to swim alongside us, so she can dive under the waterfalls and tickle our toes.

We walked over to Rollercoaster Alley after lunch and watched Shane take a quick spin on the Stunt Devil, which Juliette and I have no interest in subjecting ourselves to, though we love seeing the giddy, slightly glazed look in Shane’s eyes when he gets off the ride.

We were much happier to pack ourselves into a car on the Scrambler, where there are no upside-down shenanigans. Shane took a squishing once the ride picked up full speed and Juliette and I couldn’t help ourselves from sliding in his direction. He would groan dramatically every time we really leaned in and then all of us would laugh like crazy.

A quick stop for a frozen lemonade, and then back to the Beach!

Juliette and I opted also to pass on Velocity Peak, but Shane couldn’t resist the lure of a 50 mph slide. We watched.

A handful of runs on Riptide Racer…

One last loop (or six) on the lazy river…

And then we booked it back to my parents and Isaac, who’d had a slightly less thrilling but still very fun day together, perusing the wildlife at the town Cabela’s. Viva Boulder Beach!

Thursday started with a walk along the Centennial Trail to Falls Park, before it got too hot.

Shane had to work that day, so I took the kids to McEuen Park in the afternoon for some splash-padding and picnicking.

One last good soaking after lunch…

And then we walked up the street in search of an ice cream shop and dry clothes (found the dry clothes at the bottom of my tote bag).

I didn’t think Isaac could/should handle his own full ice cream cone, but sister continues to be an excellent sharer.

I mean, how do you say no to this?!

My parents offered to hang with the kids that evening so that Shane and I could grab a wine flight at Arbor Crest Vineyards near Spokane. What a treat. We talked without being interrupted and then ordered another round and talked some more and I reveled in turning off my inner mom mode for just a couple of hours.

Viva date night!

On Friday we had reservations to visit Seven Star Alpaca Farm outside CÅ“ur d’Alene. This farm was started by a couple with a passion for animals and for nature it was such a pleasure to peek inside the life they’ve built with their alpacas and horses and goats and chickens.

BABY GOATS! What’s better than baby goats?!

Alpacas are a close second. These guys were awfully sweet. We got to stand on the sidelines as they were ushered from pen to pasture and then Juliette was tapped to herd a particularly stubborn alpaca from his cozy corner out into the open fields.

If it wasn’t so dang hot that day, we might have lingered longer, but still, we got our animal fix.

We cooled off with iced tea and lunch at Cracker Barrel and whiled away some time in their comfy porch rockers.

And then popsicles and backyard hanging, because that’s where the real magic happens.

I had one last item on my Idaho to-do list and Juliette gladly joined me for a Friday evening walk around Tubbs Hill. We blared the Hamilton soundtrack as we cruised toward CÅ“ur d’Alene.

This place gets me every time! Never disappoints.

It was still warm at 7pm, so we took a short detour down to the water and stripped off our socks and shoes for a mini-dip in the lake. We kicked ourselves for not having our swimsuits!

We finished the rest of the loop in record time. Juliette taught me a Go Noodle song about a funky llama in between our catch-ups on more serious matters, like school and friends and our latest favorite Isaac mannerisms.

Saturday was go-day and though we wanted to get an early start, we also felt that letting Isaac run a dozen laps around the park and then tuck into a big bowl of yogurt would make for a happier trip.

And as far as 5-hour car rides with a toddler go, it was a pretty happy trip.

I should disclaim, the kiddos were happy…gosh, I got the blues bad on our drive home. What a slow, sweet week with my people. I wanted more. More time to see my parents love on my kids, more time to watch Isaac and Juliette giggle as they rolled around on the grass, more time to snuggle with Isaac at bedtime and to linger at the park until he was good and done on the slide. I knew most of summer stretched out in front of us, but I could already feel it slipping through my fingers and while I knew there was a lesson in here about being present and thankful in the current moment, I couldn’t help but want to slow this season way, way down. It’s just so damn good.