little black journal

I’m a little late this year checking in on my 2016 resolutions and making new ones for 2017 because, well…screw it all.  I’m not going write about whether I did or didn’t yell at Juliette last year (you can venture a guess, though), and I’m not going to commit to learning Spanish or sketching weekly or volunteering with a neighborhood organization.  I’m not going to make excuses for goals unachieved or add anything else to my list of shoulda-coulda-woulda’s.  I don’t know if it’s the “self-care” workshop I took with some mama friends a couple of weeks ago or the fragile state of my spirit in these politically tumultuous times, but I’m inclined to cut myself some slack.  Take a hiatus from ambition and just live into my status quo, which is actually quite remarkable when I think about it:  Quality time with Shane and Jules.  Dinners shared with close friends.  Challenging, meaningful work projects.  Photography, Barre3, and good books.  If I manage to get Juliette to eat something green, or if I find an afternoon to work on an art project, that’s just gravy.

So here’s to a year of grace…

According to Goodreads, I finished 22 books in 2016 and ran the usual gamut from non-fiction to fiction, though I was lighter on “fem-moirs” than in years past.  The round-up:

Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles

The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer by Tracy Kidder

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God by Lauren F. Winner

Parenting Without Power Struggles by Susan Stiffelman

Stoner by John Williams

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

My Bright Abyss: Meditation of  Modern Believer by Christian Wiman

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

You’ll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

 

Best books of 2016:  PEACE LIKE A RIVER!  Sweet Jesus, this was good.  It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen for a character like I did for Reuben.  And his sister, Swede.  And his dad, Jeremiah.  And his wayward brother, Davy.  Ok, I loved all the family.  All the imagery.  All the things about this book!

Also dug Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, because, wowsers, that woman has a way with words that’s amazingly simple but profound.  Honorable mention to Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See for weaving such an intricate, beautiful story, and to Lindy West’s Shrill for her sheer bad-assery.  Oh, and to Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, for touching me to the point that I did the full-on ugly sob while reading the final chapter in bed one night.  It was a good reading year.

On the docket for 2017:  I’m about 150 pages into Atlas Shrugged, and if my Kindle is accurate, it will only take me about 47 hours to finish that one out (oooofffff…).  I’ll be reading a little outside my comfort zone with Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire and Dark Money.  Will be jumping very much back into my comfort zone with Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and I’m Just a Person by Tig Notaro.  IF I ever finish Atlas Shrugged, that is…

A lot of people were closing the door on 2016 before the clock had even struck midnight on New Years Eve, eager to bid farewell to a year of loss and division, injustice and tragedy.  I get it.  But dammit if I can’t get closure on the year without hitting publish my annual recaps!  So bear with me.  I’ll keep it light.

 

Favorite movie:

I went to the movie theater once last year, for Finding Dory (we have got to get out more!), but we saw quite a few flicks at home.  Best film award goes to Brooklyn.  Shane and I watched this on our low-key-but-luxurious anniversary, when we took the day off to do the things we can’t normally do with a toddler in tow (like watch a movie in the middle of the day!).  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a romantic movie that’s not cheesy or over-sexed, but this one nailed it.

 

Favorite TV show:

I’m a little behind-the-times on this, but after much ranting and raving, Shane convinced me to sit down and give Leftovers a go.  I’d seen bits of it as he watched Seasons 1 and 2 when they first came out, but gosh, I felt like someone was either wailing with despair or writhing in pain every time I walked by the TV.  I was more interested in Season 5 of Girls and powering through the guilty pleasure that is Gilmore Girls.  Finally, though, I got on board the dark-and-twisty train, and dang, this show is good.  Superb acting, heart-wrenching characters, a complex weaving of relationships and time.  Can’t wait for Season 3.

(Honorable mentions to This is Us, Better Things, and O.J.: Made in America.)

 

Favorite podcast:

Weather-permitting, I try to push away from my desk at lunchtime a couple of times a week and get out for a long walk down by the waterfront.  I’ll lace up my running shoes, put on my headphones, and queue up a podcast, fully reveling in an hour of distraction-free listening.  I’m still a devoted Reply All listener and think This American Life pretty consistently knocks it out of the park (check out Will I Know Anyone At This Party? if you have an hour), but Heavyweight stands out a new favorite.  Listen to Episode 4 for some especially sublime story-telling.

 

Favorite song:

I came across Vance Joy’s Fire and the Flood when I was looking for a soundtrack to Juliette’s third birthday video and have had it at the top of my playlist ever since.  It’s got that whole slow-acoustic to happy-dance crescendo thing happening that I’m such a sucker for.  And in the oldie-but-goodie category, Juliette and I love belting out The Long Way Around by the Dixie Chicks when we’re bopping around town together.

 

Favorite app:

I went on a week-long word game Letterpress binge, and I spend way more time than I should scrolling through Instagram, but I keep circling back to Wunderlist as my most-loved app.  I know, I already sang this app’s praises in my 2015 favorites, but seriously, having one place to store shopping lists and work to-do’s and house chores and meal plans has kinda changed my life.

 

 

Favorite professional moment:

I was immensely thankful for the gracious way my office hosted Juliette on Take Your Kid to Work Day, but the real stand-out moment came right before Christmas when, with my team members huddled around my desk, I clicked Send on the final construction drawings for UW Medicine Phase 3.2.  I started working on this campus 11 years ago when I was just an intern that hardly knew AutoCAD and over a decade later, I’m leading the charge on this most recent phase of UW Medicine’s development in South Lake Union.  That single mouse click felt like the culmination of so, so much learning and collaboration.  It’s also the culmination of a fair amount of stress and far too many mind-numbing meetings with city officials and lawyers, but in 2018, when I walk through this courtyard, I don’t doubt it will all have been worth it.

 

Favorite personal project:

I read a lot last year, got back into knitting once the cooler weather set in, and organized the heck out of our closets.  But far and away, the most satisfying “me-time” I spent was at a four-week summer print-making workshop at Pratt.  I hadn’t been in the studio since Juliette was born, and it just felt…right to be back there again.

 

Favorite family pastime:

I cherish my personal time somethin’ fierce, but the reality is that I would usually sometimes prefer a day with Jules and Shane to a day alone.  2016 was chock-full of quality family time, but our camping trips stand out as my favorite adventures.  I had such high hopes when we set out for that trip to Owhi campground back in June, fervently praying that Juliette would sleep well and love the campfire and walk away without any severe injuries.  And although that weekend was rainy, we rocked it.  Our trip to the North Cascades was incredible.  Tinkham was a blast.  Looking forward to busting out our mondo tent again at the first sign of summer!

 

And, favorite days…

2016 was good to our family.

We closed out 2016 with our favorite kind of party – a low-key evening in our pajamas with wine and some of our closest friends.  These two were pretty pumped to be having a sleepover:

While the kids ran circles around the house, the grown-ups sipped champagne and ate caviar-topped galettes.  Jack Chen for the win, once again!

Finally, at 11 pm, all was quiet in the kids’ rooms.  We laid out a chocolate smorgasboard, poured ourselves one last round of Veuve, and toasted to 2017.  Bring it!

We bemoaned the little ones’ refusal to sleep in on Sunday morning, but perked up when Jack laid out a spread of his famous chilaquiles for breakfast.  It was cold that morning and we reveled in the coziness of sipping hot coffee in a warm house while looking out on the nearby frosty rooftops.  It was a perfect day for hunkering down inside.  Or…was it a perfect day for a swim?  The latter, apparently.  We all convened at the shores of Alki after breakfast and these crazies stripped down just in time to take the Polar Bear Plunge with the dozens of other adrenaline junkies that had gathered at the beach for the event.

Juliette watched with equal parts amusement and confusion – I can’t tell if that’s a smile or a grimace!

Shane shot out of that water like a bat out of hell, wrapping himself in a bunch of towels while the other three enjoyed a celebratory embrace.

Y’all are NUTS.

I much prefer Alki in July, but hey, winter beach days can be fun, too.

We got a text from Jack and La Verne as we were driving home, asking us if we wanted to frolic in the fresh dusting of snow at Jefferson Park.  We swung by the house to grab our sled and a thermos of hot cider, then headed back out to play.

After a couple of sled runs, Jules and Nico got to work on their snowcastle.

Shane and Jack got to work on the biggest snowball ever.

Juliette spent much of the morning carrying a chunk of snow around, asking if I wanted to pet her puppy.  “He’s so soft, Mama!”

Nicely done, gentlemen.

Between snowman-building and dragging Jules and me around in the sled, Shane got quite a workout that morning.

When he got tired, Juliette offered to pull me.  I think she moved me about a half-inch before telling me to get up and walk.

The hill beckoned…

And we answered.

What do you do when you start to feel a bit chilly?  Nuzzle into a good friend.

Oh, Jules…

There’s a special kind of magic in the air on a Seattle snow day – you feel like you’re playing hooky, even if you already have the day off.

Cold and tired, we left one last set of tracks in the park and then tucked ourselves into the car for hot cider.

Juliette took a long, late nap and woke up roaring to go again.  I had one last holiday tradition up my sleeve, as we hadn’t yet visited Gene Coulon park for their annual Clam Lights display.  It was on its last night, and, well, I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff.

It was awfully chilly that night, and I was pretty beat, but I’m so glad I rallied for this.

Happy New Years, friends!  2017 is off to a lovely start.

After our busy pre-Christmas week, it felt good to pull up to Mitch and Kathyrn’s house on Christmas Eve and settle in for a few days of laying low with family.  I missed these kids!

THIS.  This is what I needed.

My dad helped with some last-minute light-stringing in the front yard…

And then it was time to eat!  Salmon, chicken wings, roasted veggies, a couple of bottles of good wine – these Jarrells do tasty+healthy right.

The girls got to open their new Christmas pajamas from my mom that evening…

And then, there wasn’t anything left to do but hunker down and wait for Santa to come down that chimney.

We heard the pitter-patter of excited feet running circles around the house early Christmas morning and sleepily made our way upstairs to see if Santa had indeed made a stop at Chez Jarrell.  HE DID!

Watching Juliette unwrap this stuffed puppy was the highlight of my morning.

Unwrapping my new boots was highlight #2!

Elise, the budding scientist, was over the moon about her new electricity kit.

My mom, meanwhile, was thrilled with her jars of duck fat and clarified butter (to each his own!).

That blessed moment of post-gift peace, when everyone sits back for a minute to admire their new wares…

We rode that post-gift wave for most of the morning, as the girls set up shop in the dining room to play with their new art supplies and magnets.

Eventually, though, we were all ready to get out, so we hopped in the car and drove over to Westmoreland Park to bike and run and climb.  Poor Shane came down with a stomach bug the night before, so he stayed back at the house to sleep it off.

Morgan was eager to try our her new running shoes.  It looks like Mitch has just realized he can no longer outpace his daughter!

There was some more quiet afternoon play…

And then I settled into the couch with the girls for our traditional viewing of The Polar Express.

Turns out, this movie is a bit more intense than I realized!  Juliette nearly jumped out of her seat as the train skidded across the ice.

We ate a hearty Christmas dinner and then it was back to the chessboard.

And, a Christmas dance party!  Courtesy of Juliette and Morgan.  What a day.

The day after Christmas was quiet – we slept in a bit and then walked over to the neighborhood Starbucks with the kids for muffins and hot chocolate.

My mom and dad left later that morning, pausing on their way out the door for a few family pics.

The rest of the day was a bit hazy…more chess, I think.  Mitch and I got out for a long walk while Juliette napped.  I drank a lot of tea and ate a lot of ginger cookies.  The girls were thick as thieves.

Tuesday, sadly, was go-day.  Elise read Juliette’s new books to her for the umpteenth time while Shane and I loaded up the car.

We grabbed coffee and a scone on Division Street…

Played a round of hide and go seek in the yard…

And then, fare thee well, Jarrells!  ‘Twas a very merry Christmas.

The past 10 days have been a whirlwind of holiday cheer – we’ve fondued and light-gazed and made all kinds of cookies.  Baking has become my go-to Mama-Jules activity, as this girl seems to love the kitchen more than any other room in the house.  We really milked the whole sugar cookie experience – Day 1 was spent mixing dough:

Day 2 was spent rolling and cutting:

Day 3:  FROSTING!

Having a steady supply of sweets on the counter necessitates extra doses of veggies and exercise.  Cue the Fondue 5k, where we brave the cold with the gang to do a loop around Seward Park.

And then, of course, the post-run gluttony!  We gathered with friends last Saturday to chow down on cheese and chocolate and exchange White Elephant gifts.

La Verne lucked out with these perpetually full beer mugs, huh?

Jess barely had time to pull someone’s liquor cabinet remnants out of the gift bag before…

Shane exercised his right to swipe her pick.

We ended the night with our traditional charade of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Jules and I fluttered across the room as the French hens.

I can’t tell here if Shane’s a maid-a-milking or a drummer drumming…it was all a bit hazy by this point.  I think Brian’s back there as the pregnant goose-a-laying?

And I thought La V’s beer mugs were a special gift…

Cheers, gang!

The next night we met up with the Chen clan to take in the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.  The place was kind of a mob scene, but the lights were pretty and the kids were amused.

(photo by La Verne)

Juliette’s school was closed a couple of days last week, and as I was in deadline-mode at work, Shane took some time off to hold down the fort.  I admit, when he told me he wanted to taking Juliette skiing on Thursday, I raised my eyebrows and asked, “Are you sure?”  I envisioned all the falling and the whining and the likely tears, reminding Shane that the toddlers he’d watched zipping down the slopes on YouTube were probably only the best and the brightest.  Around 10 am that morning, this pic popped up on my phone:

And then this:

She rocked it.  Kudos, Shane – you’re a braver parent than I.

That evening we convened at Chez Rust for dinner and gifts, feeling all kinds of gratitude for our Seattle family…

And then, on Friday, Juliette and I conquered Seattle’s downtown holiday scene.  We met up with a few buddies at the Sheraton’s Gingerbread Village, which was full of absurdly elaborate edible creations (Mama, can I lick that?).

We then walked over to the Fairmont Hotel to check out the Teddy Bear Suite, a room on the second floor decorated in Christmas bling and packed with teddy bears of all shapes and sizes.  It was precisely as weird as it sounds.  And right up a three-year old’s alley.

That tree in the lobby, though!

I wondered as we left the Fairmont if we should just call it a day, as the weather was increasingly cold and wet, but I’d told Juliette earlier that we were going to ride the carousel, and rain or shine (rain, it turns out), that kid was going to hold me to my word.  We made our way to Westlake Plaza and she picked out a horse with a checkered handkerchief around its neck, looking back at me with equal parts nervousness and excitement as we waited for the ride to start.

Once we got going, though, JOY.  Pure joy.

Ain’t no rain gonna keep us down!

We made one final stop for hot chocolate by the Westlake Christmas tree…

And then both decided we were done.

We zipped home, spread out the camping pads and blankets by the tree, and slept off that morning’s excitement.

Post-nap, inspired by the gingerbread castle we’d seen earlier, we decked out one last gingerbread man.

Such could hardly believe how delicious it all looked.  I could hardly believe how much sugar had been packed into a single cookie.  ‘Tis the season, I guess…

Next up:  onto Portland for the main event!

Lord knows I love a sunny July in the PNW, and a richly colored October, but December is chock-full of its very own charms, rich with old (and a few new) traditions.

The month kicked off with a kid-free weekend for Nance, La Verne, and me as we trekked a whopping 15 miles south for a weekend at the Cedarbrook Lodge for our annual ladies getaway.  We upped the ante this year and booked a reservation for two nights, skipping town on Friday evening and enjoying a leisurely dinner at the hotel bar before hitting the hot tub and queuing up Serendipity back at our room.

Our pilgrimage to the Auburn Supermall has become an integral part of ladies weekend, so after breakfast on Saturday we hit the outlets.  Hard.

I always walk out the mall wondering if maybe I overdid it a bit – did I really need five new sweaters?  That’s buyer’s remorse written all over my face, in case you can’t tell.

We landed back at the room late afternoon and wondered if maybe we should fully revel in our freedom with drinks and a fancy dinner out on the town.  Nah.  Instead, we spent an hour trying on our new clothes, oohing and ahhing over the deals we’d scored, and then venturing as far as the hotel bar for dinner (again), ending the day with ice cream in bed while SJP affirmed that Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed our little escapade, but was happy to be back with Juliette and Shane come Sunday morning.  We had a cozy family day at home and then bundled up before heading over to Lake Washington to watch the Christmas Ship pull into the bay and serenade us with 20 minutes of carols.  We huddled on a little stretch of beach with dozens of other families while the choir’s voice rang out across the water.  This was the first year we’ve done this, but it’s been officially added to the list of Schnell family traditions.

Seattle got its first dusting of fresh snow last week - Juliette was asleep by the time it really started to accumulate, so I ducked outside and snapped a few quick pictures at 11 pm, just in case it all disappeared by morning.  You never know here.

Sure enough, that lovely blanket of white had turned to gray slush by mid morning the next day, but we ventured into the mountains on Saturday to frolic in a foot of fresh powder.

Juliette had a blast!  For about 30 minutes.  I’m afraid that girl has inherited my intolerance for being cold.

Ah, well.  It was good while it lasted.

My mama’s intuition told me to stick a lollipop in my pocket when we left the house.  It turned out to be just the consolation I needed when Juliette got snow in her mittens.

We stopped at Dru Bru on the way home for beer and Italian sodas.  CHEERS, kiddo!

Being a part of Juliette’s Latino-centric school has opened us up to a host of new rituals and traditions.  On Tuesday we gathered with her classmates and teachers to celebrate Las Posadas, a Mexican festival commemorating the journey of Mary and Joseph.  There was music and dancing, bowls of pozole and cups of hot chocolate.  Juliette was quite taken with the whole thing (one bite of a giant pink polvorone cookie, and she was ready to profess her love of all things Mexican!).

Up next:  Fondue, Christmas lights, maybe a ride on the Christmas Carousel – we’ve got some more December’ing to do!

We’re due, right?  Quite a bit has happened with Jules in the past three months.  Most significantly, little lady is finally potty trained!  We hunkered down at home the weekend after her third birthday and essentially bribed her out of diapers.  A sticker and an M&M for each pee, double-sweets for each poop.  There was much initial resistance, but after just a couple of go’s, she had the hang of it.

She was so confident by day 2, in fact, that she decided she could teach Purple Baby how to use the potty as well!

Once she was in big-kid underwear, she wanted to play big-kid board games and spent a few weeks endlessly requesting that Shane and I play Hi Ho Cherry-O with her.

She claps excitedly for the winner every time, whether she’s it or not, and makes a big show of rolling her eyes and good-naturedly grumbling when she gets a bad spin.  This pre-cheating, non-competitive phase is pretty sweet (though probably short-lived…).

She’ll always opt to have Shane and me fully engaged in whatever she’s doing, but there are the rare occasions when I can set her up with something to do independently and step away for awhile.  If I call it a “project” and make it sound very grown-up, she’ll indulge me.  She spent a rainy Saturday morning drawing circles while I sat nearby and organized my desk.  It was a treat, getting to spend time with her but focus on my own task at hand.

Juliette’s showing increasing resistance to naps, so I told her a couple of weeks ago that she didn’t have to go to sleep if she just played quietly in her room for awhile.  She pulled out her blocks and I patted myself on the back.  My kid had graduated to solo “quiet time”!

(Four minutes later, she yelled, “Mama!!! Come plaaaaay with me!”)

It seems that parenthood is one continuous loop of finding, then losing, then finding your groove, but for the time being, it seems we’ve nailed a couple of pretty important routines.  Getting dressed and out the door in the morning can still be a hot mess, but once we’re on our way, we’re digging our morning commute on Lightrail.

Once we get to school, I read her two books from her bookshelf (admittedly skipping a lot of words if I’m running late…), give her a hug, and then, most importantly, wave goodbye and blow a kiss at each of her classroom’s four windows.  No tears.  NO TEARS!  We have arrived.

We’ve also managed to eliminate the crying portion of bedtime, as Juliette is satisfied with two books and a story by Shane that always starts with, “One day, Pooh got some newwwww honeypots!” (we’ll call that a Daddy-Jules inside joke).  Once Shane turns out the light and comes downstairs, we both belt out “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from the living room, so she knows we’re close, then she calls down, without fail, “Goodnight, Mommy!  I love you, Mommy!  Goodnight, Daddy!  I love you, Daddy!”  Gah!  That girl can be a dream when she wants to be.

She can chat a mile a minute when she’s hopped up on sugar or just sheer toddler adrenaline and continues to say the darnedest things.  She turned to Shane one evening as they were sitting on the couch, put her hand on his face, and said, “Daddy?  You’re my favorite cute guy.”  She’s picking up quite a bit of Spanish at school and is practicing her new vocabulary any chance she gets, pointing at planes and shouting “Avion, Mommy, AVION!!!”  She counts in Spanish about as often as she counts in English these days.

She sings a lot in Spanish, and although I often have no idea what she’s actually saying (I suspect she might not know, either!), I’m awfully proud of her.

Finally, some old pics of an extra-special Mama-Jules day – she and I took the ferry out to Bainbridge for a Friday adventure a couple of months ago.

We hit the Bainbridge Children’s Museum first, taking a pretend spin in the Smart Car and then doing some crafts upstairs.

Girl’s got skills on the climbing wall!

We grabbed lunch at Blackbird Bakery and then hit Mora’s for ice cream, trading our mint chocolate and raspberry cones back and forth.

We were completely tuckered out by the time we landed back in Seattle – Purple Baby snoozed in Juliette’s tummy while we walked to Lightrail.

And a few last sweet pics from sunnier days…  Our Fridays with friends ended in September when most of Juliette’s buddies started preschool, so Purple Baby has been filling in as her new playground companion, which is sweet and kind of sad all at once.

The 35-month time capsule:

Favorite songs:  “Flowers in Your Hair” by The Lumineers and “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift

Favorite book:  anything with Pete the Cat

Favorite show:  Puffin Rock

Favorite foods:  chili, french fries, “wollipops”

Favorite color:  purple

Favorite pastimes:  grocery shopping; cutting pieces of paper into a million little pieces with her new scissors, then scattering them all over the floor; dancing with Dad to Beyonce and Katy Perry

Favorite way to make me crazy:  refusing to get dressed in the morning (my nerves wear thin just writing about it…)

My favorite thing about 39 months:  Her exuberance is more infectious than ever – I opened the blinds this morning to the sight of big, bold rainbow, and when Juliette saw it, she exclaimed, “A RAINBOW!  It’s all the colors!  It’s so, so, SOOOO beautiful!!!”  She was also wide-eyed and breathless today about the single string of Christmas lights our next door neighbor had strung on her outdoor tree and the Lumineers song that came on the radio when we were in the car.  Life is indeed quite grand, Jules.  Thanks for the multitude of reminders.

Holiday Season 2016 went into full effect on Thursday morning as we rolled out of bed and into the kitchen to begin Project: Turkey.  This was our first year eating at home and I was eager to spread my culinary wings.  I pulled the bird out of the fridge, poked it a little, and then…left it to “rest” for a bit while I built up my confidence with cranberry sauce.  You really can’t mess up cranberry sauce.  Right, Jules?

I spent much of the day in the kitchen, reveling in that coziness that comes with oven warmth and good food smells and the sound of daddy-daughter giggles.

The Rust clan showed up late afternoon and Nance helped me with the finishing touches.  Turkey, green beans, sweet potato casserole, broccoli bacon salad, corn bread, two kinds of cranberry sauce, and mulled wine, plus mashed potatoes and onion soup and apple pie a la Jason.  LET’S EAT.

There was a short moment of panic as we wondered whether or not the bird was fully cooked, but we decided we’d chance it and dig in.

There is much to be thankful for.

We spent Friday morning cleaning out the garage and then headed over to Seward Park for a breath of fresh air.

Juliette is always thrilled by the sight of downtown Seattle, pointing and shouting “that’s Daddy’s building!”  (His office is in the one with the green roof).

<<insert heart emojis here>>

I don’t know that we’ve ever hit this park this hard, biking the loop and “hiking” the trail and sitting on the beach and running the dock.  There was even a romp on the playground to wrap it all up!

We ate a leisurely, indulgent breakfast at Super Six on Saturday morning and then headed home to hunker down for what looked like would be a wet, wet day.  Shortly after lunch, though, the sky brightened and we got a text from Jack: “dudes. unexpectedly devoid of rain right now. should we go get a tree?”  Yes, please!  To Mountain Creek we went.

Jules and N spent quite a while standing at the base of this tree and arguing, “I want this one!”, “No, I want this one!”  Move along, kids!

We found a perfect 7-foot Noble Fir and Shane hacked it down in true lumberjack fashion while Juliette cheered him on.

The Chens went big.

I had to promise these kids apple cider and candy canes to pose for a quick shot.  Worth it.

This place, though!  It never disappoints.  The same kind lady has been handing us candy canes at the register for the past 11 years, and I expect we’ll be here 11 years from now.  At which point Juliette will probably insist on just sitting in the car and texting with her friends while Shane and I pick out the tree…

Better grab all those happy family selfies while we can!

We spent the rest of the day stringing lights and sipping egg nog while A Charlie Brown Christmas piped through the speakers.  I think I say this every year, but this might really be our best tree ever.

Oh, holidays…I’m so glad you’re here.

Seattle was very somber in the wake of the election last week and by Friday Shane and I were ready to get out of town.  So we packed our bags and headed to the faraway land of…Portland!  Which was actually just as somber a city as Seattle, if not more so, but there was comfort in being with family.  We rolled up Friday afternoon and headed right to the playground, as Juliette was eager to run free with Morgan and Elise.

Sitting on Mitch’s front porch and watching the kids play tag has become one of my favorite Portland pastimes.

Juliette bunked with her cousins that night, and as soon as all was quiet in the kids’ room, the grown-ups gathered in the living room to crack open a bottle of wine and pour our post-election hearts out.  I don’t know that I’ve ever spoken so candidly with Mitch and Kathryn about politics and religion, laying bare my hopes and fears.  I so appreciated their insight and refusal to despair; my brother is ever the optimist, my sister-in-law level-headed and fair.  We ended with evening with a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity, which had all of us doubled over with laugher, tears streaming down our faces.  Gosh, it felt good to get goofy.

The kids woke obscenely early on Saturday and all of us dragged a little throughout the day as a result.  We lounged a lot, napped hard, played Candy Land and did puzzles and took inventory of Morgan and Elise’s 200 Shopkins.  Shane and I snuck away in the evening for a drink at The Bible Club, a cozy little speakeasy in Sellwood, and recharged with stiff cocktails and some kid-free conversation.

Sunday morning was gray and quiet; Mitch made a frittata and the girls did more Shopkin-trading.  Juliette pondered the future from her window seat.

By 10 am though, the kids were over the whole lazy-Sunday thing, so we headed over to Westmoreland Park to ride bikes and climb trees.

We grabbed a treat at Grand Central Bakery in Sellwood and let the girls burn off their cinnamon roll sugar-rush with a walk through town.

With that, it was time to say our goodbyes and hit the road.  Juliette cried as we pulled away from the curb, begging to go back to Morgan and Elise’s house.  Soon, kiddo, soon!  Christmas is just around the corner.