little black journal

This heat wave continues and we’ve been doing our damnedest to beat it over the past four days: three lakes, one wading pool, a couple of rounds of frozen margaritas, one visit to the ice cream shop, and nights spent sleeping in our downstairs office, which is 10 degrees cooler than the top floor of our house.  By 5 pm, our living room feels like a sweatbox.  On the bright side, all this lake-bopping has kind of made us feel like we’re on vacation!  Minus the air-conditioned hotel room…

Jules and I spent Thursday at Seward Park with a few buddies, running in the sprinklers and splashing in the lake.  Shane had the day off and biked over to join us for a dip – this girl is all about her floaty boat now.

On Friday we ventured east with our crew to Lake Sammamish State Park to celebrate Nance’s birthday with swimming and paddle-boarding and snacks in the shade.

Yes, I eventually made it up to the standing position!  And then I fell off.

Jules crashed hard for her nap when we got home but woke up roaring to go again, so we took a quick spin through the Miller Park fountain and then grabbed ice cream at Hello Robin.

Sugar rush!

Serious sugar rush.

We rang in the Fourth of July on Saturday at our favorite stretch of rocky beach on Rattlesnake Lake.  We hadn’t even spread out our blanket before Juliette darted into the water.

There was swimming and “boating” and watermelon-eating and frisbee and generally all things summer.

We spent the evening with the Rusts partaking in our own (very tame) fireworks show.  Thankfully the kids are all still young enough to be satisfied with sparklers and smoke bombs and party poppers.

Jules wanted a front-row seat for all the action.

Shane, on the other hand, was insistent that she stay at least 15 feet away from any flames or sparks.  Ever the voice of reason, that guy…

We spent Sunday morning at church and then swung by Volunteer Park for a go on the playground and a romp in the wading pool.

The weekend was capped off with a bike ride along Lake Washington, cold Coronas, dinner hot off the grill and kiwi sorbet for dessert.  I don’t love this heat, but this summertime lifestyle?  Money.

It is hot, hot, HOT in Seattle – temps in the high 80s and lower 90s, which can be uncomfortably warm when you don’t have AC.  We’re doing all we can to stay cool, sleeping with the windows wide open and the fans cranked up high.  Jules hasn’t worn proper pajamas in over a week.

And every chance we get, we head out in search of water to splash and wade and swim and paddle.  A few favorites:

The Jefferson spray park is a staple – we find ourselves here once or twice a week.  Juliette usually spends 10 minutes or so just watching the other kids run wild, then runs her fingers through the fountains a little tentatively and is thoroughly soaked by the time we leave.

We spent Saturday morning at Gene Coulon park in Renton, and this place is money!  Big beach with plenty of shade, a big roped-off swimming area, and the perfect mix of sand for scooping and rocks for throwing.

We’ve been trying for the past couple of weeks to get Juliette into the little floaty boat she loved so much last summer, but she’s fiercely protested every time we’ve pulled it out.  And since she wasn’t using it on Saturday, we let another little girl take it for a spin.  Of course, that was all it took for Juliette to start begging for a turn – her “mine!” reflex seems to be stronger than ever.  Nonetheless, questionable motives aside, she had a blast kicking around the shallow end.

Pants are for chumps.

We were feeling particularly adventurous on Sunday and drove over to Enatai Beach in Bellevue to scope out their boat rentals.  Juliette isn’t a particularly big fan of sitting still, so when we set out in our canoe, we knew we were taking a risk, but I was hopeful that with enough enthusiasm and enough snacks, we could make it work.  We paddled under the I-90 bridge and a heron pointed the way to the Mercer Slough, which was a perfect, peaceful oasis of green.

And Jules?  She loved all of it, “helping” with the paddling, searching for baby ducks, sitting so contentedly in my lap.  We’ve had our share of failed outings lately (we might never be allowed back to our new neighborhood breakfast joint), so it felt really, really good to try something new and have it go off without a hitch.

I just checked the forecast and it looks like we’re in for at least another week of this heat.  Googling “Seattle beaches” now…

We’ve had a busy few days, livin’ large in this perfect Seattle summer weather.  The Giants were in town last week for a match-up against the Mariners, so we got together with Jack and La Verne on Thursday night to cheer on our boys at Safeco field.

We slurped down beers and mowed through a monster bag of Kettle corn, reveling in the ease of being out sans kiddos.

By the 8th inning the Giants were leading by 7 and most Mariners fans had cut and run.  We stayed through till the end though, taking advantage of the abandoned seats and sitting just a few rows away from the action.  Orange and black for the win!

My office held our summer picnic at Safeco the following night, so we headed back to the ballpark for dinner and a Mariners-Astros matchup, this time with Jules in tow.  We ate burgers on the patio and then caught just the first inning of the game, not wanting to push our luck and keep this happy kid out too long past bedtime.

Shane’s old friend Steve flew in from California late Friday night for a weekend visit and was eager to do some exploring, so we set out for Rattlesnake Mountain on Saturday morning.  Rather than just hang by the lake as per usual, we tucked Juliette into the hiking backpack and made the 2-mile trek up to the ledge.

Shane’s shoulders were begging for mercy by the time we summited, but the vista turned out to be well worth the pain.

We made it down the mountain with minimal whining and then set up shop in our favorite shady lake-front stretch of grass.

Watermelon, water, and 80 degrees.  Perfection.

We went to church on Sunday morning and then headed to Local 360 for Father’s Day mimosas and French toast.  Cheers to this guy!  Hot damn, I’m lucky.

And a quick stop at the sculpture park for some pre-nap sun-soaking…

We made plans to get together with the gang on Sunday afternoon for a lakeside picnic.  But first, a chariot ride!  I love watching these two snuggle into the trailer, seeing them share snacks and clank their bike helmets together.

We spread out our blankets at Seward Park and watched the kids frolic in the lake and kick the soccer ball across the lawn.  Shane and Jack picked up a boatload of burgers and fries and we chowed down while drinking white wine from plastic cups – we ushered in the first day of summer with such gusto!

It took the better part of the weekend and a Pepsi bribe (kidding!  that cup is empty!), but Juliette eventually warmed up to her new buddy Steve.  It was so good to catch up with this guy, to fold him into our family mayhem and then stay up late playing Nintendo and reminiscing.

We said good-bye to Steve this morning, dropped Juliette off at daycare, and returned to business as usual, simultaneously ultra-relaxed and completely exhausted.  SUMMER IS HERE!

21 months!  Juliette is less and less my baby, more and more my funny, sweet, maddeningly stubborn little girl.  We continue to get a kick out of her gradual mastery of the English language – she’s stringing together 3-4 words now, telling us “all done with sootie! (smoothie)” when her cup is empty, proudly exclaiming “I did it!” when she manages to get her seat belt buckled or when she successfully pushes the button to put down the garage door.  Car rides have become a recurring game of I Spy, as she shouts “BUS!” and “BIKE!” and “CHOO-CHOO!” from the back seat.  Every time we enter a tunnel (or go under a bridge), Juliette pumps her right fist in the air and shouts “TUNNELLLLLL!!!”, as if we’ve just hit the climax of Disneyland’s most thrilling ride.  Her enthusiasm is infectious – Shane and I can’t help throwing our hands up in the air and yelling right along with her.  She still relies on that extra-friendly “HI!” to get the attention of friends (and strangers), but she’s also really into good-byes these days, waving and saying, “Bye-bye water, bye-bye slide!” every time we leave the park.  Last night at dinner, as Shane took the last swig of his Corona, she bid it farewell with “Bye-bye beer!”

Her new favorite pastime is playing in the car, sitting in the driver’s seat and pushing all the buttons on the dash board while I clean out the garage or sweep the driveway.  What are the odds she’ll look this happy 14 years from now, when she’s getting her license and still sitting behind the wheel of our trusty Civic?  (Sorry, Jules – you inherited this car when you threw those crayons all over the back seat and they melted in the sun!)

She has also recently picked up soccer, spending afternoons at the playfields with Dad practicing her footwork.

And, since it’s been a couple of months since my last photos of a paint-covered Jules…here you go:

We’ve had some good, good Thursdays together since the weather has turned warm, making our way through our list of Seattle’s best beaches and splash parks.  We spent a morning frolicking in the fountain at Miller Park a couple of weeks ago.  Once the water came on, pants were off in about 10 seconds flat.

I love the slightly panicked look on her face here – the jets of water shot up pretty quickly and caught her by surprise a couple of times.  Didn’t keep her from running back for more, though!

And, to top off a perfect Jules-mama outing…ICE CREAM!  Because I want to make sure those chubby thighs and elbow dimples stay intact throughout swimsuit season.

In reality, I ate three-quarters of the scoop and just let her have a few bites.  But she held on to that empty cup the whole ride home, savoring of the memory of that sweet strawberry treat.  I have discovered the way to this girl’s heart, and it’s through DESSERT (she got that from me).

Rattlesnake Lake has become one of our new favorite places to pass a lazy Sunday morning, rock-throwing and picnicking and dipping our toes in the cold mountain water.

That.  Hat.

Mt. Baker Beach has become our go-to spot for a late afternoon post-nap cool-down.  Butts are usually soaked within minutes of arrival!

While I’m far from being able to stretch out with a book and read in the shade while Juliette runs wild at the beach or playground, it does seem like I’m doing less “orchestrating” of her playtime.  Especially when she can talk one of her little buddies into pushing her on the merry-go-round!

Happy 21 months, little lady!  So, so, so happy.

He’s home, he’s home!  Praise God Almighty, daddy is HOME!  Shane has been in Miami for a business trip these past few days and I was nothing short of elated to hear the squeak of the front door opening last night at 11 pm.  Amazingly, this was my first time really flying solo with Jules – Shane has only spent a couple of nights away from us, back when she was a newborn, and my parents were visiting then and able to provide backup while he was gone.  I know there are lots of people that do the bulk of their parenting alone, and I know that a 1:1 parent to kid ratio ain’t too shabby, but still, it was tough!

Jules came down with a cold about a week ago and hasn’t been able to shake her nighttime cough – she was particularly restless on Sunday and Monday nights, up every two hours coughing and tossing and turning.  I spent most of those nights laying on the floor next to her crib, finding that every time I returned to my bed, she’d start crying again just as I’d drift off to sleep.  Usually Shane and I take turns getting up with her on nights such as these, but my moans of “I’m so tiiiiiired” went unheard – it was all on me.  Thankfully, by Tuesday night Jules seemed to back to normal and slept like a log – I was stunned to open my eyes at 6:40 yesterday morning and find that I’d overslept, as I had assumed that the sound of coughing or crying would wake me up long before then.  I heard Juliette babbling in her crib around 7:00 as I was getting ready, thinking that if she and I really hustled, we could still actually get out the door on time.  I walked into her room, ready to gush my effusive thanks for the good night’s sleep, but was stopped short when I saw blood all over her face.  And her hands, and her arms, and her sheets, and her crib rails.  She’d gotten a bloody nose and had smeared red sticky goo everywhere.  She was fine, unfazed by the fact that her crib looked like a veritable crime scene, but I had quite a bit of clean up to do, rushing to wipe her down and get her bedding into the washing machine.  Finally, just as I was grabbing our shoes and ushering us out the door, thanking Juliette for waiting so quietly as I gathered our things, I got a whiff of that unmistakable poo-smell.  I should know by now with this child – if she’s that quiet, she’s either broken into the snack cupboard and is secretly wolfing down animal crackers, or she’s working on filling her diaper to capacity.  Suffice to say, I was rather late to work that day.

Sleeplessness and bloody noses aside, Juliette and I got along pretty splendidly – she was obedient and cheerful and usually helpful.  Daycare drop-off/pick-up, dinnertime, and bedtime all off without a hitch.  I felt pretty good about how smoothly we navigated our daily routine…and yet, with each step, Shane’s absence felt so apparent.  We missed him.  When I picked up Juliette from daycare each day, she ran to my arms per usual, but only let me hold her for a second before turning to the door and expectantly asking, “Daddy?  Daddy?  Daddy?”  I didn’t have anyone to recap the day’s highs and lows with, to share in my joy over the new word Juliette learned or to feel my anxiety over her incessant coughing.  We’re so, so glad dad’s back.  Juliette woke up from her nap today after only 40 minutes of sleep, wailing and clearly still tired, but she refused my offers to rock her or read to her or get her a cup of milk.  Shane swooped in just as I was getting desperate and she reached out to him, quieting and laying her head on his shoulder the minute he picked her up.  They spent the next hour and a half snuggled up like this – peas and carrots, these two.

On a separate, unrelated note, today is also our dating anniversary – sixteen years ago, my handsome fella picked me up in his electric blue Dodge Neon and took me to the movies to see Notting Hill.  If only we’d known then all that laid ahead of us - I might not have made him wait so long for that first kiss.  😉

I’ve had the chorus of Grease’s “Summer Nights” looping through my head over and over these past few days – you know, “Summer lovin’, had me a blast, oh yeah!“.  It’s not so much that I have romance or leather pants on the brain (although Shane will forever be my Danny Zuko), it’s that I’m LOVIN’ this summer weather.  Sandals and slightly pink shoulders and a re-commitment to get out and explore our favorite parks.  Evening jogs with Juliette, interrupted by a quick joyous romp through the Jefferson splash pad.  Popsicles and bare baby bellies.  Turtle hunts and sandy feet.  I swear, I can feel the vitamin D coursing through my veins, and it’s like a hit of happy.

We spent Saturday morning at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland, checking out the wildlife and playing at the beach.

And to top off a stretch of particularly glorious sun-shiny days, Juliette’s best little buddy turned two over the weekend!  We were thrilled to celebrate with him, with a chariot ride and barbecue and CAKE (that taste of frosting was possibly the high point of Juliette’s entire life thus far).

I know, Jules, I KNOW!  So good, right?

Happy 20 months (+9 days), Miss Jules!  The scoop:

Favorite developments this month mostly have to do with Juliette’s expanding vocabulary and the sweet (often nonsense) chatter tumbling out of her mouth.  She’s mastering longer words and phrases, like “opp-o-sus” (“octopus”, shouted enthusiastically when the octopus picture rolls around on the little nightlight projector she loves to play with); “besh you” (“bless you”, said to herself after she sneezes or coughs); and “mama-see” (said over and over and over, usually chanted and clapped like some sort of song, though I still for the life of me figure out what she means).  We’ve been working on colors and numbers, but right now everything is “BUE!” and attempts at counting usually begin and end with “twooooooo?”.  She loves rattling off the names of her classmates at daycare and is apparently quite smitten with her buddy Emmett.

The word of the month is “HI!”, said with much enthusiasm whenever she enters a room or rounds a corner or just wants to get your attention.  She says it to family and friends and to strangers walking down the street – I came across this video last night when I was doing some iPhone album cleanup and chuckled to myself.  Such a friendly kid…

We still love our weekly outings with our little buddies – we passed a rainy Friday morning at the aquarium and Juliette had a blast, darting from tide pool to jellyfish tank and back again.

She’s a water-baby through and through, thrilled when the sun comes out and she’s allowed to ditch her pants for a romp in the lake.

We spend a lot of Thursday mornings at Alki beach, throwing rocks and scooping sand, spreading out a picnic blanket on warm days and chomping on watermelon slices.

Shane bought a bike trailer a couple of weeks ago and Juliette’s new favorite pastime is taking a spin around the ‘hood with dad.

Even better when a buddy comes along for the ride!

Bubbles, thankfully, have yet to lose their charm – we have passed many a long afternoon at our special bubble-blowing spot in the greenbelt.

There have certainly been moments this month that have left me at my wits end, when Juliette has brazenly disobeyed me or swatted at me or reached her hand into her poopy diaper.  But there have been more moments in which I’ve been delighted at the ways I’ve seen her personality take shape and really shine through.  She’s so wonderfully exuberant, with her bounding gait and slightly devilish laugh.  She’s goofy and adventurous and affectionate.  She’s also chock full of surprises – I can’t wait to see what else this girl has up her sleeve…

We boarded a plane bound for the great midwest a week ago and after the longest-ever four-hour flight, we landed in Minnesota for a happy reunion with the Schnell clan.  It was 10 pm when we rolled up to Shane’s parents’ house, so we tucked in a tuckered-out girl, did a little catchup with the family, and then fell into bed ourselves, exhausted but relieved to have made it through the journey with only minimal tears (alright, in truth, Jules cried a lot…but I only cried a little!).

After a Friday morning run into town to pick up a few essentials, we spent some time meeting the next door neighbors and Shane’s mom and dad’s new house.

We went for a walk down the dirt road at the end of their driveway and Jules found a mud puddle she couldn’t resist.  I didn’t have any napkins or wipes on me, so Shane showed her how to wipe her hands on the grass.

She thought this was a pretty great trick.

Shane’s sister and nephew came by later that afternoon – Avery warmed up to his uncle the moment Shane offered to toss the football around with him.

Shane’s dad thought Jules would love checking out his tractor, so we all walked down the road to his shop that evening.

She was a little skeptical when we first put her in there…

But then Denny fired that thing up and let her hold the steering wheel – she loves being in the drivers seat.

She looked on a little enviously when it was Avery’s turn to take it for a spin.

Our nieces and brother-in-law joined us that evening – felt so good to have the whole gang together!

Shanay and Hayden were incredibly sweet to Juliette, doting on her, hugging her and reading to her and letting her play with their phones – this girl was in cousin heaven.

We feasted on burgers and steaks hot off the grill for dinner and crashed hard that night, still a little weary from the previous day’s travel.

On Saturday morning we headed over to Hayden’s school to watch her softball tournament.  It was drizzly and a bit chilly that morning, but Juliette was happy to hang out in the rain and cheer on her cousin.  Getting to sit in the dugout was a major bonus.

Shane and I left Juliette with Grandma and Grandpa that evening so that we could grab a drink with his sister and brother-in-law.  We did some quality catching up at Sixth Ave Wine and Ale and arrived back at the house just as the skies opened up and the rain started to POUR.

And POUR.  I thought this was just a typical midwestern thunderstorm, until I heard the guys talking about a tornado watch – a funnel cloud had been spotted a half mile away.  Shane’s mom started pulling out blankets and pillows and piling them in their utility room, in case we needed to take refuge.  Jules looks awfully nervous, doesn’t she?

We made it through the storm unscathed, but wowsers!  What a night!

We spent Sunday morning at church, celebrating Shanay’s confirmation – she was radiant.  She’s become such a mature, beautiful, kind young woman.

Juliette sat through the service quietly and contentedly, happy to hop from my lap to Aunt Tiff’s to Grandma’s to Grandpa’s.

We ate lunch at the church and then took advantage of the sunshine to romp outdoors before naptime.

Juliette loved the freedom of the wide open spaces – we spend a lot of time outside in Seattle, but this may have been her first opportunity to dance in the middle of the street.

And those horses!  She couldn’t get enough.

Shane’s mom and I spent the afternoon rearranging furniture in the living room – it was fun for me to help them settle into their new place (they moved in just a few hours before we arrived on Thursday!).  The skies turned gray and we weathered another storm, but it passed quickly.  Those colors, though!  Gorgeous.

We had an appointment for a family photo shoot at 6:00, but first, the obligatory stop at Big Ole, the town’s pride and joy (see Jules down there, by his foot?).

We went back to the house after our photo session for pizza and ice cream – I came to love those big family dinners, gathering around the kitchen island while eating and drinking.  Our dining room table has felt especially quiet these past couple days!

Monday was cold – temps had been in the 70’s on Sunday, but had dropped to the 30’s overnight.  We did a little shopping with Shane’s mom that morning and then I told Juliette we’d make good on our promise to take her to a lake to throw rocks.  We hopped out of the car at lake L’Homme Dieu, felt the biting wind and saw the whitecaps on the water and then called it.  We tried.

We spent the evening at Tiff’s house – Juliette was quite taken with Pinto Bean, their rambunctious shih tzu.

Cousins!

We let Juliette stay up past her bedtime to eat watermelon with Grandma and Grandpa.  My heart was fit to burst, watching these two love our daughter so openly and generously throughout our stay.

And then one last story…

We said our good-byes early Tuesday morning and hit the road to Minneapolis.  The flight back to Seattle was smooth and completely tear-free, so we have lifted Juliette’s previously-imposed travel ban.  It felt good to walk through our front door Tuesday afternoon and settle back into home, but man, those Schnells.  They’re a fun, incredibly kind bunch.  I miss them.

Let’s hear it for the mamas!  And for Shane, who got up with Jules and let me stay in bed as long as I wanted to yesterday morning.  And then gifted me with a fancy new blender (just in time for smoothie season!).  And then fetched me a strawberry danish from the bakery.  And then planned a perfect family outing.  I was just going to ask for a couple of free hours to run some errands, but sheesh, that guy goes big.

We set out for Rattlesnake Ridge after we had breakfasted and dressed – we thought we’d give the trails a go with the stroller and embark on a short family hike.  We didn’t make it far as the terrain got rugged pretty quickly, but we found this gorgeous little path off the main trail where we could let Juliette run around and look for caterpillars.

Seriously, that girl was digging those caterpillars!

Once we had terrorized enough insects, we walked down to the lake to spread out a blanket, throw rocks, and blow bubbles.  Juliette ran to the water’s edge and back, returning to me to stuff a couple of crackers in her mouth and gulp down some water before setting off again.  I stretched out in the sun, basking in the opportunity to just be still, which happens so rarely these days.

And when the water lost its appeal, Shane was on bubbles duty!

I eventually took a turn, because, well, I actually love having her nestled into my lap…

We hit the road around noon, worried we were cutting it a little close to naptime, but Juliette spent the whole ride home happily chattering in the backseat.  She must have gotten the Mother’s Day memo!

We all snoozed in the afternoon and then puttered around the house before heading over to Jack and La Verne’s for a pizza feast with the gang.  Jack enjoyed some quality time with G…

And then put him and Isaiah to work, offering to pay them each a quarter for each bucket of weeds they filled!  I’m not sure this constituted a fair wage, and judging from Jack’s face, I think he knew he was making out like a bandit.

Jules stood by and watched, pigtails askew, face sticky with watermelon juice, and belly threatening to burst out of her tank top.  It’s her “summer look”.

And goodness, she was feeling the love for Nico that night, reaching out to give him a squeeze whenever he got within grabbing range.  Usually he stands stock-still and looks a little startled when Jules comes at him with one of her bear hugs, but on this particular evening he actually reciprocated!

Or is he pushing her away?  I can’t tell…

Hugs aside (or included?), these two have so much fun together.

And speaking of fun, Shane and Jason busted into Jack’s liquor cabinet while Jack supervised all four children on the other side of the yard.  Shameless!

I’ve learned so much about being a mom from these two ladies, felt so supported in the midst of craziness or fatigue, so inspired by the ways they love their kids.

There was a rousing game of “toss the boys”…

And then, finally, we were all tuckered out.  I had a hard time prying Juliette out of Jack’s arms, as she looked ready to fall asleep on his chest.

We washed the dirt from between Juliette’s toes and then she crashed in my arms after only a couple of rounds of the sunshine song.  She’d played hard.

When we’re in the depths of toddler tantrums or early wake-ups or seemingly endless whiny requests for Elmo, I try to remember the good times, to call upon memories of joy and laughter and sweetness.  So I’m tucking yesterday away for a rainy day – the motherhood-scale is feeling very much tipped in my favor at the moment.

Since our last visit to Portland at Christmas, Elise has turned 7, Morgan has traded in her training wheels for a big-girl bike, and Jules has officially left baby-hood behind and become a full-fledged toddler.  Time flies.  Thankfully, no matter how much has changed, it seems these kids pick up right where they last left off.  When we rolled into town on Friday afternoon, it took all of three minutes for the girls to start playing and laughing and carrying on together.

I was a little skeptical on Friday evening as to whether or not all three of them would still fit in the bathtub together, but Elise and Morgan were willing to fold up their legs and give it a try!  Jules was thrilled.

We got a slow start on Saturday morning, letting the girls run around the house until Juliette started doing her “outside?” chant.

We headed down the street to the neighborhood playground, where I watched Juliette go down the slide that Morgan and Elise have traversed hundreds of times.  I’ve been snapping photos from this very same spot for years now!

The playground has apparently lost its charm with the big kids, though – they’ve moved on to new adventures.

After getting our wiggles out, Shane, Jules and I drove over to the Pearl District for an REI run and a stop at Barista for a perfect latte.

And then we popped over to Portsmouth Park to watch Elise play soccer.  That girl’s got hustle.  And wow, she looks old here, huh?

When Morgan and Juliette tired of sitting on the sidelines, they kept each other company on the playground.

We napped for awhile in the afternoon and then soaked up some rays in the backyard before heading out once again, for a picnic dinner at Cathedral Park under the St. Johns bridge.

We ate chicken wings and blew dandelion puffs and bubbles and ran races and stretched out on the grass in the late evening sun.  I’m so thankful for family.  And 70-degree weather!

After waiting for nearly an hour for a train to pass and let us out of the parking lot (patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue), we jetted home to get the kids to bed, crack open a bottle of port, and do some distraction-free catching up with Mitch and Kathryn.

We found ourselves at the neighborhood playground again on Sunday morning, so that the girls could ride their bikes.  Or so that the boys could ride their bikes?

We packed up our things and set out for the beach later that morning.  First, though, I wanted to snap a photo of the Jarrell clan in front of their house – they’re moving to the other side of Portland later this month, and while I’m super-excited for them to settle into their sweet new digs, I’ll miss this place!  We have a lot of memories here.

No time for nostalgia, though, when you’ve got kids rearing to get to the beach.  Onward!

As per usual, the sand and water seemed to imbue Juliette with an extra dose of already-plentiful energy.  The running!

We said our goodbyes around lunchtime with hugs all around.  Morgan got an extra-long embrace from Jules – those two had been thick as thieves all weekend.

No more of this more-than-4-months-between-visits business – see you in July, Jarrells!