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!

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.  😉

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.

Saturday brought more sun and temps approaching 80 degrees, so we grabbed our beach towel and sunscreen and headed out to grab some rays.  But first, breakfast at M Street Kitchen.

(Please, Mama, can I have pancakes and syrup, light on the pancakes, heavy on the syrup?)

We spent the rest of the morning at Annenberg Beach House, melting into our lounge chairs while Juliette ran wild in the splash park.  Dude, this girl loves water.

I went for a run while Shane put a tuckered-out Jules down for a nap and then hydrated with a bottle of bubbly on our house’s patio.  Perfecto.

Juliette woke up pink-cheeked and crazy-haired and came out to join me.  Those arms!  I’ve missed seeing them these past few months.

We packed up our things and then spent an hour strolling down the 3rd Street promenade, stopping every few minutes to watch the street performers and share a fro-yo.  Since we were so close to Tongva Park, and since Juliette had such a blast there the day before, we popped over for another go at the playground.

Soon it was beach:30, so we made our way to the sand, armed with pail and shovel, and settled in for another sunset.

She makes me so damn happy.  I love to be able to return the favor.

A breeze kicked up as the sun went down and Juliette wanted nothing more than to crawl into papa’s lap and snuggle.  It took about 37 laps up and down the shore, but we had finally worn this girl out!

I sighed as we watched the sun drop behind the horizon, sad to see our final evening in Santa Monica come to a close.  Shane consoled me by volunteering to go pick up burgers and shakes from In-N-Out for dinner while I put Juliette to bed.  Yes, please!  We wolfed down our takeout and then I fell asleep on the couch at 8:00, exhausted in the most satisfying way.

We didn’t need to head to the airport until late morning on Sunday, so we swung by the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market for awhile to eat breakfast and let Jules get her pre-flight wiggles out.  She was a big fan of the folk band that was playing there, knee-slapping and hand-clapping along with the beat.

And then, too soon, it was time to head to LAX and make the trek back to Seattle.  Juliette did alright on the flight, squirming a bit through the first half, but eventually passing out in my arms.  And then, we were home.  Home sweet home, where we don’t have to worry about getting a sunburn or dumping the sand out of our shoes (I’m doing my best to look on the bright side here).

Thanks, Santa Monica, for treating us right!  See you next winter.

March is that time of year in Seattle when I really start getting antsy, when I start itching to shed my coat and my sweater so that I can feel the sun on my shoulders.  It’s the time of year when I’d give anything to just be warm, to wear sandals rather than wool socks and boots.  I remarked last month that this winter was feeling particularly long, with all the sniffles and the stir-craziness, so Shane worked his travel-planning magic and booked us cheap flights and a sweet little cottage in Santa Monica for a long weekend.  Juliette has recently become fascinated by airplanes, pointing to the sky and exclaiming “errrrr-pay!” each time one flies overhead, so she was most certainly up for the adventure.

We set out Thursday morning and made it to the gate with plenty of time to spare – I sipped my coffee while Jules ran circles around us, stopping every couple of minutes to bang on the windows and watch the planes take off.

We had armed ourselves with a bag full of treats and distractions for the plane ride and decided that any ground rules about screen time or snacks are just that – ground rules.  The air is an anything-goes zone, where there’s no shame in letting your toddler load up on sugar or play with your gadgets.  Juliette spent the first half of the flight munching on cookies and cheddar bunnies while pretending to chat on my phone.

We played one round of the Peekaboo-Barn app we’d put on the iPad and then, somewhere around Oregon, she crashed, waking just as we pulled up to the gate.  Whew!

We picked up our rental car without much fuss and made to it Santa Monica in time for a late lunch at True Foods Kitchen.  I bought these silly sunglasses on clearance last fall, and finally!  An excuse to wear them!  Too cool for school, that kid.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the house and then headed to the nearby beach to catch the sunset.  Juliette was a little tentative when I first set her down on the sand, not sure what to make of the way her feet sunk and squished, but once I handed her a shovel and her bucket, she was content to sit and scoop away.

And then I took her down to the water’s edge so that the waves could lap at her toes, expecting her to be a little nervous at her first encounter with the ocean.

Nervous, schmervous!  She went nuts, squealing with joy and chasing after the waves as they receded.  Shane and I spent the next half hour running after her, trying (unsuccessfully) to direct her along the water’s edge rather than straight into it.  She face-planted a couple of times in the cold wet sand, but was up and at it again before we could even brush her off.  We’ve got a beach-baby on our hands!

The beach in Santa Monica is amazing, nearly deserted on a Thursday night and stretching on for miles in either direction.  We stuck around long enough to wave bye-bye to the sun, and then jetted back to the house for bath and bedtime.  Juliette fell asleep about 25 seconds after I turned off her light and Shane and I enjoyed a couple of hours of quiet time, sharing a pizza and a bottle of wine before conking out ourselves.

We were up bright and early on Friday, eager to see what else Santa Monica had up its sleeve.  We started with breakfast at Huckleberry, for mimosas and monster egg sandwiches.

Then we drove over to Abbot Kinney to peek in the windows of the hip restaurants and trendy shops.

Juliette didn’t want anything to do with her stroller that day, so we booked it over to Venice Beach to look for a place to let her loose.

We found a great little playground right on the beach and she went up and down the slide a few times before settling down on the sand with a few other kids to do some more scooping.

I jogged back to the house from Venice and met Shane and Jules there just in time to help get her down for her nap.  Once she woke, we were back out the door, in search of a late lunch.  La Verne had recommended ramen from Tsujita, where we snagged a sidewalk table and slurped our bowls of noodles and rich, flavorful broth.

For dessert, we walked around the corner for green tea shaved ice from Blockheads.  So good.  So, so good.  My only complaint is that I couldn’t keep Juliette away from it – get your spoon away my mochi, kid!

Bellies full, we played for awhile at Tongva Park, climbing on rocks and bumping down the roller slide.

We weren’t far from the beach, so we headed over to stake out a perfect patch of sand near the pier to catch another sunset.  But first, more running!  This video sums it up so clearly – I look away for a mere second, and she’s gone.  Her pants were soaked faster that I could say “STOP!”.

Keeping this girl from getting swept out to sea was exhausting, but oh, her unbridled joy!  Completely worth it.

We finally coaxed her up onto the towel to scoop, pat, dump and demolish.  Sand castles don’t stand a chance with this little one.

One last jog, before heading out…

This might be an appropriate time for me to apologize to Los Angeles – I’d always fiercely claimed that I am not an LA person, that the city is all sprawl and traffic and too-tan women in too-high heels, but I take it back.  That evening, as the waves murmured and the sky blazed orange and Juliette excitedly pointed to the seagulls flying overhead, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

Stay tuned for days 3 and 4!

Valentines Day!  A day for lovers, for romance, for chocolates and wine and ooh-la-la.  Or…a day for chasing after your toddler, finding joy in pink-frosted donuts and a longer-than-normal nap and an afternoon at the park.  C’est la parenthood.

We spent the morning at the Rusts – the kiddos exchanged Valentines (turns out Jules has mad watercolor skills!) and the grown-ups sipped mimosas and munched on Nance’s heart-shaped coffee cake.

Jules enjoyed a little snuggle session with her buddy S in the playroom hammock.  I don’t know where that girl’s pants went.

We made it home for naptime and Juliette crashed hard, snoozing for a solid hour and a half (this is an improvement over recent sub-hour naps!).  Find me something sweeter than a baby sleeping with her butt up in the air like so.  I dare you.

Juliette woke up in great spirits and laid with us on the couch for a bit, then tore into the magna-doodle I bought her for V-Day.

Once the new toy magic wore off (which took all of…15 minutes?  damn it.), we all got a little antsy and decided to drive over to Luther Burbank Park to enjoy the sun.  We hit that playground hard.  Too hard, as evidenced by my sore butt.  That turbo-boosted roller slide has an unexpected kick to it!

Once we had explored every slide, swing, and teeter-totter, we made our way toward the water, stopping for a few minutes to check out the pups at the dog park.  Jules was completely mesmerized, woof-woofing at each dog that ran past her.  Forget the zoo – this is apparently where it’s at!

Once we pried Juliette away from the furballs, we walked down to the waterfront to throw rocks and see how close we could get to the water’s edge without actually getting our feet soaked (her game, not ours).

I asked for a kiss and…wow.  This girl doesn’t hold back.

A chill set in as the sun went down, so we trekked back to the car, deciding we should ride this good-spirited wave and go grab a bite somewhere.  I was in the mood for a burger but raised my eyebrows as Shane threw out the names of a couple of trendy, probably-crowded Capitol Hill burger joints.  Let’s not press our luck.  I wanted to go someplace easy and close-by, someplace we knew would have high chairs and crayons.  And that’s the story of how the Schnells ended up at the Factoria Mall Red Robin for Valentines Day dinner.

Shane and I reminisced over our bottomless fries about the Valentines meal we ate at Windows on the Water in Morro Bay when I was in college, where we ordered our first-ever bottle of wine (a lovely White Zinfandel) and sipped it while the sounds of quietly murmuring couples and piano music filled the dimly lit dining room.  That was fun.  But RED ROBIN.  Red Robin has balloons.

Happy Valentines Day, folks – may you all find happiness in the most unexpected of places.

Although I’d pay good money for a day of 80-degree temps, it really does feel like the most wonderful time of the year around here.  December has been packed of merry-making as we’ve filled our weekends with our favorite Christmastime traditions.

The annual trek out to Mountain Creek tree farm in North Bend has become our family’s marker that Christmas is a-comin’, and this year was pretty perfect as tree hunts go.  The sun was shining, the snow was glistening, and Juliette had a grand time traipsing among the trees, some of which were just her size.

We settled on a 6-foot Grand Fir without too much ado, Shane did the honors, and we were off!

Ok, we weren’t really off just yet, as it takes us four times as long to securely rope the tree to the roof of our Civic as it does to actually cut it down.  Luckily, Jules was there to supervise, as she guzzled warm apple cider from the sidelines.

And then we were off!

After one more picture.

We strung lights and hung ornaments on the tree that afternoon while A Charlie Brown Christmas piped through the speakers.  I love, love, love the warm glow of a well-lit tree.  Makes me want to pot an indoor tree and string lights on it to keep that glow going year-round (Shane said no).

Juliette was pretty taken with the tree at first, pulling off any ornaments that were within arm’s reach, giving the lights a nerve-racking tug now and then.

I let her hold my little plastic angel, thinking she couldn’t harm it.  She proceeded to bite the wings right off the poor guy.  Thus, there are no longer any ornaments on the bottom third of the tree…

A couple of weeks ago we gathered with the gang for our annual fondue party.  But first, the annual pre-fondue 5k at Seward Park, as a preemptive calorie burn!

As Shane and I are two of the few lucky owners of a fondue set, we’re tasked each year with doing one of the cheese pots.  The first year was not so good, as we rushed the melting process ended up with one giant cheese blob.  But now, after several years of practice, we speak Gruyere.  Shane’s a certified cheese whiz.

It was a wild night, as nearly 20 adults and 10 kids ate and laughed and chased each other through Jack and La Verne’s house.  This fondue party, with the cheese and the chocolate and Ronda’s homemade marshmallows, is another one of our very crucial Christmastime happenings – the holidays wouldn’t be the same without it.  Juliette’s fully on board.

Shane and I snuck out one Friday night for a kid-free evening with my coworkers for our annual holiday party.  Good cocktails, good conversation, and this hottie in an elf hat.  Nice.

The next day I set out with Nance and La Verne for a solid 22 hours of kid-freeness for Ladies Weekend 2014.  The three of us started this tradition of getting away for some R and R in 2011 but had to skip it last year, as La Verne’s and my babes were still so little (and needy).  But when I asked La Verne last month if she was ready for a night away, she responded with a resounding YES.  The dads were cool with hanging at home with the little ones, so we booked a room at Cedarbrook Lodge in nearby SeaTac, scheduled our spa treatments, and packed our bags!  We spent the afternoon shopping at the Supermall and then made it to the hotel just in time to check in for our massages and facials.  We ate a leisurely dinner (oh, the luxury of a leisurely meal!), raided the hotel lounge’s supply of free ice cream and malt balls, and then settled into our room for a night of Haagen Dasz and chick flicks.  Dirty Dancing was playing on Bravo, so we spent two hours giggling like schoolgirls over Patrick Swayze’s bulging muscles and gyrating hips.  It felt like a high school sleepover, which was kind of awesome – there aren’t many instances these days when I feel younger than I actually am.  Sleeping in until 8:00 the next morning and waking to a quiet, foggy bit of wonderland was also amazing (I know, “wonderland” in SeaTac?  It’s true!).

We had breakfast at the hotel and spent a long time talking about family and faith and priorities and contentedness (Nance was channeling her inner Oprah!), and then it was time to grab a few malt balls for the road and get back to Seattle.

Juliette was quick to run into my arms when I walked in the door, which made my break all the sweeter.  She and Shane had fared pretty well – the dads and kids had eaten dinner together the evening before, Juliette had slept through the night, she was dressed and happy when I got home.  The weekend was such a success, in fact, that there’s talk of this becoming a quarterly rather than annual tradition…

We spent one clear evening checking out the lights at Gene Coulon Park in Renton.  Juliette roamed up and down the path, excited by the big glowing candy canes and the opportunity to run free after dark.

I had high hopes for church and brunch and maybe a Santa Scouting this past Sunday, but Juliette woke up with copious amounts of snot flowing from her nose, so we decided instead to declare it a huddle day, to make pancakes and enjoy our tree before the needles start dropping like flies.

We let Juliette open a couple of gifts in the afternoon, since she has more than enough to tear into on Christmas morning.  She’s been using this box as a bench for the past two weeks and was amazed to find that there was actually something inside of it!

Looking forward to trying out these paint brushes and paint cups with her on our next rainy afternoon at home together.

Shane got a Nintendo for Christmas (from…himself?), and while Juliette isn’t quite ready for Mario Kart, she was pretty taken with the controller – we didn’t even have the TV on, but she pushed those buttons and jiggled that joystick for a good 15 minutes.

I spent this evening baking a few goodies and making sure every last gift is wrapped and tagged – tomorrow we head to Portland for a few days with family.  Happy, happy holidays, friends!

Happy 35th birthday, Mr. Schnell!

We kicked off the festivities yesterday with brunch at Bings – the pancakes were fluffy, the mimosas were bottomless, and we all chatted and laughed amidst the mayhem that is dining with two babies and two kids.

We had big plans to hit the pumpkin patch after brunch, but called it off due to rain.  The rest of the day was spent holed up indoors, reading books and playing Legos.  Even Juliette fell prey to the rainy-day lazies and napped for almost three and a half hours!

But today, how the sun shone today!  We spent the morning at Volunteer Park, walking along the leaf-strewn paths, playing on the playground, soaking in autumn’s golden glory.

Shane soaked his jeans on a trip down a surprisingly wet slide with Jules in his lap – thank goodness for backup shorts in the trunk of the car.  (And you’re welcome, to all those kids that were waiting for someone to hurry up and dry off the slide!)

We cashed in our pumpkin patch raincheck this afternoon and made the trek out to Issaquah to check out Trinity Tree Farm.  Juliette pushed the wheelbarrow around for awhile, rode in the wheelbarrow for awhile, and finally just staked out a spot in the middle of the field to plop down and chew on rocks while she watched kids and dogs run by.

Nice form, guys!

I’m so happy to see this girl getting on board with our silly Schnell family traditions.

Just for old time’s sake, check out this one from our pumpkin patch visit last year…We’ve come a long way, huh Jules?!

We grabbed dinner at Tutta Bella on the way home – cocktails and pizza and gelato felt like a fitting end to a perfect day.  Happiest of birthdays to my favorite person!  Juliette and I love you so very much (for the record, I also get the urge to applaud every time you walk into the room).