summer vacation

I recently had the opportunity to visit some good friends in Spokane that I hadn't seen in a long time and Aven hadn't seen since she was only 2 1/2 months old.  It was wonderful to have the kids play together and to just spend time relaxing and enjoying the sunshine, which thankfully was plentiful.

Day 1:

Went berry picking at Green Bluff, ate tons of blueberries and picked a few as well as carrots and a few tomatoes.  The kids ate snacks, picked berries, ran around on the farm, rode in the wagon and enjoyed the sunshine too.  It was a beautiful warm sunny summer afternoon.

That night after the kids went down Erik graciously stayed at home and Andi and I went out for dinner at local restaurant Twigs.  It was quite delicious and I had a yummy mojito and delicious Kahlua Pork Tacos- they were awesome!

Day 2:

This day consisted mostly of hanging around the house relaxing in the morning and letting the kids play (and Aven taking her nap).  Audrey (6) painted this lovely picture while I was there.  Aven loved playing on Audrey's bed and with all of her dolls and toys.  She equally loved Elliot's books from the library about big machinery and his toy planes organized neatly on his nightstand.  The kids seemed to fall into a routine of playing together with rests and breaks between.  The mornings consisted of the Mommys drinking coffee and the kids snacking on cheerios while breakfast was made and conversation was had.

By the afternoon it was time to prep for Andi's book club.  We ran some errands, picked out some snacks for the get together and dropped off the kids with Erik.  Andi and Aven and I went to Home Depot and got a new light switch- I fixed their bathroom switch while I was there (even connected the wires and all!).  I felt very handy- probably way more that I normally am at home.

We had fun putting all of the snacks on fun colored Fiestaware dishes and using vintage linens to decorate the new picnic table outside.  Aven and I enjoyed the warm evening air as laughter and discussion filled the backyard and the daylight faded and candles lit the faces of these lovely ladies.  

Again we stayed up way too late catching up on life and talking about everything. 

Day 3:

The last morning we struggled to get out of the house on time.  We had planned on going to a bakery on south hill- Rockwood Bakery- and then over to the nearby Manito park for the kids to play.  I was planning on hopping in the car and heading out when Aven started getting tired- hopefully around noon. Our 9:30 turned into 10 and then 10:30 and then we finally got out of the door at 11.  It was a lovely bakery- very Seattle- like with delicious cinnamon rolls, muffins and coffee.  It was embedded right into the neighborhood with no other businesses around it so it really felt quaint.  Afterwards we went to Manito park- drove around the outskirts a bit and then found a play area for the kids.  Wow, it was busy- even for a weekday!  There were screaming kids everywhere climbing and jumping and laughing and crawling and sliding and running- it was busy.  Aven kind of just took everything in for a while- it was a bit overwhelming but she finally took to the slide and crawling on some other things as well as swinging on the swings.

Then it was time for goodbye.  Andi and I took turned taking pictures of the kids and each other.  It was a wonderful time with such a good friend.  It has been years since we've really just gotten to hang out one on one and spend some quality time together.  It was so fun to watch the kids play together and to catch up on life.  

Miss you sweet friend.  Wish we could see you more over here on the West side.  Many blessings to you and your family.  Thank you for your hospitality and friendship.