This summer is winding down and I can’t believe how quickly this season passed! The last month has been jam-packed with daily adventures that have been priceless. We kicked off August with a trip to Portland to visit a friend’s family farm. Although I consider myself a city girl through and through, I found myself loving life on the farm. Of course, my emotions are completely tied to the fact that our 3-year-old had a blast. He fed a llama and sheep, went for long walks down a freshly dug hiking path, swung and climbed on a massive private playset overlooking the Oregon hills and gorge, made friends with new littles and one big dog, picked fresh chicken eggs and got to sleep in a massive bed with Mom and Dad.
On the way back to Seattle, we visited Mt. St. Helens, the site of the 1980 volcanic eruption. Yoni was just in heaven. He’s been obsessed with volcanos, so to be in close proximity to one was just mind-boggling to him. It was adorable, fun and well worth the six-hour drive.
We also have been swimming non-stop- I was determined to fulfill Yoni’s wish of “getting wet every day”. Summer on a toddler’s schedule is actually super fun. It means a lot of splash parks with friends, pools, burgers, open fields, library visits, naps, backyard gardening with dinner, museums, random walks and a couple pairs of lost sunglasses.
We’ve also been graced by a ton of family visits- Scott’s parents came out to visit and treated us to dinner and ice cream, my Mom came out for almost a week and taught us how to cook up some delicious Eritrean recipes, and had dear friends from Chicago, D.C., and Portland stay with us.
What else is going on? Scott is killing it at work, I’m working on a children’s book with a super cool friend, we’re stepping up our workout regimen (I tried a cycling class the other day and it *still* hurts to breathe), Yoni is gearing up for his first music lessons this fall, we’re headed to NYC again for our dear friends’ wedding and to visit my sister.
Scott is taking the week off to savor the last days of Summer as a family at home. We watched Yoni graduate from his summer soccer camp with utter joy, getting ready for a family road trip to Finn River Cidery in Port Townsend, WA. We’re also going to take advantage of our time together to clean out the garage (oh, the joy) and get the spare bedroom primed and ready for our future little babe. I know it sounds strange planning, organizing, designing and shopping for someone you don’t know will ever come. It’s alright, though. Whenever, if ever, it happens, we’ll be ready, mindfully awake, arms open and hearts overjoyed.
Oh, man. Today is the first weekend of the summer I can recall where we’ve had an opportunity to just wake up together, stay in our pajamas, have breakfast, walk to the coffee shop for milk and lattes and then walk home just to read, play some music and nap. While Yoni is sleeping in his room, Scott is off getting his banjo fixed and I am in my home office writing.
It’s been an incredibly busy and fun summer- one of our busiest yet. It’s been the good kind of busy- the kind of busy you choose and hope for. We’ve been throwing lots of backyard parties, traveling around our state and country, getting to parks and beaches and working on the house and garden.
Scott just got back from a quick trip (two days and one night) to Pasadena to work with NASA and their Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This was a big trip for all of us since becoming space junkies thanks to Yoni. His steady and undying fascination with our solar system and the universe has had us researching, watching, reading and buying everything and anything space related, hah. Scott had the incredible opportunity to tour mission control, meet incredible innovators who are changing our world for the better, check out their latest project headed to Mars and of course, buy Yoni a NASA teddy bear and little toy robot.
He’s headed back there in some months and we’ve already decided to join him this time. Because adoption is constantly on our minds now, one of the things Scott and I get most excited about is wondering what subjects or questions will spark our next child’s imagination and bring them joy? Will it be space, too? Art? Design? Food? Animals? Music? Sports? Oceans? Language? Where will we go and what will we learn as a family when we do find out- and how will this further help our kids become the best versions of themselves?
