Golden Gardens

Okay, here is one more beach post. You'd think I could find something else to write about, but I can't seem help myself. I love the beach.

Golden Gardens seems to be the beach to visit in the Seattle area. It is the one that everyone keeps recommending, so of course we had to visit. I liked. Didn't love. I think living a summer in Hawaii and three years in Santa Monica must have turned me into something of a beach snob.

Still, the kids had a blast, and it is a very nice park. Maggie was one of the few people at the beach braving the water even though the sand was blazing hot. I can always count on her to go in--in this way she is definitely my girl. Jack had his fun army crawling through the sand and, of course, eating it too.

We have already returned to the park for a sunset evening on the beach, and I am sure we will be back again.

 Both kids were stubbornly determined not to look at the camera.

Maggie has started taking pictures for me. She loves it!

Glenedon Beach, OR

Just for a couple days, but we escaped.

My parents rented a beach condo in Glenedon Beach, OR, and they invited us to crash their vacation.
It was wonderful to see them.
It was wonderful to see Joe.
It was wonderful to spend some time on a beautiful sandy beach.

As we were playing on the beach, after watching Maggie's enthusiasm, a passerby asked if it was her first visit to the ocean. Joe said, "No, but she loves it like it's the first time, every time." Yes she does.

Maggie has a particular joyful shriek that she seems to have reserved for skirting the ocean and getting wet even when it is way to cold. I have missed that joyful shriek, and watching her play in the water made me feel at home. I don't think she has any memories of Santa Monica (tear) but when I see her playing on the beach I see my baby and it makes me really happy.

Jack got his first taste of real beach sand (not just garbage from a sandbox) and  he seemed impressed. He kept going back for more. He did seem to appreciate the sippy cup that I brought along in anticipation of rinsing sand out of his mouth, though.

Joe cooked steak and kaboobs on grill while we watched the sun set over the ocean and I spotted a whale which left me nearly has happy as Maggie was while playing in the ocean.

"Mom, I want to do this again next time."

This summer Joe is working hard and I am playing harder.

So far, I have mixed feelings about Seattle. It feels like a bit of a gloomy city to me. Beautiful, but gloomy. Maybe Santa Monica spoiled me forever. Or, maybe Seattle just doesn't quite feel like home. Or, maybe I just miss Joe, seeing as he has pretty much been owned this summer.

BUT, there is a lot to see and do, and we are trying to fit in as much as possible. It has been awesome. The only thing that would really make it awesomer, is if Joe was able to join in on a bit more of the fun. This post is going to be a jumble of some of the highlight activities so far, because, let's face it--I am never going to catch up if I try to write about everything. Almost every time we have to leave whatever activity we are doing for the day, Maggie says, "Mom, I want to do this again next time!" or "that was an awesome adventure!"

Cheers to Seattle and awesome adventures like . . .

Center for the Wooden Boats
Pacific Science Center
Strawberry picking
Zoo
Pike Place Market
Magnolia Farmer's Market
Pioneer Square
Mariner's Game
Golden Gardens Beach Park
Library (the red room is awesome!)
Museum of Flight
USA vs Panama Men's world cup qualifier
Carkeek Beach
Gleneden Beach, OR
Leavenworth, WA
Parks, parks, parks . . .

See. We have been busy.

Sadly, my picture taking has been abysmal. It is hard to lug a DSLR around, along with a baby and all the kid stuff that I seem to think I need, so instead, I have been settling for quick snapshots or nothing at all. Here is a smattering of pictures that I do have, in no particular order. I think I will dedicate a post or two to some of the larger adventures, so those pictures are not included.

Cousins!! At the zoo.

Strawberry picking before Jack was covered in mud and strawberries He only looks like he has the grumps because he is looking into the sun. He was as content as you could imagine and didn't make a peep until I picked him up to get him cleaned off to leave. Then, he was unhappy.

Pacific Science Center

Center for Wooden Boats Buddies!! At the Museum of Flight.  Carkeek Park. Our first weekend here. It was FREEZING.

Fat purple starfish and sea cumcumbers aplenty hiding in the rocks

Bye, Beach

Right now Joe is somewhere in Illinois driving a big, yellow Penske while Maggie and I are hanging out in Idaho Falls waiting to fly out and meet him in Ithaca. It still seems a little unreal, but I am pretty sure it will feel a little bit more real on Wednesday night when I touch down in NY and see our apartment for the first time. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of our last family trip to our little beach in Santa Monica. Tear.

The other day I asked Maggie, "Are you cute?"
"No," she responded. "I just crazy."

 

Not exactly my best picture ever, but I think there is something so sweet about a toddler sitting on a baby belly

A few things I will miss about Santa Monica . . .
1. Friends
2. The beach
3. The beach
4. The beach
5. 65-80 degree weather everyday of the year
6. Sunday evening walks in perfect weather along a bluff overlooking the beach
7. Family coming to visit (Jeff and Sam, I think you might be our only hope! Come visit us!)

A few things I will not miss!
1. Traffic
2. Apartment managing
3. Joe's commute (i.e. traffic)

A few things that I am looking forward to . . .
1. Waterfalls
2. Lush, green
3. New England in the fall
4. Making a snowman with Maggie
5. Finally visiting DC
6. A new adventure . . .

Ready, Go!

Here is a conversation that has been had on many days in our home.

Me--"Maggie, can you tell Daddy what we did today?"

Maggie--(after looking at me for a minute), "Beach!"

Joe--"You went to the beach today?!" (I shake my head).

Maggie --"water! cold!" . . . "Bye beach."

I am sad to say that we don't actually go to the beach on most days. Instead, after the above conversation, I proceed to help Maggie tell Joe about what we actually did that day, (usually much less fun than going to the beach).

At least Maggie has the right idea about what we should be doing every day, and she certainly makes the most of our time there.

The other day, though, I had the bright idea to have a beach picnic. We were on our way home, and only had a few free minutes but I had packed sandwiches, so I thought, "why not eat them while watching doggies and runners (another of Maggie's well loved activities) down on the beach path." Well, I am sad to say that our picnic ended with me dragging a screaming, flailing toddler away from the water. In my defense, I usually do let her play in the water (or maybe that's the problem), but now I have learned my lesson. We only head to the beach when the ocean (and not just the sand) is an okay.

In case you missed it, Maggie is yelling "Ready, gooooooooooo." It is her own derivative of "ready, set, go" which I think she used in the beginning to get her courage to run into the freezing cold water. Now, I think she just likes to yell.

San Simeon

Los Angeles is great. I love living here. Don't get me wrong; I love the beach, the weather, the traffic. Ahem, I mean . . . did I mention the traffic?

So, back in November when we had the rare chance to escape, we headed up the coast to San Simeon where we met my sister Jenni and her family.

Camping + toddlers + cold + family + bubbles + elephant seals (hundreds, literally) + the beach = vacation (hopefully deserved), fun, and not quite enough sleep. Luckily Maggie is a cuddle bug, so sleeping in a tent is not too much of a problem.

We visited Hearst Castle, an incredibly fascinating place, built by eccentric billionaire William Randolph Hearst in the 1920-1930's. Hearst imported art from Rome, Italy, France, etc; some dating back as far as 230 A.D. In the creation of his castle, he was inspired by his childhood tours of Europe, and if you were to erase the palm trees in the picture below, you would probably be more likely to think that the picture was taken, well certainly not in California. One of the pools, styled after a Roman bath house, is mosaic'd with tiles including some made of clear glass fused with gold.

Maggie kind of adored her cousin Lydia. Once, she managed to catch Lydia in a hug. Meanwhile, Lydia called out for help, "Momma, stuck! Stuck!"

A rare family photo. We slipped tube socks on Maggie arms to keep her little hands warm while we were hiking.

I like these two.

The little girls started their lunch (the part that the seagulls did not fly away with) while sitting on rocks that would never have reasonably seemed seat sized. They have such tiny bums. So cute.

Watching a toddler eat a sandwich at the beach is painful.

Maggie is past putting handfuls of sand in her mouth just for the heck of it (at least mostly; she has been going through an dirt eating phase that I have not entirely figured out).

Still, I just turned my head when she used her sandwich to dig in the sand at a beach birthday picnic. I am not sure that she did any sandwich-sand digging on this day, but she has definitely brought a new definition to sand-wich. Ha Ha Ha.

I just want to kiss those wind-burned cheeks.

McGrath State Park

What a beautiful weekend for camping near beachside.

Maggie had to help Joe set up the tent because I was too busy snapping pictures. It's okay. She didn't complain.

We had fun escaping just as a little family.

And we had fun playing at the beach; even though we brought bathing suits and boogie boards...

My favorite thing about this next photograph are the shuffling baby prints in the sand.