Urban Adventures

It has been awhile since we have written and we have had many adventures in the meantime, so I will start with the most current events and work my way back until I can't remember anymore...

Today is a beautiful day in Seattle, brilliant blue and eighty degrees. We decided to start answering the question everyone asks us, "How do you like Seattle so far?" Since our first few weeks here were a whirlwind of buying a house and having a baby, we haven't really gotten to know this city where we have lived for a year now. We know it is Seattle by the Space Needle we see every day and the hulk of Mt. Rainier that hunches over the skyline, but we haven't ventured very far from our own neighborhood.

So, this morning we packed up Owen and went downtown to explore a little. We went to locally famed Macrina Bakery to pick up some treats and then headed over to the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Garden, a 9 acre park right by the Puget Sound that features such works as 20 ft. high traffic cones and a giant typewriter erasing racing down a hill. We found a sunny spot right by the water and watched people do what we used to do (go for early morning runs) while we kicked back and ate huge pieces of lavender and lemon coffeecake. Owen loved watching the trains go by. He was such a little wiggle worm until one passed and then he was utterly still and silent until the last car passed, then wiggle all over again. We came home, messed around in the garden, Owen napped, and then we hiked around Carkeek park, a lovely park near our house that we visit often with forest trails and ocean views.

Speaking of the garden, we are hoping to taste our first bounty this weekend - spinach. Since we last reported, John has built a "cloche" for his tomato plants - a big plastic tunnel to keep them warm and humid in the cool Seattle spring.

Here is a pic of John from last weekend and behind him is my Mother's day present, 3000 pounds of mulch. That is partially a joke. We spent the first part of Mother's Day sodding and mulching our front yard after we dug the whole thing up. We are very happy to pass along our previous title of "Eyesore of the Neighborhood" to some one else. John and I both hold our head up high as we walk into our house now as opposed to sneaking in the back like we did when the whole yard was a field of dandelions. John and Owen made the rest of the day a treat with thoughtful gifts and a nice trip to the farmer's market.

We had a lovely visit from my mom, Owen's "Marnie," the weekend before, hence the fabulous video of him dancing with her. My mom also treated Owen to his first lunch with the girls and the first public lunch when he didn't scream the entire time. I think the mound of crunchy rice noodles she set before him certainly helped satisfy his hunger for food and mess.

A few other highs and lows, Owen's first fever, some great nights of sleeping, first visit to the sandbox, and a 5:30 am picnic with mommy in the backyard so daddy could get some more sleep.

Now the little boy is napping, we have a bottle of wine in the fridge, and a whole 'nother day of the weekend. Happy times!