June 2021 - a good month!

 June 2021 was a solid month. 

• We had a great 5-day trip up to Seattle that exceeded my expectations and was filled with lots of moments of bliss, novelty and relaxation. We stayed with Hilary the whole time and the kids demonstrated an unlimited appetite for just playing games, drawing, jumping on the trampoline, and climbing on the play structure. We spent a day at Lake Sammamish, where Chase reveled in the joys of floating in an inflatable duck, and Maggie did lots of distance swimming in her life jacket. We went to Edmunds to visit with Katrina, Andy and Theo one day and enjoyed donuts and cherries at the farmer's market, fun with power wheels in the driveway, relaxation and building at the beach, and then a delicious burger/chicken/wine meal on the deck with a view of the sound. There was a woman and her son on the beach who had dug a huge hole that many kids were exploring. We chatted with them for a long time about life, travel, Peru, Ecuador and more. There was also a man blowing giant bubbles that dozens of kids were chasing around and popping. That beach excursion was a genuine moment of calm and serenity. 
• During the heat wave we spent an afternoon swimming at Carrie's pool, and then also did a Monday morning bike excursion down to the Duckworth docks. It was perfect. Beautiful view of the city, warm water, some shade, and good adventurousness and listening from the kids. I did a pedalpalooza ride starting at 10pm that Monday. Meet at the docks and then meander through the city. It was still 88 degrees when I got home at midnight.
• Chase and I had 4 hours to explore the West side yesterday while Maggie was at her soccer camp. We did 2 hours at the zoo (highlights were the grooming chimps and dippin' dots), and then an hour at the historical society, where Chase wanted to ride the elevators and read books in the basement.
• We did a one night cabin camping trip to Silver Falls. Lots of biking and a 3 mile hike to South Falls and Lower South Falls. Since the trip Chase keeps telling people the names of the waterfalls, Maggie tells people the heights of those waterfalls, and they both talk about the marshmallows and chocolate awarded to them as we arrived at each of the falls. The hiking was slow but steady. Maggie randomly started acting like a tour guide where she would stop us, put her hand to her mouth like a microphone, and say something like: "Be careful of the steep trail here! Watch your kids!" Then Chase and Maggie started alternating being the leaders, and this kept us going for a bit. The campfire hot dogs and baked beans the first night were delicious, and we had fun seeing a deer and a raccoon that first evening around the campground. At 9:45pm the first night we went for a walk/bike with our lights. The kids were generally awed by the covered bridge.
• The kids did their first 2 pedalpalooza rides this year. Slow roll from K' park to King School. Maggie rocked it and was on her own for quite a bit of this. And then the ding ding ride around Ladd's edition, where they could each showcase their new horns from the community cycling center.