My dad referred to these as the “good ole days”. These days… of this here… three day weekend we just enjoyed. We cherished every moment of these past few rainy days together. Lake had a grand ole time. Inch wormin’ and scootin’ and rollickin’ … working on his crawl and his other basic survival skills: being charming. 

We did laundry and car maintenance and sorting/tidying and went walking and ate really well. Lake relished all his grandparents’ attention. I relished being off-duty for a bit and being able to read a novel. One day we will be looking back on these as the good ole days. Why not inhale them fully and enjoy them wholeheartedly in the present? These good current days. 

Carpe diem! Thank you Nana and Papa for the special Presidential weekend! We’re glad we spent it with you…

Friday was a beautiful day to introduce Jo to the Washington State Ferry system. Jo goes exploring! She walked down to the Seattle Terminal from Harborview in between Lake’s lunch and dinner. Jo traveled with the precious cargo (Lake) over to Bainbridge Island to visit Grandma Julie for the afternoon. 

They played in Winslow for a few hours. Thank you Julie and Jo for showing Lake around. A good time was had by all! Let’s do this again, eh? A perfect day, really and truly!

The common theme in our family lately seems that of having gained weight, being overweight or wanting to lose some weight. Mr. Cat recently had a near-brush with death whereby, among other lifesaving interventions, he incidentally got weighted (22 pounds!) and the takeaway message from the veterinarian was that he could stand to lose 1-2 kilograms. Doctor’s orders!

I’ve also been eating with impunity, thinking everything turns into milk these days. Which is true to a point. These past few weeks the scale has tipped noticibly towards the excesses of irresistibly delicious bread and scrumptious vegan butter consumed… Macrina, so good! Weigh-in today confirms the truth. A few weeks ago I was successfully maintaining at a pre-pregnancy baseline weight of less than 125. Today: 128.8. 

So, commences The Biggest Loser challenge. Lake is even throwing his hat into the ring. No one expects him to win though. He’s currently hovering around 18 pounds with his official nine months well child check coming up in a week. 

Our favorite tips for remedying our overweights are:

1. Halt the refined carbohydrates. 
2. Get moving! A walk around the block can easily become a walk around the city. 
3. Have a glass of water. Delicious and craving quenching… so satisfying!
4. Eat some fruits and vegetables!

Trading in this:

For this:

Want to join in the challenge? Let us know! …And we’re off to the races!

We started the weekend off at home with the intention of visiting Nana and Papa in Aberdeen. It’s a heroic effort packing up alone. Michael went in to work early and Jo was asleep. We were actually up since 5:30, but we didn’t get on the road until 10:30. Lake is very good about remembering to eat breakfast. 

Stepwise, we did ultimately accomplish all our departing tasks. We got all the dishes washed, we packed up, showered and changed with everything and everyone loaded into the car, and the house locked. A few tears of protest were shed every time I’d set Lake down to forge ahead with the next step that required two free hands. It was quite a theater production. 

When we got successfully settled in the car, Lake cheered immediately. He began talking to himself. He kept his self entertainment going for much of first leg of the journey south down I-5. then he thankfully fell asleep for the trafficky bits. Out near Satsop we had to call Michael at work. Lake had gotten himself into a corner and we needed an interruptor, a game changer. When Lake heard Michael on the phone he instantly calmed. I think cell phone driving law needs to take into consideration the alternative. Holding the phone up in the air behind me On speaker was still safer on my concentration than the full-on screaming mode. 

After the short phone call Lake’s reset button had been set and we thankfully arrived uneventfully at the Aberdeen Murphy home. It was a joyful reunion. I’ve never seen my dad with a smile so big in my life as when he greeted Lake. 

We happily played at home. Lake sharing his discoveries since their last visit. Sitting up. Table top. Downward dog. Plank. Self-directed ambulation. We began the beginning of instruction for Lake on the concept of the hot fire. A bucolic Saturday scene. 

In the evening we took Lake to the theater. The local theater troupe, the Driftwood Players, put on the production Outside Mulligar. It was delightful! …and… Lake managed his first theater! He was rather the youngest audience member there. He partipated in mostly all the right places (timing is everything), and he scored a lot of extra dinner out of the deal. 

We ran into some old friends from Quinault. Shirley meet Lake! Lake, meet Shirley! …and Lake, as always, made some new friends, too. Charming the pants off everyone seated near us. A good strategy because then when he exclaims his appreciation during a piece of critical dialogue, no one minds as much. Maybe the important thing to hear was the joy felt by Lake just then in response to the play and the people and the milkies and the entire experience. Community Theater in action. A perfect day.