Bust out the shorts!

Last night at dinner we had a rousing discussion about eating dirt. Should he? Shouldn’t he? Did we? Didn’t we? Is it beneficial? Harmful? If so, how much? How much is enough? How much is too much?

It all started with Lake in the garden. Daddy comes home to find him eating dirt. Not just a little dirt. Fistfuls apparently. 

Nana proclaims, Eat a pound of dirt a day! is the sensibility she was raised with from her grandmother. But is that a saying or an actual amount?

Michael is worried about all the worm eggs and bacteria. Eww. Who wants that? On the other hand, I’m thinking a little bacteria could be good, assuming the soil is healthy and the bacteria are probiotic types. Grandpa exclaims he never ate dirt when he was a baby. Nana counters, 

Most certainly he did! Everyone does!

Meanwhile Lake blithely carries on eating the dirt…

Happy as can be!

Last night we all went to the big top at Marymoor Park in Redmond for the visiting circus show. Grandparents treat: The Cirque du Soleil! Nana has created a lovely tradition of taking the family to see the traveling circus when it’s in town. We all love the Cirqu du Soleil. The performance and the performers are consistently breathtaking. This tour is Luzia, a Mexican tribute. Incredibly beautiful, high energy and uplifting. It even included water falling from above! Lake loved it! He was jumping up and down in his seat throughout the whole performance. Haha, I should clarify, his seat was my lap. He was jumping up and down in my arms and on my lap for most of the circus. We all got a good workout! I think it was also perhaps Lake’s first big crowd. The whole experience of spectators, performers, performance, set installation and music was bigger than life! Luzia elicited unbridled joy. Michael created an apt acronym for the show that is too good not to share:

Look Up, Zounds! It’s Acrobatics.

Super fun! Super Lake! Super Luzia!

Gracias Cirque du Soleil! Gracias Nana!

On Mother’s Day we took a nice Greenlake walk and celebrated mothers. A richness of mothers abounded. Lake had both his Nana Lynn and his Grandma Julie visiting. We took a coordinating outfits photograph. It was a more significant holiday when I was yearning for motherhood. Now that I am a mother the realization comes that every day is Mother’s Day. You’re always on duty; you’re always reaping the rewards. A perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you!

Last  week on Saturday evening (May 13th) Michael and I had a wedding date! We fêted Nina and Tyler Suddith, and as the bride and the groom, they represented the newest of the newlyweds (and lovely charming ones at that!). We, however, were feeling pretty newlyweded ourselves. We fully reveled in enjoying being wedding guests. Since Nana and Grandpa were in town kicking off their Fabulous 10 Day Grandparents Nanny Tour of 2017, we went on our own. We had such fun going out together sans baby. We felt like we were teenagers at junior/senior prom!

The wedding and reception were at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse. While the evening poured rain off and on, we were cozy inside and could wander outside every so often for a breath of fresh air and a breathtaking panorama. 

My favorite part of the wedding celebration, besides spending time with loved ones: my husband, Bridget Haupt and Rachel Beardshear to name a few, and honoring Tyler and Nina, were the caterers [Big] Jon and “Sweet Mary”. The clear highlight was the hush puppies! Totally delicious and totally gluten free/vegan cornbreads deep fried on a popsicle stick. Big Jon wouldn’t give out his recipe! Man! A memorable wedding night. All the best to Tyler and Nina! A perfect wedding day, and a perfect wedding date!

Lake crawled under the dresser and came out dragging one of Daddy’s 2.5 pound free weights. Just his size! Weightlifter!

As it turns out this isn’t his first time lifting weights at the gym. He had some prior experience with Nana and some 2.5 pound dumbells on Mercer Island. Go figure. He loves to explore. And I love sharing in his curiosity and zeal for living fully! 

A video is worth a thousand words. Enjoy!

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This afternoon as soon as Lake sank into the deep sleep of his nap I slipped out the back door. Nana and I went for a walk down the Peninsula Drive. I was so happy to have the time for another long walk again today. A touch of Tolle-time, free from responsibility. Feeling light. We were blessed to have Grandpa offer to stay home with Lake. They both had a good time. My dad liked the quiet. My son liked the quiet. I think they both napped a bit. Then by some good fortune Lake continued his nap for nearly three hours. Contentment. What a gift. Thank you fellows. 

And tomorrow we’ll have a nice long walk all together for Bloomsday! Looking forward to that experience too! I love a good walk. 

We have come over to Eastern Washington this weekend for our family tradition. It’s the annual “first weekend in May pilgrimage to Bloomsday” weekend. We’ve been staying at the increasingly winterized Point Petite cabin on Newman Lake for the past few years now when we come over. 

It’s early spring here. Very quiet. Just a few year-rounders out here at the lake shore. It’s predominantly a place of families’ summer cabins. I love this time of year here. The forest is just waking up with spring flowers. 

Hence, the Bloomsday festival. Spokane hosts the  12k Lilac Bloomsday Run every year for the past 40 years coinciding with the city’s many blossoming lilacs. We run or walk the 12 kilometers on Sunday to “earn our [finisher] shirts” and then drive back to Seattle. Along with a lot of other folks. Participation is generally 40,000 +. 

To maximize our weekend we drove over Thursday night in the storm. All the way we were following the lightening to the east. At long last we arrived down our long gravel driveway with forest branches ensconcing the way. We thankfully pulled up to the welcoming cabin. It was 3am. It was worth it to have the day here today. I got in a couple of walks and Lake got lots of time with Nana and Grandpa. 

Grandparents are fantastic. As the primary caregivers for Lake these days, Jo and I breathed in a bit of fresh air. And jumped for joy. We love Lake Bake and we love having a Lake Break too! 

I’m looking forward to a fun and relaxing family reunion this weekend at Newman Lake. Then on Sunday we have the Lilac Bloomsday Run and a post-race lunch with my brother’s family to cap things off! I like this Bloomsday tradition of ours… exceedingly.

Lake is getting really familiar with the stairs. He loves the feel of the painted fir and the challenge of the climb. He’s quite an avid stairclimber. If we are downstairs and the door to the upstairs is open, suddenly, faster than you can blink, he’s half way up to the landing. I don’t think he appreciates it fully, but it’s best if he has a spotter at attention in the background. His preferred method of descent is to go down headfirst like a wheelbarrow. Michael was trying to introduce the facing out downwards approach. He still prefers face forwards but he’s pretty mindful of his kinesiology and his surroundings. 

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