tide pool...

C found this tide pool trapped on a collection of rocks on the shore. It was neat to see his discovery outside the aquarium, which he made sure to tell me. "I found some stuff in real life," is what he told me. To see the excitement on his face as he found them was such a proud mommy moment.

sand...

This photo just warmed my heart. Yesterday, Omi, the kids, and I went to Monterey and we've made it a thing to try something new every time we go. Our routine has always been to park by Lover's Point, walk the path, say hi to the harbor seals along the way, go to the aquarium, walk down to a little beach on Cannery Row, typically eat at El Torito's, then walk back and head home.

Another (newer) tradition we have is to spend the day at the beach the day before school started. Since I have to work the day before, we decided to go yesterday instead.

So, we did our usual aquarium visit, briefly, and then found a new beach, San Carlos Beach, just down the street from Cannery Row. It's typically where divers enter the water so it was neat to see a few divers heading out in the bay. The kids also found some neat tide pools.

But, what really warmed my heart was this sand writing E did for her Omi (grandmother). No one prompted her to write it, so as she was finishing up the heart and patting it down, I snapped this photo. Okay, so secretively, I wish she would've written Mommy, but I was still filled with adoration and pride as she wrote this out for my mom.

calm...

There is something very calm and serene about water. I remember when I was a child and our family was going through a rough time, my dad and I would drive to the beach and just sit there, staring out into the horizon, listening to the sound of the waves. Watching E and her friend play on the shore gave me a moment of calm... it was the perfect time; sun getting ready to set, the crowds all gone, and the water still and peaceful. I see why people find solice in water.

fish dinner...

One of the things on my checkoff list while on vacation was to enjoy a fresh fish dinner. Oh my goodness, did my friend come through. We enjoyed two types of fish that we picked up from the Farmer's Market in Redmond, this delicious pasta salad, and fresh cherries. A margarita topped off the meal. I truly felt like I was in heaven...enjoying this scrumptious meal on the deck overlooking Lake Sammamish. One couldn't have asked for a better evening.

pike's place...

One of the things everyone MUST do while visiting Seattle is check out the Public Market (aka Pike's Place) where those giant fish are thrown. There's a lot of other cool stuff to see, too. I picked up 3 small jars of local honey and it was really cool because each of them has such a different taste. Seattle truly is a beautiful place. With the amazing weather we had, it's easy for me to say I'd love to live there.

lake union...

While in Seattle, the kids and I went on a Duck Tour...these old WWI amphibious vehicles that drive like a car, but float like a boat. This one took us out onto Lake Union in Seattle. I like this photo because the sailboat that came near us was pretty cool, but you get to see the Space Needle in the background. We got so lucky with the weather while we were there...nice sunny skies and warm weather.

holy bat cave...

One of the cool things we saw at the Oregon Zoo were the fruit bats, that E so loudly asked in the exhibit, "Oooo Mom, are those vampire bats?" They were really cool to watch hang upside down, fly around, eat, and interact with each other. I actually learned how they pee while hanging upside down (it's a secret though). If you ever travel through Portland, make sure you hit up this zoo. We thought we'd blow through it in a couple of hours. It actually ended up taking us 5 hours, and we enjoyed every minute of it!

sea lion...

Wow! Who ever thought a Californian would drive to Oregon to see a sea lion, right? We saw this ginormous one at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Yeah, it was pretty amazing seeing the size of this guy. I mean, being a California girl and all, you grow up with them at the beaches, but I have to admit, I've never been this close to really see how huge they can get. On the flip side...the poor thing was swimming circles upon circles. I can only imagine how bored the poor thing must be. Although I love the educational purposes, some things are better left in the wild.

goats...

Along the journey, we stayed with a friend in Oregon who had the cutest goats you'd ever meet. Don't ask me what type they are... to me a goat it a goat, but from watching The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Farmer John, who clearly loves his goats, has three different types (which I still don't know the difference). Anyhoo, the kids loved the goats, but I'm a grateful that we live in the city and can't have them...otherwise...

A-mazing...

My friend up in Washington made this delicious citrusy-lemongrass martini. I can't even begin to tell you how yummy it was. Now...if I can only get the recipe! :)

it's been a while...

Okay... so I've been a little flakey keeping my posts current, but hey, it's summer! I've been relaxing and trying to enjoy life. I'll be uploading a few pics from a week-long road trip the kids and I took up to Seattle this past week...something that was definitely needed. I was hesitant about having the kids with me, all alone, in a car for such a long drive (almost 1,000 miles each way). But in the end, we had a blast, the kids did great, and we're looking forward to our next road trip. So, the photo above was from our last evening in Sammamish, Washington. A friend and I took our kids down to the lake, had dinner, played in the water, and just chilled. It was a fantastic end to an awesome trip!