Nostalgia

The girls and I have been riding our bikes back and forth to the pool this week.  

Today when we got to the pool and parked our bikes, I was greeted by this beauty:

This is THE BIKE I learned to ride on!  Red and orange "Pinwheel" Murray with the banana seat and huge handlebars.  It even has a personalized license plate on the back like mine did.  I had to double check to make sure the license plate didn't say "Jamie."  (I gave up early on ever finding a license plate that spelled my name correctly.)  Mine didn't have the basket--only nerds had bicycle baskets.   (I kind of wish my bike now had a basket for schlepping stuff to the pool.)

Some poor kid must be visiting grandma and grandpa for the summer and is stuck riding this 30 year old bike to the pool.  I want to steal it so I can ride it.

Had to pinch myself

I probably mentioned this before.  I have frequent dreams about public bathrooms.  Sometimes I need to go and every bathroom I find is filthy.  Other times they are missing doors, have very short doors, or are missing toilet seats.  Usually it's a combination of all of the above.

Today we went to Pike's Place with Jodi and Don and the kids.  Before we headed back home the kids had to go to the bathroom.  We waited in a very long line to get into the bathroom, and once we got inside I burst into laughter.  The doors to the stalls were barely to the top of Madeline's head, so even clinging to the wall outside the stalls, you could still see the tops of people's heads in the stall who were SITTING DOWN.  As you walked past the stall, you had to look away or else you could see them doing their business!  Seriously.  Worst nightmare.  Even if I had to pee like crazy, there is no way my body would have functioned under such stress.  

My girls, however, do not have such shy bladders.  They thought it was pretty entertaining to be able to wave to the people waiting in line as they peed.

Where the nekkid ladies dance

Last year we missed the summer solstice festival in Fremont, a funky neighborhood in Seattle.  This year we made it, but timed it to miss the "clothing optional" bicycle parade.  It was still fun to see painted arms and legs as we walked around, telltale signs of parade participants.

I'd never seen a mannequin quite like it.  And neither had he.  Kolby was wondering if we should let him know she was just a plastic decoy.

Look closely or you'll miss tree man next to bra ladies. 

And the highlights of the festival for the girls:

Just as we were leaving the fair, we saw the backsides of a group of painted people who thought it was time for the evening edition of the parade.  The girls didn't even try to stifle their giggles.  

Things he may not know I remember and cherish

• Sitting with me while I slowly sounded out words 
  
• Cuddling up on his lap and watching MASH or Cheers (and fake laughing along because I was too young to understand anything.)
• Talking thru my day with him when he picked me up after my day at school or work.
  
• Going out to lunch with him after I got married
  
• All the camping, boating, and weekends at the cabin
  
• Daddy-daughter dates
  
• Listening to him sing and play the guitar (how patient he was to indulge our endless requests for  "Matthew" and "Run for the Roses")
  
• All the evenings I could hear the hammers and saws going long after dark while he built our house after a full day at work.
• His calm response to my sometimes hysterical reactions--like the time I pulled my earring through my ear, or the time I thought I was going to get a C in Geometry, or the time Madeline passed out and I was sure she was going to die.
  
• The multiple phone calls coaching me through sprinkler installation and repairs
  
• Always knowing that he was there to keep me safe from monsters, earthquakes, car break-downs, and jerks 
  
• Guiding me through his own loving example to find a man who is a wonderful husband to me and a fantastic father to my girls.
  

Anniversaries

This week marks a couple of anniversaries for us. 

Last year on the 13th of June the girls finished their last day of school in Portland and we came up to Seattle to stay with Kolby.  We were only intending to stay for a week or two before heading back to Portland (our house was still on the market).  But it felt so good to be back together as a family, that we decided to stay "permanently."  (As permanent as temporary housing can be.)   

So last Saturday, we celebrated our anniversary  of "sort-of moving" to Seattle.  We celebrated it with a final t-ball game for Amelia, a swim team clinic for Madeline, and then an afternoon at the beach and a backyard BBQ with friends.  All in all, a perfect moving anniversary.  Made me feel very settled.

Yesterday was Kolby and my 14th wedding anniversary.  We spent the evening at Madeline's first swim meet.  




Fourteen years!  Not much has happened since then.

Free

Today Amelia went to a free 90 minute "kick-around" soccer clinic that the soccer association puts on a few times a year.  At that free clinic, they had an area set-up with soccer clothes and equipment that were being passed down by other kids.  All free.   So I picked up a pair of nearly new Nike soccer cleats for her.  Free.    And then we played at the park, and that was free too.

I love free.

I promise not to make a habit of it.

Why does it take so long to get back into the swing of things?  

This is the first day since May 21 that my whole house has been clean at once.  Actually, that's not true.  My bathroom isn't clean yet.  And the laundry room isn't clean, but that room never is.  So all the important rooms (i.e. the ones people see) are clean.

How do I know the last time was May 21?  Because that's when my parents and my sister Michelle came to visit. And ya'll know that comp'ny means the toilets get warshed.

Eventually I'm going to get around to blogging about the great visit with my parents and my sister's family.  But I'm just so tired.  

So how about some cute pictures of kittens instead?

Madeline and Amelia made several boxes in preparation for the kittens weeks ago.  They are a huge hit.

And this morning I went into Madeline's room to steal a peek at the kittens and I couldn't find them in their box.  After looking around for a while, this is what I found:

Poor little guys are still missing their momma.  Madeline moved Horse Momma to their box so they can cuddle with her all the time.