After our family reunion, my sister Brigette and her kids came up to Seattle for a visit. It was a wild couple of days as combined we had five kids under three. There was much mischief had, but also lots of fun.

We spent one morning at Richmond Beach, looking for creatures, playing in the sand, swimming in the water, collecting shells, and having a picnic. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time.

We took Brielle, Keiton, Coleman and Anders on their first ferry ride. Anders loved feeling the wind. It was a stereotypical Seattle day- foggy and gray. I’m learning to find the mystical quality of that monotonous blanket of humidity.

We stopped off in Kingston to get crepes and ice cream. The grilled chicken supreme was dynamite! And the salted carmel with dark chocolate and pecans wasn’t shabby either!

Mostly we hung around at home. (No pun intended!) Obviously, judging by the number of pictures I took, I was a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of caring for five young children.

 

The three three-year olds.

One of my favorite memories was building a fort with Brigette, Keiton, and Scotland. We installed steps, cleared a “secret tunnel,” added another pallet for the foundation and then nailed on a piece of plywood. The two boys were in heaven hammering in the nails. While we were technically building the fort for the boys, building an imaginative world with my childhood playmate almost made me feel like one of the “little girls” again, out in the backyard making adventure!

We spent our child-free evenings, putting outfits together from my wardrobe- I’ve felt particularly uninspired lately- shopping at Goodwill, enjoying Vietnamese food and playing Dominion with Tom.

It was a great visit. I never would have had the gumption to pull off a trip like Brigette did, especially alone with three kids. She’s an amazing woman and I’m so grateful for her sacrifice.

 
Getti, I love you! I’m so glad we got to be little girls together, and now we get to be young moms together.